I'm giving a keynote at eDay in Rotterdam on Thursday. "The Future of Mobile"

Should be fun. Back home Friday. I'll try to take some photos and post (finally) when I get back.

Guest speaker at Mobile Monday Amsterdam. Taking the world by storm, yo.

Have you heard about Augmented Reality? That's what I'm working on and making sweet progress.

Check out my talk from the conference:

[link]

The world is going to change my friends, and I am right at the forefront. Just wait until you see how AR is going to change the way you think about art and being...deviant.

Stay tuned. I know I haven't posted here or been active for a hell of a long time, but there are some reasons for that. Nothing major, just something I need to take care of when I can. One of those things.

Anyway, catch more of me on my blog at [link]

See you around my friends (I miss DA staff and community terribly).

Sighs...

Find me on twitter too... @robertrice or ping me on skype (rrice919)

New blog!

Come check it out : )

Luciano Pavarotti, 71, died this morning of pancreatic cancer. He was an absolute maestro and one of the most incredible and talented tenors that ever walked the earth.

Even if you don't like opera, or think you don't like opera, take some time today and download something of his. Take a minute to close your eyes and experience his voice. It is worth it.

Rest in peace Maestro.

As some of you may have noticed, I am no longer the Director of Prints here at deviantART. I had planned on transitioning at the end of the year, but some recent developments occurred which put me in the position of changing my time line rather abruptly.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with the team here, and I've met some great people...both on staff and in the greater community. Many of you have become real world friends to me.

While I was the Director of Prints, we took the department in new directions, saw a lot of growth, and implemented many of the changes for "Prints II". There is still much more to come, and a lot of exciting things in the pipeline, so make sure you give my successor your full support!

I am going to be focusing my time now as the CEO of a relatively new software development company focused on creating core technologies and applications for the advancement of virtual worlds and online "third spaces". In other words, the company is going to make some seriously kick ass MMORPGs and develop some mind-blowing technologies that have never been seen or applied to virtual worlds.

I will stay active here at deviantART as I post updates from time to time, and maybe some sneak previews of some of the things my team is working on. Maybe I can talk $spyed into some cool contests with us as well. Who knows!

While we are not hiring now, we are beginning to look around for talent. Concept artists (environment, architecture, vehicle, character) are going to be needed early on, with 3D modelers, animators, and texture artists later as we expand. We are also going to be looking for contributing writers, and artists for some other projects (comic books/graphic novels, CCG art, etc.) based on our IP and brands.

Because what we are building is so far beyond typical hack and slash games, we are going to be looking people with skills in architecture, fashion, ecology, economics, sociology, psychology, linguistics, and a few other areas you wouldn't normally expect.

I should note that we are not going to make another fantasy hack with elves and orcs, there will not be any level grinding, we will have a heavy emphasis on story, social mechanics, and user created content. Our approach to magic, crafting, and combat is interesting and new. We aren't going to be satisfied with "next generation" with some cosmetic changes...we are shooting for an evolution that is generations beyond what other studios are working on right now.

There is much more, but I can't talk about it just yet.

I'll be at the DGExpo in June, and I will be teaching a week long class on MMORPG design and development at Wake Tech in July. I'm not sure about which conferences I'll be attending throughout the remainder of this year...I might still try for the Hollywood Games Summit at the end of June. PAX is in August and both the Austin Game Developers Conference and the Tokyo Game Expo are in September.

See you on the flip side!

Robert



PS: If you have any prints problems, please file a ticket at the usual address I am no longer on staff and cannot help you with anything.