There have been threads here about the various setups everyone uses: computer specs, software platform, development tools, etc. But how about a thread for pics of the work environment you use for indie game dev? It'd be interesting to see the differences in style and organization. In particular, resist the urge to clean up; I'm curious about everyone's "natural" environment.

I snapped these a few days ago. Sorry about the large filesize, for anyone on dialup: http://www.flashbangstudios.biz/tests/room/

posted it before, but here goes.

mess is the best

Matthew, what's on that sheet of paper to the left of the keyboard?

I like your tasks/goals board... I need one of those!

Originally posted by Pyabo
Matthew, what's on that sheet of paper to the left of the keyboard?

I like your tasks/goals board... I need one of those!

It's actually a spreadsheet of town/good production for Port Royale (http://www.ascaron.com/gb/gb_portroyale/gb_portroyale_frameset_ie.html) (trading/pirate game), nothing related to our projects ;)

That size whiteboard is $40, although it's the lower-end that doesn't wipe clean as magically as the expensive boards. Well worth the cost...fairly sure I got mine from Office Depot, it's been awhile.

Matt,

First of all, ... 3(!) monitors, I HATE you! ;)

Second, which video card are you using?

Lastly, I don't see a way in/ out, do you crawl under the desk? :confused:

David

PS: I don't have a means to snap a pic of my work area, but just think of one half as cool as Matt's, and twice as messy as Gil's and you'll get the picture .. :)

here's a pic of my place:

http://www.aspiral-software.com/pics/PA070008.JPG


gilzu, that's the worst mess i've ever seen :)

Taken literally with a toy digital camera but here goes:

http://www.lizardsoft.biz/temp/room1.JPG
http://www.lizardsoft.biz/temp/room2.JPG
http://www.lizardsoft.biz/temp/room3.JPG
http://www.lizardsoft.biz/temp/room4.JPG
http://www.lizardsoft.biz/temp/room5.JPG

I used to have the messy Gilzu style desk (well not *that* messy) but having order instead of chaos has proven to be very beneficial. There's a wooden CD shelf hanging above the desk just a tad too high to be noticed, with spotlights attached to provide light the wall behind the monitor during the night (helps reduce eye strain). Keeping things clean is also pretty easy once you make a firm commitment to not allow mess to happen in the first place.

That size whiteboard is $40, although it's the lower-end that doesn't wipe clean as magically as the expensive boards. Well worth the cost...fairly sure I got mine from Office Depot, it's been awhile.

You can get a drywall sized sheet of whiteboard at lowes for almost nothing. It's not as pretty as the finished ones, but it's good for those on a budget or those who want to do a whole wall.

(I'll add some pictures as soon as I can get my hands on a digital camera)

Here's a picture of the set-up in my garage.

I tend to do most of my game dev work though not in there but in the spare bedroom, where there is another computer.

Originally posted by Lizardsoft
Taken literally with a toy digital camera but here goes:


#1 we have the same coffee cup

#2 your office looks like its straight out of a Ikea magazine:D

Here's mine:
http://hem.passagen.se/cac/workarea.html

Originally posted by SpikeSpiegel
#1 we have the same coffee cup
#2 your office looks like its straight out of a Ikea magazine:D

You have good taste in coffee cups then :D And yes, very little there is not from IKEA. The bottom left corner of pic 5 even happens to have a catalogue peeking through.

Mattias - I love the neat/messy contrast between your side and your girlfriend's. Is that a tray specially to hold papers on top of your monitor? That's pretty creative.

Originally posted by DGuy
Matt,

First of all, ... 3(!) monitors, I HATE you! ;)

Second, which video card are you using?

Lastly, I don't see a way in/ out, do you crawl under the desk? :confused:


The three monitors were actually fairly cheap. They're Samsung 955DF 19". Decent, but definitely mid-range. I got the first two for $300 at Dell when the planets and rebates/coupons magically aligned. The third was $180, bought a few months later. Two monitors run on a GF4, the third runs on a GF2MX PCI (in the same box).

There's actually some space between the two setups. It's a little hard to see, since I took the pictures on a chair and it skewed the perspective some. A spare queen bed is in the other corner; I need to half walk on it to get around the monitors.

Originally posted by Lizardsoft Is that a tray specially to hold papers on top of your monitor? That's pretty creative. [/B]

Yeah, not my idea though, it is purpose made for it (ordered it from some webshop somewhere)

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures (or a camera for that matter), but I too have almost exclusively IKEA stuff in my office/dorm-room (20 square metres should be enough for anybody!). Being swedish I guess I'm partial, but IKEA is really amazing! Have you ever gone through one of their stores without finding at least one item that you never knew you needed?! ;)

Anyway, I have a big-ass desk which is curved. This is really important, because I NEED to put my elbows on the desk (with a folded blanket in between). I can't understand why everybody seems to sit cramped up at some tiny, compact and foldable little computer-desk with no room for anything..

Also, I need to have some sort of order on my desk. I could never stand piles of books and papers that would fall down on me every other minute. (Read: like gilzu's desk! ;) )

I agree, just the other day I was complaining about needing more space, but now I see that I have it pretty good! Anyway, here's my work area:

Screenie #1 (http://www.fun3dgames.com/workarea/dscn1482.jpg)
Screenie #2 (http://www.fun3dgames.com/workarea/dscn1483.jpg)
Screenie #3 (http://www.fun3dgames.com/workarea/dscn1484.jpg)

It's usually cleaner than this. I couldn't work in an area like Gilzu's, I'd be too busy watching the pile of papers and waiting for them to collapse and bury me :D
Slightly OT: Am I the only one in the world that doesn't know how to setup multiple monitors using multiple video cards? If anyone has a link, please share.

BONUS: Check out this cool link of other people's multi-monitor setups: Multi-Mon Gallery (http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/gallery_browse.asp?date=desc&mon=desc)

Originally posted by JC3D
I agree, just the other day I was complaining about needing more space, but now I see that I have it pretty good! Anyway, here's my work area:


hey, do you have dual monitor hooked up to a keyboard/monitor multi-switch?? that looks awesome!


anyways heres mine, hehe mines pretty messy, mainly because its the other half of my bed room:)

www.bitporters.net/office1.gif
www.bitporters.net/office2.gif

I bought a new desk almost a week ago (couldn't resist the deal--$60 at Fry's Marketplace). Finally got around to putting it together. My area's usually not this clean, as the earlier pics show:

http://www.flashbangstudios.biz/tests/room/new/

Originally posted by Matthew
I bought a new desk almost a week ago (couldn't resist the deal--$60 at Fry's Marketplace). Finally got around to putting it together. My area's usually not this clean, as the earlier pics show:

http://www.flashbangstudios.biz/tests/room/new/

hey looks good, heh those 3 crts of yours must heat the place real quick;)

p.s i read some books off your shelf, we both have masters of doom:D good book!:)

you also have alot of game design books, any ones you'd recommend?

My turn to show my cramped little nook. :p

http://www.devras.com/stuff/nutters_work_area-01.jpg

Yep, I got deligated the apartments "office", aka not-much-bigger-than-a-closet room. Apartment living is so fun..

Originally posted by SpikeSpiegel
hey looks good, heh those 3 crts of yours must heat the place real quick;)

p.s i read some books off your shelf, we both have masters of doom:D good book!:)

you also have alot of game design books, any ones you'd recommend?

I live in Phoenix, AZ, so the CRTs are brutal in the summer. The window AC in the room is actually in addition to the house's central AC...

[edit: I did create a seperate thread for game book discussion, found here (http://www.dexterity.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1515)]

Originally posted by aspiral
here's a pic of my place:

http://www.aspiral-software.com/pics/PA070008.JPG


You have the exact same monitor as me, hehe. :)

Originally posted by chacha
You have the exact same monitor as me, hehe. :)

hehe, but i'm sure you don't have that cool sticker with "primitive" on it in the upper-right corner :)


actually i've bought this monitor about 4 years ago but i'm still using it and it's still working fine. (bit small though)

Originally posted by aspiral
hehe, but i'm sure you don't have that cool sticker with "primitive" on it in the upper-right corner :)
Hehe, no I haven't got that cool sticker! :p

Originally posted by aspiral
actually i've bought this monitor about 4 years ago but i'm still using it and it's still working fine. (bit small though)
Yeah, same with me. Mine works fine too, but like you said it's a bit small.

Originally posted by chacha
You have the exact same monitor as me, hehe. :)

Now that you are saying this, i got the some monitor,too.
Again without sticker.

JC3D, man that multi-monitor link is nuts, I won't rest till I view them all!

Hi, I'm a member off the Oddlabs crew, with elias and some other guys:
Presentation thread (http://www.dexterity.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1430)

Here are some pics of our work room.
http://oddlabs.com/junk/room1.jpg
http://oddlabs.com/junk/room2.jpg
http://oddlabs.com/junk/room3.jpg
http://oddlabs.com/junk/room4.jpg
http://oddlabs.com/junk/room5.jpg

Wow, is that picture #3 of a left handed mouse? I've never seen anyone use the mouse with their left hand! And, yes, I'm left handed :)

It's not very clear on the pic >> but i'm also using a lefthanded mouse :rolleyes:
My right hand had some RSI symptoms so I started using my left hand.

Kris's Corner (http://www.jerboa.be/blog/Articles/Personal/Office.html)

Originally posted by sirkbulio
from the site:An Auto Voltage Regulator (AVR) so that the PC keeps ticking while the voltage fluctuates from 120 to 360 Volts

HOLY CRAP! 120-360V? You're Kidding, right?!?!?!

how is it that everything electronic doesn't get fried? Or do you have to put a line cleaner on all your outlets?

-daniel

Yes - you have to be careful with the 'local' power supply here in the Philippines. During normal conditions the voltage fluctuates between 200 and 240 Volts. But when a brown-out occurs the voltage fluctuations are extreme - from almost no voltage to almost double the normal voltage. The extreme fluctuations normally result in the whole power grid blacking out. This occurs on average once every three months. Then when the power is restored there can be a high peak voltage in the range of 300 Volts. This peak is the most damaging cause most families will unplug their appliances during a brownout. If you DONT unplug your appliance you will be the first one to have electricity and also the first one to take the load from the powergrid :rolleyes:. I use a heavy-duty transformer AVR. There is 'cheap' transistor AVR's but they are easily damaged by the extreme voltage peaks and hence dont really offer any real protection.

Kris
____________________________
vlotter samenwerken, effectief project-management >> http://www.project-beheer.be

Originally posted by Mattias
Yeah, not my idea though, it is purpose made for it (ordered it from some webshop somewhere)

In Denmark you can by them here: http://www.thansen.dk/product.asp?c=211703357&n=525227824&pn=525228945