Let ME entertain you - SWGalaxies.net Q&A with Pex

[Guest DarthMaulUK]

It's probably a job we all envy, sitting in front of a computer playing out the script of yet another big event, but there's more to Pex than just an Events Manager, as we strapped him to the chair, tickled his feet until he gave us the answers we were looking for in our Q&A with Pex.

 

 

Q: When you were at school, did you have dreams of working in the computer industry?

I hadn't planned on being in video games. I actually went to Film School and worked in the film business for almost ten years before getting into this line of work.

 

Q: What was your big break in to the gaming arena?

A friend was working on an FPS title and was swamped with work. He got permission to hire an outside writer and that ended up being me. Three freelance gigs for the same company led to a full-time position.

 

Q: Before joining SOE, what was your role before?

I was the writer at a company called NovaLogic. I took care of anything that required punctuation. I wrote all the in-game dialogue, in-game briefings, developed storylines, wrote the manuals for the box, research, in-house technical manuals and more.

 

Q: What’s a typical day for you?

I answer a lot of private messages on the forums as well as trying to make at least a few posts per day. The later it gets in the week the more decorations I prep for events, though the new Storyteller feature we recently introduced to the game has helped slow that down a bit. I have a number of non-event-related tasks as well, but mostly it's planning event support. Setting the schedule for the next week and sending out approvals is a big task that I wish were easier.

 

Q: How many requests on average do you get from players for events?

It really varies. Last year I provided support in one form or another for almost 900 events. Fridays and the weekend days are the bulk of those. Any week that has an Interactive Support opening will get twice as many as the week before.

 

Q: What’s the strangest thing ever requested.

I don't consider anything to be that strange. There are definitely a lot of requests that I can't do at all such as recreating the battle sequence from Episode II. I like the challenge of figuring out how to pull off a request I haven't done before.

 

Q: It must be hard to choose, but is there an event that sticks out in your mind?

It's usually the last one, but I do have a good memory for events. If there was something unusual about it, a special location, decoration, character or plot point, I'll remember it.

 

I like events where I don't play a named character such as Luke or Vader because then I can really roleplay. Events where I am a cog in a larger player-orchestrated event is always fun because they can be more complex.

 

One event like that was on Eclipse where I made a Nautolan (Kit Fisto's species) named Adir. The players interacted with a number of player-informants until they found Adir's cave hideout. After exposing the plot he was to be captured, but he activated a number of Super Battle Droids "hidden" nearby and managed to escape in the ensuing carnage.

 

I could go on all day with past events.

 

Q: Who is your favourite Star Wars character?

They are all so good for so many reasons. Han for his great story arc and general roguishness. Leia for being a strong female character (still unusual today). R2 and C-3PO for being comic foils. The Death Star Gunner for dutifully standing his post as a jillion megawatt laser beam rushes three feet from his head.

 

 

Q: Do you get ‘in to character’ if you are playing Darth Vader for example during an event?

You have to become the character to get the attitude right. It's limiting to roleplay via computer and emote, but it can be done. It's easy to stay in character for me because I've been doing it for a long, long time.

 

Q: Storyteller is such a fantastic new addition to the game, did you have any input, if so, how did the whole idea of this start?

It's a chicken and the egg thing. A couple years back I wrote up an Event Promoter profession, similar to Politician in the pre-CU world.

 

The idea was to allow players to buy toys, place decorations, spawn MOBs for invitees and gain experience based on how many people participated. That proved to be too ambitious so we took some of the core elements and created the Event Perks, which were definitely cool and have been used by a lot of players over the last couple of years.

 

In early February I heard word that the Dev team was planning to do something called ‘Storyteller’ that would improve on the Event Perks and allow for players to spawn their own MOBs. The new design was done by Michael Farone (Fiasco on the forums) and Travis Hicks (Shadowbrak). I worked closely with Fiasco on which MOBs and decorations should be included based on the requests I had received over the last four years. I also spent a lot of time on Testcenter trying everything out and forwarding bugs to Fiasco.

 

Q: What games are you currently playing and do you have an all time favourite?

Currently I am spending more time in SWG as some of my old guildmates have returned and I have made some alts on servers where there are a lot of weekly events.

 

I have been trying the Pirates of the Burning Sea beta. I'm a tall-ship fan. I've been spending more time in CounterStrike trying to re-hone my skills for when Team Fortress 2 comes out. I never did take the time to finish Star Wars Lego 2, so I've been toying with that from time to time.

 

All time favourite? Games are so diverse, I have different reactions to them all.

 

MMO: Nothing can compare to my first years in EQ, my first MMO. I bought a PC (I had a Mac before that) just so I could play it. It's the experience of exploring each new area and not having any expectations. To be so innocent again.

 

Coin-Op: Elevator Action

 

Pinball: Theatre Of Magic, though Attack From Mars is awesome.

 

PS1: Tomb Raider / Abe's Odyssey

 

Xbox: DOA 2

 

Atari 2600: Pitfall

 

Coleco Telstar Alpha: My first video game.

 

 

Q: Have you ever used the Jedi Mind trick to get what you want?

Not as far as you know.

 

Some of our community have a few questions to ask…..

 

BrandonBa2 -

Q: What is the most epic moment you’ve had whilst doing an event, and the most random?

The most random would be attending a Life Day event where the player had set up seats in such a way that other people could sit on "Santa's" lap. There was a LINE waiting for their turn. They also made a sleigh out of pets and other objects in their PA hall, which was neat.

 

The most epic would be a giant PVP / PVE event at the Emperor's Retreat. There were FAR too many people there, but the craziness was perfect.

 

Xirion -

Q: Firstly, you do an awesome job…can I please have it? Will we see more random events like Boba Fett hunting down his prey again, or Han stopping by the cantina for a drink?

Currently I am providing support for player events because I feel that is the way to maximize such appearances. With just one person, I don' think it is possible to cover all of the servers enough times a week to make enough of an impact. Appearing at player events includes players in the drama and highlights communities. I'd like to do the classic, random events, but I don't have plans to do so.

 

 

Q: Do you have a favourite band/group? And apart from being the Events Manager, what do YOU do for fun?

My music tastes are really quite wide. I listen to everything from Celtic to Jazz and blues to Alternative and Punk. Gaelic Storm is my favourite Celtic band. They are very upbeat and fun. Jazz greats like Nina Simone and Etta James are not to be missed. Insane Jane, Black Flag, They Might Be Giants, Weird Al, Morcheeba, White Stripes, etc. I have a big CD collection.

 

For fun I enjoy mountain biking, LARPing, Fencing and playing video games.

 

Rogue15 -

Q: Where do you get ideas from to do in game events? Do you read any of the Star Wars books? If so, which ones?

The ideas mostly come from the players. I have read a few of the books, and I have been reading the comics for a while. I don't know where my knowledge of the extended universe comes from, but it's in there somewhere.

 

I don't always know names, but I'm fascinated by the politics and alliances. In truth, most ideas are based on character and plot and then it's easy to find a way to work it into the Star Wars universe. That's probably my best skill, figuring out a plausible scenario to get across what the player wants to have happen.

 

Many thanks to Pex, SOE and LucasArts and to those of you who sent in questions. Sorry, if some of them didn't get answered.

 

DMUK

[Xirion]

woot thanks Pex

[Rogue15]

i see he saved the best question for last. ^_^