The Simple Things

Vinyl, oatmeal, textmate, subversion, and the Wii. What more do you need?

Mario vs. Bowser Illustration

I thought I would share this. Above is an illustration in which a Warp Pipe community member inked. If you like what you see, I encourage you to digg it.

Wiiminder Update

Just a brief note, Wiiminder has been updated and is now fully compatible with the latest version of the Wii Internet Channel.

The update improves overall stability, adds the ability to scroll tabbed content while zoomed in, and fixes a glitch which caused the auto-hide interface to disappear.

Be sure to keep an eye peeled for some exciting things coming from Warp Pipe in the not so distant future.

Back In The Saddle

A lot has happened since my last post. I moved, reconnected (with humans), disconnected (from the Internet), and gained lots of inspiration. Looking back at this blog thus far, it is far from personal. I attribute that to my robotic / default Ari Gold-like behavior which I have been unable to shake off with my lifestyle change earlier this year.

Moving (sans Internet for a week) was a blessing in disguise. It has given me a chance to reevaluate my daily actions. What I spend my time doing, what I find important, etc. I am still in Chicago, but I now have a roommate (along with a deck and fireplace). Working from home without anyone else in the house can be very isolating, so it will be a nice change of pace.

I have also had the chance to spend time and reconnect with someone I care very much for, who also happens to be moving across the country for 4 months. We have a very unique relationship and will be friends until the end. I'm looking forward to utilizing the freedom I have to travel and visit often. Which reminds me, I really should have gone to that Halo Benders show. Although, she is a person that makes the Halo Benders look like a silent movie about Republican culture wars (we all know this isn't true, but yes, she's just that wonderful).

As far as work goes, aside from some new consulting projects I am excited to finish up, I will be working on a (long overdue) new version of Wiiminder specifically designed for the final version of the Wii Internet channel. I am also working on a new game design for our initial Xbox Live Arcade pitch, as I have decided to scrap our initial concept and start fresh. This was unsettling news which was not well received, but I feel it will allow us to make the impact we desire and help us deliver some of the other projects we have waiting in the wings much sooner (though still long-term).

So lots of things are up in the air. The feathers have been ruffled, but it is my opinion that a life without discomfort and fear to overcome is a life not worth living.

We Have a Pulse!

Warp Pipe launched a nifty little proof of concept service called Wiiminder roughly two weeks ago. The reception has been really positive and ended up receiving a lot more attention than I initially anticipated. I planned to post an anecdote about Wiiminder earlier, but I'm afraid I lost my mini-USB cable and won't be able to transfer photos from my phone until I get a new one this weekend.

I picked up a new consulting gig today, which is perfect timing as Tushar and I are busy in the design spec / prototyping phase of our new game we hope to pitch at this year's E3 as well as another project that we will release in the coming months.

More On Warp Pipe

We have a strategy for Warp Pipe which will allow us to operate somewhat independent of the traditional third party game developer system (and hopefully generate net income quickly).

Our product roadmap begins with web-based services and will hopefully result with games on shelves running on the demasked platform (a platform that will start as a web-based service). Our mantra is all about connecting gamers and keeping them in touch with each other without having to leave the game experience. This is not going to be clear initially, but the closer we get to our end goal, it will all come into play.

Times have changed since our initial venture, as we now live in an environment that is more friendly to independent game companies. There are opportunities that did not exist two years ago that will allow us to exist and grow in what is a very competitive industry. That said, we will likely be spending a lot of time (Q2 2007 - ?) developing and releasing downloadable games for Xbox 360 and possibly Nintendo Wii (largely depending on what Nintendo's plans are).

Lots of work ahead of us, expect to see some notable changes in the coming weeks.

Groundhog Day

2007 is a year for progress and change. One of the first large changes of the year is now complete. I resigned as Director of New Media at Victory Records and will be focusing my time on the startup I co-founded, Warp Pipe Technologies.

The company is privately owned and self-funded, based in Chicago. My partner, Tushar Singh, and I are currently working on some interesting products and I am very excited to bring them to life. Some updates will be posted here very soon.

Bring On 2007 Already

I have been busy lately working on something pretty exciting. This particular project has been in the making for a long time and even though my intial vision cannot yet be realized, I am glad to bring it out to play soon. Sometimes you have to sit on something and learn the hard way. Theory and pursuation has its limits, launching useful products that change the landscape allows you to bring vision to reality.

I feel good about 2007 and I am very eager to resolve some unfinished business. Who knows, by the end of the year I might be close to fulfilling my vision.

Warp Pipe Wii Start Page Continued

I'm happy to see the Wii community embrace the project so far. I shot and uploaded a video late on Christmas Eve, check it out below. I also just made some minor revisions and improvements so point your Wii over to warppipe.com and check it out!

Warp Pipe Wii Start Page

I whipped up a start page for the Wii browser. It includes tabbed browsing, integrated google search, and address bar. You may find it useful. If you want to check it out simply point your Wii Opera browser to wii.warppipe.com.

I plan on adding integrated del.icio.us functionality and tab naming sometime later today. As always, comments are suggestions are always welcome. I want to make this as useful as possible.