Everytime y'all see a Red Name in Campus or Pub you pull out your books of 20 questions and start asking for wall signatures! We took down some of the favourite questions we've gotten over the years and sent them out to the whole team! Read on and you'll get to know each of our Dev's a little bit more đ Question 1 - What's your go-to snack while working on a game? Name: [ATA] Will Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in my Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms of Heckfire Department: Community Management Answer: It has to be Peanut Butter filled Pretzels! Those things are so seriously addictive that I have to hide them from myself or they will be gone in a day. The bonus is that when I find them itâs a nice treat for future me from past me Name: [ATA] Claptrap Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in my Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms of Heckfire Department: Community Management Answer: Miss Vickies Salt and Vinegar chips. There is no other chip. Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: Flaminâ Hot Cheetos but I have to eat them with chopsticks so the keyboard doesnât get all nasty. Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: When they conduct my autopsy, they will find my arteries clogged by mini eggs. Name: [ATA] Barton Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in my Dorm, Kingdoms at War Department: Design Answer: Chocolate darker than my soul. That is, 85% or darker. Name: [ATA] Fog Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms of Heckfire, Witch Arcana Department: Narrative Design Answer: Sour cream and onion chips. Every time I finish writing a line of Party in My Dorm dialogue, I get to eat one. In this way, JD and I are one. Name: [ATA] Jace Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm Department: Design Answer: Popcorn, mostly for when i'm looking at world chat Name: [ATA] Mark Game(s) youâve worked on: All Department: Product Answer: Sriracha Name: [ATA] Hedgehog Game(s) youâve worked on: Behind the Scenes Department: People Team Answer: Cheese. All the cheese. If your life were a video game, what would the title be, and what genre would it belong to? Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: It already exists. Itâs called Desert Bus. You drive a bus in the desert in real time for 8 hours, constantly correcting the steering or you crash and are towed back to the start. Name: [ATA] Will Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Community Management Answer: Dog walking simulator. All the joy of having a dog, none of the touchy dog poop with your real hand! Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: Whopper Waifu: A story-driven visual novel where you are a burger and date other burgers but it has a morality scale where the bad ending is the player becoming a burger eating cannibal. Name: [ATA] Jace Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm Department: Design Answer: It would be an open world RPG filled with plenty adventuring, beautiful landscapes and deep characters, but Im just focused on beating my high score on the fishing mini-game Name: [ATA] Mark Game(s) youâve worked on: All Department: Product Answer: Old House of Books and Naps - you have to keep your old house from falling apart long enough to enjoy a good book or a nap, when it rains things get really spicy. Can you share a funny or memorable bug from a game you've worked on? Name: [ATA] Yoshi Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, Single City Department: Design Answer: The âCryptocalypseâ in Heckfire. During a regular Tomes from the Crypt event, something went horribly wrong with the gathering node spawning and the ENTIRE WORLD MAPS filled up with crypt nodes. Players couldnât teleport or do raids because the map spots were filling up too fast. Yâall had a great sense of humor about it. Name: ATA-Ermine Game(s) youâve worked on:Smash Monsters, Kingdoms at War, Single City, Department: Engineering Answer: On Smash Monsters players started suddenly seeing monsters they didnât own, it was pretty clear they had access to monsters from their clan members. The monsters couldnât actually be used in combat, but it caused quite a stir. A game designer looked right at me, and asked me if Iâd accidentally swapped users when sending messages back from the server. I was so confident I actually bet him that wasnât the issue. Turns out⌠yea⌠Iâd swapped users whenever they helped each other with timers. I lost that bet. Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: One time I accidentally deleted all the Heckfire competitions that were running at that time. My story is that I spilled mustard on the computer and Iâm sticking to it. Name: [ATA] Dennis Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, FC, Party in My Dorm, The Meego, PD, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana Department: Engineering Answer: I misconfigured some item data in The Meego and as a result, players could get them unlimitedly for free. Oops. Name: [ATA] Jace Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm Department: Design Answer: One time on Kingdoms at War when we released a new emoji spell, some players were reporting seeing a Banana instead of the intended emoji. This confused our team but apparently it was related to a long forgotten banana emoji that had been made with the text âThere's always gold in the banana standâ. That then led us to create the Victory Banana emoji spell given out for top finishes in Competitions What's the most unusual inspiration you've drawn from, for a game idea? Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: Some of the best ideas Iâve ever had came to me in strange dreams I canât quite remember. Name: [ATA] Mark Game(s) youâve worked on: All Department: Product Answer: A lot of the trade economy and furniture is based on my experiences playing Diablo and Everquest and dropping items in front of people to trade. We wanted to create a unique experience where people had to be socially connected to trade to recreate that feeling of connecting with another player rather than a dull and mechanical auction house. If you could swap roles with any video game character for a day, who would it be and why? Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: Being Cooking Mama for a day sounds great. Name: [ATA] Mark Game(s) youâve worked on: All Department: Product Answer: Iâve really liked the world universe building in Starfield so far and I think it would be a cool place to exist. Name: [ATA] Will Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Community Management Answer: ATA Will, I get to hop into Pub/Campus and I'm an instant celebrity. I feel like a Kardashian. . . . but you know like cool and stuff. Tell us about your most epic gaming achievement outside of work Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: I finally beat Alien: Isolation on Nightmare difficulty! Also getting to 3k trophies in Clash Royale was a big deal for me because I crumble like apple pie in high-stakes PVP. Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: I was top 2% of Lucios in Overwatch for a while. LETâS DROP THE BEAT! Name: [ATA] Strange Game(s) youâve worked on: Heckfire, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm Department: Design Answer: Finding a bizarre broken team combo in the early days of Guild Wars 1 that more or less deleted the entire enemy team if you executed it correctly.. The combo was necromancer's mark of pain and warrior's hundred blades. If you could cluster the enemy team and coordinate the marks to all be on different targets, then everyone presses hundred blades at the same time. Poof. We held the hall of heroes until we collapsed from exhaustion. I think they patched it soon after that. Name: [ATA] Jace Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm Department: Design Answer: Competing in the Pokemon card game World Championships as a kid, I didnât end up winning like Ash finally did, but one day Iâll be the very best, like no one ever was Name: [ATA] Mark Game(s) youâve worked on: All Department: Product Answer: I had never played LoL, missed the whole era of MOBAs for reasons (a story for another time), so I picked up iPad version (Wildrift) and spent a lot of time learning how to play and made it to Grandmaster in a few months. This was a particularly noteworthy one for me because it was personally very challenging and I had so much to learn. I think I could go higher if I had more time to devote but other games are calling. If you could bring any in-game item or ability into the real world, what would it be? Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: Sleeping immediately whenever you want to. That would be sooooo nice. Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: Eating cheese wheels during a fight to regain health. UFC would be so much more interesting. Name: [ATA] Fog Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms of Heckfire, Witch Arcana Department: Narrative Design Answer: Fast travel as a thing. I am really sick of the plane ride back to my hometown. Why do I have to repeat it again and again? Poor world design 0/10 Name: [ATA] Jace Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm Department: Design Answer: Quick save and quick loading so I can try all the bad ideas I have Name: [ATA] Mark Game(s) youâve worked on: All Department: Product Answer: Mech suits from Anthem Name: [ATA] Will Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Community Management Answer: Dev Console, so I can do all the infinite money glitches, and god mode, and flying and all the things. If I have to pick an item I'd say the Boots of Blinding Speed from Morrowind as they are just hilarious. ]What's the nerdiest thing you've ever done or are proud to admit? Name: [ATA] Claptrap Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in my Dorm, Kingdoms at War Department: Community Management Answer: Camping out for the release of Halo 3. My friends played Halo 2 all the time so this was a big moment! Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: I recently went to see a Neil Breen movie in the theater! Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: I flunked college trying to beat someone else to #1 on the realm leaderboard on a social game I played. And now here we are, so I guess it was meant to be! Name: [ATA] Fog Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms of Heckfire, Witch Arcana Department: Narrative Design Answer: For a while I had a very popular Tumblr account where I made lovingly crafted memes about a certain RPG. Thatâs as specific as I can get before my pride turns into shame. Name: [ATA] Mark Game(s) youâve worked on: all Department: Product Answer: I have a pikachu tattoo Do you have a gaming-related superstition or pre-game ritual? Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: Gotta break everything and punch the wall over and over before the Overwatch round starts. What's the most challenging part of game development that players might not be aware of? Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: No game has a monolithic community of players. For all the strong passion and great ideas one player has in one direction, another player will feel the exact opposite. We spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to satisfy people with very different goals and desires, and not letting an update for one type of player hurt another playerâs experience. Also to make sure not only the loudest voices are heard. Itâs a super difficult balance, weâre constantly making mistakes and learning from them, but weâll never stop trying. Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: Keeping track of the 10,000 browser tabs you have open constantly as a designer. Name: [ATA] Mark Game(s) youâve worked on: all Department: Product Answer: Designers are trying to make the game fun for as many people as possible but there are always thousands and thousands of people trying to exploit and break the game. There are so many mechanics I think would be fun and would love to build that wonât work in a multiplayer game where people will find ways to break the mechanics. Itâs so hard but also more fun when it comes together. Name: [ATA] Will Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Community Management Answer: Trying to please everybody at the same time. I love you all, and when folks fight it breaks my heart. Trying to do the best by everyone, while also getting everyones favourite theme for a hunt, while also trying to everything everywhere all at once. I just wanna make y'all happy! Describe the most memorable reaction you've seen from a player enjoying your game. Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: Someone wrote and recorded a song about a game I worked on once! It was really sweet of them, I still remember the lyrics. Also players finding each other and getting married is always really affirming about the type of games and spaces weâre trying to create, even if we were only a small part of it. Name: [ATA] Fog Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms of Heckfire, Witch Arcana Department: Narrative Design Answer: I love checking into the Party in My Dorm and Kingdoms at War forums to see our players working on detailed lore guides, character guides, beautiful fan art, and more. Every single time I see our players engaging with our games that way it makes me emotional! Name: [ATA] Hedgehog Game(s) youâve worked on: Behind the Scenes Department: People Team Answer: A player sent flowers to the office for someone who had just recently joined the community team. That was pretty memorable. What's the best piece of advice you've received from a fellow developer? Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: Remember youâre not making games for yourself to play, get to know the people you are making them for! Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: A second monitor is never enough. Name: [ATA] Mark Game(s) youâve worked on: all Department: Product Answer: Nothing ever survives contact with the player. ]Tell us about your all-time favorite gaming moment, whether it's a clutch victory or a hilarious fail. Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: There are so many moments in Baldurâs Gate 3! Sneaking up to a boss and shoving them off a cliff, hitting an enemy then picking the enemy up and throwing it closer to your other party members, romancing Gale⌠Name: [ATA] Yoshi Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City Department: Design Answer: WoW, circa 2010 (Lich King era). Two friends and I (Horde - lv 29 holy paladin, lv 29 protection paladin, lv 21 firefrost mage) were rushing through Alliance territory to get to a dungeon. We ran into a lv 58 Alliance death knight that decided we were easy targets to pick off⌠but boy were they wrong! We couldnât hurt them, obviously, but they couldnât put us down either. I was blinking around as the mage, trying to get away, but the DK kept death gripping me back into combat. The pallies took turns setting lay on hands to prevent our deaths. After an arduous 30 minute battle, the DK finally gave up. Name: [ATA] Strange Game(s) youâve worked on: Heckfire, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm Department: Design Answer: Standing just through a doorway, making my back look as juicy as possible to invaders in Dark Souls, meanwhile allies are standing on either side of the door waiting in ambush. What's your guilty pleasure game that you secretly love to play? Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: Nanaca Crash, 100%. I go through phases of playing it endlessly and then not touching it for a while. It has a surprising amount of skill involved! Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: Iâm not sure if itâs a guilty pleasure but Iâm always hesitant to tell people just how many hours Iâve played Rimworld. Name: [ATA] Strange Game(s) youâve worked on: Heckfire, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War, Party in My Dorm Department: Design Answer: Miracle Sudokus. ]If you had to survive in a video game world for a week, which game would you choose, and why? Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: Minecraft on peaceful mode so I can subsist on porkchops and play with blocks. Wait, did I just describe my childhood? Name: [ATA] Barton Game(s) youâve worked on: Party In My Dorm, Kingdoms At War Department: Design Answer: Party In My Dorm lol you spend all your time partying and getting paid obscene amounts of money to do it! ]In a zombie apocalypse, which game character would you want as your ally, and why? Name: [ATA] Ripley Game(s) youâve worked on: Party in My Dorm, Kingdoms at War, Witch Arcana, Kingdoms at War Department: Live Operations Answer: My ally would be the real main villain of the story only finally revealed after 5 sequels. Being off-screen would be cushy. As long as I donât betray them, I should be safe. Name: [ATA] Burger Game(s) youâve worked on: Kingdoms of Heckfire, Single City, Kingdoms at War Department: Narrative Design Answer: Gordon Freeman would keep me safe all while not talking my ears off. Name: [ATA] Mark Game(s) youâve worked on: All Department: Product Answer: Yoshi, can ride him all around, thick hide, eats zombies and jumps on them, is your BFF
I want to know what Burger's Tav looks like in BG3. Give me that class build breakdown. And as for pushing people off cliffs, I'm sure Astarion approves.
I too want to swap roles with Cooking Mama, but only if I get to be âfailedâ screen so I can strike fear and disappointment into the hearts of players like I once had to go through.
BUT ATA JACE WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED TO THE MEEGOS?! I MISS THE GAME!đđ I PLAYED IT BEOFRE PIMD OMG.
Rimworld mentioned! Is there also an experience of Dwarf Fortress in the team? Seeking validation for my taste in games aside, I appreciated Mark's responses to the questions as they were insightful and interesting. Seeing a key inspiration for the way trade was implemented is interesting. " A lot of the trade economy and furniture is based on my experiences playing Diablo and Everquest and dropping items in front of people to trade. We wanted to create a unique experience where people had to be socially connected to trade to recreate that feeling of connecting with another player rather than a dull and mechanical auction house." That feeling of intimacy, I felt, was stronger when the game was newer and items were fewer, meaning barter was more popular. The economy can still somewhat retain a homey feel due to direct trade being a necessity but the mass of items and bentos taking the mantle of currency has reduced that and it, I think, has come to a point that many players wish for the convenience of shops and find them on third party apps where the regular player, driven afield by necessity comes into contact with the nefarious black market. I believe an in-game marketplace would prevent a significant amount of this mixing. "Designers are trying to make the game fun for as many people as possible but there are always thousands and thousands of people trying to exploit and break the game. There are so many mechanics I think would be fun and would love to build that wonât work in a multiplayer game where people will find ways to break the mechanics. Itâs so hard but also more fun when it comes together." Should put some in a poll, players may even provide feedback and advice on implementation to prevent these exploits.
Most of you need đ therapy đ and I'm so here for it. Don't we all. That aside, thanks for sharing!! Absolutely loved reading up on my faves!