Asherons Call: Interview with a Developer

Game Development involves many talents. You have artists, programmers, content developers, producers and writers --- all contribute to the creation of a finely balanced world. And our Content Developer [also known as Orion], like Francis Sandow [also known as the god Shimbo of Darktree, from Roger Zelazny's Isle of the Dead], is a worldscaper.

What, exactly, is that all about? What led him into this career in this particular genre? What are the life influences that brought him to become a content developer and what is involved in being one? If you're curious about these things, then here, in our Content Developer's own words, is what it all came down to in his case:

The Path to Enlightenment

How and Why I became a Content Developer

Influences - or he's been altered I tell you!

1. What games, movies, books, etc., have influenced you?

Influences in my life, in the larger sense, range from writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin ("Never be afraid to kill off a main character"), Bernard Cornwell, Stephen King, Dean Koontz and William Shakespeare to people like Mom, Dad, my family in general and my friends (who are very near and dear to me) to great movies like "Citizen Kane" that tell a story that's both profound and simple. But there are also little things from every day life that influence me as well.

2. What games, movies, books, etc., led you on to this path?

As far as leading me on this path, I just wanted to tell stories and give others enjoyment from them.

3. What games, movies, books, etc., influenced you when you were developing Asheron's Call?

Hmm! I don't want to give away ALL of my secrets.

4. What games have you played and what are your likes and dislikes about each?

Currently, other than Asheron's Call, I'm playing AC2, Battlefield 1942, Warcraft III and several console games, mostly sports. I've been a fan of RTS's for a long while, with Civ 2 being the best ever, IMHO. It just had so many unique features that blended together perfectly. Civ 3 was damn good, too -- but it ran into the problem of having too much going on.

Warcraft III is my get-away game right now -- it's fun to play and, once you understand the basic rules and the way to play, it can be a nice relaxing piece of fun.

I'm not very good at "twitch" games. So when I play Battlefield 1942, I'm usually trying to avoid getting killed, rather than hunting. Still, sometimes I really like the challenge.

AC and AC2 hold special places for me for obvious reasons. AC still holds the top slot in my mind; I can put it down for a while and still come back, and it feels like home.

Over all, though, my favorite game ever is Shadowrun for the Sega Genesis. It blended the best aspects of the tabletop game and the RPG genre very well. It had great game play and re-playability. To me that is the key to a game: Can you replay it and learn something new each time?

Life before AC? Impossible!

5. What background led you into game development? Were you a D&D nut, other role-playing gamer, .etc?

I grew up playing D&D and ran several games during my youth. As I got older, I got into other games like Shadowrun, Earthdawn and finally Vampire, Exalted, Mage, Weerwolf and pretty much any other title from White Wolf. I've both run and played in several campaigns. I'm also an avid LARP enthusiast, which is rather silly but really fun and relaxing. I've been playing online MUD's and MUSH's for quite a while and have been very into the world of on-line gaming since its inception.

6. A Content Developer for a MMORPG company? Why in the world would you want to do that? Well, since you did, what started you on your path?

Desire. I've always dreamed of telling stories. I had thought that I would tell them on stage or screen, but life decided that it would grant me this opportunity, instead. I set out to do this, once I got hired on here at Turbine.

At that point, though, I didn't really know that much about the industry and the amount and type of work that went into creating content on a monthly basis for a game like AC. I spent some time with the content team while performing my various duties here at Turbine. Then, when I felt I had enough knowledge and an idea that was good enough, I approached Ken Troop, then Producer for the game, and asked him what he thought about me stepping into a content developer role.

Around that time we were preparing for our next story arc and, as luck would have it, I was in the right place at the right time with the right ideas for where to take the game from a particular story point. Ken took a chance in bringing me on to the team and, though it was rocky for a bit as I cut my teeth, I like to think that he is and was pleased with the way things have turned out. The Gaerlan arc was the first of many stories that I think I can tell regarding the world of Dereth and I am looking forward to a rich future.

Safe Landings!

7. How did you land at Turbine?

Luck, craft and timing. I came to Turbine as a Community Representative in February of 2001. I knew two people who worked here at the time. One friend knew that I'd spent most of my life dealing with people and thought I'd be a good fit, so he recommended me for the position. I guess I impressed some people at the interview and I assume the good words put in by my friends.

Creations of a Worldscaper

"One who practices the craft of creating worlds from the rubble of space, seeding them with complex ecologies derived in part from his own DNA."

8. Name two things you created or helped create that you can tell us what influences in your life helped you to create it?

1. The Labyrinth (Nuhmudira):

This started as part of a subplot but grew very quickly as we realized the potential. The goal was to build a dungeon that could not be solved by simply following the right hand rule. On top of that, it was meant to give players a choice -- a choice which allowed them to influence a part of the story. We also wanted to give players a hint at what was to come in the storyline through the lore.

Some people began to put the pieces together at this point and it was great fun to see the way they reacted to both the lore and Nuhmudira. It was great fun to build as a dungeon.

I was a bit surprised that the people who use dungeon viewers never posted that the numbers 80 and 12 appeared in the dungeon architecture. (It's always fun to work in a bit of allusion to the real world: Those are the numbers that belong to Troy Brown and Tom Brady, two Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.)

2. The Gaerlan Quest:

So much that is linked that goes on in the Gaerlan Quest probably goes unrealized by most of the players. Microsoft, more specifically Ken Karl, asked that we end the story with a bang and really show the players something amazing. It was interesting to contrast how easy it all seemed at the start with how quickly it became apparent that this quest was going to grow into something that perhaps would be one of the largest and most complex quests ever put into the game. And, in the end, it truly is larger than the Olthoi Queen Quest that was released with Asheron's Call Dark Majesty.

There were several goals set for ourselves regarding this quest.

1. We needed to tie off the loose ends of the story arc to make way for what comes next.
2. We needed to make it something fun and enjoyable for all players.
3. We needed to make it something that players would want to do again and again.
4. There needed to be something that had never been seen before in the genre, something that would continue to set AC apart from the other MMORPG's out there.
5. We needed to do it in a one-month period.

How did we do that? Well, honestly, it seemed like an incredibly impossible and daunting task. But we pulled together as a team and made some really special things happen. We knew the elements that players really liked on the epic quests -- unique items, an epic "feel", as well as a feeling of accomplishment and camaraderie. We also knew that there were things that had been done before as well as things that players actively disliked -- so we did our best to shy away from those. Things like jump puzzles, lever puzzles and triggers, for example, are hackneyed and overdone in the genre.

So we brainstormed and the result was an adventure game feeling that we were going to try to give with one area of the quest being puzzle based rather than a challenge through conflict. It seems to have worked pretty well.

For this month, we all stayed very focused and put in some killer hours; I know SPD and I spent a few nights here during August to make sure we got things done on time. Microsoft did a great job testing and though we found some minor bugs we're still pretty proud of the result.

The Life and Times of a Content Developer

Try a day in the life of our Content Developer as he describes it.

I wake up in the morning usual about 9:00 a.m., read the fan boards at home for an hour and then head in to work. I sit at my desk writing for a while and then update my pieces for the month, then move into meetings when they occur, grab a bite to eat here and there and chat with co-workers about new dynamics and ways to get more from our current tech. A lot of this ends up with me talking to Srand and asking her for new and improved tech, which she does her best (*THE BEST*) to implement for us.

During the day, we bounce ideas around often to try to get them hammered into concrete and usable specs. Usually I hit the boards for another hour during the day.

Typically I am at work until about 8:00-9:00 p.m., when I head home to catch Buffy, Smallville, the Sopranos or just to relax. At about 11:00 I play the game of the moment, then I look through the boards until around 2:00-3:00 before heading to bed.

Sleep is for the weak.

I used to be a caffeine addict but recent events in my life forced me to remove caffeine, I've been caffeine free for two months now. P.S It sucks!

No Nicotine here!

How do I get into the game making business?

I think that depends on a lot of factors. Knowing your audience and how to make something fun certainly helps. Personally I think passion about games is a major prerequisite. But knowing the right people certainly doesn't hurt.