Tom Rader : All Game

Featured on Game-Hackers.com podcast

Very recently, I was featured in a podcast interview by Game-Hackers.com’s Vash. The interview covers a lot about the programming side of game development and how the process works. There is also some notable stuff regarding Homebrew for the Wii.

Along with this interview is new information regarding the status of the current Roadent Rampage project. The team has just finished collision and is moving onto getting a solid foundation for shooting in the game. Overall we are making great progress and are poised to be ready for release sometime mid 2010. I’m pleased at how the project is coming along and I’m hoping we can turn heads with it at next year’s Dream Build Play.

It’s been a while since I’ve written. All is well at Bioware. I feel settled in and like I’m working at full speed. It didn’t take that long. My C# skills have drastically improved from where they were when I was just starting out here.

Overall, everything is going well. Roadent Rampage is making steady progress and Bioware stuff is great for learning more about writing code. I recently bought Modern Warfare 2. It’s decent, but feels too much like recycled CoD4. I’m kind of disappointed with it, but it is Activision and Infinity Ward…

No more off topicness . Hope you enjoy the podcast!

Life at Bioware / Current Ventures

I haven’t been short of superbly busy lately. . My position at Bioware is turning out to be not only fun, but a great learning experience as well. There are so many experienced people here that it’s impossible not to learn from them (not that I’m trying to not learn. I can’t help but be a knowledge sponge). The project I’m working on is massive and the codebase is as one may say, “ginormous”. Working on such a large project really helps drive home how important it is to write clean code. Each day I am driven to write cleaner, more robust code that is also very maintainable. With this effort comes much refactoring, but the end result saves so much more time in debugging, that it is definitely worth doing.

So outside the outside of the amazing realm of Bioware (who will have amazing showing at E3 this year btw), I’ve been doing research on the business side of gaming. There’s been talks of a company start-up and my business partner Casey and I have already started on some strong pieces of technology. Lately, I’ve been working on the networking side and have a solid start on a networking system that will be capable of game joining, message sending, joining as a party, limited matchmaking, Host Migration, and of course being ported to use on future projects. So I guess this translates into busy right?

On that note, work calls me back from lunch. Stay tuned for more updates on the first projects of the new start-up.

The Breakthrough

So it’s been a long while since I’ve posted anything. Since then, I’ve been through a stressful move (moving by yourself is definitely an adventure ) to Austin, TX. It’s going to be well worth it though when I begin my first day at Bioware working on the much anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic! I’m super excited for my first day in the industry. I’ve been through that day so many times in my mind and it’s finally here, come tomorrow. And what better place to start than a gaming juggernaut like Bioware? Needless to say, I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity. I was doing the right work at the right time and got the chance to meet the right people and it just sort of happened. If I have any advice for anyone, it’s believe in the dream, because it can and will happen to you if you work hard.

As of now, I’m continuing to develop Roadent Rampage in my spare time (not sure how much time this will be), so expect it out eventually on XBox Community games. Anyways, it’s back to studying up for the first day. Oh and by the way… Happy Easter . Til next time.

Roadent Rampage coming to the 360.

Roadent Rampage is coming to the 360. I have taken over the project and have some of the original devs on board with me. We are excited to tackle the project as we use XNA Game Studio 3.0. So far, going from C++ to C# has been fun. Honing my C++ skills has really made understanding the purpose of C#’s implementation easier. The managed environment is no longer mysterious, and allows for a new set of programming challenges that we have to overcome. Much of the code that the original team has written needs to be rewritten and cleaned up.

It’s been challenging looking at our original codebase (~50,000 lines of code) and porting modules that others have written. It’s fun to see the meat of modules that weren’t my own. Looking behind the public interface. . Anyways, you can find out more at www.roadentrampage.com.

Updated Resume

The resume portion of the site has been updated. That’s it… for now.

Graduation

It’s here at last. It’s been a long time in the making and hard work pays off. The degree is here and I’m excited to finally be able to pursue game jobs with the intent of actually getting hired. Lately I’ve been busy updating the Roadent Rampage site with images and getting some more content up there. Once the site is up to snuff, I plan to do more work on Roadent Rampage focusing on stabilizing the build, adding game modes, integrating the new “speed-play” matchmaking system, and getting more levels. Hopefully these features will give us a demo that showcases the full potential of the game’s fun and maybe find a publisher for it.

It’s definitely been a pretty busy last week doing work on the game as well as sending out portfolio information to employers. I’m very excited to finish the site and begin work on making the game more accessible to as many people as possible. Keep checking both sites for updates on the progress of the game.

New Site Design and Updated Build

Hi all. Sorry for the delay in the upload. Roadent Rampage has a new build up and running and the site has a new layout/design. I hope you like it. Expect more updates now that graduation is getting nearer. That’s all for now.

Slight delay with the current build

Hi gang. There is a slight delay uploading the Level Creation build of Roadent Rampage. It should be up sometime tomorrow at the latest.

This has been a super busy last month and a half. I’ve met with reps from Blizzard, Vicarious Visions, Activision, and I just sent off portfolio materials to Ignition Entertainment stationed in Gainsville FL. Juggling job stuff with final project is becoming exceedingly difficult. Notice last night’s level page. The post was in the wee hours of the morning . That’s what happens when you mean to do something for a while and have no time… It gets done at 4 am.

To many, this would be upsetting. However when it’s all related to game development, it rarely feels like work. It all comes down to how bad you want something and what you are willing to do to get there.

Roadent Rampage Page…

Hi all. Sorry for the delay on getting this up. I’ve posted a page for my current team project Roadent Rampage. It’s just past beta, so there is still a lot of work to do on it. The game is shaping up to be nothing shy of amazing.

I highly recommend that you check it out. Also, any artists that can work in Maya. Please see the Levels Wanted! page. We are in need of levels for the game to distribute when it goes gold. You receive a credit on the game when it’s released and exclusive access to any development tools we are using. It’s also a great way for you to see the development process if you are interested in working in the game industry.

That’s all for now. Take care everyone!

Level Contest Officially Open

Hi all!  The level contest for the project I’m working on is officially live!  All artists and level designers are welcome to make a level that would fit in the project according to the specifications set by the team.  If the level is up to our expectations, you will be rewarded by having your level included in our level pack at launch.  You will also have your name accredited to the project as either a level designer or artist.  Please see the Level Contest page for all the specifics.

All discretion on levels is up to the team “Five Men and A Potato”. We are taking as many QUALITY levels as we can get. See the Levels Wanted! page for details on how to submit your level.