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Saturday Game: A Dark Room

By Bobby Voicu

a-dark-room-2

The best games there are have great story and great graphics. Or do they? :)

Last game I’ve played from start to finish was Last of Us. Awesome story, the graphics were gorgeous. The art takes you and gets you hooked in the apocalyptic world of the game, making it alive and almost real. What would be a game without this kind of design?

Well, A Dark Room tries to do exactly that: use your imagination as the graphic designer. The “simplest” game in terms of design, since it runs in the browser, it is just a bunch of text with some actions you need to take as the game unfolds. And unfold it does, since I played on and off about 2 hours and there was still lots of things to do.

You start in a dark room, in a dark forest. And you start a fire. Then you need to chop some wood. Then you hear something…

It’s a great game, something I didn’t think I would see anymore, a reminder of the text adventure games of the Z80 era (like Zork or The Hobbit).

If you never played these kind of games it might look strange. But think of it as an interactive book and start playing it. You should be hooked in no time :)

P.S.: I’ve found A Dark Room in this list on reddit, a list one of my colleagues at MavenHut, David, found. Thanks a lot! This is how a weekend goes…

Startup Weekend Timisoara and a Grumpy Old Man

By Bobby Voicu

Startup Weekend

Timisoara is a city in Western Romania, 600kms from Bucharest. This is how much I drove today to be present at Startup Weekend, first Timisoara edition. Well, I’ve also had some other things to do here, but I’ve been present to the launch of SW, nevertheless.

I have to say I am not a big fan of Startup Weekend. It feels… rushed and forced :) And, obviously, it’s this way by design, but I am probably getting old, because I wouldn’t see myself doing all nighters like this. Even if, while building MavenHut, an all nighter would be just part of the job (fortunately, not that many actually happened).

Today, while listening to the judging criteria I understood that Solitaire Arena and the idea of multiplayer classic games that pushed MavenHut forward would’ve never been chosen at Startup Weekend. Because we didn’t have nice graphics (something required, as I understood) or a great, specific need to fill (though boredom is one of the biggest pains of a human being).

On the other hand, though, I think Startup Weekend is a great learning tool for a startup newbie. Leadership, team work, focus, Minimum Viable Product building, all of these concepts have their place here. If I would be someone that wants to understand what working in a startup looks like I would go to Startup Weekend. By the way, they really need designers (in all startup weekends) so, if you are, you will be really valued going there. Startup Weekend means a lot of developers, business and communication people. And this is what a startup will actually need, at some point.

Finally, I hope the result of SW Timisoara will be that at least one team starts a product and keeps working on it afterwards. That would be a great success. On the other hand, the fact that about 100 people got together to create things together is already a big win :) I am just becoming a grumpy old man.

P.S.: Just to be clear: I am not a big fan of the concept for Startup Weekend. It’s a personal choice. On the other hand, I really think we need these kind of things to happen more often. Because we need more entrepreneurial people in Romania and this is the only way to make that happen: in small steps, one Startup Weekend and one meetup at the time. So, if I can help in any way, I don’t need to like it, it just needs to push the startup world one step further. Which it does.

Romanian Game Developers Association Launch

By Bobby Voicu

rgda

Romanian Game Developers Association is something I’ve heard of about 2-3 months for the first time. Two guys (Andrei and Cristi, the co-founders), came to MavenHut’s offices to tell us about their idea: allow game developers meet and talk about their ideas, about the obstacles they face, learn from each other.

When we first started MavenHut the gaming ecosystem in Romania was almost non-existant. Yes, there are some great companies here, studios and local (from EA, Ubisoft and Gameloft to King, eRepublik or Revo Solutions), but people don’t really meet in a more formal environment. We were looking for workshops, for people to motivate and inspire us. And, step by step, we met a lot of great people in gaming. And it took us 18 months.

RGDA says it’s the right tool to help freelance gaming developers, small and medium gaming developers in Romania. If they live up to their promises, they will help the industry a lot. And there is a lot of interest in this. I’ve seen more than 100 people participating on a meetup about gaming, as well as about 40 people present at the launch of RGDA, last Tuesday. To show just how much people around the industry need this, Cristi, my co-founder at MavenHut, met 3 people that were building a Snake version, without knowing about each other.

Finally, we need to get together. Andrei and Cristi helped us with the first step, now it’s a lot up to us :)

If you are a game developer, artist or anything like this, go to RGDA’s site. And don’t forget to also contact us, at MavenHut, we are always looking for great people to work with!

Tools I Use: Evernote, the Braindump App

By Bobby Voicu

evernote

I read a lot on the web (as many of us do, I am sure). I read on my laptop, on my iPad, on my phone. And I sometimes find some great gem that should be kept, some information related to something I want to do or even something I am currently doing (like the 30 days challenges).  Then I completely FORGOT about it until I needed it and I would ask myself where I read it. This is why I needed a braindump app.

Of course, I used to save lots of bookmarks, but my browser has about 500 URLs saved. If the information I look for is not obvious from the title of the page, tough luck.

Finally, about a year or so ago I found an article on how to use Evernote as a life organizer and a braindump app. What you do is that you file everything you have in Evernote: ideas, plans, invoices, roadtrip plans, hotel reservations, flight tickets, images, pdfs, webpages, videos, audio files, everything of interest. When you read something interesting, you use a webclipper and you save the entire page, not only the link.

Weird initially, it has actually become a habit. Now I have everything I find interesting in my Evernote. And the best thing about it? A plugin that allows your browser to search through the Evernote notes when you search Google. This way, if you saved a page or filed an idea or a document related to your search you find it on the right side of the Google page (see below).

google-evernote

Of course, having the app on all my devices doesn’t hurt a bit, as you can imagine. I actually have a premium account that allows me to sync all the notes on every device I use, allowing me to see them offline (great to use while flying).

There are several other ways of using Evernote (GTD comes to mind), but the best usage I could find for it is the brain dump opportunity.

Do you use Evernote? How?

P.S.: You can also see an interview with Phil Libin, the founder of Evernote here, a part of Sunday Videos category on my blog.

First Day of School and Entrepreneurship

By Bobby Voicu

first-day-of-school

School started yesterday. And, for the first time in about 20 years, I’ve been present to the first day of school. Not as a student, obviously, but as a proud uncle.

I was looking at the youngest kids there, the ones just starting school. Everybody was telling them something, everybody was raising their voices to be heard and created chaos. One kid could, at the same time, hear 3 things to do: “Stay here!” (from the mother), “Go there!” from the teacher and “Kid, smile to me!”, from the grandfather (or uncle, in my case) snapping photos.

Obviously, most of these kids look kinda lost. After all, the experience is completely new, they don’t know who to listen to, since there are so many voices of authority there, what should they do?

Entrepreneurship is not that different, actually. And, seeing that, as a kid, you will start listening to your teacher once everyone else is gone, being an entrepreneur might actually be a little bit more difficult. I mean, who are you listening to when starting your first business?

Your friends? Could be, though it is almost common knowledge that people don’t really like change and your friends will not like it either. And it’s not because they are bad people, not at all, it’s because they want things to stay the same. They can also lie to you when it comes to their opinion, so that they do nt hurt you. And this could be even worse.

Family? Well, the people that are most close to you don’t want you to suffer, they want “security” for you. Entrepreneurship doesn’t really sound like a “secure job”, is it?

Mentors? Well, that’s better. But how do you choose your mentor? Is anybody suited to be your mentor? As a kid you are “given” to a teacher, but as an entrepreneur you need to find that person yourself.

Finally, the other entrepreneurs? These are probably the ones you will connect with the most. They are encountering the same issues, they are experiencing the same frustrations, the same anxiety, the same challenges. They might not give you the best advice (especially if they are first timers, as well), but at least it’s some kind of advice that you can use. Of course, if they are seasoned entrepreneurs, they might even become mentors.

I’ve tried to meet as many entrepreneurs as possible (especially when I was just beginning). Now it’s easier than ever, since there are so many meetups and communities (offline and online) that you can join.

If you are a Romanian entrepreneur, I would recommend the Romanian Startups Facebook Group. If you are Eastern European, I would recommend How To Web conference (in November), in Bucharest. Of course, these are some I know of personally, but I am sure you can find meetups anywhere (use Meetup.com and Linkedin groups to find some events in your area).

I remember being so happy that I would go to school for the first time. A whole world would open in front of me. Entrepreneurship is the same thing. Just a lot better :)

Photos from Shutterstock

My 30 Days Challenges

By Bobby Voicu

30 Days Challenges

Some years ago I’ve read for the first time that, in order for something to become a habit, you need to do that specific thing for 30 days, constantly, every day.

I’ve tried several times to do this, but I’ve never got to the 30 days limit :) Until recently, when I decided I wanted to write for 30 days on my blog. And I keep doing it, 30 days after that. It kinda worked: last Saturday I remembered I didn’t write at about 10pm, so I actually stopped doing what I was doing and I wrote a blog post.

Since it seems like a good idea, I am actually trying to do 30 days challenges every month from now for the next 3 months (small steps, ok?). What I’ve noticed is it’s better for me to have simpler tasks (not “write a great article, 3000 words long, daily, on your blog, for a month”, but “write a 200 words article daily”). So I am not trying to move mountains yet, a thing that will hopefully change after several completed 30 days challenges.

My next challenge is to stop drinking Cola. Any kind of: Pepsi-Cola, Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Cola Zero, Pepsi Light or anything similar. The reason? I don’t drink coffee so any caffeinated drink is too strong for me and I can’t sleep.

I’ve started a week ago, I am still good. I’ve replaced Cola with light sparkling water (I need to compensate the feeling of the bubbles in the back of your throat more than the taste of the drink).

I’ll keep you updated if anything important happens (like… drinking Cola, for example).

If you like the idea and you think you might do something similar, read here the motivations behind the idea and write down in the comments your challenge (maybe you also give me some ideas this way). Also, I’ve found an interesting TED presentation from Matt Cutts (the head of Anti Spam division at Google) talking about exactly this.

Photo from Shutterstock

Sunday Video: Phil Libin, Evernote

By Bobby Voicu

Phil-Libin-Jason-Calacanis-this-week-i-startups

I’ve had the opportunity to see Phil Libin live on stage last year at How To Web (btw, How To Web 2013 is close by, don’t forget to be there, I will also be talking :D ).

Anyway, back to Phil Libin. He is the founder of Evernote, the “dump your memory in” app that I use every day. He is interesting though because he is not interesting in selling his company (he is not interested in an exit). Even more interesting, he recently got some investors in just so he was able to pay the early investors, that wanted faster results, so he may be able to focus on long term results, without feeling the need to do an IPO.

Below you’ll find the most interesting and complete interview I’ve found with him: This week in Startups, with Jason Calacanis. The video is about an hour and a half, while you can also read the transcript here.

Saturday Game: Last of Us

By Bobby Voicu

last-of-us

I don’t like zombie movies. I don’t really like horror movies, to be frank. Still, there are two zombie games that I loved playing this year. One of them is The Walking Dead (I loved the story driven game, played it on the iPad on a transatlantic flight) and the other one is the one I am gonna tell you about: the PS3 game Last of Us.

I’ve first heard of the game about 2 years ago (a little bit less, maybe), after playing Uncharted 2. The same studio that did Uncharted, Naughty Dog, was supposed to build a really interesting zombie game, that would take the work from the Uncharted series to new heights.

The thing is, though, that a zombie game wasn’t exactly what I expected. Still, I some more trailers and screenshots from the game, as well as some info on the plot made me interested in the game.

So, finally, in the summer of 2013 Last of Us saw the light of day. And it’s one of the most gripping stories I’ve seen in a video game. You start with a loving father and end playing with a bitter killer. Still, through the entire campaign, you might not love the guy, but you will enjoy the father-daughter relationship that grows between the two characters.

last-of-us-2

The actual graphics and animation are some of the best I’ve seen in a game. Even Uncharted 3, made by the same studio, feels worse when compared. You will see the wildlife in the cities of USA (Saint Louis, among them) and you’ll feel that you are looking at a documentary of a real event.

Unfortunately, the game is only available to PS3 owners. If you have the opportunity, borrow the PS3 from a friend, take 2 days free and play the game. Last of Us is the best combination between a book and a movie I’ve ever seen. How about the zombies? Well, they are some of the enemies. The most difficult ones, actually, but I feel that they are just the setup of the story. Otherwise, the game is about what we do for the things we believe in.

Just look at the trailer and the extended presentation from E3 2013 below:

Good Design, Invisible Design

By Bobby Voicu

Great Design, Invisible Design

I am design challenged. I can look at great design and admire it, but I can’t really point what makes that design great.

Because of this, I always looked up to those that seem to just create great design, like it’s a native feature (and maybe it is). Looking at our designer at MavenHut while he creates different things for us to take into consideration I see that design is more than just putting colors and lines on a screen or piece of paper, though.

And, of course, I am thinking of digital design (web, mobile, tablet, whatever). Functional design, the design helps you get more work done, doesn’t get in the way of the fun of games, just great design that you absolutely don’t notice. And I don’t mean it in a bad way :)

Good design is invisible.
You don’t notice air conditioning when it’s set just right, only when it’s too hot or too cold. We don’t notice good design.

Read more about the concept of “good design, invisible design” here or here (on UI). Quote from here.

Just a Thursday evening epiphany.

Image from ShutterStock

Business, Poker and +EV Choices

By Bobby Voicu

business-poker-ev-decisions

I used to play online poker. Like almost anybody I know that had a business online, as a matter of fact. I wasn’t the best player, though. I never had enough time to actually understand the mathematics behind. Or, better yet, I never had time to apply the mathematics I knew.

Don’t get me wrong, I still like playing poker, I just don’t feel I have the time to afford playing 8-10-12 hours in a tournament (if you got in the late stages). Especially since MavenHut became such an integral part of my life.

Still, I always follow the World Series of Poker, I follow Daniel Negreanu on twitter (he is one of the best players in the World, Canadian of Romanian origin), I play with my friends from time to time. Not as much as I would like, anyway.

One thing I noticed when I started to play poker is that it is a lot like business.

First of all, you need some luck in poker. Yes, almost everybody thinks you need a LOT of luck in poker, but that is not true, otherwise there would be no “good players”, just “lucky players”. And those players that win tens of tournaments can’t be THAT lucky. Still, there is an element of luck. You can play the perfect game, but your opponent might hit a “miracle hand” (like a royal flush, a hand that comes up once every 649,740 hands). Nevermind, though, you will be good at poker just by understanding the game and the mathematics behind it and putting in the time to play. So work and effort will help you win. Luck is important, but not that important. It helps, though, even in business.

Moreover, as a poker player you learn not to put the blame on somebody else. Yes, bad poker players always say the other ones got lucky when they lose. Not the good ones. The good ones improve. And the same is true in business.

There are more things to say about poker and business (I once wrote about poker and life), but nothing is as important as making the +EV decisions. EV means Expected Value. And it is one of the most difficult concepts to understand in poker. Because it makes you make decisions that may seem completely nuts. While they’re not.

A while ago I’ve found online an article about how to make +EV decisions in business (and life). And it also explains a lot better than I could what EV actually means. I forgot about it until last week.

Many +EV spots seem risky at first glance, and that’s a big reason why they’re +EV in the first place. Most people are avoiding these opportunities, which often means the price for some of them is lower than it should be because so many people are afraid of short term variance.

Read the full article here (it’s a pretty long read) and also read, from the same blog, How to buy a Ferrari for $20,000

Photo from Shutterstock