Last week it was decided the blog schedule would be Mondays for the main blog, and two micro blogs through out the week depending on what’s happening and how often I want to rant. So, first things first I will introduce myself, and next week we will meet the artist!
Who am I?
Greetings, my name is Mitchell, or Slothful as I am known in online circles. CEO, director, and lead programmer at Slothful Media, and as you can guess the company's name sake.
From humble beginnings, I was raised in Northern Ontario, went to school for Wilderness Tourism, moved to Edmonton and later returned to Southern Ontario to be close to family. After working at Target, during its short tenure in Canada, I decided to go back to secondary education for Game Development. I like to play video games, mostly strategy, but will dabble on the Nintendo Switch. I started with a Sega, my first console. Watched my brother play SNES and eventually got that when he got the first PlayStation. Later we would get a PC and I would play games like Warcraft 2 & 3, Command and Conquer, and Starcraft 1, and spent a few expansions wasting my days playing World of Warcraft. I grew up playing Xbox and Halo or Call of Duty.
I like to read both fiction and non fiction, with one of my favourite fictional universes being the creation of Frank Herbert, Dune. I like to watch documentaries about current and historical topics, and I follow World Politics fairly closely, not just my own Countries. I used to do creative writing, but that hobby has taken a back seat in the last few years due to game development. My ability for World creation draws on a lot of the games and books I’ve read and played over my years. I’ve never felt like Television or movies were the real entertainment. Preferring instead to “play” the movie or show. Video games have had a special place in my life since I was a child. Being suspended from school and spending all three of those days playing video games. Entertaining me when my parents were absent due to war, or mental health struggles.
With both my parents in the military, my siblings and I were generally left to fend for ourselves. My brother being older and uninterested in my choices, and my sister being too young to understand ours. Eventually my parents split and I moved around a bunch, finally settling with my mother. I was expelled from high school, which personally I never felt taught me anything, failing most grades for lack of attendance. I completed 18 credits in a single year through “self learning”, which just goes to show you if I am motivated enough to finish something on my own, I will exceed expectations.
Professionally I’m a programmer fluent in C#, and have some experience in C++, and I’ve produced every project I’ve been on through college, and at Slothful Media for the foreseeable future. I previously wrote websites in HTML and Javascript, with nothing notable or exciting coming out of that field. Part way through a secondary education in Web Development I decided to switch entirely to games. I actually walked out of my final exams.
What’s next for Mitchell?
As the company grows I will primarily fit a producer role, instead of programming actual mechanics. Hopefully filling more of a lead designer role. Without much coding. Until then I will continue to forge ahead in my current role and overcome my struggles.
Coding multiplayer has always been a struggle for me. My school went on strike during our second year and we missed out on a large chunk of education, only for them to rush what was left when they returned. In fact I missed about 5 weeks of school, yet paid in full for that time and learned less than I should have. Unity has made great strides to create functioning assets that fill in the blanks. Recently they added multiplayer relay servers, and their services in general are fantastic. So while I continue to prototype with those I hope to soon have a multiplayer endless wave game after Monster Factory gets its full release.
While on the topic of filling in for my weaknesses, I try surrounding myself with the people who will help make the company a success. One of those people is Ian Decloedt, who we will highlight in our main blog next Monday, and one of our micro blogs this week just describing how he made one of the levels for Monster Factory 2.0. It's quite a beautiful level, and I look forward to seeing the remainder.
In case you missed it:
Mondays - Main blog
Wed & Friday - Micro blogs
Post Script
If you have any issues, questions, or comments about this post please let me know, you can reach me at mitchell@slothfulmedia.com and I'd be happy to engage in a conversation with you about any of the above. Your time is appreciated!
I've also made Monster Factory available for download right here from the website!
You can find the game here
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