Greek gods and free will.
I got very excited when EA’s Rod Humble walked on stage during their E3 conference. He looked uncomfortable, and he was clearly nervous. The silence he walked on to was telling: no raucous musical intro, and it was so quiet you can hear an audience member shout encouragement to him. He talked about Free Will, Greek gods, neurological experiments, and how this all applies to The Sims. He walked off stage quickly, leaving a video of his game playing. This is his presentation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Nf4-vofsrc#t=5m40s
The presentation almost didn’t happen. E3 is not a place for such discussions. It’s a show, an advert. You could almost hear the record scratch as Humble walked on. The conference did stall, but in a wonderful, beautiful way.
So I sent Rod an e-mail. I’ve never even talked to the man before, but my name and position holds some weight. I told him how well I thought he’d done, and thanked him for doing it. I told him I was reinstalling The Sims 3. He told me I’d made his day.
I heard today how my e-mail has gone all over EA. All the way up to CEO John Riccitiello, the man who walked on stage after The Sims video. It was used as proof that they’d done the right thing, an unsolicited thank you that landed in an inbox.
Next time a developer does something that makes you happy, let them know.
