50 Cent: Bulletproof – Vivendi – 2005

Playing a different game.

I had been a tester at Vivendi for a year by the time 50 Cent showed up on the test floor. It was the second (and final) game by the developers at Genuine Games, whom I knew well from our previous encounter. 50 Cent was a similarly lackluster effort meant to quickly capitalize on a license.

However, my time on the game was limited. There was an opening as a Interactive Marketing intern within the company, and one my test managers knew that I had experience as a web designer. I applied for the position believing that it only made sense, given my experience. I was interviewed right there on the test floor and offered the job later that week. I had moved to the Interactive Marketing group by the following Monday to begin a new life in online marketing and design.

But there was one more project for me to help with. 50 Cent was in the middle of finishing up and there was test overtime to be had, so in spite of having moved to the marketing department I volunteered to stop by the test floor in the evenings and on the weekend for some overtime testing. It was perhaps two or three days total, but it’s amusing to know that I played a small part in the release of such an iconic game.