I created this blog so I had a place to comment on news and offer opinions on the world of in-game advertising. For some gamers, advertising in videogames is a polarizing subject. Some gamers feel that advertising pollutes the game experience while only benefiting the wallets of publishers. Others believe that advertising can add a sense of realism to games and offset some part of game development costs. For publishers and advertisers opinions are mixed as well.

I plan on using this blog to bring up and discuss some of these issues, as well as track the goings on in this industry (well, as best I can. =).

But before I get started, I’ll quickly introduce myself. I’ve been an avid PC gamer for a long time. My first game was probably Crossfire. Released way back in 1982, it was a cartridge that you would slap into the front of your IBM PC Jr (my first computer, an 8088 running at 4.7 Mhz). This must have been back in 1987, when I was 7 years old. And let me tell you, that game was fun! I’d spend hours basking in the green glow of my monochrome monitor shooting pixelated aliens.

Over the years, I grew up with PC gaming as a core part of my life. I have fond memories lugging my 486 DX2/66 to my friends house so we could setup a 10 Base 2 thinnet network for multiplayer Doom & Quake. I remember frequently visiting local BBS’s to download new WAD’s and talking strategy.

Fast forward to today, much of my game time has shifted to the Xbox. I’ve played hundreds of hours online and enjoy mostly first person shooters. You can find me on Xbox Live under the gamertag “Fry” (from Futurama). Professionally, I’m a Program Manager at Microsoft working in a group called Massive. As a program manager, I’m responsible for software design and work closely with developers & testers implementing new features and products. Massive is a company Microsoft acquired in early 2006. At Massive, I work on features that mostly impact the servers that provide the in-game advertisements. This is long after a game publisher has integrated our technology into their game. (Perhaps at some point I’ll talk a bit about this process).

That’s enough for now, as this blog evolves feel free to send me feedback or suggestions. You can reach me on Xbox Live, or send me an email at “fry(at)microsoft.com”.

Frag on.

- Jeff Carnahan