Recently I’ve had more than a few people write to me saying the exact same thing. “It really pisses me off that Battlestar AND Heroes won’t be on new again until freakin’ January!!” Well, ok, maybe that was just me. But then they actually did say: “You work at Capcom, eh? What’s it like working there?” I JUST so happened to have my camera and thought to myself, “Self, let’s embarrass as many co-workers as possible while stringing together as many outrageous stories as possible about how they spend their work day.” So here you go.

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I’d like to say that each day begins with rainbows and leprechaun gifts of chocolate coins in my shoes. More accurately, however, the day begins in the Creative Services department with a freshly brewed cup of coffee or three. (You just can’t be creative before 12pm without it, really.)

Here is a snapshot of me at my desk in the morning checking the Capcom BBS and videogame news. Notice the Venti Starbucks. This is imperative to writing anything. Do not notice, however, how badly I obviously need to get my roots re-colored. Other important desk items include the official Capcom Festive Zombie Christmas Card, Devil Ducky, matching mini Devil Ducky, a Rubber-Chicken Chucker (whose accuracy and distance are sadly lacking), my monster mug, the absolutely imperative box of chocolates, The Zombie Survival Guide (cause you need to be prepared for anything), and

my Resident Evil Christmas Tree. It actually started out innocently enough as a regular Christmas tree, but then a Project Manager near and dear to my heart went digging through our super-secret tchotchke closet (tchotchke: an ancient Native American term meaning “free loot”) and left a pile of eyeballs on my desk. Now my tree not only has a plethora of bloody eyeballs which make a satisfying “squelch” sound when squeezed, but also Chris Redfield, Ada Wong, and a special guest Monster Hunter appearance by none other than Poogie the Pig. Sadly, my Cammy action figure was just too big and would topple this little tree faster than a red bulb on Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree.

At 10:00am precisely, the sound of “La Cucaracha” plays on car horn in our parking lot and we all jump joyfully to our feet with aspirations of deep fried foods for $3.00 or less from the roach coach. “But what of health or longevity?” I hear you ask. “BAH!” we say, rabidly chomping grease-engorged chicken wings and egg rolls. Of COURSE we have no forethought… We are videogame players, after all! We’ve most likely been awake the night before until 3:00 or 4:00 am working through some epic game or another anyway. The aforementioned grease and caffeine actually propel us through our day.

After thoughtfully consuming grease, salt and any number of unnaturally concocted preservatives, we each return to our desks to perform our various tasks. I am a writer and thus, write. Stuff. Of all kinds. Right now, for example, I am writing this wacky blog and responding to many messages left on the BBS. Later on, I’ll be updating a super secret project which has been ongoing and, darn it, wish I could tell you more about it. It’s really fun to write so far and very rewarding. Then there are also Phoenix Wright things to write and an upcoming Mega Man game to research.

Meanwhile, kitty-corner to me, Chris (aka: “Lost” ) works on community stuff answers questions, reads the boards, monitors posts and eats spaghetti (which is only available on Wednesdays, for the record. Do not come here on Wednesdays without $3.00 or you’ll miss out).

Across from me, Brian Dunn runs the world. Well, not really, but sometimes, it seems like it. He translates Japanese to English and vice-versa, and shares everything Lost Planet related with the world through his blog. He is also aware of…no, omniscient of…every piece of news in the videogame universe. It is a proud moment for me anytime I can surprise him with news of any sort. Sometimes, I just have to throw him a bold faced lie because I’ve got nothin’. (“Hey Brian, did you hear how we’re going to get Angelina Jolie to play Chun Li in our new Street Fighter movie? No? Me neither.” ) Notice the informative “What not to do with the Wii” background on his desktop.

Here’s a photo of Tony as he ponders some Street Fighter animation cells and how best to display them. As you would imagine, we are all prisoners of…I mean, surrounded by Street Fighter characters at all times. A 15 foot tall Ryu and his five foot eyebrows (alright, maybe THREE foot eyebrows) scowl menacingly at me as I type. I’m kidding, of course. Street Fighter is actually a comforting and time-tested set of characters to be surrounded by, although I would personally prefer a 15 foot Guile instead because his hair amuses me. At least five feet of him would be hair. I’ve always wondered what brand of hair product he uses, or if he just touches Blanka occasionally to achieve that astounding broom-like volume.

At lunchtime, we all generally adjourn to the various restaurants in the vicinity of Sunnyvale. If you haven’t gotten your fill of salt and grease from the roach coach, there is a bounty of junk food within five minutes in any direction. Or, if you prefer, you can go to the lunch room and spend some quality time brushing up on your Mega Man, Gem Fighter and various Street Fighter skills. I didn’t manage to snag it in the photo, but my favorite stand up arcade machine is kid-sized and plays Marvel vs. Capcom, where you too can choose to be one of Tron Bonne’s Servbots and perform the magic ” Dining Room Table Cloth Removal” maneuver on Wolverine. If you have back problems, this is not the game for you because the fighting sticks are at about waist height.

So the afternoon itself tends to be a bit quieter as folks attend meetings and so forth. There are Lost Planet meetings, Phoenix Wright meetings, Community Meetings, Upcoming Title Meetings, and Meetings about Upcoming Meetings. Everyone is busy as heck right now with Lost Planet. The only sounds are the sounds of keyboards and the voices and the key-tapping of the Customer Service guys. These dudes are true gamers at heart who provide a guiding light for callers in “Stucksville” or just plain suffering technical issues. Sometimes deep topics are discussed between calls. “Why oh WHY do female game characters always have to fight in high heels?” I’d bet this particular issue may have roots as far back as Wonder Woman in the comic books with her sassy red boots, but I have no proof. I know I personally would prefer to fight crime in Doc Martins, if given the choice. They’re a lot more stable, steel-toed, and offer just a bit of bounce in the sole.

Near the end of the day is when the Lost Planet multiplayer sessions begin. These are usually preceded with a flurry of feet back and forth in the halls, followed by cries of “Who’s logged on? Are you on yet? I’m on Brian’s team! Turn friendly fire off!” and so forth. Then there are the typical, “You play like a girl!” insults bandied about, which the girls in the department tend to just ignore on basic principal.

Here’s Brian again, busting his Lost Planet moves. He’s become so notorious in multiplayer for handing other Snow Pirate their butts, they’re making him play in Fugitive mode in this shot.

This is our resident PR player who, being the lady that she is, tries her darndest not to cuss at the top of her lungs. Instead, she announces letters to the room like “F!” and “Effers!” Check out the VS gun she’s toting… Nice!

Back in the recesses of the production area, into the pits of darkness where no fluorescent light penetrates, the flash on my camera is able to momentarily capture the expert gaming stylings of Rey. This man is a force to be reckoned with on the Lost Planet battlefield, do not anger him.

Here’s Jack! Often chided by a certain VP for “playing like a pansy” and probably the most vocal player of the multiplayer sessions, you always know when and how he died, sometimes from as far away as other buildings. As our Lost Planet poobah, he knows top secret stuff that even none of us get to know would you not love to pick his brain?

Here’s one of our Project Managers joined in the fray. Do not underestimate the power of Frank. He may normally be rather quiet, he may smile a lot and give you a false sense of security, but he’s death on toast in Lost Planet. (Hmmm… ” Death on Toast”good band name?)

There are still entire departments I haven’t yet covered. The web team alone is a source of endless amusement. But this particular blog is getting too big for its bloggy britches, so I’ll stop here for now. Suffice it to say, working for Capcom is work and fun combined, not unlike painting miniature tabletop gaming figurines with a one-hair paintbrush. (Yes, I really did just admit that. Once again, do not doubt my extreme levels of dorkdom.)