news // 4

theotherpress.ca

Emma Paulsen to receive sentencing

» Paulsen was responsible for the deaths of six dogs last May

Angela Espinoza
"News Editor

Minews
=. @theotherpress.ca

A prison sentence six to 12
onths was requested
for Emma Paulsen during her
January 21 court appearance.
Paulsen pled guilty to charges
of animal cruelty and public
mischief in November 2014 in
response to the deaths of six
dogs in her care, including one
of her own.
The Paulsen case began in

May 2014, when Paulsen falsely

reported that the six dogs
she'd been taking care of were

a call to the public with photos, :

descriptions, and names of
the dogs in an attempt to have
them found and rescued.
Paulsen reportedly left
the dogs in her pickup truck
while she used the facilities at

Corporal Holly Marks.
The call to the public
was made on May 14, only for

: Paulsen to reveal on May 19 to
: website PetSearchers.com that
: she'd made up the story “ina

: complete state of shock and

: panic,”

In actuality, the dogs had

: all died of heatstroke in the

: back of Paulsen’s truck ina

: Richmond parking lot while

: she went shopping on May

: 13. When Paulsen found the

: dogs, she proceeded to drive

: to Abbotsford where she left

: the bodies in a ditch, and then
: called the RCMP with the

: cover-up story the next day.

: Paulsen's court proceedings :
: began in November, when

: she was initially charged with
wo : killing or injuring an animal,
missing. Langley RCMP put out amongst several other charges.
: Various owners of the dogs :
: have since spoken out publicly
: in disappointment of Paulsen’s
: actions, while a minority of

: the public has sympathized

: with Paulsen’s

: : reaction.
a nearby dog park, according to :

a

state of shock”

However, during Paulsen’s

: January 21 proceedings, it was
: revealed Paulsen had been

: specifically asked not to leave
: dogs in her car on numerous

: occasions, according to Crown
: prosecutor Jim MacAulay.

Amongst other sentences,

: MacAulay has requested
: Paulsen have a 10-year-ban on
: owning her own animals and

a “lifetime ban on ... caring

: for anyone else’s animals,”
: according to the Province.

However, Paulsen’s lawyer,

: Eric Warren, stated that

: sentencing Paulsen to jail time
: was extreme and should be able
: to “serve any jail sentence in

the community as a conditional

: sentence,” according to the
: Province.

Warren also argued

: Paulsen was in more need of

“rehabilitation” than of a jail

: sentence, following extreme
: distress since the case began.

Paulsen will return to

: court on January 28, where

: sentencing will take place

: and determine whether she

: will receive jail time, house

: arrest, or community service as
: punishment.

 

Photo by be.ctvnews.ca

 

Local game studio wins
sports game of the year

Adrian Paradis

The Martlet (University of Victoria)
: know a lot about baseball. We

Victoria-based indie video
Agune development studio,
Metalhead Software, is gaining
some well-deserved acclimation
after the release of its first
console game, Super Mega
Baseball (SMB). Released on

of last year, and garnering
resoundingly good reviews,
gaming news site Polygon rated
SMB the sports game of 2014.

Christian Zuger, a co-
founder of Metalhead Software
said, “It’s been really hard,
especially towards the end, just
because there’s so much to do.
It’s overwhelming when youre
a couple years into the project
wondering if it’s going to get
done. In the end, we were very,
very happy that it did.”

The origin of the software
company lends itself to
something of a Hollywood
underdog story as neither
of the two founders had any
previous experience in the

by Zuger and his friend, Scott

strong software engineering

; background, so we were like,

“Well, we love video games, you

can probably make this happen?

And we did.”

Zuger had graduated from

: the University of Victoria with a

: degree in computer engineering
: and Drader had gone to UBC

: with the intention of pitching on
PlayStation 3 and 4 in December :

On the process of making

: the game, Zuger said, “[It

: was] very long and [took] an

: incredible amount of learning

: and humility. We started this

: in our early 2osthinking that

: we [knew] a lot and we [could]

: make this happen, but we very

: quickly realized that there [was]
: a huge amount of learning to

: do ”

After having to do mostly

: contract work for the first

: few years of the company’s

: beginnings, Zuger commented

: that the two of them always had
: SMB in mind, though they were
gaming industry. Started in 2009 :
: some time.
Drader, Zuger said, “I hada fairly :
: and receiving a flood of positive

not working on the project for

After completing the game

: reviews, Zuger said, “Honestly,

: [the response has been] way

: more positive than we had ever

: dreamed of. We had very little

: awareness before we launched

: it. We didn’t really have the time
: or effort to put it out there. We

: had so much to do just trying to

: finish the game that it was very

: hard for us to do any marketing.”
the baseball team. After injuring :
: his shoulders, Drader graduated
: from UBC with a degree in

: computer science.

Several times, Zuger pointed

: out that though he has enjoyed

: the process, it is a staggering

: amount of work. Contrary to

: popular belief, the gaming

: industry is not all fun and

: games. “So many people want to
: make video games,” he said, “and
: it’s a lot of fun, but the actual act
: of making the video game itself

is ... only a portion of it. There

: isa lot of stuff surrounding that
: anda lot of it is a ton of work.”

Commenting on advice for

: students looking to break into
: the gaming industry, Zuger said,

“Following your dream is usually

: an insane amount of hard work.

: That’s what it comes down

: to. But I think it’s also really

: worth it. Would I recommend

: someone go out and start a video
: game shop? So long as you know
: what you're in for, sure.”

 

THE OTHER PRESS
IS HIRING

 

SPORTS REPORTER

 

 

Do you know the score? Love writing? The Other Press
is hiring a Sports Reporter.

The Sports Reporter is responsible for writing two
quality, original articles on a weekly basis for the News
section, covering local and Douglas College sports. The
successful applicant will be responsible for producing
relevant content, conducting interviews, and taking
photos of games.

Must haves:

- Experience and familiarity with conducting interviews
and sports-style writing

- Interest in student and community news and events,
and sports

- Strong writing skills

- Digital photography skills for taking sports photos
(equipment is provided)

Pay: $260/month

Interested? Send writing samples, cover letter, and resumé to
editor@theotherpress.ca by February 11 at 11:55 p.m.

SESS

A