Questions by Cody
"Micajah" Bye, Managing Editor
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Answers by Ryan Seabury,
Producer of LEGO Universe



During the holiday season , few toys are as sought after as those made
by the LEGO brand. Children all over the world desperately want to
create buildings, vehicles, and starships with their multicolored
blocks. When LEGO and NetDevil announced that they would be developing
a massively multiplayer world based on the various products that the
LEGO company has made over the years. Although NetDevil has yet to
truly divulge much information about the game, the Ten Ton Hammer staff
wanted to give players insight into the men and women behind the game.
To start, we sat down with Ryan Seabury, producer of style="font-style: italic;">LEGO Universe, and
learned of his past experiences, his favorite part of the upcoming
game, and what his responsibilities at NetDevil entail.

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Ten Ton Hammer: To begin,
can you give
the Ten Ton Hammer readers a brief synopsis of who you are and what
your role is at NetDevil?



Ryan Seabury:
My name is Ryan
Seabury and I’m currently the Producer on LEGO
Universe. 
This means I do nothing but play with LEGO bricks all day, which would
be great if it were true.  In reality I run around to endless
meetings and phone calls coordinating development and business efforts,
and then do a bunch of actual work at night.  I also can
transform
into 3 vehicle modes, including Therapist, Punching Bag, and Broken
Record Player.


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Ryan showing off LEGO
Universe at the NetDevil 10th anniversary.

Ten Ton Hammer: What type
of game do
you play regularly?



Ryan: RTS
would probably be my
favorite type of game, but I dip into anything and everything on
console and PC.  I rarely have the luxury of completing any of
them.  I only dabble in occasional card games (Killer Bunnies
or
Gloom anyone?).  I like anything that is fun, and can find
enjoyment in mainstream derivative games out to fringe oddball indie
titles.



Ten Ton Hammer: Do you
have an all-time favorite RTS? Why do you enjoy it so much?



Ryan:
Starcraft: Brood
War.  No RTS prior or since has come so close to the beauty of
chess without mirror imaging.  There was never the
“one
killer strategy” because as long as you recon’d
properly,
you could react to your opponent and win.



Ten Ton Hammer: What game
are you playing now? Why did you decide to explore that title?



Ryan:
Probably the one
I’ve spent the most time with lately is Team Fortress
2. 
It’s been a while since I’ve played an FPS for more
than a
few rounds.  The style oozes in the visuals and the visceral
gameplay, it is just fantastic.



Ten Ton Hammer: Do have
any hobbies? What do you find relaxing/entertaining about it?



Ryan: My
biggest hobby is
figuring out ways to arrange my work and personal schedule to allow for
any bit of time to play video games.  As any working dads out
there know, especially those in game dev, the amount of free time I
have is unbelievably low.  I also play a bit of lunchtime
inline
hockey if schedule and weather allows, mostly so I don’t die
from
clogged arteries.



Ten Ton Hammer: How did
you get started in the industry? What led you to become a developer?



Ryan: At
some point in my
teens, I decided I either wanted to be an astronaut, or create my own
universe to explore.  Astronaut route for me looked slim and
involved probably going in the military, which didn’t really
fit
with my lack of respect for authority.  So since I’m
not
omnipotent (yet!), video games seemed like the best way to create my
own worlds.  I met Scott Brown and Peter Grundy at a previous
company, where we played games obsessively every day after work, and
always talked about making games.  Eventually that company got
bought out, giving Scott and Peter the opportunity to start
NetDevil.  I joined a few years later after some business
ventures
of my own, which were far less interesting than making games.

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NetDevil takes their
LEGOs seriously. Just check out their 12-foot LEGO brick.

Ten Ton Hammer: What kind
of schooling
have you recieved? What was your educational focus and how has it
helped you with the development of MMOGs?



Ryan: I am a
computer science
dropout.  I feel that a solid grounding in the technical
fundamentals of software development is essential to be a good video
game developer.  There are just so many quirky things and
understanding at a basic level how computers actually do them can both
ground you in reality but also be a cause for inspiration. 
I’m also really glad to see programs like Digipen come into
existence, I think working together in teams with people of different
disciplines is invaluable experience, something my academic experience
did rather poorly had I not picked some very odd class combinations on
my own.



Ten Ton Hammer: Has your
gaming history influenced your work on LEGO Universe? How has it helped
or hindered your work?



Ryan:
Certainly.  We
played so much Starcraft back in the day, we actually gave it a credit
in the original Jumpgate for delaying our development. *winks*



Seriously though, you never know where inspiration might come
from.  Even games that most people would consider horrible
might
have some cool little gem of an idea that blossoms into something
totally new and cool if you mix it with something else. 
It’s a bit like how they explain cooking in Ratatouille.
 

Anyway, as a game developer, it’s always good to expose
yourself
to new ideas and experiences and stir them up together with your old
ones.



Ten Ton Hammer: As a
player, what's your favorite aspect of LEGO Universe?

 

Ryan: LEGO
Universe is exciting
because it just represents so much possibility and longevity. 
There are so many talented and amazing kids and grown-up-kids out there
that do cool stuff with LEGO elements already, I can’t wait
to
see what comes out of it in the virtual space.  It is also
tremendously fun to be a minifigure and experience things from that
perspective.



Ten Ton Hammer:
Conversely, as a developer what's your favorite aspect of the game?



Ryan: Well
for one thing,
it’s a technical miracle our very talented team is pulling
off.  If you think rendering LEGO bricks is a simple problem,
I
assure you it’s not.  But our guys and gals are
coming up
with some amazing ways to make them look great and run well. 
I
guess also the fact that you can experience LEGO with millions of
others in a way that’s as new and exciting as MMOGs are is
just a
cool thing to be working on.

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Ryan answers some
LEGO questions.

Ten Ton Hammer: Why
should an MMOG gamer play LEGO Universe? How would you recommend the
title?



Ryan: For
starters, who
hasn’t fantasized about having more LEGO bricks than they
could
realistically afford in real life to do some really crazy stuff
with?  And let’s face it… could there
possibly be a
cooler avatar to play with than the LEGO minifigure?  I also
see
this as a game that will appeal to both genders without trying to, and
will be endlessly entertaining as time goes on.



Ten Ton Hammer:
Finally,  what's
the best part about being in the MMOG industry and what advice would
you give to anyone else wanting to break into the field?



Ryan:
It’s hard to say
just one thing, other than I can’t imagine doing anything
else
again.  I feel extremely fortunate to be doing work that I
would
happily do in retirement as my “normal” career.
 



My advice for getting in is make sure your heart is in it, because if
it’s not it can be the worst job in the world.  If
it is,
you’re already playing anything and everything, and
you’re
doing anything you can to try to make your own games.  Nothing
speaks about your passion and motivation more than proven experience,
either from making a mod or an actual game, or going to one of the
increasingly respected game developer schools starting to pop up.

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