Entries Tagged 'Turbine' ↓

enjoy

Risia Update: 6:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) Tuesday, October 14th

Both Gameplasma and Gamasutra are reporting that Turbine is opening up a new west coast studio in  Redwood City, CA. No comfirmation from Turbine has been reported on their website, bu articles are on both sites

• Tolero has indicated that mod 8 for Risia is a possible go for Monday, and that she is inclined to release the notes on Monday either way.
• Friday’s reboots have caused serious lag on several servers, with Argonesson, Ghallanda and Sarlona appearing to be worst hit. Tolero started posting last night and has been giving regular updates as to the search for the cause. So far there is no resolution.
• The lag on Argonesson has caused some unusual behavior in the shroud, with some people reporting that the Pit fiend has a new ability called mindfire, an AOE atack that dispells all buffs on those around him. Tolero has confirmed that Friday’s reboot contained no changes to the game.

The other day we were treated with a new community rep without much introduction or fanfare.  Tarrant has been working for Turbine for a little over a month, although he has been silent up until now and staying behind the scenes.  He’s finally stepped out of the shadows and made himself known.  Since everyone wants to know more about the new face on the scene, I took the opportunity to send him some questions, and he was kind enough to answer them so that we can get to know him a little better.

Ustice: What is your position with Turbine?
Tarrant: My position is that of Online Community Representative. Essentially I do all things Community-related.

Ustice: What is your background? What sort of jobs have you done in the past?
Tarrant: I have had several community-esque positions, so dealing with the customer is not a new experience for me.

Ustice: How long have your been with Turbine, and how long with this project/position?
Tarrat: I have been both with Turbine and at this position for about a month and a half.

Ustice: What interested you in this position?
Tarrant: I could write a book to answer this question, but I’ll try and keep it brief for you. There were two facets of this job that caught me, which were the community aspect and the “game” aspect.

To start with community, working with people has always been something I was interested in. I enjoy advocating on behalf of the customer, and working to make the product, and the products’ service, as strong as possible for those who are using it. In short, I work for our players.

As for the game part - every male (and some females) decides at some point in their life that they want to make video games. I decided to turn that thought into a reality. I consider myself a gamer, I know what I like in gaming, so using my skills and interests in my working life seemed like a logical choice.

Ustice: Are you a gamer in your personal time? If so, from what end of the spectrum? If not, what are your hobbies?
Tarrant: Like everyone at Turbine, I am a gamer. Possibly less-so than some of the players here, but gaming is a passion for me.

I consider myself a hardcore gamer that games casually. When I find the time to get in any game, I love it, but I also try to find room in my life for other activities as well.

I am an avid RPG fan, and I think that Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Melee are two of the best games to ever be released.

Beyond that, I enjoy reading, primarily fantasy and science fiction, but anything really. I like TV (I am human,) and I’m also a big English soccer fan. I also like fishing and skiing, but I don’t really find enough time to pursue those hobbies too much anymore.

Ustice: What excites you most about working for Turbine?
Tarrant: This is a tough one… but, I’d have to say it’s the attitude of people here. While I’m sure many players won’t believe me, I can say with all honesty that every single person here cares a tremendous amount about what they do, and how it impacts the players. We are a company of gamers, and it is very important for us to make the best possible product for our players (and for ourselves.) The players and their enjoyment of the game factor into every decision we make. I’ve thrown this word around a few times I think (and if I haven’t, randomly insert it where it seems appropriate,) but I’m going to say it again. Passion. Turbine is a company of passionate people, and I’m proud to be a part of it.

Ustice: Tell us a little about what you are working on. What is your typical day like?
Tarrant: Currently, one of my main jobs here is gathering feedback. I focus mostly on LOTRO and DDO, and I take the input of the players and bring it to the developers and others within the company. This ranges from things the players like, dislike, and feel would enhance the game.

I also do forum moderation for both games, which is always fun!

I don’t really have a typical day - another thing that I love about this job. Every day is an adventure.

Ustice: What was your favorite job prior to this one?
Tarrant: I ran a lemonade stand once when I was 8. I raked in 60 bucks in an hour. I’m not sure why I don’t do that anymore.

Thanks, Tarrant, for taking the time to introduce yourself.  Welcome to the community! We look forward to hearing lots more from you in the future.

While trying to log in to http://myaccount.turbine.com, I got this error message.

While there is still no word from Turbine, I am sure that they are very aware of this problem. This is affecting the forums, billing, and the game. No word on how is this affecting the game if you are already logged in.

Turbine will be attending GenCon Indy this year and now we know their booth-space, and it’s big.  Turbine is listed as an Exhibitor in space 329.

Looking at the booth layout shows that booth 329 is a 20′ by 20′ walled booth, which I am told is the same size and possibly in the same location as FunCom’s Age of Conan booth last year.

This is a large booth space, and I think that we can expect they will be showing off something just as big at that time to go with it.  Will this be the first showing of DX10?  Will this be a new expansion, or maybe something previously unannounced?  Will this have anything to do with DDO at all?  At this time, there is only speculation, but given the space, it’s big.  When I get more information you will too.

Thanks to Jerry Snook, of DDOCast for the tip!

I just recieved information on where Quarion will be going.  Quarion mentions in his blog that his last day was indeed June 6.  He mentions that he is going to be working for Cryptic Studios, as well as to pursue work in music.

Congratulations on your new job.  We’ll miss you.

(Info provided by DagazUlf)

It was just pointed out to me that Quarion has changed his forum signature to “So long, and thanks for everything.”  Quarion had been absent from the forums for some time now (last activity logged as June 6, 2008), but so far there have not been any annoucements on his status change.

Given that there was no announcement this was not likely to be a promotion as was Samera’s case.  In any case I will try to get more information, and once I do I will post it here.

No matter what happened, thanks Quarion for all that you did for the community, and I wish all the best for you in whatever you are doing now.