Rock 'Em, Sock 'EmAfter shipping Just Cause 3, I was assigned as sole producer of the New York City DLC team. I contributed in small ways to all three downloadable content packs for JC3, but my most significant contribution was to the second pack, Mech Land Assault.
The unique challenge of this project was coordinating across the Atlantic Ocean with the Stockholm studio. Fortunately, the team on my end was seasoned and capable, and the production group across the pond provided generous and attentive support.
Coming from a focused line producer role on Just Cause 3, this chance to wade in with a team of such diverse skills and responsibilities was an exciting prospect. Our NYC crew was responsible for mission work, challenges, and a good amount of environment art for the new island of Lacrima. But the big ticket was the iconic Mech Loader.
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The Mech Loader was a new and complex type of vehicle for Just Cause, requiring extensive animation, physics, AI and UI support. Managing the team meant trusting the experienced developers to meet their self-directed goals, gently helping them refine what the end product could be within the scope of the project, and navigating any barriers to hitting that target.
And after a particularly challenging milestone, I made a heaping crockpot of black bean soup as a thank you for the team's patience and passion.
The road through Mech Land Assault was not an easy one, but it stands out to me as a highlight of my career, thanks to the passionate team spearheading a bevy of exciting new features. I was grateful for the independence and freedom to manage a team according to my personal style and values, and for the opportunity to work closely with a new team of exceptional developers in far-off Stockholm.
When it was all done, I convinced the team to take this cheesy soccer photo in our eDen Corp polos, because Team Spirit.
Team photo courtesy of Jessica Vicente
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