ARTIX
Artix Krieger
| Thursday, May 16, 2024
Remember when we used to post all of those weird and funny pictures, videos, and stories from our Secret Underground Lab? Why did that stop? Oh... because no one actually goes into the lab to work any more. Not since the pandemic at least. You can blame my "feel free to work from home" policy. Seriously, would you drive all the way to an office (sitting through traffic and burning gas) when you could just stay at home and work in your underpants? You do not have to answer that. We already did the science.
After the pandemic I gave the team the option of continuing to work from home, or coming back into the lab. Sorta the opposite thing that a lot of other companies did after the pandemic. A handful of people did drive in... *dramatic pause* initially. Then it dwindled. For the past year, an average of 3 people (or less) went to the lab each week. Doing some quick math, that means they each got to have like five offices and a few cubicles each.
You may not be surprised to discover that the people who actually went in were shipping HeroMart orders. Turns out, it is really hard to ship posters and T-shirts without physically being there. Maybe in the future we can make some remote controlled robot arms or something. But for right now, we have too much space. So we are relocating Secret Underground Lab and HeroMart to a new, top secret location. Which is currently undecided as it will be a while before we actually move. But my vote is for Akihabara, Japan. Of course, that would be one heck of a commute! (But one can dream...)
We have had great times in each of our labs. This was Artix Entertainment's 4th Secret Underground Lab. Perhaps the 5th will be a fresh start to a new era. Either way we racked up a long list of amazing memories here. Which means... It is time for the lab photo montage.
...and this is the real life one.
There we were... on the balcony after moving into the lab.
I remember when we were first shown the place. My reaction was, "WE CANNOT AFFORD THAT!" But then I was told that the rent was actually LESS than the amount that our current landlord was jacking up the price on the office we were currently in. "What is the catch?" I asked. I cannot remember what they said. Probably something about not running around the top floor bare foot, with dogs, yelling and screaming-- there will be banks and businessy people below you.
My bad.
Casual Fridays
Game development is a strange adventure...
Office Puppies!
Daimyo, Suki, & Romeo always brightened the lab. Sometimes, dampened the carpets.
When Suki started her solo career.... boy can she shred! (Just not the guitar)
When the Museum of Science and Industry sent students to tour the lab & learn how we created and published video games.
We were building AdventureQuest 3D back then...
There were some years our team made more babies than video games...
...and gosh, they grow fast.
JX - The artist formerly known as J6.
In the early days, there was a bell that rang every hour. Thyton would walk out into the hall and yell... indicating that everyone was to go into the hallway and do pushups and sit ups.
The hall of endless chaos.... and pushups.
"Doth thou even hoist?"
Beleen's would surprise us with creative balloon sculptures of our characters.
It was pretty awesome when Beleen rejoined the team. She is doing marketing stuff for both AdventureQuest 3D and AQWorlds: Infinity.
That time we built an illegal underground zombie wrestling federation under the lab... and former WWE wrestlers came to train us. Several of us of broke bones. 100% worth it.
Brutalcorn was born.... the fights were glorious... but the videos were never edited or released.
"THE CLOWN"
So this evil clown has been an ongoing prank for a year. Every day someone would move the clown into someone's office... or the bathroom... or... I do not know. But it was always horrifying. One time it was thrown into the dumpster. Everyone was so glad it was finally gone. Only to come back the next day and find it in a closet-- staring at them when they opened it.
Talking about clowns... these guys joke around a lot, but they are absolute art powerhouses. How they produce so much art every single day, regardless if they feel like it or not is one of my biggest inspirations.
"A whooooole loooooooooootta drawing happened in dat der lab!"
That time we made plush moglins.... and then made video game pets to go with them.
...and when they showed up on the back of the truck. We formed a human line to carrying them in.
The time the truck did not fit... so we had to drag them down the street to the lab then carry them upstairs.
Then we made those sublimated armor shirts
Outgoing HeroMart Shipments during the holidays.
The holidays are crazy.
So we decorated the Knights...
...and put a alien facehugger at the top of our Tree.
Waiting room for AdventureQuest Worlds: Infinity.
(Site note: Did you see we converted 16,000 armors?)
We would create cards on Team Member's birthdays and everyone would sign it.
That time AdventureQuest 3D appeared on the Netflix series, Designated Survivor. (Yes, this photo was totally staged. A dramatic re-enactment of the actual viewing... which we all did separately. It was still pretty cool being on TV.)
We are proud to have been featured on the news several times... but never for doing anything illegal.
Although we have been tweeted as "Florida man" a few times X_X
That time the County Commisioner came to visit.
I asked her if I could be her Batman... and if we could get a giant spotlight with the Artix dragon on it that she could shine in the sky. It has not happened yet. Assuming it is just county budget issues.
The green screen / music room is where we did all the voice acting (yelling) and streaming. The guy that played Chairman Platinum (Did you see him in Netflix's Outlast series?) built that sound room with the door in the back. Warlic or Jongaar would sit outside of the box and record the person inside.
That time we did the live Moglin Puppet show
I promised the team members that I would not pictures of them wearing the skin tight green body suits... and I am keeping my word. The entire thing was filmed live in front of a greenscreen.
Player support.... giving the side eye on a email asking for an account that does not belong to them.
I miss doing photo shoots. It is crazy that your phone takes the same quality pictures that we needed a professional camera for a decade ago.
Remember when Michael Cthulu creates a 90 pound replica of the Blinding Light of Destiny?
He shipped it to the office and we had this big get together to open it.
That thing drew blood from half the team! (It is very sharp)
Our offices were like giant fish bowls.
Needed a sign "Please do not tap on glass or feed the game devs".
Daimyo uses the skill "Carpet Meld"
He would sit next to my desk while I made stuff.
A player from Japan sent us snaaaaaaacks! The team would gather around the table and issue trial by combat for the tasty stuff.
Dage guarding my desk.
There was a video where I broke one of these windows.
Spoiler: I did not actual break the window. It was just clever editing on a window that was already broken.
We did not have security cameras. This Chaos Eye just hung in the hall.
...and that is how you get a-head!
Was pretty trilled that I did not loose a foot swinging that thing.
But that is the great thing about good memories. Wherever you go, you get to make new ones.
Battle on!
Artix
