Allure Media 2011 Christmas Party: Kotaku, Gizmodo, Lifehacker, ShopStyle, BellaSugar, PopSugar, FabSugar, Sales and Execs!
Christmas dinner - Angus "Lifehacker" Kidman with Tracey "Bubble-T" Lien.
Office Secret Santa.
God durn lawn bowls.
Christmas Party Dinner!
Dat Editor.
The day Kotaku readers invaded the office and brought us gifts! <3
Gifts gifts gifts!
The tech network at Allure Media (we got rained on).
Elly and I on our last day in the office.
The Sugar Pod.
I’ve accepted a new job offer, so yesterday I bid farewell to Kotaku Australia. The decision to leave was not an easy one to make! Allure Media has been such a wonderful place to work, and I will really miss working with Mark Serrels — I don’t think there’s anyone in Australia who can run the site better than he can. I think I am going to buy a Simon Pegg AND Tin Tin figurine and place it on my desk so it feels like he comes with me wherever I go. I am not creepy at all.
Over the months at Kotaku, a frequent conversation that Mark I would have was about muscle density and how firm our biceps were (FYI they are really firm right now). The other frequent conversation we’d have would be about our goals and what we really wanted to achieve. Mark said his goal in life was to do a one finger pull-up. His other goal was to just “be the best”. When he asked what mine were, I said: “Same” (about being the best, not about the one finger pull-up — who honestly gives a shit about pull-ups? It’s all about squats and buns of steel, man). His drive has taken him to the editor’s chair at Kotaku; mine has taken me to my own chair where I am currently sitting in pyjamas, shovelling an assortment of nuts into my mouth. It was a pleasure to work with someone who shared a similar goal — it definitely kept me motivated — and I can only hope that I stay as motivated when I no longer have The Scottish Bro sitting next to me guzzling Pepsi Max while flexing his biceps. Thanks, Mark! You’ve been awesome!
Now we move to the next chapter of my career! Below are links to every big feature I wrote in my nine months at Kotaku.
A Hero Past His Prime Finally Gets His Chance To Shine
Lock Up Your Games, The Cats Are On The Prowl
PayMate Closes SeeThrough Studio’s Account
The Assassin’s Creed III Revolution
Meet The Man Living By The Creed
This Was The Xbox Problem – Here Is The Solution
Cave Story: The Five Year Quest For Cute
Gears Of War 3 Is A Crunchy Potato Chip
Fathers Of The FPS Haven’t [R]aged A Day
I Am A Body-Building. This Is ZiGGURAT
Knowing Your Rights In Game Development
Surprise Attack: When A THQ Marketing Director Goes Indie
Warco: The First-Person Shooter Where You Never Fire A Gun
Re-Classification Laid Bare: What R18+ Means For You
The Brawsome Journey: The Indie Devs Writing Their Way to Success
My 2011 In Games: Hyperdimension Neptunia And Repulsion
The Indie Handbook That Doesn’t Exist
From Brisbane To Seattle: A Strange Loop Game
Purple ‘N’ Pimpin — The Saints Are Back
The Philosophical First-Person Puzzler: Antichamber
The War Begins In The Other Ocean
What Happens To Game Developers When A Studio Closes?
One Man’s Journey Through The Solar System
Resistance 3: The Complex Game That Keeps It Simple
Will Make Games For Food… Or Funding
Good luck Tracey! Judging by the portfolio you’ve posted there, you’ll do fine wherever this new mystery place is.
PS. I ate some of that cake in picture 9. I was tasty