A. Yes, and I have a microphone
Q. What are your thoughts on roleplaying in games? (Answer!)
A. Roleplaying games are an excellent opportunity for everyone to step outside of the box of their own reality and experience something fantastic from another world. That is the appeal of roleplaying games to me as I have always had a huge imagination and been the type of person who is interested in experiencing as many different things as possible.
Q. How many hours a week do you play? (Answer!)
Q. If you could cancel any online game, which would it be? (Answer!)
A. Realistically I wouldn't cancel any online game because it isn't my place or anyone elses to wish the dissolution of someone elses success. However from an idealistic standpoint I'd like to see huge grind based games like WoW gone forever because they are really distorting people's ideas about what a game is and convincing them that monotonous gear and experience based progression can be substituted for real content and immersion. World of Warcraft manipulates people into keeping their subscriptions active by awarding them with "candy" every time they do something good. The candy seems good in the moment until you reach end game and realize there is nothing left.....and you have rotten teeth.
Q. What music do you like to play games to? (Answer!)
A. I usually prefer to have no music in the background because it distracts me from all of the meta game things I am doing on the side. Unless the battle orders of my inner council or the efficient communication of my guild mates is music then I will have to say none....however the aforementioned things are "music" to my ears.
Q. Where did you get your gaming names from? (Answer!)
A. My gaming name "Lindorn" is a name I used in a high school fantasy film I tried to complete (and failed). It is an old Nordic name along with several of the others I use.
Q. If you could bring any book, movie or comic to life in a game, which would you choose? (Answer!)
A. I'm not a super huge fan of franchises coming to the gaming world. I think some things naturally fit but I also think a lot of times developers try to make a square block go into a circle hole.
Q. If you made your own game, what would it be like? (Answer!)
A. That is a loaded question. All I can say in a short bit is that the players would have a lot more freedom than is usual in these games. I would remove things like levels and gear based progression. Focus more on player social dynamics and interactions. I'd give players a lot more tools to create...people love to create and it gives them an emotional attachment to the world they play in. Worlds, empires, navies, towers, trade routes, markets, and dungeons should all be built by players.
Q. If you could meet any game developer, who would it be? (Answer!)
A. I honestly have to say it would be hard to answer this question before the last few years. There are two right now that would be huge for me. One would be Tasos Flambouras from the Darkfall Online project and the other would be Robert Rice (author of MMO Evolution and Exec. Producer of the Immortal Destiny Project). Both of these guys have inspired me with the way they fluently describe their ideas and the concise nature of those ideas as well. They are an inspiration to me because they are fighting against the torrent instead of going with it which seems to be uncanny in the industry at this time. I only hope that someday I can join their ranks and make a difference myself. I think it is high time entertainment jumped to the next level.
Q. When you are not playing games, what do you do for fun? (Answer!)
A. Sadly these days most of my spare time goes into gaming because I have so many other things on my plate. Film school, Revolution G, Guild ordeals, and gaming are about all I have time for. I go out on the weekends but that's about the long and short of it.
Q. Have you ever had a romantic encounter with someone you met in a game? (Answer!)
A. My fiancee I met in Shadowbane years ago and we started dating about a year and a half ago. We are very happy together and are looking forward to her entry to the United States and California!
Q. What are the specs on your gaming rig? (Answer!)
A. Intel Core 2 duo 2.4Gz. Radeon x1950 pro 256mb graphics card, ASUS P5B-E Motherboard a 250GB SATA drive.
Q. Are you interested in working within the game industry? (Answer!)
A. I am currently in school for film at one of the best film institutes in the world. It didn't take me long though to see the outdated nature of much of the entertainment field; gaming and film alike. As I have matured as a person and an academic I have found that I want to be on the leading edge of development in the entertainment industry and that edge currently lies in interactive, rich, immersing virtual worlds. I have always been a production guy and an organizer to the core so whatever I do will invariably involve using those skills. However I do want to take a heavy hand in conceptual design as I am spending much of my time researching the evolution of MMORPG's and occupying myself with creating a forward thinking community in Revolution G. I have great dreams for the future of gaming and am ambitiously looking forward to making them a reality someday.
Q. What are your most memorable achievements in a game? (Answer!)
A. My most memorable achievements in a game were undoubtedly with my guild Dark Carnival in Shadowbane. Dark Carnival was at several points at the top of the power structure on the servers it played on and was recognized for outstanding talent in tactical warfare, individual member skill, and a honed ability for political maneuvering. Leading this guild in Shadowbane was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in life or in game. To bring a group of people together and set goals beyond our dreams and see out their execution was rewarding on a level I never thought possible. To take the role of a political and military leader satiated some of my deepest fantasies and it was a pleasure to be able to reach those goals with some of the most wonderful people I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. It has also formed my beliefs about how MMORPG's should be evolving and the crucial social characteristics that must be a part of our games in the future.
Q. What sort of players annoy you the most? (Answer!)
A. The sort of players that annoy me most are much like the sort of people that annoy me most. I am generally tolerant of almost any type of personality but I have little tolerance for those who's gaming experience or life experience centers around the idea of disrupting or dismantling the experience of other players. I don't mean on a competitive level or an in game level. I mean a basic personality flaw that leads someone to gain no enjoyment out of a game save for that which they get when they are causing someone else suffering. I really don't understand the mentality and I find it quite juvenile.
Q. How do you feel about playing characters of the opposite sex? (Answer!)
A. I generally avoid it for the sole reason that I want to put ample effort into making sure that I don't send the wrong signal to anyone. It isn't an issue of paranoia but more so a respect for female gamers as well as wishing to avoid any possible confusion. In games where I am allowed to have many many characters one may rarely be a female but for no other purpose than for diversity on an alt character. I have a hard time understanding the whole "gender bender" concept in gaming and try to avoid adding to the cesspool that results from it.
Q. Why do you join guilds or clans? (Answer!)
A. I wouldn't want to play MMORPG's at all if not for player run organizations. The ultimate embodiment of my experience stems from concepts like cooperation, teamwork, group achievement, and social construction. I personally find it infinitely more rewarding to achieve something as a group than as an individual. When I see several people putting aside their egos and differences to achieve as if they were one it is an amazing part of the human spirit to observe. This aspect of MMORPG's fascinates me and I do not think it is catered to enough in the mainstream. Guilds should be groups of like minded people that form a socio political dynamic in their respective game worlds that creates diplomacy, politics, economics, and military conflicts on the macro level. This adds a whole new dimension to game play and gives players more lofty goals and a much larger world to participate in.
Q. What are your favorite tabletop (RPG, board, miniatures, etc.) games? (Answer!)
A. My favorite table top RPG's were always the games from the Palladium series (Rifts, TMNT and other Strangeness, Heroes Unlimited, etc.) I always loved the concept art from guys like Long and the writing style and rule sets innovated by Kevin Siembieda and Erick Wujcik. I think Rifts was one of the most beautiful RPG worlds ever created and the stories were just phenomenal. I still get sucked into the books to this day and secretly wish I had a game master to take me back into the fights with Triax Robots, Coalition weaponry, and all of the nasty monsters and cool beasties that came from other dimensions. Good times!
Q. Do your quiz results on GamerDNA reflect your personality, and if not, what did it get wrong? (Answer!)
A. I think it definitely nailed me. I am a killer socializer without a doubt and I will remain so as long as I play games. Killing is a necessary aspect of gaming for sport and socio politics for me however it takes a back seat to things like dynamic economics, politics, player psychology, and subterfuge and intrigue. What other medium can I apply the tactics laid out in the Art of War? This is how I view the potential of MMORPG's and I fall on the extreme side of the "interaction" side of the Bartle scale. I can't settle for long treadmills and monotonous grinds. I want adventure, social interaction, immersion, and most of all response from other players and the world itself.
Q. Other than your console or PC, what is the piece of hardware you can't live without? (Answer!)
A. My cell phone without a doubt. My girlfriend lives three thousand miles away and my heart would be in pieces on the floor if I didn't have the means to hear her voice at least once every day.
Q. How do you feel about selling virtual items for real money? (Do NOT advertise RMT services!) (Answer!)
A. I feel that RMT is a totally acceptable means of trade within or without of a gaming world. I do NOT under any circumstances support in game advertising of any kind on behalf of a third part or the developers themselves. I find any in game advertising to be abysmal, disruptive, and interrupt the crucial suspension of disbelief that we all desire in our MMORPG's. However I do find it 100% kosher for folks to buy and sell their own virtual currency. I can't see any reason to expect someone who works a full time job to invest an equal amount of time to a 14 year old kid who has the privilege to sit on mom's computer and grind all day. We shouldn't penalize our players for being productive in the real world.
Q. Have you ever had a memorable real-life meeting with other gamers? (Answer!)
A. I have definitely had several of these rendezvous'. I met my good friends Eric, John, and Mark whom I met in Shadowbane about 2 years back and have seen them all since as well. Incredible group of guys from up in the San Jose area. I have also met a few of my guildmates and my girlfriend whom I originally met in Shadowbane in 2003. She'd have to be the most memorable for sure. She definitely rocked my world :o
Q. What are your thoughts on player-made mods/addons for games? (Answer!)
A. I think they are absolutely wonderful. Obviously I believe in following the TOS of any game you play, but I fully support the concept of players adding new functionality to the games they play. Anything that empowers the gamers and motivates them to create in and out of the virtual worlds in which they play gets a massive thumbs up from me. Players innovating is a wonderful thing to watch and definitely shouldn't be stifled. It seems like many developers could take a hint from them ;)
Q. What sort of tools (calculators, builders, spreadsheets, etc.) do you use to plan your characters? (Answer!)
A. I use everything I can get my grubby little hands on. The meta gaming aspect for me is part of the fun and myself as well as my guild mates will use any tool at our disposal to saturate ourselves in the numbers and mechanics behind any game we play. This is all about playing to win for us and we will do whatever it takes to make sure we have a better understanding of every detail than our opponents that we can more affectively take them down in the future.
Q. What do you love or hate about PVP? (Answer!)
A. I love the "P's" in PvP because it is all about ,<b>the players,</b>. How often we forget how crucial this concept is to our games. Anything that involves the players being proactive is great in my book. While I do consider myself a "hardcore" PvPer, I do not tout that as one of my primary "mechanics" that I Support. In fact I think PvPers that are supporters of dynamic worlds and sandbox style game play actually do eachother a disservice by parading around PvP as if it is the key to a good MMORPG. PvP is a means to an end for me, not the end itself. It is a means to create a rich player driven storyline and introduce the threat of force to create a more meaningful socio political dynamic between player organizations. Without risk you cannot have reward. Without a way for players to assert themselves over one another there is no conflict in such a world. Conflict is the very root of a good story in the psyche of human beings. We feed off of it and desire it to our core.
Q. What are the proper uses of tank guns and bubblegum? (Answer!)
A. The proper use of a tank gun is much like the proper use of a regular gun....only larger. The proper use of bubblegum is so that in a crucial moment before battle you can run out. Therefore leaving only the option of "kicking ass" as 1990's computer icon Duke Nukem would do.
Q. What is the most overlooked or misunderstood game? (Answer!)
A. The most overlooked and misunderstood game is probably Shadowbane. Eve Online would have been in that spot but it is gaining a lot of recognition lately and deservedly so. Shadowbane was heralded for it's conceptual basis by many but unfortunately drowned under the weight of it's own poor design and implementation. The games beauty was lost under a hideous visage of poor customer service, bugs, exploits, and lag. It is really sad because conceptually I find Shadowbane to be the pioneer in what I hope to be the next evolution in online virtual worlds.
Q. What experience do you have beta-testing games? (Answer!)
A. My experience in beta testing games started in the last few years. I have done beta testing work for Shadowbane and it's expansion pacs, several strategy games like World in Conflict, Lineage II, World of Warcraft, Risk Your Life, Lord of the Rings Online, etc etc. I have notoriously bad luck with beta invites regardless of the fact that my specs are well above average. I am hoping my luck will change in the future but I have a terribly low success rate with beta entries thus far.
Q. In real life, are you male or female? (Answer!)
Q. What do your characters and avatars usually look like? (Answer!)
A. My characters oddly enough usually appear to be older (middle aged) men. Usually grey or white hair is what I go with and grim looking features. I think it speaks a lot of my own personality in that I am fiercely logical and seek wisdom in my daily life. Some of my most adored historical figures are people like Socrates, Aristotle, and Marcus Aurelius. So it really makes sense that my ideal in game "persona" would be that of an older wiser man. Good lord I am strange.
Q. Do you feel relationships within games are meaningful? (Answer!)
A. I feel relationships forged within games can easily be as meaninful as those in "real life". I think often times they are of a much more mature and intimate quality because there is fewer barriers between individuals when they have "nothing to lose". People are usually much more willing to cooperate in an environment where success rests upon cooperation and this adds a really colorful assortment of people coming together to achieve interesting goals. I have met many life long friends and the love of my life through gaming. I wouldn't trade them for the world.
Q. What is your first computer or video gaming memory? (Answer!)
A. My first video gaming memory was watching my dad play Castlevania on our brand new Nintendo Entertainment system in 19friggin 86. I was just a squirt back then but I remember I used to watch his every move absolutely amazed at what was going on on the screen. I would watch him for hours.
Q. What is the most memorable flamewar you can remember? (Answer!)
A. No flamewar anywhere....and I mean anywhere comes even 1/10th of the way to what the average day was like on the Shadowbane political boards. You had people who's very words were wrapped in in game and out of game interests and everything was based upon a political or egocentric dynamic. The Shadowbane boards were amazing and since people had in game assets that they had built with their own hands at stake, it was of the utmost necessity to playing their cards right on the political scene. If you had mainstream community support and a positive community image you had a leg up on your opponents because that all flowed down into the game itself. In fear of tooting my own horn I'd say some of the most intense flame wars I've ever seen involved me and my dreaded wall of pure logic tactic that I would throw at political opponents. I would like to think I was quite the contender in what we now lovingly refer to as "Forumbane".
Q. Beside GamerDNA, what are your favorite websites? (Answer!)
A. <a href="http://www.Revolutiong.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.Revolutiong.com</a> Our website....your website. We lay it right on the table for all to see. We want to get the best industry minds together and collectively stand up and tell the industry that we've had enough of the crappy games they seem to keep making. We want innovation, we want change, we want revolution.......if you have a chance to come check us out, we have regular podcasts with some of the greatest innovators and thinkers in the industry and we hope to, with your support, change the way our games are made.
A. I prefer to rise above such debates
Age of Empires (PC)
Age of Empires II (PC)
Age of Empires III (PC)
Battlefield 2 (PC)
Darkfall
