Other Ocean has really attracted some amazing talent and opportunities from the day we started. From a modest team of eight, we’ve grown to over 50. With some great titles under our belt we decided it was time to dive into our own original title. And what better way to flap our wings than with a game based on cute and adorable puffins?

Conceived and developed in our PEI studio by our extremely hard-working and dedicated team, the pride in this game shows. And what’s more, this game also showcases our pride in our heritage. It is set in Atlantic Canada where Other Ocean has its two studios – in Charlottetown and St. John's – and is centered on Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial bird. The game setting is inspired by the real-life puffin capital of the Atlantic, the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, in Newfoundland and Labrador. There, kids can customise puffins of their own and teach them to fly, swim, and eat their way to adulthood. From there, they can then find a mate and raise a family of their own. The game features original music composed by Alan Doyle, the front-man of the well known and tremendously successful Canadian band Great Big Sea. Brightly coloured and beautifully animated, the game keeps young folks captivated for hours. We know that already because we have been testing from one Ocean to the Other.

And don’t mistake this game for a mere life simulator. There are five fully-fledged action games in one here, enticing entirely on their own. Over-the-Internet Wifi multiplayer gives the game added excitement, as you challenge others worldwide in friendly competition. It’s a great, fun experience, though we might sneak in a bit education on our unsuspecting youth, too: Success in this game also unlocks rich video content of real-life puffins in action, not to be missed!

This game is truly a testament to the charm and spirit of Atlantic Canada. It shines through in both the game and the team that created it! Thanks to Telefilm too that helped us bring our concept to life.

Christine Bourque
Production Assistant

A Word from the New Guy

It's time for another blog update, this time from one of the "new guys" at the company. Luckily my reign as the new guy was short lived, so now I'm on the other end of the hazing.

Working for a smaller company like Other Ocean is really interesting. On the one hand, I'm working on a game like Ultimate Mortal Kombat, a well know franchise I remember playing in the arcades and on the Super Nintendo. On the other hand I know the names of all the employees and we regularly get together for dinners, poker or local parades. We're here in Charlottetown, a city with lots of small town charm but the company participates in conferences in Tokyo and London. It's a little strange.

You may be wondering what I do at Other Ocean so I'll tell you. I'm a member of the testing team. Now most people assume game testing involves sitting down and playing games all day, a job that anyone would envy. I worked as a software tester before starting here at Other Ocean and I can tell you game testing is specialized software testing. You still need to do research, write and maintain documents and anticipate issues before you even pick up a controller. That said, this is still the most fun job I've had. The testing team has now worked on projects for the DS, Xbox 360 and the Wii with more games on the way.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat has shipped for the DS. There are a few reasons why I'm excited about this. One is that it's the first game that the company has shipped since I started. Second is that I'm a big fan of fighting games so chances are I would have picked up UMK even if Other Ocean hadn't have developed it. The third reason is that since moving to Charlottetown I haven't had many opportunities to demolish my younger brothers at fighter games. This is one of my favourite hobbies, so I'm glad I can continue to throw ice balls, harpoons and bladed hats at them as a big brother should.

Speaking of game releases, I'm pretty excited for this Holiday season in general. It seems like there's something for everyone this year, no matter what kind of games you like. Unfortunately I like many types of games, so even if I could get all of the games I want; I wouldn't have time to play them all.

Winter is coming. I heard everything from "it's so cold no one goes outside" to "it never gets that cold." I really don't know what to expect, but it's already end of November and so far so good. Still, maybe I can get caught up on all those game I haven't finished before it's beach weather again.

Justin McNeil
Tester

"I think a change (a change) would do you good..."

Yup, I think Sheryl Crow was right. Change has been in the air here, and it's been great! Not too long ago Other Ocean Interactive (formerly known as Backbone Charlottetown) spun off from F9 Entertainment with its former Executive Director and fellow Atlantic Canadian, Andrew Ayre, becoming the majority shareholder and focussing exclusively on our studio. Ever since then, it's been smooth sailing. We've got a lot of new and exciting projects we'd love to tell you about, like Ultimate Mortal Kombat for the Nintendo DS, but we'll have to save the rest of that news for later.

My first few months here sent me on the Atlantic Recruitment Drive, hitting all the major cities in Atlantic Canada. (Nothing like jumping right in!) It was great. I met lots of interesting and very talented people; some that have just started here this week. A big shout out to all you newbies. Great to have you here! We've almost doubled in numbers in the past six months and this growth spurt won't be stopping any time soon.

The studio hasn't been the only happening place around here though... Charlottetown's been quite the hot spot the last few weeks. Everyone here has been totally caught up in the excitement of having some pretty major concerts come to town. Aerosmith was fantastic but I definitely think the Entertainer of the Year award goes to The White Stripes. Not only did they put on a fantastic show at the Civic Centre, but they also played to a few hundred lucky bystanders on our beautiful waterfront. Live music, the sea, and lots of sunshine... just another typical day in PEI.

Well, bye for now... this Other Ocean fishy must keep on swimming. Next stop: Leipzig.

Tara Costain
Accounts Manager

Summer's around the Corner...

Now that the much waited for summer weather is peeking through, things are brightening up even more here at the studio. We have celebrated our first game release, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night which was available the first day of spring, March 21^st (and my birthday)! The game is doing extremely well and I heard remarks of people buying the Xbox 360 just so they could play the much loved PS1 game!

It's great to see the sun again. People here are excited to be able to use the patio surrounding the fourth floor. Taking a break out in the sun is very good after staring at computer screens. Absolutely cannot complain, how many people get to say that they work on video games all day long? Some of my friends have this place on a pedestal because we have such a fun job (they also think that we desperately need game testers too or at least they keep asking me in hope).

Charlottetown being a capital city and a tourist destination in the Maritimes this place comes alive in the warm weather. Lunch hours down at the park consist of dancers performing different culture dances everyday; the water parks, waterside restaurants and regular cruise ships fill this place with tourists.

A lot of my friends from home (Nova Scotia) also come camping on the island in the summer so bring on the fun! Aerosmith is coming here this summer too, party!

The studio often has gatherings too, which is awesome. Not all places are comfortable enough to want to hang out with your coworkers after seeing them all week long. The atmosphere here is very relaxed and friendly. Especially when the gamer side of the men here comes out and they compete in our gaming corner. Since several of the guys joined a pool league, that's another game that is regularly played, either at the local Dooly's or Wendall's house since he bought a pool table (jealous). Very good times!

YAY SUMMER!

Tiffany Baxter
3D Artist

Post-Autumn Equinox

I still have another hour before my Battlefield 2142 map finishes loading, so I thought this was as good a time as any to contribute to the BBC Blog.

It's that wonderful time of year when a man's thoughts drift to beer steins and Germanic culture stereotyping. Wendell and I are the newest members of the Backbone team, and it's already been a month and a half now, but the very weekend I moved to this city it started to feel like a welcoming home. Our studio has a big screen TV, our employees are the last ones off the elevator first thing in the morning (the bragging rights of working on the top floor of the Atlantic Technology Centre), and I work only a five-minute walk from my apartment.

I can't profess to be an expert on "how it's supposed to be" in the game industry because I had never worked for a game company before Backbone, but I do know that I am definitely suited towards this smaller studio atmosphere. It's about more than just going with everybody out to lunch at the pub on pay day -- although that's still fun -- it's about the feeling that you're more than just a code monkey. It's about actually feeling satisfied with your work, and in the end, where you work. I'm pretty happy to be here.

It's also an extremely exciting time to get into making video games. Coming out in the very near future are new console systems that look like they belong in Doctor Who (the Nintendo "Wii"), RPGs with franchises that have been around almost as long as me (Final Fantasy XII), brand new titles that came from franchises that I thought were dead (Sam and Max: Culture Shock), and games that fall into a category that I like to call They-Have-So-Much-Hype-Around-Them-I'm-Afraid-To-Look-Forward-To-Them- Because-The-Designer-Who-Made-Them-Is-Probably-A-Crazy-Old-Man (Spore, by Will Wright). What a great time to be a part of all that.

At the very least this should be an interesting experience. I'm currently counting the days until my Work Probation Period finally expires and I can start bringing NERF guns to the office.

Luke Burkett
Programmer

The Summer Cometh!

Now that we're into July here at BBC, things are starting to really shape up.  I'll admit, after spending the better part of January and February in Vancouver this year, I probably haven't fully grasped the intimate details of the island's winter climate, but I can tell you the summer is simply amazing.

It's blue skies and hot, sunny days (much easier to enjoy when you have the option of a glass-walled, climate-controlled office) with a sandy beach in every direction you look. That's not to say it never rains, but the clouds seem to open up right around the time when you need it most and then, often only at night.

And what would summer be without blockbuster movies?  A certain energy gathered around the office as June 28th and the premiere of Superman Returns approached, but our fearless leader suggested we hold off from opening night.  Before we could begin to question why, she pulled yet another rabbit out of her proverbial hat (the most recent being E3 passes for the whole team) and produced tickets for a Friday matinee showing.  Yes, that's right.  Free tickets, Friday afternoon and the long-awaited return of the Man of Steel.  Dovetail that with the following Monday as a national holiday (Go Canada Day!) and you've got a pretty sweet long weekend. 

In recent days, we've added a few new faces to the roster.  Gordon, our official Scottish import, joined the programming team in June.  While the muse in me would love to regale you with an immigrant's tale of adventure and a search for fulfillment that spanned the Atlantic Ocean, that's just not on the menu.  In truth, both search and tale were much, much shorter. We found him down the hall, right here at the Technology Center.

Another new hire, Jonathan, took his place in the art department with all the energy of a half dozen Mentos shoved into a two-litre Diet Coke. (If the reference is lost on you, google it.  The result will both amaze and frighten you, I promise.)  While he only started a week ago, he's already about to lose the title of 'New Guy' to another.

Next week we welcome Tiffany to our hardy crew, another artist and another new arrival on the island. Coming from the top of her class and a background in 3D art and animation, we expect her to hit the ground running and fit right in with the pack.  I suppose technically it's possible to have 'New Guy' and 'New Girl' at the same time.  Jonathan may not be off the hook quite yet. :)

While the fun doesn't stop there, this blog entry unfortunately must.  The next wave of new hires is already in the process and more projects are cresting the horizon.  Stay tuned, Backbone Charlottetown's got a lot on the go!

Cheers,
Michael K. Donovan
Designer

Welcome to Backbone Charlottetown

It's been a very busy winter/spring for the crew here at BBC. All of us are new to PEI (with the exception of our very talented summer intern Nigel), so not only did we start new jobs, and open a new studio but we all relocated too. In the middle of all that most of the studio spent at least a month in Vancouver getting up to speed on projects and generally getting a feel for the culture of Backbone. We are all Atlantic Canadians living the dream -- we get to work in our chosen industry and still stay at "home," bucking the evil trend of having to out migrate. That doesn't stop us from wandering a little and making sure we keep ourselves well attached to the heartland of the gaming world -- and wander we did, all of us, to E3 in May. Jared, one of our programmers, also won his way to Vidfest in Vancouver last week. We know we are removed a little so we plan ahead, with trips and so on, to keep ourselves in the loop. Of course our head offices are on the west coast so the company's biz dev people keep us 100% connected to publishers and alike.

Many wonder why Atlantic Canada? And my response would be why not? Sure the industry is new here but the talent exists. Many of the founding partners of our parent company Foundation 9 Entertainment, are from Atlantic Canada and other employees are too. The work ethic is unparalleled. You try fishing or drilling for oil in the middle of the North Atlantic, or mining for coal miles out under the same ocean. Our forefathers and mothers were hardened and they have passed those traits on. The educational institutes are pumping out grads that are qualified to work in this industry. Unfortunately, most have had to leave to pursue gaming. Our plan is to change that and we are well on our way, having much of our work showcased at E3 and having projects in the wings just waiting for us to put the finishing touches on new teams.

Now, I ask, have you ever spent time with an Atlantic Canadian? There is no doubt they know how to play. So combine "work hard" and "play hard" and, in the gaming world, you have yourself a fine employee. Drop us a resume. We are growing quickly and we'd welcome hearing from you. I should also mention that our first "international" employee will be starting with us shortly so we are taking on a little bit of a cosmopolitan flavour and helping carry on the tradition of the Canadian Mosaic.

Thanks for dropping by and check back to hear more in the coming days.

Regards,
Beep
Studio Manager

©2007 Other Ocean Interactive Ltd.