Star Wars Galaxies: Cinco Barnes' Letter to the Community

Hi there! I'm Cinco Barnes, the Lead Designer of "Jump to Lightspeed."
Several years ago I joined the Star Wars Galaxies team as the Lead World-Builder. But over the course of development, my role changed significantly. I started out with a very small team that focused on making maps and quests. As the project picked up steam, I became Galaxies' Lead Designer with a much larger team to mobilize and lots more to worry about.

So you know -- after a game like Galaxies is launched, the Lead Designer's day-to-day job involves gathering info and opinions, formulating creative solutions, making gameplay decisions, choosing task priorities and providing support for the Design team. This similar to what I had done before at other companies (like 3DO, Kinesoft, Bootprint, and Origin Systems), but never with so many designers to manage, and never approaching Galaxies' scale.

Fortunately, the SOE design team is comprised of the most talented folks I could've hoped for. And with all the challenge and hardship, the looming deadlines, and everything else that comes with building the biggest, broadest MMORPG conceived to-date, it was still the most fun I've ever had!

Late last year I moved from Galaxies Live (making way for my friend Kirk Black to take the reins) and began development on "Jump to Lightspeed" with Lead Programmer Andy Sommers. During a short pre-production phase, I developed the initial game design document for "Jump to Lightspeed", covering all game systems, ship systems, quest content, starships, locations, etc. Andy and I refined this over an even shorter time so we could start bringing programmer, artist and designer talent onto the JTL project.

Since then, I've been inundated with unforgettable moments. The first time I put my Galaxies character into a starship is certainly one of them. Same with the first time I ran through the hallways of the Millennium Falcon.

I can't wait for you to know the feeling I had the first time I flew through the Naboo system and wove my TIE fighter through the merchant lanes. Or the first time I sat in the X-wing cockpit and looked over my shoulder to see my droid looking back at me. For that matter, the first time I flew through a nebula and saw blinding cords of electricity ripping through the clouds.

Even better: the time I wasted an enemy commander after tracking him down in deep space...

For me, the best part of being Lead Designer is being continually inspired by my teammates' stunning tech, gorgeous environments, starships and killer game designs. It's humbling to see such passion, skill, and determination each day in every department. I feel very lucky to have enjoyed the fruits of their imagination since we undertook the JTL project... and I look forward to sharing the experience with you.

See you up there!

Cinco Barnes
Lead Designer: Star Wars Galaxies, Jump to Lightspeed