Fun Bags and WWGS

[thebitterguy]

According to yesterday's poll, it appears that milk is only commercially available in bags in Southern Ontario; either that, or only people in Southern ON use it, even though it's more widely available. I wonder why that is? A simple majority prefer to get it in cartons, while a smaller amount prefer jugs. Australians apparently don't drink milk at all.

I'm getting to another 10 year anniversary, when I travelled down to GA for my internship with White Wolf Games Studio. It was an interesting experience, and I got much experience and swag from it. Experience at what? I dunno. My primary task was assembling factory sets of Changeling Cantrip cards. It nearly put me off openning booster packs for life. I also got to do some playtesting, some redemption processing (for mailaway V:tES & Rage cards from the back of novels, which got DONE, dammit), a few rejection letters, and some Karaoke, which got recognized. There was also a hike, which wasn't as much fun.

It was a good experience (I wonder what ever happened to Ralph?), indeed, although probably not as career building as going to a high tech paper would have been (although just as career building as going to Esprit de Corps). It did help me get my Parsec gig, which helped me get my Realms gig and my Wizardworld.com gig, so it was far from painful (aside from the floggings. And bootings. And poisonings. And driving with Phil).

And I earned the scorn of the Werewolf developer with this poorly done exchange, presented here for you, in script format:



The Bitter Guy

"Hey, Ethan! What's another name for an Ahroun Get of Fenris?"

ES

"A Modi."

The Bitter Guy

"No, a multi classed Fighter/Fighter!"

Painful Horn Sounds, followed by Crickets.

Wow. Awkward

Comments

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Milk comes in bags in Quebec, also.

Not in Newfoundland, though.

[thebitterguy]

Newfoundland primarily jug based? Or carton?

[creativedv8tion.livejournal.com]

That joke is completely funny, which is why it didn't go over well.

I learned a long time ago that most of the WW staff, especially the developers, took theirselves WAY too seriously.

[innocent-man.livejournal.com]

Out of curiosity, how many have you met in person? My experience differs considerably from that statement.

As for the joke in question, I think that presented with that kind of setup, it wouldn't be nearly as effective as it would be were it worked into normal conversation. But you know what they say, jokes are like people. To dissect 'em, you gotta kill 'em.

[creativedv8tion.livejournal.com]

And you've actually worked for them, so you got to see a different side of 'em, I would imagine. My experiences were divided into as a fan (through cons and such) and as a retailer, dealing with them on that end. In the latter case, the majority of the interaction with WW staff was done through email and (mostly, as this was 8-13 years ago) the phone.

[innocent-man.livejournal.com]

so you got to see a different side of 'em, I would imagine.

Yeah, it was called "the drunk side."

Cons aren't always the greatest way to get a sense of a developer, because you always run the risk that you'll get to 'em after four hours of smelly people saying "Let me tell you about my character!" I avoided that, ironically, by running games rather than working the booth, but it's bound to make anyone tetchy. :)

[creativedv8tion.livejournal.com]

While I do understand what you're saying (I've been at enough cons to know that fanboys are annoying as fuck, and worked enough dealer rooms to have seen more than my share of it), honestly, I think it's unprofessional of them if they can't hack it. I know RPGing isn't the biggest paying off job most of the time, and most creative types in gaming are doing it on the side while they have a 'regular' job as well... but it's still a 'job' (in that it's a profession) and as someone representing a company, I expect them to be able to handle their public with aplomb... or not be at the table.

And if they don't, then I get to judge them on how they behave, regardless of how close to the truth of their real nature it is... or if it's just a demeanor. ;)

[innocent-man.livejournal.com]

Preaching to the choir, man. I worked at Chuck E. Cheese for a while, and I stayed smiley in the face of loud obnoxious music, screaming kiddos and belligerent parents. Next to that, cons where people are happy to see you should be a breeze.

[creativedv8tion.livejournal.com]

Your Annoying Retail Experience Fu has just laid the Smacketh Down upon mine. I bow to your superior Fu.

[thebitterguy]

I found that taking themselves too seriously was the least of their flaws. Unless they were on a deadline for a revised corebook, in which case they just ground themselves into a fine powder.

I think I just screwed up telling the joke.

[innocent-man.livejournal.com]

Time management was indeed a major issue for a lot of them.

[gurudata.livejournal.com]

Hiho,

So... now that the poll is over: Why did you ask? :)

Cu,
Andrew

[thebitterguy]

Related to the anecdote, I remembered not being able to get milk in bags in GA, and was wondering if it was really just a central Canadian phenomena.