Check out this video segment on “Best Job Ever” featuring our own Ramiro!

A quick post to thank everyone for coming to the seminar,  “Video Games: Cracking the Code“, at the Center for Communication.  The panel focused on… getting a job in the games industry!  I mentioned a few links during the discussion.  As promised, here they are:

• Previous essay with many references for getting a job in the game industry
• PHG Job Page

We are looking for developers and interns of all shapes and sizes.  Do apply.

On Friday, a bunch of us celebrated Halloween in costume.  Can you identify who’s who?  Or who’s what?  Read on for the answers…
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In keeping with our “we love NYC and can’t stop talking about” theme, we purchased a permit to have a picnic in Central Park.  Food was ordered, travel arrangement arranged, significant others cajoled, etc.  Sadly, though, the forecast was for rain.  And, not maybe-drizzling-wear-a-hat rain, but don’t-stand-in-an-open-field-thunderstorm kinda rain.

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We signed up for Clean Air NY a little while ago.  How could we not?  Their inarguable pitch is “we promote clean air”.  (Plus, they sent us some helpful (and cool) pens, transit maps, and such.)

After meeting with the friendly folks at Clean Air NY, we quickly set up an employer-sponsored tax-free transit fare program.   Which is a good thing, as almost everyone here commutes by foot, bike, or train.  (We have to burn off all those calories consumed.)

Click on their logo above to check out their site and/or read about them below:

Clean Air NY. Breathe it in. Just like our name and slogan state, we are in the business of promoting clean air that fellow New Yorkers will “breathe in.” Created for New Yorkers by New Yorkers, Clean Air NY wants to help you live better and breathe easier by partnering with you to learn what we can all do to improve air quality.

Clean Air NY is a network of individuals, employers, employees and community organizations in the New York metro area committed to the idea that every person can help clean our air. Participating in Clean Air NY is free and easy—we provide you with everything you need. Getting involved takes just a few seconds and clicks of a mouse.

Last Friday was another fun Rock Band night. Thanks to Jon, Neil, Sean, and everyone else who helped get everything set up.  We spiced up this RB night with a few new ingredients. First off, of course, is Rock Band 2!  (We like!) We also picked up one of those Ion Drum Rocker kits.  All the righties were really impressed with this premium kit. But, I’m going to go off on a bit of semi-self-indulgent tangent here, so feel free to ignore the following rant about how the world continually conspires against lefty drummers…

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The US Open is in Full Swing!  (Sorry about that. Though, our extensive research shows only 300 people or so have made that same pun online, so it’s not that bad.)

While there are a couple of tennis fans among us, the real treat is what happens to our nearby park (previously mentioned, here and here) during US Open season:

Madison Square Park [is] transformed into the ultimate tennis experience, including giant viewing screens, stadium seating and concessions from NYC-area restaurants, Country, Hill Country Barbecue Market and Rickshaw Dumpling Bar.

An official link is here.

Sadly, convenient dumplings and pulled beef sandwiches are only around until Sunday.  So enjoy ‘em while you can.  (After Sunday, we’ll have to walk a couple of extra blocks for dumplings again!)

p.s. Yes, it’s another food post.  I promise we’ll put up the “results” of the last mix CD really soon.

p.p.s. Oh, and people are still wearing ties etc. on Fridays, if you were curious.

Forgive the late notice, but some friends of the family are coming to town, as per the message below!

The Guitar Zeros, the plastickiest band this side of the Mississippi, is crossing the Mississippi. in a small plastic paddle boat. not really. We’re playing 2 shows in NYC, and would love support from anyone who wants to help us…… please consider telling your friends in New York, if you’ve got some you think might be interested, about our shows and maybe we’ll be so lucky to have some people show up to witness the plastic shredding.

• July 17 @ Lit Lounge in Manhattan
• July 18 @ Union Hall in Brooklyn

The Guitar Zeros is a group featuring some Ubisoft employees that play original music using the plastic peripherals from the recent onslaught of music based games. You can read more about them here.

To get our games done for holiday 2008, our big deadlines happen in the spring and summer previous. So, as you might imagine, there’s a lot going on at Powerhead Games, what with the multiple awesome projects in the pipe, forthcoming client visits, and of course, all the Formal Friday-ing you could ever want.  Between hitting our deadlines, and the New York City heat, it can get pretty hectic at times.  Luckily there’s folks like David Gallaher, writer of the hit web comic High Moon and all around great guy, to remind of two very important things:

1.  Ice cream makes everything better.
2.  Dry ice is one of the neatest things ever.

A Fed Ex guy showed up to the office this morning with a box full of joy in the form of six pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream addressed to “Team Awesome c/o Powerhead Games”.  Flavors include Steven Colbert’s Americone Dream, Sweet Cream & Cookies,  Vermonty Python, Cake Batter, and perennial favorites Strawberry and Vanilla.  As great as the frozen treats are, though, half the fun was disposing of all the dry ice they came packed in.  As seen in the pictures below, my poor memory of sixth grade science class and what happens to a box of dry ice when exposed to a sink full of hot water resulted in turning our humble office bathrooms and hallway into a lost Flock of Sea Gulls video.  Or maybe a Rob Liefeld comic.  Behold the hilarity, and click to embigginate:

(Editor’s note: We probably should have saved some of the dry ice for the next Rock Band night!)

Thanks again for thinking of us, David.  A Powerhead T-shirt is on its way to you, and drinks are on me for the next several years at least.