 | Name: Noel Walling Handle: Ilucide Hometown: Big Sur, California Pets: None, but I would like a lab. |
The first time I thought about being in "the industry" was at eleven or twelve when I found out that people got paid to "play" games – I mean, that's what those guys at Nintendo Power did, right? Play games all day, then charge kids three bucks a minute for help when they couldn't finish a level? Then there was a nice long stretch where I didn't think much about it at all – right up until shortly after EQ shipped. EQ really bordered on an obsession to me, so I realized I'd better do something productive with my gaming habit. So I hopped on a train and came down to interview with Brenlo for a GM position on EQ. He didn't hire me. In fact, it took another year before I was hired. I only stayed on as a GM in customer service for a little under a year before I was pulled over to help out on EQII.
About a year before launch. November 18th, I believe. Just in time for everyone to be on vacation for Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Everything. Ok, so that's a bit disingenuous. Right now, I work with Jeremy Gess and Chris Junior running the design team. I've done just about everything though, including system design, level design, population, quest design, writing dialogue, scripting, item creation, particle weapon/shield creation, designer training, raid & group instance encounters, and maintaining our internal documentation.
Depends on my mood. Most of the time what I really enjoy doing is putting together group instances. That really gives me the biggest opportunity to use all the tricks up my sleeve that I've learned from four and a half years of design.
Right after launch. There were some weeks we'd done upwards of 80-90 hours, including a 25 hour marathon session. The relief of finally getting the game out the door was really amazing. And that meant we finally got to play the retail. Playing an MMO before retail is always weird – a lot of the fun for me is advancing a character, and that feeling is pretty much lost when you know from the start that the character is doomed to oblivion at retail!
Wizard. And sadly not 80, just a lowly 74, muddling around in the Fens, ironically a zone I populated. That's what happens when there are too many other things going on though, I suppose!
For me the most challenging thing I deal with is public speaking – something that I have to deal with far more now than I did before Lyndro moved on. I'm extremely outspoken in email and online, but when you grow up in a place like Big Sur, 'introverted' is a constant state of being. As far as overcoming it goes… I'm still working on it. I'm not sure it's something that's ever perfect. But what really is?
In addition to the more mundane schedule keeping, bug tracking and whatnot that goes on, I'm currently working on a group instance for the expansion. It's got some new stuff that we haven't really been able to do before, so I've been working through this dungeon as a prototype for other designers to look at as an example. I'm not quite ready to talk about the specific content, but suffice it to say that you'll be travelling down a rather famous wizardess' lair – or if you prefer… tower.
Isn't this where I'm obliged to mention "play"? I'm not even sure that's the biggest misconception now, though. At least, not among people who have been tracking the industry for more than a few weeks. Most people realize that there's actually a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes. No, the biggest thing people don't understand is scope. There's only so much you can do in a given time. There's even less you can do if you want to do it right. It's the thing new designers have the hardest time understanding – it's almost a sure thing that they'll bite off more than they can chew. It's also the thing that invariably crops up while speaking to MMO players – "Why don't you just do X?" is usually the most dreaded question I get. Describing how difficult even a small change can be is difficult without everyone knowing how stuff works underneath the hood. And we don't want to explain how stuff works under the hood!
Hope you've got some time on your hands, because this list is extensive. WoW, CoV, EVE, AoC, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, My Life as a King, GTA IV, Bioshock, Civ IV, Crackdown, Wii Sports, Call of Duty 4, Madden, Lost Odyssey, Gears of War, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Super Smash Brothers, Guitar Hero (though I'm not very good), Heavenly Sword, Lego Indiana Jones, Drake's Fortune… and that's not an exhaustive list, though it is exhausting. Usually I bring in games that I've finished or games that I've bought and probably won't finish to sit on a shelf in my office for other designers to come in and borrow. A library for video games, if you will. I derive a lot of inspiration for what can be fun, and how things are clearly presented from the good/bad aspects of other games, so it's important to me to play (though not necessarily finish) other titles.
Grilling, working out at the gym, travelling, photography (though I don't get to do much of that), DVR'd TV shows, movies, music (all types – nobody gives me much grief for country anymore though). Forum reading.
I'm a sensitive artist! Actually, I think we (game designers) have to grow a thicker skin than most people realize. There's no way you can make everyone happy, but it's surprising how many people are willing to tell you that something sucked when compared to the number of people who will take the time to tell you that they enjoyed something. Even when they do tell you that something's good, it's usually only to throw something else under the bus ("Why couldn't raid X be more like raid Y?").
I can't do just one. But if I did have just one, it would be immortality. This comes up a lot, because I'm always interested in the latest life prolonging stuff (did you know that they're about to enter human trials for pills that will extend the average life expectancy to 125?!). It's strange to me how many people aren't interested, or think that they'll be ready to kick off after another 30-40 years. To hell with that. I'm a curious so-and-so. I want to see what's going on in the world in another hundred years!
Living in Germany for a year as an exchange student. That probably stretches the bounds of 'trip', but I learned so much about life in other cultures. It was an experience I'd never give back. To be fair though, there aren't any experiences I'd give up. Everything's a part of life, and a part of learning.
I don't have just one. Turkey sandwiches at Thanksgiving. Most things chocolate. BBQ anything. Wine (Merlot). Beer (Guiness, Harp, Blue Moon).
Thanks for being a part of our community! I hope you continue to enjoy EQII, and tell your friends about it! (Also, just because Lyndro's gone doesn't mean we're going to start considering Beastlords. That answer is still the same!) |