Unofficially...RvR dude or Zimmeron.
How would you describe your daily responsibilities?
In a nutshell, I design RvR in Warhammer. I come up with the reasons why you want to
kill each other and use all those fancy spells, weapons and abilities! That’s not to
say mindless slaughter doesn’t have it’s place (and it will by the way) but there is
always a need to provide purpose, drive, and make it fun as well as rewarding!
That’s what I get to figure out. I get to look at maps, quests, items, character
abilities, Scenarios, the titles players get for killing other players and a whole
manner of things to see how they fit into the RvR picture. I then write it up in big
documents that would make my college teachers happy (and probably bust out their red
pens again like crazy). Everything ties together in RvR, and I get to help everyone
tie those knots and pull it all together. It’s like a HUGE jigsaw puzzle being put
together that’s going to form the Mona Lisa of MMORPG RvR.
What is your background? College? Degree? Has it helped with the job? 1st job
out of school? How long have you been with Mythic?
I have a degree in Illustration from Towson State in Baltimore, MD. It helps when
I have to draw a basic battlefield plan or get something down on paper that I can’t
put into words ...like a big powder keg blowing up on an Orc base! I got a job
during college at a game testing company doing late night support for people
trying to figure out how to beat that final level of I Spy or Frogger. I kid you not.
From that job though, I have some good friends that moved down here to Mythic
(Josh Drescher and Jon Farinelli) that helped me get my foot in the door. I’ve
been at Mythic for 3 years now.
What other titles have you worked on in the past? In what capacity?
My first development job was working on items in Dark Age of Camelot
for the Catacombs expansion. After that I made Champion weapons and helped with
Sub-classing in Darkness Rising, to which I then took over
class abilities and spells for the past year or so.
What was your “welcome to the game industry” moment when it hit you that you were really making games for a living?
Hrmmm...probably at a bar a few years ago when I was asked by people what I do for a living and I said
“I make games”. The usual reaction is “Like what, you program them?” After which I would explain,
“Ok, you know how there’s a sword in a game that you use that has +5 strength or whatnot?
Well...I make the sword”. The reaction after that varied from “cool” to “Oh My God how’d you get that job?!”
What excites you about the Warhammer property? What makes it perfect for an MMO?
What cool things in the Warhammer universe do you hope to bring to life?
Warhammer is its own world that is very harsh and combat-oriented. That’s not excluding magic either.
Seeing the Fist of Gork slam down on the Empire would be...messy and wild to see! There are loads of
imagery and depictions of battles that fit great in an MMO. Great terrains and battles fought
with heroes on both sides provide such a dramatic backdrop, how can you NOT make a game based
on that? Frankly I can’t wait to get in there with my Chaos Warrior and slam someone
around as the dark gods flow through my veins feeding me with the power of hate!
SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!!
Do you collect Warhammer figures? What army do you play?
I have traditional Space Marines for 40k and Orcs for Fantasy/Mordheim.
They’re not on display though…I keep them packed up tightly in their cases
waiting for the time to unleash on the enemy!
What are your hopes/goals for the game?
I’m planning on Warhammer RvR to be the best RvR out there in an MMO.
Plain and simple. Whether it’s one-on-one, group vs. group or massive battles
at the gates of a city, WAR will be the game to play.
What your key influences when making the game? Anything besides Warhammer?
A taste of everything influences my designs. Anything from FPS games and map design to long
term goals like DAoC Realm Points. Everyone in this industry takes bits and pieces from everyone
else, but it’s how you improve on them or combine them in a new manner that makes an idea better.
What is the biggest problem with current MMO’s you hope to fix with WAR?
Many MMO’s have RvR or PvP, but not many have a variety of both and a means to drive them.
I won’t name games, but some have PvP as their end game and it’s just another grind, but for
what? There needs to be an over-arching goal and a way to influence that on an individual basis,
as well as a Realm basis. The individual Orc player must feel they can make the same contribution
to the war as the group of Orcs in a Scenario, or the five groups of Orcs charging forth to the
gates of the Dwarf city. Everyone has a stake to claim in the world, and everyone can contribute.
What are your favorite video/computer games of all time? What games are you playing right now?
What game should the reader be playing if he’s not?
There are tons of games out there I’ve had my fair time of saying, “this is my favorite!”…so let’s
just list the games that I’ve liked the most: Splinter Cell (all of them), Halo 1 & 2,
Final Fantasy X, Dark Age of Camelot, Burnout, Warcraft, Madden,
FIFA, Call of Duty, Doom 2,
and Battlefield 1942.
Now a days I’ve been playing Guitar Hero, Texas Holdem on Xbox Live, City of Villains, Warcraft, Madden 07, and Saint’s Row....not all at once, but I’ve heard some people on Live say “hold on…gotta pull some mobs...” Then they fold.
If you haven’t tried Guitar Hero and have a PS2, pick it up. It’s good fun! If you got friends, get 2 guitars!
What music are you listening to right now?
Right now I have on “Breaking my Down” by Soil, but I’m usually listening to a mix of Dave
Matthews, Johnny Cash, and various other stuff. I’m a dork and find lots of RvR/PvP movies
have TONS of good music in them…even if the editing is bad.
Is there a recent movie you’ve seen or book/comic you read that you’d recommend to others?
The Illusionist was pretty good. Paul Giamatti really surprised me in the flick.
Anything else you want to add?
“See you in another life brother!”
