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How You Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm?

What do you want out of your career? Glamour and prestige? A constant struggle to keep abreast of new information? Financial security? The means to travel all around the world? Fame? Fortune? To many video game aficionados, the gaming industry represents all of the ideals listed above and more. At GDC '08, we took a moment to chat with Valerie Massey, currently the Public Relations and Communications Director for CCP Games (the developers of EVE Online) about her rise up the ranks and how she broke into the industry.

In Jewett, Valerie was playing the part of the stay-at-home house wife, raising a child and taking care of her bed-ridden grandmother. Not surprisingly, she felt totally disconnected with the rest of the world. But when she finally got the internet in 1997, the world opened up before her. "One of my cousins in Houston was playing Ultima Online," Val continued. "It had just launched, and he went on and on about this game. He let me play on his account for a few weeks and told me that if I liked the game, he would buy it for me."

• From the Farm to EVE Online: A Story of Breaking into the Industry
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