Anachronox

August 12, 1997

Yesterday we made a cool look for group synergy. Let me give you the setting, then the solution.

We are in our temporary office space right now, waiting for our dee-luxe penthouse office to be built out. This has a net effect of 55+ people brooding in a sea of gray cloth cubicles.

All the cubicles were laid out in rows to maximize space. Our section had a gap in the center of its main row of cubicles, recently filled with a Ping-Pong table, since we at Team Anachronox are the "Freaks of Fun."

However, sort of orphaned on the other side of this main section were two level designers Larry Herring and Rich Carlson. They felt isolated and not part of the team, and I would, simply due to their location, check up on them less.

At the start of id, when it was just Romero, Carmack, Adrian, and me, we were four dudes sweating in a small room making games. It might have increased the chance of getting on each other's nerves, but it also provided camaraderie and that sort of in-the-trenches togetherness that really helps development. Plus, since everyone can see you, you can't just sit there and screw off. It's interesting that during Quake they shifted to a war room setup. It's nice having your personal space, but development really speeds up when you can just turn to someone and go, "Hey, what about this?"

Moving around the office