The Brad Hole

MacWorld is, for me at least, all about hanging out with fun people who coincidentally happen to be passionate about the Mac and Mac gaming. Not surprisingly, most of them are some of the nicest people you could hope to meet. I'd rattle off a list of names, but I'd be afraid to leave someone off.

However, I've run into a group of individuals who are threatening to take the title of Nicest People away from the usual Mac gaming crowd. Those folks happen to work at... wait for it... LucasArts. I was treated to a trip to Skywalker Ranch on Friday by Ted and Michael of Aspyr, and we met up with our LucasArts contacts at their office and then drove out to the Ranch. I don't know what they feed these folks or put in their water, but they were the most humble, friendly and unassuming group that I've met in a long, long time. From a business perspective, everyone I talked to was extremely well-informed about what we've done with the Mac projects of their games - how quickly we did the ports, how well they turned out, how well they've sold and how well they've been received by Mac gamers. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was a group of Mac die-hards, but the reality seems to be that they love that we love their games, which floored me.

After a brief tour of the LEC offices (I saw a conference room named the Sarlacc Pit), and some chatting with our hosts about Arizona (one of the LEC guys enjoyed visiting Jerome and Prescott), we took off towards Skywalker Ranch. It was an overcast day and it was sprinkling, and they didn't allow pictures inside the buildings, so we didn't take too many. But wow, what a facility. It was, like our hosts, the exact opposite of what I would have expected - relaxing, quiet, large, and gorgeous. It seemed not so much like a place of business as it did a resort destination. We had lunch there, and again I was astounded by the friendliness of the Lucas employees. I chatted with the chef for a short bit about our food - breaded cakes with shrimp, salmon, halibut and crab, and she was very eager to discuss the recipe and offered a vegetarian alternative before I could even ask. The pride that they all took in their workmanship was evident.

After lunch and a tour of the grounds, we went to the Skywalker Ranch gift shop, which is extremely small. It can hold, at best, 15 people at once, and even then it might be a fire hazard. The ladies working the counter there must see drooling fanboys every day of the week but they maintained an interested and helpful air the entire time. I'm not sure how they do that. There was one there who was particularly drooling, asking about every little thing - "How many colors does that lightsaber keychain come in? I'd like them all! And that hat - can I get it with a plain Star Wars logo instead of Attack of the Clones? How about in black instead of navy blue?"

I had what I believe to be a celebrity sighting on the Ranch. As we walked up the front steps to the big house, a fellow walked out the front door and down the porch to smoke in one of the rocking chairs. I wasn't close enough to be 100% certain and I definitely didn't want to hassle him, but I'd say almost without a doubt that it was Rick McCallum, executive producer of the prequels and "Number 2" in the grand scheme of things right behind Lucas.

As we left, the Lucas guys dished out hugs and handshakes in abundance, and commented on how even though they didn't know us that well and didn't see the Aspyr guys all that often, how it felt like a group of old friends getting together. I'm not exactly sure of the "why" behind it all, but I have a theory. I've said before that I love my job, and I believe that the LucasArts guys love theirs probably as much. I think that when you get employees together from two companies that share those same traits, you end up with something that is rare and special and genuine in a business that is frequently harsh, unforgiving and full of fakery and false emotions.