And So It Begins…
It has been a whirlwind of a week for the EA Fall 2013 team. After swiftly settling in the Bay Area, we then settled in our new workspace in the Office of the Chief Creative Officer (OCCO). The OCCO has tasked us with developing a game that can be utilized by a cloud save system. The data that will be collected by the system will then be used to affect another that is being developed by another ETC team stationed in Pittsburgh. The idea behind this project is to see what can be done with the system being developed by the OCCO to make EA’s games more connected to one another without having multiple game divisions being in constant contact.
This week, we meet with the OCCO team, including the CCO himself, Richard Hilleman, in order to touch base and discuss an initial plan. After informing us of the parameters of the project, we were tasked to brainstorm three game concepts to bring to them next week to decide what game we would be working on this semester. Following this meeting, we split off and individually brainstormed so that we could come in the next day, narrow down the list down to three ideas, and flesh them out further. Simultaneously, we chose a team name, Chimera, which we felt best represented the fusion-like nature of the project.
A benefit to not only working at the Silicon Valley campus, but working in conjunction with the OCCO, is that we are in close contact with industry professionals. If we have any questions about the direction we are going in the project, we can just walk up to the OCCO team and talk to them about our concerns and ask for advice.
By the end of next week, we will have chosen a game idea, and we will be well on our way. We have laid down the framework for a successful semester, and we are excited to be here.