- Learned a bunch of misc. XBOX360, Wii and PS3 platform tech
- Worked on a game with an external publisher pulling the strings
- Developed some applications/games utilizing AS3, PHP, Java EE, and other web buzz words
- Did some Facebook app development (still doing some of this at work)
- Worked on an iDevice game that got released
- Participated in my first Global Game Jam
- Started working on a secret project for a cool platform
From reviewing what I've done over the past year it is easy to come to the conclusion that everything really was driven by what needed to get done at my day job. I put all my creative energy into my day job. When I had free time I would use it on spending time with friends and family and/or playing video games... and researching tech for my day job :-D.
It was still very rewarded and I feel I've grown in my craft from it, but something has been missing. I still plan on putting as much energy into my day job as last year, but something needs to change. I really miss working on my own projects. I haven't really created something that wasn't driven by a publisher, customer, or a boss in three years (since college). I've started hobbyist projects, but they never make it past the early stages. That's kind of sad and I'd like this year to be different.
I've been thinking about it for a long time and I'm going to try something that I still think is kind of crazy...
I will not play video games for a year.