1998 was a tough year for the Texas game industry. Within a couple of months of Top Dog closing it's doors, I had exhausted the few opportunities available in Austin and had expanded my job search to include the coasts as well. My long term plans had called for a possible relocation when my wife finished her doctorate work anyway; and so, when I came across a position available in Seattle, we decided it would be feasible to move up our time table. Since the Pacific north west was already at the top of our list, and since the position was with industry giant EA, the decision was an easy one to make.

  And so it came to pass that I was employed at the Electronic Arts Seattle studio, working on the "common code" team for inter-game technology. After becoming familiar with the code base, my assignment dealt mainly with implementing and improving the instant replay and camera control features that were to be included in the next batch of racing games. Since we were building on the code base established with the previous Need For Speed titles, work was being done in C using the WATCOM compiler (though work was underway to move to VC++ and object oriented programming). 

 The images below are from Need For Speed IV: High Stakes, which was the focus title during my time at EAS.

It turns out that though the job was great, many other aspects of life in Bellevue were not very enjoyable. The weather, traffic, and housing costs served to take some of the thrill out of life in the great north west. When Joanna, my spouse, decided that Austin was a better place to be, I graciously conceded to her desires and looked for a way to return. Several friends from Top Dog ended up at the "game company down stairs" and through them I was quickly able to secure an interview, and then position, at Human Code.