More than a few times, I have been asked (usually at a convention, and usually by some wide-eyed hopeful) what it’s like to work full-time in the adventure games industry. The assumption often comes across that the life of a gaming industry professional somehow equals being “paid to play games.” So, with that in mind, I kept notes detailing my activities during a typical day of work (today, in fact—Thursday, June 28, 2001, in case you were wondering).

So, here it goes—a typical glorious day in the life of a full-time game industry pro.

I woke up at 7:36 a.m. I know the time exactly because I don’t normally wake up until 8:15 (a holdover of getting my daughter ready for school, which, during summer, isn’t particularly necessary, but I stick to out of habit). This morning, however, the mechanic who works next door was having problems with a faulty car horn, which was going off at alarmingly regular intervals…long, strangled squawking honks that seemingly lasted hours at a time, until the mechanic in question apparently gave up and yanked the wires on the bloody thing. I decided there and then that there were few things in the world worse than being forcibly awakened less than 45 minutes early…as any sleeper would tell you, those 45 minutes were where the really restful sleep would’ve been found.

Today, my daughter was away, on a brief visit to the extended family on Long Island, inaugurating her first full week of summer with trips to the beach. So, I was free to concentrate on work, with no distractions or other obligations. My days are usually much more interesting.

A brief breakfast (primarily an excuse to put anything in my stomach to accompany the vast amounts of caffeine that I continually imbibe all day), and I boot up my Blueberry iBook at around 8. I catch up on current events via the BBC World News (broadcast here in the NYC metro area on local PBS channels) as I fire up the DSL connection. First stop of the day: checking and responding to email.

The majority of it comes as a result of my primary industry job: Operations Manager for Synister Creative Systems. Basically, that means that I advise the owners of the company on pretty much everything, and act as liaison with outside contractors (primarily printers and Wizards Attic, our fulfillment service). This is over and above any creative work I do for the company (which, entirely beside the point, is: Line Developer for UnderWorld, editor and contributor on The Last Exodus, Editor [and lead designer] on Thrilling Tales, and also on the development team for Skull & Bones…keeps me busy).

Today is a particularly busy day—we’re prepping for Origins (which, at the time of writing is a week away), and we are also expecting delivery of The Last Exodus’ core rulebook from the printer in Thailand. In fact, in today’s email comes the news that the boat has made its cross-Pacific journey, and is arriving in Oakland tomorrow. Good news. However, for now, I have to make plans for copies to be FedExed to us at Origins, once they’ve cleared Customs.

Then, a brief check of several websites: Gaming Outpost, RPGnet, Eric Noah’s D&D Boards, occasionally others. I check back on these several times a day—mostly to lend myself a sense of community, which is missing when you work out of your home by yourself (occasional lunch meetings with the rest of SCS also helps).

By now, it’s approaching 9:00 a.m. The television is turned off, and the stereo comes on. I need some kind of background noise when I work…some people prefer silence, but I almost view the accompaniment of sound as sort of a creative carrier wave which allows me to “tune in” on what my brain is telling me. Personal tastes, I guess. So, a 5-disk CD changer is a godsend. Load it up with a different array of disks than I heard the day before, hit “random play”, and get to work.

Today, I’m working on three different writing assignments: Finishing up the July installments of this column, putting finishing touches on the first issue of Thrilling Tales, and the big one, an 18,000 word adventure for Pinnacle’s upcoming Weird Wars product line.

So, from around 9 to about 1:00 p.m., I work on all three. I write on one until I find myself running out of steam, and then switch to another, and so forth. Breaks to occasionally check email or websites, and then react to things occurring there, but mostly just straight writing.

I stop at 1-ish for lunch. (Today was pita bread with feta cheese and olives, in case you were wondering…excellent meal in 90+ degree heat)

Back on the clock at around 2. Same drill as above—writing all three projects, stopping for internet breaks. As the afternoon progresses, I get increasingly weary of writing…so, I stop entirely for a while, focusing instead on research (currently reading up on WWII [for the Pinnacle assignment] and the Golden Age of Piracy [for the development of Skull & Bones]). I spend a couple of hours reading, then break for dinner around 6:00 (much to the appreciation of my girlfriend, who came home from work about half an hour earlier, and hasn’t gotten a great deal of my attention since…).

After dinner, catch the evening news, and then back to writing (I’ve got deadlines after all). I finish up for the day, with this very article, in fact, at around 9:30 p.m. A thirteen and half hour workday (albeit with a few short breaks here and there), and another just like it coming tomorrow. Pretty standard, actually. Some days are easier, some harder…and during the summer I get to attend conventions where I don’t have to write at all, but instead spend 8 or 10 hours representing our products on the exhibit hall floor, and then spend another 6 or so after hours networking for more connections and more assignments.

So, that’s the reality of the job, folks. I’ll be honest with you…it’s a lot of hard work. We don’t really do it for the money—its enough to live on, but not much more. We do it because we love doing it. I know that many of you love gaming and I’ve heard many of you say that you’d love to do this for a living. Well, now you know what that entails. If you still want to do it…then maybe you’re the right person for the job. As Billy Joel, patron saint of everyone who grew up on Long Island, once said: “you may be right, I may be crazy…but it just may be a lunatic you’re looking for.”

This week’s recommendations: I’m reading Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly. I’m listening to Citizen Steely Dan: The complete recordings (Boxed set).

See ya in 7.