I don’t want to stray from the point of this
article, which Paul and Jeff wished to capture the human side of W.A.R.
As you can see in all the game design examples I have mentioned, both
Jeff and Paul spoke with feeling. “How often do you get to
work on something where you can say…you can feel
It?”
Jeff mentioned to get us back on track in the interview.
The passion for It is catching and becomes a fever, which
drives them to work even harder and achieve a state of MMOG perfection.
Ultimately, this has led to each team member taking ownership of the
Warhammer project. This fever eventually will grow among the fans and
become the passion that we all feel for gaming. “It is
something you can tell your children about,” Paul stated.
alt="Jeff and Paul Presentation"
title="Jeff and Paul Presentation" name="photo_j"
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Another shot of Jeff and Paul's presentation.
Paul had mentioned that he is very happy with the marketing
slant that EA Mythic has taken on the game. They have let the fans into
the studio through their video blogs. “In this industry,
people are always hiding the finger prints of their work,”
Paul mentioned. These guys want to be up front; even if it is
“bumpy”, they are honest about it. They want you to
know about the progression of the game. They aren’t afraid,
and this marketing slant has worked for them. Warhammer has gotten over
200,000 beta applications after recently opening the sign ups. Jeff
explained that he hopes fans will say, “Whoa, these guys
care. And we do.”
“Everybody cares and everybody is
committed,” Paul added.
After talking to Jeff and Paul I realized a few things. These
guys are not only colleagues and work together; they are friends. They
are more worried about letting each other down as friends than just
upsetting a boss. This drives them to work harder. Both Jeff and Paul
are great role models in how people should work together and corporate
America could learn a lot from the example they set.
alt="WAR Symbol" title="WAR Symbol" name="photo_j"
border="0" height="113" width="150">
The WAR symbol.
I have a new appreciation for the design and development teams
that are working on W.A.R. The next time you get upset at a game and
have to spend an extra ten minutes to redo something, think of the days
and weeks spent that went into the game’s design. Real people
work many hours so we can have our fun. They do it because they share
the same passion we do. When you buy Warhammer Online, don’t
just think of the game, think of the people. I realized today that
those people get It.
Do you?
Thanks again to Jeff Hickman and Paul Barnett.
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