Friday, April 20, 2007

DISNEYLAND AND IGN

In a more rambling mode than usual, ya'll...hope you don't mind too much :)

So....

Hey guys, took Wednesday off as sort of a 'sweet! We finished Calling All Cars' celebration. Unlike GOD OF WAR where I needed 3 months of comp time to recoop, I'm thinking of taking like 3 days of PTO, and even then spreading those few days across a few weeks. Making these games is hard and challenging but since it does not drain your soul like the epic titles, you don't need as much down time before you dive back into the trenches. In fact, hell, Scott and Kellan (Creative Director/Art Director at Incognito) are flying down to San Diego Monday for a double day marathon session of game design for game #2! I can't wait!

So what did I do on my day off? I took my wife and oldest daughter to Disneyland! Man, what a blast. My kid is almost 4 now and it was her first time there. She loved it and we did as well, mostly cause we got such a blast watching her enjoy the park! Hell, she even got to ride Space Mountain and The Matterhorn! A fucking 3 year old kid on SPACE MOUNTAIN!?!? I was stunned they let her on but they did!

Man, that is still a great ride and may very well be my fave coaster of all time. Especially now when they are blasting a version of HIGHER GROUND by THE RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS thru the headset speakers as you whip thru those corkscrews! So much fun!

When it was over, I looked behind me (kid was riding with the wife in the seat behind me) and my daughter was just sort of starting into space, overwhelmed by the sensations and blasting music and flashing lights. I was like: oh shit, we've just scarred this kid for life! But within a few seconds of it all coming to an end, she was telling us how much she loved it! When she got home she was jumping around and using her arms to mimic the curves and turns of the coaster she liked the most and telling us all about how much fun it was! And I was just like: sweet! I got a coaster buddy for life now!!!

But yeah, when you go with a kid, it's just more fun I think. I like going as an adult but taking my kid, I got to enjoy her enjoying it. And about 2 years ago, I had a realization that I assume most parents eventually have- or should have- where you stop TRYING TO MAKE THE FUN for your kid and just let your kid pretty much be (from a standpoint of entertainment). For a while I kept trying to make sure the stuff we were doing was fun, come hell or high water. And then I realized after about 6 months of this that it didn't feel genuine to me, it felt all manufactured and I HATED that feeling. So I just relaxed and assumed: hell, she's a kid...If anyone can find the fun, it's a kid. So I just allowed myself to be along for the ride as she found fun and- when she decided to- shared it with her dad. And it's been so much more...well, FUN since then! I guess as a game designer I am always feeling responsible for people having a good time...and with kids I really had to curb that desire. So there's a, whatever, a Jaffe parenting tip for you, if you ever wanted one!


Pic I grabbed as we were leaving the park...Ahh, Magic Way! Glad I live only 50 minutes from the park as now I wanna go back with my kids alot more often. Pretty amazing that I can just make it a spur of the moment Saturday trip if I want to! Ahh, the joys of Southern California!

Makes me wonder tho: thru my career I've know lots of Disney obsessed folks in the game biz. They grew up with it, love it to death, want to be part of it. I can see that, I can appreciate that. I'm more of a Spielberg/Lucas nut, but I can see the allure of the Disney Magic. But then almost all of the folks I know who end up working for Disney always tell me they don't enjoy working for the company as much as they had hoped. Not the admin types or producers; and I actually hear it's a pretty good company to work for in terms of benefits and what not. But it's like, Disney fired so many imaginations around the world and within the game biz, that the work of that company really turned people into professional creative types themselves! But now, as those creative types head to work for the company that inspired them to be creative, they find that they can't really be the creative juggernauts that Disney created because to work for Disney means you gotta do it the DISNEY WAY. There's only one way to draw Mickey Mouse and it ain't yours! So to work for Disney means you gotta suck it up and be a cog in the machine I guess. I've never worked for Disney so this is all secondhand....but I can see how that could be a challenge for the very folks Disney inspired in the first place! Interesting...at least to me :)

++++++++++++++

So hey, I played multiplayer with the IGN crew last night. Since the game is not out yet, we go online with the reviewers so they can test out the online portion of the game (otherwise there would be no one for them to play with over the net). It was lots of fun and, being ultra protective of all the games I work on, I was like begging for the review score from them because I really do care about reviews...as I said, I feel compelled that people have fun! :) But they were like: dude we can't tell you the score now, sorry. And I got that, and I appreciate that. But they assured me they dug it so that made me feel good. And then last night I saw this on the IGN message board:


It's from Jeremy Dunham who is the Editor in Chief of the Playstation site on the board (I don't think he's EIC of the whole site, but I could be wrong).

So that's always nice to see. Score aside, it's nice to know that we've given people some good fun! That is what you work for. And it's even better to know that you've given folks fun who are in a great position to let many others know about the fun that they've had!

So thanks for giving us a shot IGN!

+++++

Finally, CALLING ALL CARS will be out either next week or the NEXT week. It's not May 18th in USA...that seems to be the date for Europe (I am not sure on this, I'm just getting that date from the net like alot of your guys). We are shooting to have the game out next week but it's not us at this point as the game has been done for about a week now. There's just some format stuff we gotta clear and as soon as we do-and thus get the street date- I will let ya'll know. So thanks for being patient!

And nice talking to those I've talked with in the chat box! Chat with ya'll soon!

Take care ya'll, have a great weekend!

David

68 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice to read (yet more) positive feedback on calling all cars. Looking forward to dloading it whenever it shows up.
Does it have secret moves for fireballs, dragon punches and shit? /jk

Anonymous said...

Keep enjoying your kids! It will keep you young. I think your going to find that having fun with them will provide you with insight and inspiration. They will instill in you the drive and desire to persevere. When ever you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders and not sure what to do look into your children’s eyes. You will see you are the whole world to them…which makes it quite a but easier to Man up and do the right thing. Your kids will be the most honest and toughest critics you will ever meet, listen to them, they will tell you.

peace

Carlos said...

I'm happy that calling all cars it's having a positive attitude with the people involved in reviewing games. Oh and one more thing, I don't know if you heard, but they are gonna make a remake for Clash of the Titans. Check over Yahoo! movies. Enjoy life man!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for clearing up that Calling All Cars! date that Three Speech posted.

Anonymous said...

Do you even read any of the threads on the Official Playstation site like the PS3 Downloadable Games thread? You have a good fanbase there so read it sometime. It's good to read things from the true gamers of Playstation instead of other forums (IGN). My prediction of Calling All Cars! from IGN would be 8.5 out of 10.

Anonymous said...

to tell you the truth I was gonna buy CAC no matter what because your involved in it but im glad to see it will be fun and not a waste of money. and you better play a few games online.lol. ill be the one cursing every other word.

Anonymous said...

Dude one of the best roller coasters is the Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida, that coaster kicks ass.

I can't wait until CAC, it will be the first game I download out of the Playstation store, can't wait to play and maybe sometime you can play with some of us from the blog and kick our ass all over the place.

Anonymous said...

i will pray to god everynight that next time u go to that sin palace known as disneyland one of the rollercoasters will malfunction and satan will swallow u down into HELL!!

Arnaldo Licea said...

The Aerosmith Rock 'N' Roller Coaster in Disney MGM is INSANE! I love it, but I also like the HULK and Dueling Dragons at Island of Adventures in Universal Florida.

-Arnaldo

Anonymous said...

i agree with Arnaldo Licea. dueling dragons and Hulk are fuckin sick roller coasters. hulk was the first roller coaster i ever went on. and i liked the mummy roller coaster but thats not really comparable to hulk and dueling dragons. never been to disney world or land. but i been to that big araced thats apart of disney in orland. cool shit. you pay to get in and hten all the arcades are free. and they have virtual games like sword fighting and shit. and mech type robot righting. and a pirate ship battle

Toodles said...

Small children are the greatest socially acceptable excuse to act like a nincompoop in public.

Hope you and your tyke have fun riding those coasters. :)

Sadeq said...

so what's your favorite disney film or character?

RedRedSuit said...

If you listen to the IGN GameScoop podcast (which can be somewhat painful), Jeremy Dunham does say he really enjoyed CaC, and that it's definitely his favorite PS3 downloadable (beyond even Tekken 5: DR) and even catching up to Geometry Wars.

Anonymous said...

Dave,

I can't wait for CAC, I need a good game to justify my PS3!!

And I need to have kids because that's easier to explain why a 30+ year old like myself enjoys going to Disney as often as possible.

Dutch
www.thedigitalblast.com

Anonymous said...

Is the next game you're working on (other than GOW 3, I think with GOW 2's success the third installment is a sure bet!) military based like your last that fell through? I'd welcome the chance to work with you on a game.

Dutch
www.thedigitalblast.com

Anonymous said...

rudolph

FUCK YOUR GOD!

laughing oh so fucking loudly at the name dutch degay AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Anonymous said...

Mr. Jaffe im writing to tell you that i am very happy because i have enjoyed all of your games twisted metal, god of war, so on.
But I would like to know that if its true that god of war 3 will come to the shops, if this is true mr jaffe i hope that god of war would be avaiable for PS2, beacuse in a lot of parts of the world its very hard to be updated with the consoles..and very expensive also....thank you for hear me and have a nice day

Anonymous said...

no fear that was quite possibly one of the gayest posts in the entire history of the internet. I had to double check my address bar to make sure I wasn't phished into some god damned Christian website. For fucks sake man.

Joel said...

hey david... i liked the part you wrote about how when you work for a company, especially like disney, you have to become a part of the machine.

i know that its so easy to envision yourself sitting at the top of the mountain... making all the decisions, and having total creative input... but the truth is.. with making videogames as well, at least SOME companies, you mostly just help someone else make their vision.. and you dont get to make those decisions at all.

i mean, its kind of a depressing thought, but its also important for aspiring videogame makers to realise, i think.

although, i think with these new downloadable games, smaller teams means each person gets a bigger slice of the creative pie, and thats really good news for everyone, i think.

Anonymous said...

Your not a parent of teens are you Dog_bite???

When you Man up and get a clue you can speak and be respected. Know your place young padawan.

Think about your insults man...you contemplate, theories and provide explicit inference to parenting kids and being gay in the same context.

Read my words carefully. Just don’t bother. Or you could continue to post some foolish sounding insult and simply confirm my description of the exact thing you are lacking in life.

For future reference if your going to bring something to the table at least have the curticy to offer something of substance.

Anonymous said...

Dammit I'm sorry. I forgot my first rule of an intellectual debate. Never do battle with an unarmed opponent.

Anonymous said...

no fear My ex was pregnant but she tried to kill the baby with drugs. When that didn't pan out she aborted the fucking fetus in fucking Mexico accompanied by her best friend, she called crying a couple of minutes after it happened, ashamed. So forgive me if I feel children do not deserve to breathe the same air I do. This world needs to be de-populated starting with you and your kin. Hmm.. it only took you 8 minutes to make a comeback to your own post? You suck. Next time your lady friend is pregnant call and i'll show up with an icepick and do you a favor.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Fuck I can't sleep. It's driving me crazy! d0g_bite nice comments, nice nick, you biting me?

Chip said...

Dave,
You should really come to Central Florida for vacation. TBH the parks here are alot nicer just don't come from June - August becasue the heat will kill ya'

I see the PS3 is starting to bring back some classic Amiga games which I must have but CaC looks to be a blast.

JH said...

Cool. I've never been to cali. I'm a north eastern dude my self.

I'm looking forward to info on game number 2 haha. I can't wait for CAC!

Have a good one.

Anonymous said...

you should do a Q and A thing like on rosie o'donnell's blog. (rosie.com)

Chip said...

God, how I hate that woman

Anonymous said...

rosie o donnell is going to burn in hell and i will personally be by gods right hand witnessing as he casts her down into the boiling pits of sewage lesbianism is the stingiest of all sins along video games and masterbation jack thompson is right quit worshipping digital idols or you too will be cast down as jack and i will laugh and mock you along with god and we might just do you a favor and spit on you as burn.

Chip said...

My thoughts about her have nothing to do with her sexuality *shiver* or any religious belief but that is really neither here nor there.

I can't wait to get CaC reviewed over at Realworldbenchmarks.

HairyAsHell said...

I'm thinking of having going on a visit to Disneyland in Japan during my honeymoon next year. Great that you and your family had fun. As for Disney...they had a great impact in my and a lot of other people's lives. I grew up watching Disney classics and even now they inspire me as an animator. Speaking of which, Meet the Robinsons is a great movie. Should catch it dude, if you haven't already ;)

As for Calling All Cars... Just cant wait!!!

keyrat said...

This is a bit off-topic, but I just saw your interview on gametrailers and wanted to chime in on one aspect of the multiplayer experience missing on the PS3: the ability for me and a friend to go online on the same console.

I assume this isn't included in CaC. If anyone could push Sony to try it out, incorporate it into future games, and push other publishers to do so, it'd be you.

Keep up the good work. I'm looking forward to buying the game.

Unknown said...

hey jaffe

........./´¯/)...........(\¯`\
............/....//..............\\....\
.........../....//................\\....\
...../´¯/..../´¯\.........../¯`\....\¯`\
.././.../..../..../.|_......_|.\....\....\...\.\..
(.(....(....(..../.)..)..(..(.\....)....)....).)..\................. /........\................../
.\................\/.../....\...\/................/

....\..............(............)..............

Det. Conan said...

David,

How come you don't own a PS3?

I got one last January. It is fun, but not that fun. well, you need three things to feel the PS3 power: An LCD TV, a good speakers and internet connection.

i have one of these three: good speakers. My Uncle got these 3 things and the machine is a blast.

I will ask him to download CAC and see how creative you can be in downloadable games.

I think we will be the only people in Oman to download it.

David Jaffe said...

keyrat...you CAN do that...there is a split screen mode in CAC where you and a buddy can go online from the same console.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

det. conan You motherfuckers drop acid over in Oman? How about smoke weed? just wondering man. hahaha. Checked out Wiki you fuckers got a beach called Ras-AlHad-Beach that looks alot South Padre Island which a spot I frequent. (just an 8 minute drive) I love going to trip there during midnight :)

Anonymous said...

hey mary j, im calling you out punk. I think its obvious your not of driving age, and that you've never seen acid in your life. Go count something.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous this gave me a good laugh an Anonymous poster calling me out show some fucking balls i'm in Port Isabel, Texas. An 8 minute drive from South Padre Island, Texas as I mentioned earlier. I've dropped enough Acid to kill 9 people, I fucking dare you come to P.I. I will go as far as to buy you a plane ticket myself. Have a taxi waiting for you that will drive you to my house. I'm 22, i'll record our fight upload to youtube show everyone what you're made of. Man enough to accept? I am not fucking playing. You opened your motherfucking mouth now i'm going to close it.

Anonymous said...

haha your a bitch pothead. why do you keep coming back to this site. and have when your brain dead. fucking redneck

Unknown said...

Hey David, could you tell the people over at Sony to start selling pre-paid PSN game cards so that people who can't use a credit card on PSN don't miss out on Calling All Cars (and Flow and a bunch of other games).

Thx!

Anonymous said...

Dave,

I just saw your interview on Attack of the Show's "The Loop". Wish it could've been longer.

I think (and certainly hope after buying one) that the PS3 is gonna come into its own. I own a 360 and like the titles and like Xbox live but hoped that Sony's version would be slicker.

DO you think it'll take a year for the PS3 to get established? I've played all the titles available and thus far and Resistance and Madden are the only ones worth it. I'm excited about getting CAC to have another worthy title.

Dutch
www.thedigitalblast.com

Anonymous said...

jesse they sell pre paid visas

Anonymous said...

just checked they sell them at walgreens
Prepay any amount between $20 and $500

Chip said...

Dutch with original content like CaC and classic Amiga remakes like Lemmings and Super Stardust I have no doubt that the PS3 content will overtake live.

keyrat said...

Dave, 2 players online from the same console was a feature I thought wouldn't make it to the PS3 for about a year and now you're telling me it'll be in your game. You're the man.

Before I was going to buy it; now I'm going to buy it and preach about it.

Anonymous said...

So is this the week? :)

or is going to be in May?

Unknown said...

so SCEA north america is LAME.

im trying to get some of those big headed people over there to hear me out for two seconds,

I got this REVOLUTIONARY concept for the PS3, the beauty is how bloody simple it is, but that i have never seen anyone doing it, or working on it, except myself and a few of my cohorts.

any suggestions?

Anonymous said...

from joystiq.com they're really ripping you a new you a new one.
5. I really do not like David Jaffe, I am not saying hate because that is a strong word, but I adamantly dislike the guy. When being interviewed by Jeff Kahey (sorry for any mis-spelling) he left a bad taste in my mouth for one reason.

In gist he thinks Gamers should be glad to pay more for games like Shadow of the Colossus, and Okami. Games that in his view are good and artistic. He believe that Gamers should be willing to pay more because the game designers like himself should get more revenue and earn more for making good games. In his world he isn't getting enough credit monetarily and he thinks this is why a game like lets say Ice Age the game makes more than Shadow of the Colossus, because gamers aren't discriminating enough and willing to pay for quality.

I do believe he has a point in one retrospect that gamers aren't discriminating enough. What I find fault with is the idea that he wants to be paid more and he wants to pass that buck off to the gamer. Basically that would be the equivalent of Bruce Willis saying "Hey Pay and extra 10 dollars a ticket to see my movie because I am a better action star than Van Dam." That doesn't fly with me, and it also shows a type of elitism that I don't like about this man. Gaming left in the hands of people like this will implode because they will destroy it from the inside. I am glad that for now he doesn't have the power to have his word be the final say, or else a lot of us would be screwed.

Posted at 7:25PM on Apr 23rd 2007 by Zsavior

grasshopper said...

Not really on topic but there is a new preview of CAC on IGN they seemed to really like it.
IGN CAC LINK

Anonymous said...

no fear God damn everyone thought I was bad but this is incredibly gay. Anonymous keep hiding behind your screen you little pussy. You just proved to everyone on this blog what you really are you little faggot suck my dick. I read that shit on Joystiq and i'm not defending your fat ass Jaffe or am I? I didn't know a damned thing about Heartland's premise or plot or whatever but it actually sounded cool. Kinda wished you would've finished the game. Ah well, maybe in another life you fat fuck.

Anonymous said...

maIO-FUCKING-JUANA.



Admitantly, you are truly a prime example of something exemplimentarily HOMOSEXUAL.


So gay in fact, you are that if being gay meant having a needle shoved up your a-nus, you would PREFER it be A WATERMELON!


As for your hilarity, I do much enjoy; keep it up sport.


Oh, by the way asshole


........./´¯/)
........./....//
........./....//
...../´¯/..../´¯\.
.././.../..../..../.|_.
(.(....(....(..../.)..).
.\................\/.../.
.....(............).....



sit on this and FISHING REEL.

Det. Conan said...

David,

how come you don't answer my questions: why don't you own a PS3? (in your bonus round interview, you stated that you have a 360).

and how come you didn't direct GOW2?

finally, have you ever met Hideo Kojima?

Mariojuna (Mary J, Pothead, redskin): for a moment i thought you will burn the flag of my country. So how come you know about Oman?

the last thing i want to do is chatting with you. You called my people motherfuckers. I won't answer you, and that is in respect to the blog owner.

but remember, my living standard is better than you. I own a better car than you. I can afford to buy videogames, while you wait for christmas and you savings to buy a single game. Finally, my parents are not divorced and i don't have issues with people.

Anonymous said...

Det. Conan THANKS ALOT for a GREAT FUCKING IDEA! I didn't think about that. I'm going to buy your country's flag on ebay. Shit, spit piss, vomit, let it dry off then fucking burn it, then piss the fire out. Then I will upload the video to youtube where you and your little backwards countrymen can watch then proceed to recruit the nearest 12 yr old boy most likely you then proceed to behead an innocent man in the of some fucking dumbass named Allah. GOD IS OH FUCKING GREAT. Yeah your living standard is so fucking great people are strapping bombs to themselves going into public places and taking as many people as they can with them and have been doing for decades yeah real high fucking standards there. Not to mention the god damned beheadings that are senslessly uploaded to the internet for all that who care to see. Again real classy. Watch for the video on youtube i'll keep you updated as soon as I get your flag. I'll send the video to the drudgereport. I'm sure Matt will link to it he loves shit like this. Again thanks for idea you backwards little fuck.

Anonymous said...

Cool Blog, always enjoy reading it even if some of the American references go over my head (a la Family Guy). Anyways, will CAC have voice comms online?

Chip said...

Could be worse. They could use ATHF


lol!!

Anonymous said...

Ha...lol now people are posting garbage and using my name.

How childish can we get?

The one....the only

NO FEAR

PS Dave I'm sorry your blog has turned into a troll stomping ground. Out of respect to you and the community I'm not going to post any comments for a while. Ignore any posts from anyone using my name.

Anonymous said...

and as for you rudolph the gay nosed reindeer....

........./´¯/)
........./....//
........./....//
...../´¯/..../´¯\.
.././.../..../..../.|_.
(.(....(....(..../.)..).
.\................\/.../.
.....(............).....

Have Jesus Christ himself sit on this one and spin it with his fishing reel. Don't come preahin' round here no mo' ya' hear boy.

Unknown said...

how the hell are people using my screen name? that makes me feel a little uncomfterble

Unknown said...

people are signing in as me, wierd?

Anonymous said...

JAMAYLOT SIR HOW DARE YOIU TAKE THE LORDS NAME IN VAIN IM SO ANGRY I CANT EVEN YOU ARE GOING STRAIGH T TO HELL!!!! THIS IS THE KIND OF EXAMPLE THAT JACK THOMPSON WAS TALKING ABOUT IN OUR MEDIA RECENTLY THE VIOLENT VIDEO GAMERS TAKING THE LORDS NAME IN VAIN WHILE WORSHIPPING FALSE DIGITAL IDOLS AND TRAINING TO KILL HOW DARE YOU SIR HOW DARE YOU I HOPE ALL YOU SINNERS ROT IN HELL AND BEG FOR WATER

Unknown said...

When's Calling All Cars coming out? It keeps getting delayed. I'm getting impatient. I wasn't even aware you had a blog. I can't wait to get it. Cool site hope you update it more often. I like your writing.

Joe Laurino said...

Hey Dave,

Sorry to see that your blog is starting to get hounded by immature fucks. Grow up, kiddies.

On a lighter note, I'm still waiting for that e-mail you said you were going to send to me. I don't mind if you don't wanna, just let me know so I stop waiting for it. ;)

My business e-mail is located on my website, www.joelaurino.com, on the front page.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Anonymous said...

CAC is coming out tommorow.i hope. unless 2day is thursday. but i dont think it is????

Anonymous said...

Joe Laurino your are no real designer you are just an amateur fuck it is so fucking pathetic that you check your email every 5 seconds and readily admit online for everyone to see lmfao. you truly are a sad scrawny fuck. get a real job the dream is dead. face it its never gonna happen for you, your never gonna get a real job in the industry like jaffe your gonna be stuck making shit games for cell phones that no one will ever play or appreciate. quit posting here you skinny little nerd. no one likes you or site or your shit games or has ever heard of you or has ever even played any of your amateur shit games fuck off nerd.

Joe Laurino said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Carlos M. said...

Hey, another Carlos!

*Adds an 'M' to last name for differentiation*

Man, the last few entries have had some pretty interesting comments. O_O

'Sup Joe? I see you're keeping busy.

*Grabs popcorn*

Anonymous said...

Joe Laurino are you a homosexual?
http://jl.hyperactiveproductions.net/images/bio.jpg well i guess i shouldnt ask since this pic off your own site speaks volumes. btw thanks for calling me a man i did make varsity this past season in both football and baseball in only my freshman year. im sure your 360/pc title will be the next gears of war. first of all pc games are the most pirated games on the market aside from the big boys like valve,id,epic, your shit company has no chance of making any revenue on the pc side of market so good luck. i dont think anyone will even want to waste their bandwith downloading your turd of a game. as far as the 360 goes ms is flooding the channels as everyone knows in a desperate attempt to pump up sales. there are alot of other better games out already available for the 360 your piece of shit game will just get lost in the shuffle. your shitty little studio cant compete with the marketing juggernauts that are out there. face it dumbass. youre nothing you will always be nothing. you look like one of little bitch emo kids that shop at hot topic give it up old man.