As you may have noticed, a lot has happened around here lately! Today we’re re-launching our website and company with a brand-new name: Axon Interactive Inc. (yes, we’re incorporated now!) But the website and our name aren’t the only thing that’s changed. We also moved into our first office, which has been a long process that we’re eager to share.

The Search

Last April our friend Ryan Creighton generously offered us space to work, so we spent an amazing summer working in a gorgeous downtown space. Jeff and I were joined by three interns: James, Odin and Deanna (all game programming students at Humber College) and we had a good time making websites and watching The Legend of Korra.

Unfortunately the end of the summer brought the end of steady contracts for us and the end of the lease for Ryan (boo) so we all moved out and resumed working at home (double boo). But by then Jeff and I had learned a lesson about working with other people: a lot more gets done when everyone is in the same place at the same time. We knew we’d need an office for the next summer, and earlier if possible.

We started our search online – I really wanted a “brick-and-beam” space because I felt like cubicles and white walls might stifle creativity. I wanted big windows too. And cheap rent. So… I had a lot of requirements. Eventually we came across the Planet Storage building, which happens to be in our neighbourhood, the Junction. In December we came to look at spaces on a whim, knowing that was way too early for our timeline but intrigued by the “factory” feel (and cheaper rent!)

When Jeff and I were taken to suite 404, we shared a laugh about the number (404 not found!) and joked that it was fate. Incidentally, the suite was still occupied and coming up for lease in February. That ended up being pretty perfect for us – get all the work done setting up before our big spring rush of contracts started in May (hi May!)

 

Setting Up

We had to do quite a bit of work to set up – the walls were in somewhat poor shape when we got the keys and we had to buy/put together furniture for 8 (in case we expand later). A lot of hard work went into the setup, but it’s better described in pictures!

 

All New Everything

During the office setup craziness, we also welcomed home an old friend (and new team member) Kristina Neuman. Kristina is joining us full-time as a designer and project manager. At the beginning of May, we also hired the newly-graduated James Zinger to handle server-side programming. Finally, our summer intern is Andy Caskanette, who is a multi-talented game/web programmer and a current student at Humber.

Now that we’ve had a tiny breather, we’ve all been hard at work re-making our website – no more placeholders and rickety theming. Have a look around, check out our recent projects and leave a comment if you like!