CHECK THE MAIL by Chris Purvis

So  you want to know what a programmer on a LucasArts adventure game like The Curse of Monkey Island does all day? Well, our days are filled with lots of complicated and important tasks. The first thing I do each morning is the most important thing I do all day. I sit down at my computer and, of course, I read my E-Mail.

Lets see here… The first letter is from Jonathan Ackley and Larry Ahern, the Project Leaders. "…We've decided that the jokes you are writing aren't funny enough, you're fired…" Ah, just another inspirational reminder to keep up the good work. They're such kidders. Actually, the best part about programming a LucasArts adventure is that you get to write lots of the interactive dialogue and jokes that go into the game. It's very rewarding, at least it is as long as everyone else thinks your jokes are as funny as you think they are.

Okay, next letter… This one is from out Art Technicians. Looks like they have something ready for me. "…For this animation to work properly, Guybrush must be facing southwest anytime you want him to pull the umbrella out of his pants…" Livia Mackin, Kim Gresko, and Andrew Nelson are the Art Technicians on the game. They take the raw art that is produced by the artists and animators, and process it so that it can be wired into The Curse of Monkey Island. They have one of the toughest jobs on the team because they have to take all this 32-bit art and reduce it to 256 colors, all the while maintaining the aesthetics of the original piece. Fortunately for us, they are good at their jobs, and it’s almost impossible to tell that the game is only 8-bit color.

When the Art Techs finish processing an animation, they hand it off to the programmers to actually add it into the game. We then have to make sure that Guybrush is using the right colors, standing in the right place, and is scaled correctly when the animation gets run.

Okay, I'm done with that. Uh-oh, the next letter is from Dan Pettit, our Lead Tester. "…When I use the pistol on the pirate literature Guybrush's head turns backwards and he starts sliding all over the room. Pathetic fool! I have defeated you just as I defeat all of your programming kind! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Sometimes Dan and his testers get a little excited when they find bugs in the game). Well, unfortunately he's right. This is the kind of bug that can actually happen in a game programmed in SCUMM. It's up to Dan and the rest of the Quality Assurance team to make sure that we're the only ones who ever see them. I'd better fix that now.

Well, what do you know, it's time to go home. Just one more letter in my inbox. "…Chris, are you done with that darn PCGamer article yet? If not, you’re fired!...Those kidders, again. I guess it’s more overtime for me.

Chris Purvis