So, now what? That’s the question many folks have been asking me over the last few weeks, since I announced my departure from EA. I’ve had to be understandably coy about the whole thing as to not ruffle any feathers at the mothership… I’ve got enough going on with an international move and such to not have to fight one last political battle.

International move, you say? Yes, we (me, the misses, the baby girl) currently live in Vancouver (well, Burnaby, but that’s besides the point). A week from now, we’ll live in… well, in limbo, as it takes a while for all of our belongings to make the long trek from Vancouver to Austin, Texas. We’ll hang around our parents’ homes in Northwest Arkansas, enjoy Thanksgiving (American-style), and introduce our baby girl to all of her uncles, aunts and cousins. Two weeks from now, we’ll be sitting in our new home in Austin, unpacking what I’m sure will be several million cardboard boxes (now, where’s my crowbar…).

So, that’s the physical “now, what?” over the short term. But what’s really going to happen? What are my next steps professionally?

Well, it’s still a little too early too say. It’s not that I don’t know… I’ve known for nearly six months! But, due to my employment contract with EA, I was unable to act on my plans for world domination. It’d be no good if I went and created the “next great IP” and it defaulted to the folks who paid my bills, now would it? Thus, these next few weeks will see the creation, tangibly in copyrightable form, lots of IP.

What is this IP, you ask? Well… I can’t say now. I’ve spoken to some offline about it, to make sure I’m not crazy, and responses seem to favorably indicate that, at least in respect to this idea, I am not crazy. In fact, it sounds as if I may be providing an honest-to-goodness service for my fellow developers.

Service, you say? Games aren’t services! No they’re not. I am not making a game. You are. We all are. Have fun!