Poo-Poo Platter

A couple of new blogs from guys I know have popped up over the past couple of weeks, and I figured I’d plug them a bit here.

First up is fxCubed from my buddy John Vanderbeck. John is a guy I met in the GarageGames IRC channel, and he was recently accepted at The DAVE School. fxCubed is his blog dedicated to providing a “visual record of my journey from that of a fresh new student in the world of digital animation and visual effects to that of a professional in the field”. John’s been posting some of his recent works in progress and speed modeling practice pieces, and I must say that he is progressing quite well. I look forward to see what he can make once he starts classes.

The other blog is Make It Big In Games from GarageGames’ Jeff Tunnell. In his own words:

MBG is a place for me to help people that want to get into the game business learn how to do so, perhaps with less pain than was inflicted on me. I hope to help you with game design issues, business strategy, and even some marketing advice. I’ll cover anything that can help you realize your dream of making great games.

MBG is definitely a great read for anyone considering getting in the game development business. Jeff tells it like it is. He’s been there and done that, and his experience is evident in what he has to say. The comments and discussions following each of his posts are equally as good to read.

For those who don’t know Jeff, he’s a long-time veteran in the game industry, co-founding Dynamix and producing titles such as The Incredible Machine, Starsiege, and Tribes. He is the co-founder of GarageGames, the developers of the Torque Game Engine. They recently used TGE to develop Marble Blast Ultra for Xbox360, one of the first independent games to be released on Xbox Live Arcade.

So, go ahead and add both of those blogs to your news feed. Definitely some good reads.