Phew, made it to the end. I don't know how many threads I'll be able to read, but I made it through this one. Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to share your memories, from whichever era you started with the site, even if you stopped coming at some point or another.
I've always had a strong sense that God brought me to GT as there were so many varied parts of my past experience that made it a perfect fit when I came there at just the right time for a rare opening. Reading Shane's job description on craigslist was as if it was written directly for me.
In the eight and a half years that I've worked there, I've truly grown as a writer, producer, and eventually a manager. I started at GT from a background that was purely focused on Nintendo and bit by bit, I focused on pushing myself to be just as well versed with PlayStation, Xbox, and eventually PC gaming, and now I bounce between every platform just depending on what game I want to play. Somehow, I became known for my opinions on racing games, and for as long as I could find time, I put my strongest efforts into telling the stories of my favorite game soundtracks and getting composers on camera to tell their own. I still firmly believe that anyone would be hard-pressed to make better pieces on the music in the Mass Effect or BioShock series.
In the early days, Shane was the most influential in shaping my scripts, but as we grew and responsibilities shifted, I learned so much from Ryan, Justin, and Miguel. Even some of the younger writers on our editorial team like Patrick Morales and Michael Damiani were absolute legends, and we were backed up by the tireless work of Johnny Chang, Rich Brown, Megan Rugh, Matt Blair, Jamie Kohler, Kelly Campbell, Brad Winters, Bobby Burns, dang I could be listing people all night.
Safe to say, this team, these people from the last eight and half years, are family. We've been up through the night, sleeping in the office during E3 only to head back out on the show floor the next morning. We suffered together through brutal travel snafus. -- Ryan even bought us clothes once when our luggage got delayed. -- And we had some of the most amazing meals at Gamescom and TGS.
Every one of us was gutted when Shane announced his departure. Geoff stepped in briefly to set a new course while Ryan and Jeremy took the reins to lead the team on a day to day basis, lighting a fire under us to double down on great originals, birthing shows that have carried us to this day like The Final Bosman, GT Time, and Mandatory Update. As we began invading Brandon's VO booth, awkward first pushes like The Final Verdict began to prepare us to get comfortable being on-camera, but make no mistake, that foundation was laid with Shane when he started Invisible Walls and pushed us to write regular staff blogs.
Then came the purchase by Defy. Nothing left me in more shock than to learn that Ryan Stevens and Brad Winters, the men we relied on for direction, wouldn't be coming. Suddenly, Brandon had to take up his role as the founder of the site to lead the few of us selected to stay, and I found myself as the eldest member of the editorial team. Since Brandon had never really been a part of the review or preview process aside from reading scripts, I knew I had to take that weight off his back so he could focus on figuring out practically everything else.
The fact that we somehow reinvented ourselves among moving, changing our entire production pipeline, learning all new equipment and programs, and adapting to a new corporate culture is an absolute testimony to the strength of everyone who came with us. Don and Ian are editing monsters, churning out videos faster than should be possible, yet still they pushed to go beyond that and produce content of their own. Damiani, Elyse and Kyle are creative powerhouses and always kept us from accepting the status quo. Huber and Brad brought much needed enthusiasm to everything they did. Matt Blair worked tirelessly for years well into the middle of the night for far too long and has done so much that should be utterly inappropriate to ask of him. Ben Moore is one of the most fantastic and thoughtful writers imaginable and voracious in his breadth. And Brandon Jones is like a brother now, always leading us through the worst news with positivity and optimism. The dedication to daily programming, streaming, and the passion these guys had to make shows (even when I questioned their ability to fit it in) should not be taken lightly. It will be hard for any team to ever match them.
Right now I am on my honeymoon. I have no idea what's waiting for me when I get back. If the right offers come up, I could easily see myself writing or producing for another outlet, moving to a game studio, or moving outside of gaming altogether. But if someone has a realistic plan to keep this team together, I'd be a fool not to hear it out.
(sorry didn't intend to write a full history of my time at GT, it just came out)
