by Karen Hertzberg on Dec 10, 2007
It's LEGO, so it's an
instant win!
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 LEGO Universe, and
learned of his past experiences, his favorite part of the upcoming
game, and what his responsibilities at NetDevil entail.
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.