Jul 03, 6:05 pm
It’s been a busy time for Frag Dolls this summer. We’ve been all over the place playing, talking about and even judging games. Running around in the sun, avoiding the rain, in the big open spaces and ensconced in low lit conference rooms. If there’s one thing we’ve learned to be it’s flexible. You just have to be ready for anything.
Hyde Park Calling started off as a lovely sunny festival. After playing Rainbow Six Vegas for the previous two weekends running, I’d gotten used to it. This day was a little different though. We were playing Surf’s Up and the festival was much more family based so there were loads of kids coming over to play with us.
Kids are much more forward and don’t take much time to relax into the idea of standing around playing games so we had an absolute blast. Of course the kids learning curve was extremely sharp so they were winning prizes all over the shop. Being on your feet all day can be tiring but Hyde Park Calling just zoomed by! Here are some of the winners.
We did have a break during which Sarin managed to absolutely disgust me (not for the first time) by eating three Krispy Kreme donuts in a row ... after a meal. She’d have had a forth but I was making my most horrified face at her so she stopped in shame.
We had a quick game together towards the evening just as Sarin had to head off for a train. Her timing was impeccable. Just shortly after she left Hyde Park became a swamp and the Surf really was Up!
One minute everything was lovely ...
The next ...
A few days later and I find myself suited and booted and being led through a cavernously huge marble building. The corridors are silent and the doors through to glassed in, high tech conference rooms are so big that I feel like a tiny mouse. Even the handle on the door to my conference room was bigger than me. I am at Microsoft’s London HQ to judge the XNA Game Development Competition entries.
People from all over the UK submitted games, artwork, music and sound effects. I along with my esteemed colleagues from the gaming industry poured over, played and debated the entries until conclusions were reached.
The judging panel ...
It was a very different experience from pulling a waterproof Ubisoft poncho onto a heavily pregnant woman with a sad face and a soaking wet belly in the middle of a field. Both activities though are encompassed in my job and life as a Frag Doll and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
