Completely forgot to tell you, we had our weekly demo yesterday (part of the sprint review: demo, retrospective and impediment backlog) where everyone (external stakeholders, other teams etc) gets to see what’s been worked on during the sprint. Or rather, what’s been worked on and finished = what stories are “done done”. Done done means, according to our definition of done, that the code is deployed to next release environment, comitted to sprint branch, tested and bug free and we’ve not added to the technical dept.

So, there’s been much sound work done lately. As you know we’re working with the Supernaturally Talented guys at Pole Position. Erik and Bernard are working hard to get the tools and program adjusted, tuned and just like Pole want them to be. And at yesterday’s demo  we could “show” some new sounds! Updated curbs, environment and transmission sounds if I’m not mistaking. And there are plenty more to come during the next couple of months.

One don’t always realize the importance of sound, until it’s removed. Sound has a magical impact on our perception of presence. Add that wind, vague noice from the gravel or curbs etc etc and suddenly you’re THERE. You’re actually in the car, on the track, going like a billion km per hour hopefully in the wrong direction (adds that extra sense of recklessness that is SO much fun)

Whether it’s environmental sounds or music, it’s superior when it comes to adding nerve, atmosphere and …well presence. Imagine that tear filled ending in any rom com without the violins, the stabbings in Psycho with the sound muted, Silent Hill with a mix-tape soundtrack consisting of all the greatest hits by Vanilla Ice, 2 Unlimited, Britney Spears and Ace of Base… it simply wouldn’t be the same.

Sound matters. And to sort of prove my point I activate the classic Powerslave album, anno 1984, now transformed into a spotify playlist. I couldn’t be happier if I was twins. 

We have meetings. We plan. We discuss. We talk. We consider. We reconsider. We design. We draw. We write. We agree. We disgree. We stand up daily. We retrospect.

We’re finally getting close to having all the bits and pieces we need to get the work done and the game out. Not saying it’s gonna be easy or be done in the flashes of flashes, but we have a Plan and a Product Manager. And extremely talented developers, just waiting to get the green light on Power Racing.

So. We’re one week from Christmas holiday and the focus factor is sort of aiming for zero. Well, that actually depends on how you look at it. We’re all 100 % occupied with thinking/talking/dreaming of racing, it’s just not that easy to focus on the tasks magnetically taped to the whiteboard. We couldn’t be more eager to get going than a whippet on a race track.

We won’t have any spectacular news before Christmas, but trust me, tons of work is being done even as we speak and come January I’ll definetely be able to tell you more on the details of the development.

So - keep your fingers crossed and be nice and Santa just might bring you some excellent presents this year.

Hi you all. Just posting a few screenshots from our last location. It looks a bit desolate, but try to imagine it with a couple of more cars battling their way down the track, tire marks, smoke and the ear-splitting sound of roaring engines…

Greetings from Nice, France:

Drive safely!