It seems to me lately that we’re all living in a little bubble. In Vancouver. A Vancouver bubble.

When is the economy really going to hit us?

People have been talking about the bad economy, but how much has it really affected us? Yes — it’s true, real estate prices are dropping. But not that much. Yet. Yes, some video game studios have closed down, and across the city there have been a number of layoffs in different industries and office closures. And yup, people have been going to Starbucks a lot less.

But what I’ve really noticed is how Vancouver seems relatively unaffected. Part of why I’m noticing this is because of my recent move.

There’s one major thing I noticed while looking for apartments: People can’t sell their overpriced condos anymore, so they are renting them out. But they are renting them out for ridiculous sums of money… that no one wants to pay. $2700 for a 2 bedroom that is 800 square feet is too much. WAY too much. $2200 for a 1 bedroom that is 600 square feet (a.k.a a shoe box) is way too much. Do landlords really think they are going to be able to rent out their apartments for that much?

I also noticed that many apartments had been vacant for months. Hmm, could have something to do with the rental prices.

Another mind blowing observation… stores are barely going on sale. How can they stay in business? Most furniture stores I have been to have been completely devoid of customers. And their prices? Still as high as last year, if not higher. Most stores I have been to these days don’t seem to be offering any significant sales. Why?

People still seem to be shopping at Gucci and Prada. They’re still buying nice cars. They’re still going out for expensive dinners. People are still taking extravagant vacations. Has this decreased? Or is it still the same?

Whenever I ask anyone if they are worried for their job, they say no. Everyone’s business is going well. And everyone’s finances are just fine. Apparently.

Are they lying? Are they in denial? Or are most people in Vancouver doing just fine?

My gut tells me that the recession is going to hit Vancouver hard. And while no one wants it to happen, or while people think it won’t happen… it will. I think it is better to be prepared than to be proud.

Here are my rinky-dinky tips in this economy

1. If you are a store owner or a business owner, discount your prices. People don’t want sales, they want deep price cuts. Better to make less profit than no profit at all, right? And let people know about it. Don’t be ashamed.

2. Bring your lunches to work rather than eating out. I can post a nice chicken noodle soup recipe if anyone is interested. Soup is a great way to bring a healthy lunch to work.

3. Check your car. Take anything out of it that can weigh it down or waste gas. And check your tire pressure. You’d be surprised how many people drive on flat tires and waste dollars worth of gas every day. And drive less if you can!

4. If you must drink, drink at home vs. drinking out. It’s so so much cheaper.

5. Avoid buying new clothes or shoes/accessories. You probably don’t need them at this exact moment in time. Personally I haven’t bought a single piece of clothing since November, and before that sometime in June.

6. Hold underground dinner parties instead of big parties at a fancy restaurant. My friend Jess clued me into this one. There are a number of caterers and chefs holding “underground” dinner parties. Basically how it works is you get in contact with a chef who does this, and they prepare a set meal for you and your dinner party at a local rented space. You can bring your own booze! This is a great inexpensive way to have a nice meal with your friends out. I’m planning on doing one soon so I’ll let you know how it goes.

7. Start budgeting. If you don’t already have one, it’s probably a good idea to start a budget. There are so many great online resources to get you started.

8. Stop eating out, start eating in. It takes only 10-30 minutes to make a really good quick dinner. Why not? Consider cooking with less meat. It’s really expensive and it has a larger environmental footprint.

9. Haggle on prices. I do this all the time. There’s almost nothing you can’t get cheaper in the retail world. Cars, clothes, food, everything. I always ask for a discount. Perhaps a separate blog post on this later.

10. Travel locally. If you need to go on vacation, why not go somewhere near home! British Columbia is one of the most beautiful places in the world. From Tofino to Galliano, to Hornby, to Kelowna, and so much more… you’d be surprised how much neat stuff there is close to home! And consider opting for slightly further away destinations such as Apex or Sun Peaks instead of Whistler. It’s cheaper and often the skiing/snowboarding is even better!

11. Switch to a credit card with a lower interest rate. You’d be surprised how much competition there is out there for credit cards.

12. Buy off Craigslist. I’ve bought just about everything through Craigslist and I can’t be happier. 50-90% what you would pay in stores. Sure, it may be used but you can often find like-new finds. And don’t forget to haggle. Whether it is apartment rentals, clothes, furniture, or electronics… Craigslist is always a good idea!

13. Drink free coffee at work instead of paying for name-brand coffee at Starbucks or Timmy’s.

14. Share/trade things with your friends. Games, movies, books, TV shows, clothes, booze etc etc… you’d be surprised how much stuff you can get for free just by doing this. And it’s a nice way to re-connect too.

15. And most importantly.. if you’re an employee, work hard at your job. Let your employer know through your work ethic that you are grateful for your job and you want to excel at your job. Make yourself a good investment.

Thoughts?

The video game company I work for recently won a Best Company to Work for in BC 2008 award. The list, published by BC Business Magazine, celebrates the Top 20 companies in BC whose employees have rated them the highest. The list is broken into the 10 companies with more than 100 employees, and the top 10 companies with less than 100 employees.

Of the 20 companies listed, 3 are video game companies. What is it about video game companies that make them so rewarding to work for?

In previous years (during university etc), I worked for a number of large Fortune 500 companies in business positions (Kraft Canada, Bell Communications, Citigroup Financial). Despite the massive amount of financial backing and resources that these companies had, they could never match the vibrant culture of the video game industry.

I started working in the video game industry immediately after graduation, and worked for a medium-large (~150 employees) Vancouver video game company known primarily for strategy games. The beautiful office was located in the Bentall 5 building, set amongst finance and law firms. Even though I was previously a “suit”, I enjoyed walking around the building in my jeans and hoodie. I missed the formality and confidence that business dress exuded, but I enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere of my workplace. Free pop, free beer on Fridays, an arcade machine, and a foosball table were among the many amenities.

The video game industry is well-known for its perks, from Christmas bonuses to limousine rides and big parties. That seems to be toning down a bit in the economy and with a number of large studios and publishers getting shut down, but the fun-loving culture is still there.

The current video game company I’m with is no different. Fun people and a great work environment. I love being able to come in at 10 AM if I’m tired, or come in at 8 AM and leave early if necessary. Flexible hours are so important these days with people being involved in a number of different activities. I love the champagne at company announcements, the cool company-branded gifts, and sweet parties and events. The benefits are great too at video game companies, from full health care coverage, massage, and more.

The darkest side of the video game industry could potentially be the long overtime hours that are worked. Many Electronic Arts employees I’ve talked to attest to staying overnight and working on weekends for weeks or months on end near a deadline. I’ve seen that at the previous video game company I worked for… late night overtime meals are provided and people work late into the wee hours of the morning. Mandatory overtime is sometimes even implemented to keep the project on schedule. Is it a small price to pay for all the other perks?

Fortunately, the current company I’m working for seems to really understand the work-life balance. Employees aren’t happy if they are are overworked, and the company benefits overall from the creativity and energy  of its employees if they are well-rested and happy. People aren’t allowed to work late here, they actually need permission to do so. It’s a breath of fresh air.

What do you think? Are video game companies the cream of the crop in terms of companies to work for? Are there other better industries out there? Is there a dark side to the video game industry? Do you think work-life balance is important?

This Halloween for work, I decided to dress up as Trevor Linden, campaigning to be Mayor. Trevor Linden has always been my favourite Canucks player. Check my previous post on the Canucks, for a picture of when I met Trevor I have a great “Linden for Mayor” t-shirt that I was holding up all day at work today but unfortunately I forgot to bring it home with me.

I didn’t have a lot of time to put together a costume this year since I just came back from my trip, so I kinda went for the lazy costume. However, it is my own jersey and all my own hockey gear, so I think that counts for something, right? It wasn’t this revealing for work; I was wearing opaque leggings

In past years, I’ve gone as Cortana from the video game Halo (I painted it on myself, and made the Guilty Spark too!), and some other typical ones like the schoolgirl and angel costumes. Fortunately, those cliché Halloween costume times are past and I’m hoping to do more creative and interesting video game costumes in the future.

Tonight, it’ll be off to a house party and I’ll see if I can’t modify my costume to be a little more “party” friendly. I’ll update this post later with pictures.

Now that I’ve got the Halloween stuff out of the way, let’s talk about the tech/video game industry and the Vancouver/world economy. Things aren’t looking so great these days, it seems the high tech industry is a little spooked (har har) this Halloween too. You can read more in my previous post on the Vancouver video game industry. And to clear up all the rumours… no, I don’t work at EA — and I never have.

It looks like Electronic Arts (EA) is going to layoff 400 to 500 employees over the next little while. Ouch. That’s a LOT of people. It’s not looking so great for the folks over at EA’s Burnaby campus, which makes up about a third of the company. In its last quarter, EA reported a loss of $310 Million. And the EA stock tanked today after that news, down almost 5% last time I checked.

And the makers of Just Cause (Avalanche Studios) are going to layoff about half their studio in Sweden after losing a couple contracts.

Retailers everywhere are projecting lower holiday sales and less shoppers/traffic in general, so it’s not looking good for many “boxed” video game sales. I’m sure we will see this affect other Vancouver video game companies and high tech companies soon, even though video game sales do traditionally quite well in economic slowdowns.

Where’s the opportunity though? Microtransactions and free-to-play games. Web and casual games. Companies who take advantage of this market may be better positioned for today’s and tomorrow’s economy.

Silicon Valley isn’t doing great either. It’s also been suspected that Yahoo! is going to layoff a ton of employees, perhaps as many as 3,000. But that’s not concrete and many expect it not to be that drastic. And Sun Microsystems posted a much bigger loss than expected. They are planning layoffs as well.

And the economy is also finally affecting the ridiculous Vancouver condo boom. Many Vancouver condos and housing developments are being stalled, including Concord Pacific’s West Georgia Cosmo, and Onni’s V6A condo development, that still has its sales office open and is selling to unsuspecting buyers. Oh man. Onni is doing some seriously criminal stuff.

That’s it for today!

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Today was a crazy day on Wall Street. It’s no secret that the economy is in some troubled times. After the House of Representatives shot down the Bailout plan, the stock markets got hammered pretty much everywhere in the world. The Dow dropped about 780 points, which is its largest in its history. Yes, it’s the American economy mostly being affected, but ours is tied to theirs, and so is the rest of the world in some ways. It is a scary time if you’re thinking about retiring, but if you’re young and just getting going like me, then there’s a lot of opportunity. History seems to suggest that the greatest economic booms are made after a recession or a slow-down, so if you can stay employed and ride it out… you’ll likely be in a good spot. I’ll be keeping an eye on the economic news and crisis over the coming months.

In other news, while we wait for the housing prices to come down a bit, Allan and I have been trying to make our little place a bit more livable. We’ve sold all our furniture and more on Craigslist and are currently sitting on the floor while we wait for some of it to be delivered. Hopefully I’ll have some photos soon of the place when it is redone.

I’m also getting geared up for a busy October. First, it’s off to Tofino again for the Thanksgiving long weekend. I can’t wait. I love the coast and Tofino is one of my favourite places in the whole world. Usually we go there at least once a month in the off season (a few times a month in the summer). I hear there will be a good swell rolling in for the next couple weeks so I’m excited. Pretty much right when I get back from Tofino, it’ll be straight to the airport where we go to LA, then Japan and Korea for work in 2 weeks. Sometimes when you work in the video game industry you have to travel, and it can be tiring! I’ll be sure to post photos while on the “road” though.

This weekend, I also tried out a new recipe I’ve been dying to try out. When I was in LA a couple weeks ago, I hit up Koi Restaurant with a few friends and had a delicious dish called “Miso Glazed Cod”. It was amazing. I’ve tried to replicate it here at home, and I think I did pretty good! If you get a chance to make it, let me know what you think. It’s got a sweet and sour, flavour similar to teriyaki or soy.

Miso Glazed Cod (Makes enough for 2 people)

Ingredients

2 fillets of Black Cod (I like to get mine from Granville Island)
saké
125 mL mirin
1 cup white miso paste (I like the organic kind, it’s a little lumpier but I think it tastes better)
1/2 cup of organic cane sugar (you can use regular sugar though)

Cooking Steps
1. Pour the saké and the mirin into a saucepan and bring it to a boil for 30 seconds to boil off the alcohol in the saké.
2. Add the miso paste and bring your heat to low and mix well. Try to get all the lumps out as much as possible. Once it has been mixed, bring the heat up to high and add sugar. Make sure you keep stirring and keep going at it until the sugar is clear and liquid like.
3. Let it cool for a while.
4. Marinate cod over night in the mixture or for 2 days. Set a little bit aside, separate from the cod.
(See optional side dish preparation)
5. Preheat oven to 400°F and put the fish on a baking pan or grill/broiler inside the oven. Broil for 5 minutes to brown the fish and then bake for another 15 minutes or so. The fish should be flaky and separate easily.
6. Arrange the fish with the side dishes and serve with a VERY small amount of sauce on the side (don’t use as much as I did in the picture).

Optional side dish preparation — Mashed Potatoes with Shallots, and Steamed Vegetables:

1. Roast some garlic in the oven (let me know if you don’t know how to do this).
2. Sauté the garlic and a few chopped in shallots in 2 tablespoons of butter for about 20 minutes just before you cook the fish.
3. While keeping an eye on the shallots, boil some quartered Yukon gold potatoes.
4. Steam some broccolini and baby carrots (bunch carrots) over the potatoes while they are boiling!
5. Scoop the potatoes out and let the vegetables keep on steaming (don’t let them overcook though). I like to add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil to the water so the vegetables get some flavour.
6. Stir the potatoes around in the shallots until the potatoes dry out a bit. Add a little milk if you have it, and some butter, and then mash the potatoes until they are creamy, or however you like them. Personally I like them a little more textures so I leave the potatoes a bit more whole.
7. Serve the vegetables and the potatoes! I used a cup to make the potato shape but that’s not necessary

Enjoy!

If you happen to be living and working in Vancouver in the video game industry, consider yourself very lucky. Not only have you scored a sweet job that’s fun and challenging, but you’ve become part of the small business workforce in BC. Anyone moving to BC from other provinces will tell you how hard it is to score a “real” business/office job out in BC. BC is made up of primarily satellite offices of companies that have a base in Ontario or Quebec, American companies looking for a cheaper branch office, natural resource companies, and old folks homes. If you want to work at a forestry company or do a sales job, you’re set. But if you’re looking for a marketing or business-related job, you’re probably going to have a hard time. That’s where the high tech industry comes in.

The video game industry makes up a significant portion of the high tech industry that has boomed in Vancouver over the past 15 years (4000-5000 people estimated in Vancouver). Programmers, artists, and producers usually don’t have to look far for work. The video game industry in its heyday must have been something to see — limousines and champagne parties complete with strippers at E3 bashes, expensive company Christmas parties, big performance review bonuses, and skyrocketing salaries.

The industry looks very different today with the slumping economy. A number of studios in Vancouver have closed, or let go of dozens to hundreds of employees. Radical Entertainment has all but shut down, laying off around 100 employees. Projects have come to an end, and many game projects have been canceled. Around the world, other studios are being closed. Ensemble Studios is done, NCSoft plans to layoff more, Iron Lore closed, Midway laid off tons… the list goes on. Not only that, but stock prices for some companies are fractions of what they were last year or two years ago.

Experts around the world have been saying how the video game industry is recession proof. People like to sit at home and play videos games when there’s not much money in their wallet, and video games have good value for entertainment, compared to other mediums. Yet, we’re still seeing signs of slowdown. Video game sales in August increased the least they have in the past 2 years. We won’t be able to truly measure how the video game industry does until November or later, when fall sales start coming in and the holiday season starts heating up. Some analysts expect to see light video game sales this season.

The video industry is very incestuous, and like everyone else, I talk to lots of good friends at other studios. People seem generally frustrated at their stock price that they’ve banked on using for a mortgage downpayment… evaporated into thin air. Tons of friends have been asking me for jobs at my company lately. There’s a lot of good talent wandering the streets right now.

So a lot of doom and gloom, eh?

Realistically though, we’re very fortunate. Our industry hasn’t been hit as hard as other industries, namely auto makers. GM recently cut 800 jobs, and in the past has cut over 40,000 jobs in one year. It also seems that other companies are still looking to Vancouver to grow their business. That’s a great sign! Seattle-based Big Fish Games is opening a 4,500 sq foot studio in Vancouver, and I hear EA is going to open another Yaletown studio soon.

So what can you do?

Take a look at companies that are based outside of our economy. There are tons of companies based in Asia or other parts of the world that don’t seem to be as affected by our economic slowdown.

Be grateful for your job in the video game industry. We’re really lucky to have our jobs and all the perks that we do. Stop grumbling so much about how your job sucks!

Do a good job. Work hard. Be diligent about your tasks and try to do more if you can.

Better yourself. Are you improving your skills by staying up to date on what’s new in the industry? Remember there’s a whole batch of kids every 6 months wanting to take your job. Highlight and use your experience as much as possible to show others you are worth keeping around, and take some extras classes or online courses on the side to keep your skills up to date.

Help out your friends. Try to offer a lending hand to any buddies who are looking for work by getting them in at your studio.

Be positive!

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. I can’t wait to see what the video game industry does next.