After years of planning and waiting, everything started to come together in Fall of 2010. I met programmer Jason Bridenstine when I discovered Budcat Creations, a video game development company just fifteen minutes away. And, as luck would have it...
RIP, Budcat.
Budcat was working on Guitar Hero! I started to work with Jason and others at Budcat to discuss how to make this dream a reality. Then suddenly Activision, which owned Budcat Creations, decided to shift priorities and abruptly closed the entire Budcat operation. But the silver lining to this storm cloud was that Jason was immediately available to start work on the simulator, even if it meant coding everything from scratch.
Finding a lead programmer (and local, no less) propelled the next chain of events. I won a two-year Innovations in Teaching with Technology grant from the University of Iowa to build the simulator. I had a strong proposal, but being a 'shovel-ready' project helped win out over other candidates. Next I won an Elevator Pitch competition for some business seed money. Followed by a business plan competition for initial marketing expenses. And, as that stormy luck would have it, I had accumulated so much vacation time (after all, when does a stage manager ever take time off?) that my university forced me to take the summer off. Which then moved up my timetable for STANDBY CUE 101....
Lesson Learned: Have your five-year plan but don't be afraid to jump on it if the wind starts blowing your way.
Finding a lead programmer (and local, no less) propelled the next chain of events. I won a two-year Innovations in Teaching with Technology grant from the University of Iowa to build the simulator. I had a strong proposal, but being a 'shovel-ready' project helped win out over other candidates. Next I won an Elevator Pitch competition for some business seed money. Followed by a business plan competition for initial marketing expenses. And, as that stormy luck would have it, I had accumulated so much vacation time (after all, when does a stage manager ever take time off?) that my university forced me to take the summer off. Which then moved up my timetable for STANDBY CUE 101....
Lesson Learned: Have your five-year plan but don't be afraid to jump on it if the wind starts blowing your way.
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