First we had Melantus... Board monitor, pimp, a true hero for all of us to look up on ;). Now we have Kyzah! Kyzah is a truely great addition to the NC Soft team. She answers all of our board posts A.S.A.P and always seems to leave those smiley faces at the end of every post, despite the thread content.
So just like our good friend Captsturm, Kyzah has taken time out of her own schedule to answers a few questions ranging from NC-Austin to playing Lineage along with us all. Go on now, read ;).
Q: How did you come to working for NC-Austin?
As far as the Community Coordinator position, I had already been working for NCInteractive in another department, and was approached by the Community Team to see if I would be interested in supporting Lineage from a Community aspect. Prior to that, I was already living in Austin, and kept a close eye on the Employment section of the NCSoft website and submitted my resume when the opportunity came up for employment.
Q: How long have you worked at NC-Austin?
About 15 months now; I was brought on just before the release of Episode 10.
Q: Describe your job
Serious answer: My main duty is to act as liaison between the player base and US Lineage Team on a daily basis. What this means is if an issue concerns our players, then the issue concerns us. If the issue is something like a bug report or error in the functioning of the game, then the forums are a great place to get a general idea of the effect of the error, but any errors/bugs should always be reported directly to the Support Team to pass along to our QA/Development Team; the information you submit in a bug report is used to reproduce the problem locally and to assist our QA/Dev Team in trying to resolve the issue. If the issue is something like a suggestion for change in the game or for new content, the topics which generate the most discussion will be the first to jump out at us, be noted, and passed along, but all suggestions are read, reviewed, noted and passed along for consideration for future releases of the game.
Flippant answer: Whipping boy? ;)
Q: From when you arrive till when you leave, what do you do?
I have a general guideline of things to do, and certain things that need to be accomplished by such-and-such time, but often there is no “normal” day or routine at work when you’re working for a game company and supporting a live product. As a live game like Lineage constantly grows and changes and issues arise, so it goes with any level of supporting the game, be it from a Community, Development, Support or QA standpoint. Generally, my day can include any and all of the following: reading and responding to posts in the forum, consulting with and/or assisting other departments in various ways, meetings and discussions, report-writing, brainstorming, troubleshooting, etc. Bringing Lineage to you is definitely a team effort all the way around.
Q: How do you feel about the work you have done at NC-Austin?
I feel very positive about my contributions to the Lineage team in the continuing effort to improve the product and service as a whole for our customers. I’m not one to rest on my laurels, however, and strive to constantly improve the quality and quantity of my contributions.
Q: Do you find time from your busy schedule to play Lineage on a day to day basis?
I don’t often get the chance to play Lineage during normal work hours, as I have a lot of other duties which take up my time, but I do play Lineage as often as I’m able to on my own time. During the week I try to get in maybe an hour of play time one or two nights, and on the weekend I usually end up playing for a more extended period of time. I don’t think you can actively support a game from any standpoint unless you’re in there and playing just as all your customers do and it doesn’t hurt that I really love Lineage!
Q: Do you play along with the players if you play the game often (example: join pledges, hunt in parties, siege)?
Sure, I go through all the trials and tribulations that any player goes through; for example, other players have tried to PK me, DK my dogs, I’ve died when my ISP lags out, etc. I have an untwinked normal account, and play anonymously.
Q: How did you find out about Lineage?
Initially at the 2001 E3 conference, from a discussion with other industry friends about the current MMOG offerings; I wasn’t able to try Lineage out for myself until several months later.
Q: If you were talking to a person who never had played Lineage before, how would you describe the game in a nutshell?
Player to player, I’d say it’s a massively-multiplayer online hack-and-slash game with a dash of political hoohah-mayhem freshness on the flip side. :)
Q: What do you have to take (school wise) to get you where you are today?
Good question! I’m not sure that any one tack would be the best way to go since the industry is so diverse and ever-changing. I would probably suggest finding what you’re strongest at, and nurturing that and shaping it to work with where you want to go.
Q: Would you say your career path is an easy task or something that should be taken more seriously.
Working in the game industry is a lot of fun, but it’s also a tremendous amount of work. I often put in long hours during the week, and the occasional hours here and there on the weekend. I think in any job that you love and love doing, you don’t tend to mind the hours too much because you love what you do.
Q: Do you think game message boards are sometimes abused by the players (e.g. spam for higher rank, rants, etc)?
I would say that yes, it does happen on occasion, but I would also say that it’s more the exception than the rule.
Q: Cake or pie?
Coffee.
Q: Do you have any favourite fan site(s)?
A few, but I’m not going to ‘fess up as to which ones. :)
Q: Were you hazed when you came to work for NC-Austin? If so what happened ^_^?
Nah, no hazing, although we all haze each other around here on a daily basis anyhow… :)
Big thanks to Kyzah for answering the questions! One more to go! Leilo!