2006...the end?

[Simon Butler]

Greetings! Happy New Year etc etc...

Just a quick one to pose a question.

Will this fine site see Christmas 2006? Will anyone utilise it other than crusty old curmudgeons like myself who don't have anything better to do on a Sunday afternoon, mainly because Cable TV and it's many varied and intrinsicaly awful channel have once again driven me back to my pc.

Will Mark's Pee Wee Herman quotations be wasted on the void or is anyone going to pick up on them other than sad buggers like myself?

Are we going to use this space to say anything other than hello or Happy Birthday?

How's about being inflammatory? Something I know precious little about, but I believe it can be quite amusing.

Say something dreadful about something, even if you don't mean it...at least it could start people yapping.

PSP...shite!

It's just a big shiny paperweight.

The DS. A good idea that precious few developers have utilised properly.

It's just two GBA's glued together.

And most of the games are shite! Check out the reviews for Dwarf Bowling (dear God in heaven!!!) and King Kong on Pocket IGN.

Woah nelly!! Stinkers or what?

The new consoles? Anyone truly excited? Shiny versions of the crap games we've been forced to get accustomed to over the last 7 or 8 years.

well then...my job here is done.
Time to get back to my pipe and slippers.

[Mark Jones Junior]

Ha!! Well spotted Simon! I thought you'd know where it was from!

I've mentioned this before but the website hasn't been updated since the re-union so that might have something to do with the quietness, the group pic used in that Spanish mag (which I rescanned and sent to Bill as I have the original print of the photo) isn't on the site. Maybe people need some more 'visual prompts' to unlodge some of those dormant memories.

Have you got bored with it all Bill? Or is there really nothing (other than afore-mentioned photo) that isn't up yet?

Seems a shame that everything seems to have come to a grinding halt.

[Mark Jones Junior]

By the way, MY birthday is June 12th! ;D

[Bill Harbison]

(removing elbow from ribs)
Oi! Eeer yes - I think there needs to be a few more things put on the site, but I keep putting it off and doing other things (like playing on my 2 GBA's stuck together).

I still have lots of stuff to put on but I'm not sure if they will bring people into the site. Just embarresing pictures of ex-employees from 15 years ago.

I'll see what I can do.

[LeeT]

It seems a shame for the site/forum to be so quiet - When it was first launched, there was several posts made every day and now its pretty dead.

[Simon Butler]

The main reason there were so many posts at the start was that we hadn't seen or spoken to each other for years.
We'd all scattered across the globe and given each other precious little thought.
There was the occasional meeting among those of us who didn't wander as far afield as others, but regardless of that there was seldom any contact between the old Ocean crew.

The main reason being there was no real need to.

We'd all outgrown what was basically a young persons environment and moved on. (Although having said that it makes you wonder what I was doing there in the first place.)

ah well fiddle-de-dee...

And then thanks to Billy McHoots we all had a venue where we could shoot the breeze and catch up with each other in what was basicaly an online coffee klatch.

But as with all reunions, once the inital outburst of bonhommie was exhausted and the varied wafflings of the more vocal attendees such as the ever-existential and slightly outre Mr Jones Jr (Vicar of the Parish) and the babbling and balding poltroon that is my own good self ground to a halt it was once again all quiet on the Northwestern front.

Nothing overly outlandish or even unexpected about it. We've all just pretty much exhausted whatever it is that ex-workmates say to each other.

No-one's going to be overly interested in what our kids are up to at school, or our whitterings on the doings or lack thereof of our respective local councils and/or neighbours.

No-one wants to discuss politics or sport (Thank God!)...so unless someone comes up with something that we've all forgotten about...or something earth shattering that is going to stop our world turning on its axis...then that's pretty much it.

There will of course be the occasional outburst of drivel from the aformentioned Vicar and poltroon, that goes without saying.

But any other little snippets or gems that people wish to share with us all...please do.

Cheers!

[Gary]

Fair points, Simon.

As you say, there was an initial 'How ya doin'?' which then tailed off when it was discovered that everyone was 'doin' ' pretty much the same as each other.

There is an occassional flurry of activity and I must say that the reunion last year was a great success which, in it's own right, validates the existence of this site.

We have all moved on, but I hope that we all look back on the Ocean Years with a great deal of fondness and affection - I know I do.

Bit of an update - I went to the InDin last month and saw a few old faces, including Jon Oldham, Paul Patterson and Ian Richardson amongst others. Had a good old chat with them all.... no-one seems to have changed dramatically (apart from the obvious physical transformations that the inevitable aging process bestows).

One final thing - as a result of this site, we had a bit of a reunion in LA and now James, Elmer and myself are sort-of working together again, which was a very happy way for me to end 2005.

Simon, I know you bleat on about how shitty it was at Ocean, but I'm convinced you hold those years (mostly) dear to your heart. Otherwise why the hell would you spend any time lurking around this forum?
You've been 'outed' - you're just an old softie at heart.

[Simon Butler]

Greetings my erstwhile leader!

Happy New Year and all that malarkey.

I would like to agree that you have indeed "outed" me as an Ocean-ite...if there is such a word, but unfortunately I did it myself some months back.

"I won't go as far as to say I enjoyed every waking moment while at Ocean; skipping into the office while a smile and a carefree song on my lips...it just isn't true.
But I will say that my tenure at Ocean on both tours of duty in the hallowed halls was quite possibly the most fun I have ever had in the games industry.
There were harsh words and raised voices, there were tantruurms, hissy fits and screaming conniptions, but there were also days when you barely noticed the time go by because it was just good fun.
We enjoyed what we did and for the most part really cared about what we were doing and if things never turned out how we planned it rankled at times.

I still wear my Ocean badge with pride and it puts a little spring in my ricketty old feet when people say "Wow! did you work for Ocean?"

I'll defend Ocean to the hilt, warts and all. It was far from the perfect development house, but it's about as close as I've ever encountered...and regardless of all these hip and sleak beasties that grace the pages of that suck-ass publication called the Edge ( a three tissue fantasy mag for Computer nerds) I still think the old days were way better than they are now.

Everyone just thinks they're so wacky and "out-there" these days. We were making it up as we went along, which for me was far more exciting.

So yes...I'm Ocean through and through!

Thank you John and David! And a big thanks to you Mr Bracey.

Happy days!

[Gary]

simon said:

There were harsh words and raised voices, there were tantrums, hissy fits and screaming conniptions....

.... and that was just during the interviews!

Nice one, Simon. I think we all hold our time there close to our hearts and for many (unlike you and I) whose first job it was, the experience would never be truly appreciated until they moved on to pastures new and realised that it was the exception rather than the rule.

We were all fortunate to be in the right 'time and place'. The business was being made up as we all went along, as there was precious little precedent to reference. This seat-of-the-pants aspect was what made it so exciting, both from the development/creation and business perspectives. Everyone was directly -and significantly- involved and therefore everyone could take personal credit for success (or failure).
These days, I think the responsibility is much diluted, particularly on the development side. Lots more smaller cogs and much, much bigger wheels.

Anyway, glad you do look back on it with affection, Simon. It was personalities (and talent of course) like yourself that made Ocean such a special place. Even the inevitable arguments and disagreements were part of the whole culture. Goes back to the earlier point that everyone had responsibility;
and so a point of view;
and so expression of such;
and so a passion.

Don't see too much passion in this business now. Shame.

[jof]

Group hug!


You 'effing gaylords! ;D

[Gary]

Join in, Joffa.

Ya know ya want to!!

[Mark Jones Junior]

"Ding Ding", Round 2!

[Paulie]

Sniff... I'm getting so melancholy in my old age. It is shocking looking back to the Ocean days, what, 19 years ago, just how things have changed in this "little" industry of ours.

One thing though - it is nice to see that the majority of us "old timers" (even Gibbo!) are still at it, earning their crust in the land of the video game... Maybe we don't want to get a real job, or maybe somewhere deep down the passion is still there.

Ahem, anyway, c'mon Joffa you know you want to weigh in with some old speccy days stories (there must be some classic Duggie / Mike W / Bill Barna / Davey C / Pomfret stories in your head!) C'mon lad...

[Mark Jones Junior]

Yeah Joffa, and what about the time a geeky spotty 4 eyed 16 year old asked for your autograph on an Ocean comic in the Square Albert! (which he still has and is preserved on the website (www.theoceanexperience.co.uk/bits/ocean-comic1.pdf) and WOS!)

[jof]

Hey, I never kiss and tell!

Okay, a quick smacker off each of you should do the trick!

Oh, and Jonesy, about the autograph. I was being ironic!

I had nothing to do with the Ocean mag. So why I did that I'm not too sure.

You make it sound like I'm some sort of egocentric (sp)
little sh*t! ;D

(Actually you're lucky I didn't charge you!)

You're more famous than me now, can I have yours?