This is what all technical tutorials should look like. Well-composed and generally free of grammatical errors, spends just the right amount of time explaining each new topic as it is introduced, comes with full code samples, and includes visual samples of what the code does. Also, lengthy enough to treat the material in depth, while still being sufficiently self-contained that I can follow along -- without having read part 1 and without more than a few months of Common Lisp under my belt from a couple years back (tho I've done a decent amount of Clojure and Emacs Lisp.)
I will soon be interviewing at CZ, a large company which develops casual mobile games in several genres, including slots, match-three, and word puzzles. The team I'm interviewing with is focused on procedural content generation and analytics/data science infrastructure.
In pre-interview emails, the recruiter suggested I play some of CZ's games. I did so. Here are my thoughts and impressions.
For purposes of professional courtesy, I have changed the name of the company and all games discussed in this article. Unfortunately, preserving CZ’s anonymity also means I cannot show screenshots.
I originally had another section in this post discussing ad placement and characteristics, but I removed it once I understood that the "analytics" side of this team is focused more on content analysis than ad performance. Email me if you want it.
This is a loose parody of the Prelude to The Canterbury Tales, dedicated to, and inspired by, none other than my good friend Ryan Wright (read his interview with The Drongo, or play Ryan Quest.)
There came a schollar from Viking country,
Well verst in ludonarrativity.
When that Aprill with his shoures thick
Hied off, he watched ye childe play hoop and stick
To ponder changing stick for lethern balle,
And wryte upon the meninge of it alle.
Of anti-gamer scorn, no hede took he,
Aware that men live in society,
While those of lerninge to him wolde adjure
For hy discourse on English literature.
Full gladly teched he on such things culturall,
And left each lecture-hall with maydens plurall.
Exotic assets allways filled his pipe:
He was a verry parfit gaming type.
I'm so happy to announce that The Drongo's circulation has grown to 44 subscribers. No paltry number, that. We're nearly at the big Five-Oh!
The Drongo: This issue's interview guest is Larry Drui, a multi-talented performer and playwright who always has something intriguing to say. Tell us about yourself, Larry.
Larry Drui: Originally born and raised in Hawai'i, in 2012 I moved to Portland, OR, to pursue a theater degree at Reed College. I am hapa (half-Japanese, half-white.) I tend to make spreadsheets about craft beer, and I also have a penchant for wordplay.
I am the one who eats the bagels. If you, too, are the one who eats the bagels, then I think we will have many pleasant exchanges.
The Drongo: Today on The Drongo, we're speaking with Ryan Wright on game studies, game development, love and relationships, and more.
Ryan Wright: Hi drongos, I'm Ryan! I've lived in Los Angeles, Portland (Oregon), the California Bay Area, and Copenhagen. I like partner dancing (when not in a pandemic), tai chi, and my tripod dog named Lincoln.
I'm an independent videogame developer who also does academic research on games. I write about the aesthetics of interaction and play using phenomenological theory and existentialist philosophy. If you want to know how the hell those things fit together, check out my Google Scholar page.
