I was recently interviewed by Juxataviews, a website that collects the musings of the people that are making the web using a conversational question & answer format. If I had to pigeonhole the site, I'd say it's like the "softer side of Techcrunch" in that they talk to the person behind the technology.
Here's what they asked:
Name, age, favorite artist, and when you sleep at night you dream about?
First, congratulations on reaching your 1000 published post milestone. So, what is it about blogging that excites you and keep you motivated to publish quality content on a frequent basis?
Describe what David Seah does for a living and what you write about on your blog.
What makes being being organized and managing one’s time difficult?
What’s the first step in getting organized and becoming more efficient at the work place?
What brought you into the discipline of time management?
Your time management solutions are very unique. For the most part it seems that you’re creating these designs and then publishing them on your blog for the public to digest and provide feedback. How has this publish/feedback process been for you and do you feel you are now evolving into a structure for your time management solutions that take into account the mass audience vs simply your own needs?
Frequently you create well designed paper diagrams that provide organizational solutions. Personally I find paper ends up creating more clutter and disorganization (although some people disagree). Some users of your designs have gone and emulated your designs and concepts by creating web solutions vs your paper solutions. Now you’re working on the alpha of Emergent Time Tracker which is a web version of your Emergent Task Timer. Is the web going to become your medium of choice moving forward? What is the benefit of each (paper vs web)?
I believe a few of your solutions could become corporate tools - services you charge for. Is there any plan to begin developing a suite of time management and tracking solutions?
With my laptop, my computer, my blackberry, meetings, deadlines, travel, conference calls, radio, mp3 player, etc I feel like I’m going 100mph all day everyday. Technology is supposed to help us, but in fact it has made us (well, me maybe) busier, or maybe I should say opened the door to more distractions. Are these technologies benefiting us in the workplace or distracting us?
Its amazing how important I find the 15 minute timer noise alarm on Emergent Time Tracker. It really makes you focus on getting your work done. I feel like Pavlov’s Dog ;) Beyond these well designed paper/websites solutions do we also need these types of visual and audio reminders to help us along on our tasks?
You have some very loyal readers. In fact, the majority of the comments per post on your site are constructive, well thought, and overall good reads in of themselves. How do you retain these types of readers and motivate them to continue your post conversation by adding interesting comments on their own?
What new designs/solutions are you currently working on and when can we expect the version 1.0 release of your Emergent Time Tracker web app?
What websites must you visit ever day?
Last great book you read? Any suggested reading for those looking to get organized?
What part of your life (work/personal) are you least organized in?
You'll find my rambling replies to these questions over on their site. Enjoy!
The work of many people, my first real project, many lessons learned and things to share.
Qualia Games was founded by Mark Kern, and I came onboard with him to realize our high school dream to create our own game company. While this venture wasn't successful, it did become the springboard to later opportunities. Based on this game, the entire team was invited to join Blizzard Entertainment after we closed operation, but only Mark took them up on the offer. I went to Tiburon to work as Art Manager on their Playstation version of NCAA Football '99. I think Mark and I needed a break from each other :-)
This was a real education, fraught with stress and learning-on-the-job. I learned that technical smarts is the least important factor in the success of a group endeavor. I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with some of the finest individuals I have ever met:
- Alen Yen: Visual Design, Level Design
- Bretton Wade: Lead Programmer
- Jeremy Biddle: Programmer
- Ray Archie and Lee Vodra: Sound Design, Music
- Dave Seah: Game Design, Interface Design, Art Technical Direction, Support Programming, Support Graphics, Project Lead
- Mark Kern: Visionary and owner, sound engine programming.
Crixa - The Last 2D Shooter
Crixa was originally designed as an in-house test game for the team to get their feet wet. We were fully funded for two years, so we wanted to push out a quick game that would help develop our graphics libraries and smooth out the creative process. However, about a month after hiring our first three employees and signing two-year leases, our funding crashed and disappeared. Holy shit. The year was 1995.
We had to convert Crixa into a product that could land a development deal or die. The web had yet to evolve into a viable marketplace, so Mark put his efforts into contacting possible publishers. We got some interest from (I think) Bungie (then located in Cambridge, Massachussetts if I remember correctly) and Blizzard Entertainment, who had just released WarCraft II, the sequel to their modestly-successful Real-Time Strategy game WarCraft. WarCraft II was their first huge success, and flush with cash they were looking to expand their portfolio with some smaller, quicker-to-develop games. We landed a 10-month development deal, and began to develop Crixa into a more fleshed-out game.
Crixa, as it was originally conceived before all this drama ensued, was a 2D top-down shooter borrowing elements from some of my favorite games: Star Maze on the Apple II was a notable influence. The open-play mechanics of games like Rescue Raiders and Castle Wolfenstein (the original 2D one from Silas Warner) were also a strong influence. We also wanted the smoothness of classic vector games like Rip Off, but with nicer graphics. We dedicated a whole 32 rotations for each ship graphic, which consumed a lot of memory. Remember, at the time there was no hardware sprite scaling in Direct X. I don't think Direct3D was even around then, 3D acceleration not becoming widespread until 1997 or 1998.
The Expanded Game added mission elements, a "base" you could move around to support your position. Various parts of the levels were connected by a power transfer and switch system, which could be controlled through a "state manager" in our level file.
We created our levels using, of all things, Aldus Freehand. This was artist-accessible, and the exported PostScript output could be parsed into a form that Crixa could load. It was an inspired, if somewhat ungainly, hack. But we didn't have to create an in-game level editor.
Our last delivery was a 3-level game demonstrating the graphics/physics engine (sweetly done by Bretton, who's gone on to accomplish great things). We'll probably put it online again...Jeremy (now in SF) has it almost working on modern systems for both Mac and PC.
Alas, Crixa was deemed not competitive in the marketplace any longer, especially because another game with similar play mechanics had come out. The numbers of the game were not promising, so we were cancelled. Qualia lingered on for a few more months subsisting on contract work, but at the end the company could no longer afford to maintain payroll and we closed. Stressful times. It took years for me to get over it, but it's a testament to the character of the team that we're still all friends.
Ship Models
Game Screens
Bosses
I like writing about things that empower and inspire people, covering topics such as design, development, becoming productive, and the business of being a freelancer.
To get the third-party perspective, you can check out the following interviews:
You can also check out the list of favorite posts in the right sidebar for a small sampling of what I've written...that's a pretty good way to get a sense of what I'm into. Or just browse the site!
Enjoy your visit to the site! :-)
Dave
I am currently booked through November 2008. I do, however, have a few one-hour consulting blocks available every month. Contact me for more information.
I'm an investigative designer based in the Southern New Hampshire / Metro Boston North area. I specialize in clarifying information and ideas. I'm also interested in networking with experienced, talented, and conscientious freelancers. Do you enjoy discussing, sharing, and making cool stuff? Give me a call!
But enough about what I want...
What Kind of Work Have I Done?
Lots of Writing -- Here on the blog, I cover topics related to productivity, design, technology, and personal interest. I'm open to any new writing opportunities. And this is freaky: I like writing documentation and proposals.
Information Graphic Design --The Printable CEO is a good example of my design philosophy and approach. You can also browse my Portfolio on Flickr.
Interactive Design -- Development of Kiosks, CD-ROMs, Web Interactives, Online Training, and so on. Examples: The programming, design, and interface for kiosks at The Boston Museum of Science, show-floor interactives for tradeshows, and online web seminars. Flash and Director.
ActionScript 2.0 programming -- I was the lead programmer and co-designer on Intel Education's online thinking tool Showing Evidence.
User Interface Design. I favor designs that maximize context of information and continuity of workflow. The award-winning Sky & Telescope Sky Chart redefined online star gazing, and is my design. More recently I've done internal work for the United Nations Development Programme for the Office of Budgeting and Planning.
GUI Skin Graphics -- Making something look interesting. Specializing in game-like metallic interfaces. Specialty: creating graphics elements for direct use by programmers.
Teaching and Training. I recently taught graphics for the web at the Center for Digital Imaging Arts in Waltham, MA. I like one-on-one training in particular, and developing curriculum materials.
I do a bit of motion graphics work, but find that I work best when teamed with another strong creative. I also like editing sound and video, but I don't do this professionally.
I know my way around HTML / CSS / Javascript / PHP, in support of my own web site. I also make the occassional website template in Dreamweaver for clients who want to edit content themselves without a CMS
Why Do People Like Working With Me?
Hm, that's a good question. Here are some plausible answers:
I am an innovative thinker who emphasizes building "real stuff". The integration of theory, practice, communication, and storytelling are the four pillars supporting my work philosophy.
I have both a tech and a visual design background, so I can talk shop with engineers and designers. And I speak enough "Manager" and "Executive" to translate between all four disciplines.
I know a lot about digital media technology, production, and development because of my video game development background.
I'll go through large quantities of data to extract the critical elements, so we can frame the challenge as clearly as possible. For example, absorbing the drug testing clinical trials process so we could animate the entire thing in Flash.
I am very good at deconstructing things down to the component level, so I can reconstruct my understanding from the ground up.
I know how to ask questions and get the answers I need. In the absense of answers, I can synthesize new guidelines and principles as needed. That's the fun part.
I possess the arcane knowledge to find what I want on the Internet.
I love making diagrams and documenting processes. I type fast, too.
I love theory and perfection, but I've learned to love implementation more.
I'm a meticulous and conscientous project manager / client relationship contact / negotiator when I need be. I can self-manage, but prefer to maintain a close relationship with an working partner, manager, or other stakeholder directly involved with the project.
I'm a good listener and an objective counselor. I'm also an excellent teacher with a flair for analogy and demonstration. So I've been told, by almost everyone I spend time with.
I enjoy debugging, debugging tools, and the idiosyncracies of computer languages down to the machine language level.
I like good food. I won't stop us from having that delicious lunch, and if the gig is going well it'll even be on me.
I am generous with my knowledge and experience. I wouldn't be here today if others had not been the same with me, so I pass it forward.
I am a student of leadership.
I am not afraid to say I don't know.
Want to Know More?
As a freelancer, I love the freedom but miss the contact with other hu-mans who know their stuff.
So, a number of us have established a creative organization that is less about business/networking and more about hanging out and sharing our work. It's not so much a user group with formal presentations--we tried that once--it's more about creative fellowship with your peers. That's the direction we appear to be heading, anyway.
Topics covered: Digital Media, Interactive Design, Theatre, Graphic Design, Music, The Arts, Flash, Photoshop, Video... we are an eclectic group of people.
For lack of a better name, we call it the New Media Group New England. We're mostly serving Southern New Hampshire and the Greater Boston Area / North, and meet regularly in locations convenient to I-93. The Barnes and Noble in Manchester, NH (right off exit 1 on I-293) has been one place we've been meeting, as it's within a 30 minutes of Nashua, Concord and Portsmouth. It's even easy to get to from Boston, about 45 minutes.
UPDATE
The group has been in hiatus for a while, but will likely re-emerge in Spring 2007 Summer 2008 in a different form. If you're interested in finding out more, shoot me an email!
