Bye - lunaran.com

# Lunaran.com Matthew Breit Level Designer | Texture Artist

## Bye

#### Fri, May 4th, 2007 | 11:35pm

This is news to some but not others, but I've departed Raven Software for a position at Big Rooster, a limited liability corporation and equal-opportunity employer in the greater Madison, Wisconsin area, which means I don't have to move to Dallas yet. I had the chance to work with a number of cool and talented people at Raven, and I wish them all* the best of luck at their new jobs.

The thing people have most frequently asked me about Rooster so far is whether we're working with Gamecock. We're not, my friends simply relish any excuse to say "cock." I interviewed at a number of places, with varying results, but the only thing separating Rooster from the pack was the chance to work on a small, tight-knit team on a project that wasn't a wearying and stressful AAA next-gen blockbuster circus extravaganza. I liked it that way. As the place grows, which I hope it does, that may very well change, but I'm expecting the slow transition to feel quite a bit better than diving into a cubicle straight out of SCAD.

The following amusing things have happened to me recently:

- Rausch invited me to go see Pale Young Gentlemen the other night, who turned out to be fantastic. While there, I had an awesome sausage-based meatloaf, ran into a friend of an old SCAD roommate, and wound up wandering with him to see a very eclectic crowd sing karaoke backed by an unapologetically loud live band. There's a specific frequency of sound I'll never get to hear again, but I probably don't need it anyway.
- As part of the invitation to Mark's second annual Cinco de Mayo fiesta, he sent out a photo from the first one. It depicts two Raven programmers, one staring wide-eyed at the camera and the other one leering strangely at his crotch, and me next to them waving a sombrero, clearly oblivious to even being in a photograph. Needless to say I'll be in attendance this year.
- The local friend group has been oddly obsessed with the Cinnamon Challenge, involving eating an entire tablespoon of powdered cinnamon in one minute's time, sans liquid assistance. At the Brocagh in Madison a weekend or two ago, they somehow convinced our waitress to try it by putting up a hundred bucks, which I upped by twenty just because the poor girl was on the job and I'd seen what happened to the last people they'd goaded into trying it. Not only did she succeed impressively, she came out after her shift to have a beer with us and lead conversation about the ethics of the pharmaceutical industry and her experience joining a fire department. Coolest waitress ever.

All of these stories I now realize involve heavy drinking. And people think it's my job that's all fun and games.

* Lunaran is not responsible for the content of external internet sites, and doesn't officially agree with any particularly ballsy accusations or pointing of fingers therein.