Stephen-Reid
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SWTOR tours London! OK, maybe not tours -- more like shows up [Updated]
Stephen Reid, the Community Manager for Star Wars: The Old Republic, tweeted last night and today, teasing the citizens of the United Kingdom that something special was coming their way. Rumours abound on the official forums as to what would be revealed. Then today, at 1:08 p.m. EDT (5:08 GMT), the secret was unveiled: Fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic will be able to play the yet-to-be-released MMO for one day only on April 5th. Now, you're wondering how you can take part in this amazing event. Send your name as it appears on a photo ID, your name on the official forums, your age (you must be over 18 to attend), and which session you would like to attend (7 p.m. or 9 p.m. GMT) to bwacommunitysupport@bioware.com. The event is invite-only; if you get in, you will receive an invite by March 31st. Be sure to include every piece of information BioWare asked for or you will not be eligible for an invite. All the origin worlds and classes will be open for play at this event, and spots are first come, first serve. Hyperdrive over to the official forums now for more information! [Update: According to Senior CM Stephen Reid, "tickets were gone about 40 minutes before you posted that story."]
Hyperspace Beacon: Community news round-up
As I mentioned in the last edition of the Hyperspace Beacon, the Star Wars: The Old Republic community played a large part in what made PAX East so great this time around. It would also be silly of me to believe that I could catch every single tidbit at PAX personally or even that Massively could nab every granular morsel of the SWTOR pie. However, unlike some MMORPG communities, our TOR community isn't limited to just one site for all of its information. In fact, PAX East 2011 was probably the biggest showing of SWTOR fansites of any convention. This week, I'm going to take a break from reporting news myself and instead give you a taste of some of the news that was released this week from other sites. As I've said before, I don't expect you to have read or to follow every site that is reporting on The Old Republic. In fact, I think that would burn most people out. However, there are great reporters on other sites, and I think it would be a mistake if I didn't let the Massively audience in on some of their great work.
Hyperspace Beacon: Sithing up for PAX East
If you haven't been paying attention, then you wouldn't know that Star Wars: The Old Republic is going to make a huge appearance at PAX East this year. However, unlike past appearances, this presentation is all about giving the fans a first-hand experience with the game. The SWTOR community team has promised Flashpoints, Jedi classes, and origin worlds that the fans can see, hear, touch, and feel. For a fan who has been following the game since before October of 2008, this is far more exciting than any on-stage performance. With all of the hoopla, it may be difficult to know every single thing that is going on. And as your guide through the vastness of hyperspace, I should give you a guideline so you do not miss a vital piece of the event. Follow me after the cut for a breakdown of the planned events and some suggestions for things to do while attending PAX.
SWTOR's loss is Playdom's gain -- Gordon Walton
It's always a sad thing to see a developer leave your favorite game, especially when the game has yet to be released like Star Wars: The Old Republic. Last month, Gordon Walton stepped down as General Manager at BioWare Austin to take a job at the social gaming company Playdom. SWTOR media site Darth Hater quoted Community Manager Stephen Reid as saying, "With great thanks and appreciation, we say goodbye to Gordon Walton for helping bring the game to the phenomenal state it is in today [...] It is business as usual at all BioWare studios, where we remain committed to creating, delivering and evolving the most emotionally engaging games in the world." Gordon Walton spoke quite frequently about MMOs as a business. He was not afraid to speak frankly to other developers. You may remember his GDC 2007 quote about "the grind" in most MMOs. He explained that the "object is not to keep people as long as humanly possible, but to provide entertainment. [The players] will do it, but they will hate you." Walton was at BioWare for five years, and we at Massively look forward to seeing his work at Playdom. Good Luck, Gordon! [Thank you Justin for the tip!]
SWTOR fans ask whether Sith are evil and how Crew Skills work
It is always refreshing to fans when developers sit down with them to answer their questions. In recent months -- specifically, when the community team added David Bass -- many Star Wars: The Old Republic fan podcasts, websites, and the official forums have received more traffic from developers. Corellian Run Radio aired an interview with Senior Community Coordinator Joanne Laroche; TOR-Talk spoke to Senior Community Manager Stephen Reid; the TOR Syndicate also had a guest appearance from Stephen Reid. This week is no exception. SWTOR fan site AskAJedi.com was able to sit down with Lead Systems Designer Damion Schubert to talk about Crew Skills. Lethality asks some very specific question regarding how a player earns different types of crew skills, what effect Crew Skills have on companions, and how player hubs will survive with so much activity happening on individual ships. Schubert shies away from none of those questions. On the official forums, Lead Writer Daniel Erickson confronts the are-Sith-evil question head on. "We can get into endless philosophical discussions about whether anything is actually evil or actually good but if we are speaking from our modern, western view on the concept of evil then the Sith clearly qualify," Erickson explains, further clarifying that this does not limit the path of your character. Check out the full Crew Skills Q&A on AskAJedi and Erickson's complete explanation on the official SWOTR site.
The Daily Grind: Should devs share more info with the community?
A recent thread on The Old Republic forums brought some interesting points to light regarding MMO development teams and how they interact with frothing pre-release communities. It seems the natives are restless on account of BioWare's piecemeal reveal strategy (a strategy that, to date, has shown us a flashpoint, a raid, and little else in terms of actual gameplay). Whether you abhor hype or live for it, you have to admit that BioWare is doing a masterful job of keeping fans at arm's length while simultaneously maintaining an air of excitement and expectancy. This isn't likely to change either, as community manager Stephen Reid chimed in on the thread with a polite version of STFU. Reid made no bones about the fact that BioWare will continue to parcel out info only "when it's ready," despite the mounting exasperation of some long-time followers. For today's Daily Grind, we'd like to know where you stand on the issue. Are you OK with BioWare's "release it when it's ready" mantra, or do you feel the company is doing its fans and potential customers a disservice by withholding information? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
When is "ready"? SWTOR's Community Manager discusses player concerns
Many fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic have been concerned about the amount of information released in the last few updates, especially considering the fact that a lot more information was released during the summer. Senior Community Manager Stephen Reid hopped on the forums to address these and other concerns the SWTOR community had. BioWare's line for the last couple of years has been, "We will talk about it when it's ready." According to Reid, the mantra still holds true, but the explanation is a bit deeper when considering what it actually takes to be "ready." Presentation is the first on his list, as Reid explains in a post, "While some of you might say 'But I don't care! I'm sure it'll be good in the final game! I can totally forgive you this time!' I'm afraid we don't get that latitude with, oooh, pretty much 90% of the rest of the world." Another reason is some systems that are ready depend on other systems that aren't ready. And lastly, there are public relations and marketing considerations. In another post, Reid addressed other specific community concerns, such as EU testing and, as one community member put it, "We in the EU do feel like second rate citizen here sometimes." Other concerns like the low amount of developer posts on the forums, in general, and the community's influence on the final game are engaged as well. The full posts are located on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forum, in the developer tracker. Be sure to check there for more information.
Hyperspace Beacon: 2010 Retro!
Wow... 2010 is almost over, and Star Wars: The Old Republic is not released yet. OK, I had speculated at the beginning of this year that we would not see it until 2011. But if you had asked me in October of 2008 (when the official site was launched), I would have told you that the launch was at the end of 2009. There was no way in my mind that a company would launch its website that early. Boy, was I wrong. Little did I know at the time that I would be sitting here at the end of 2010 (the year new life was to begin on Europa), not playing what I hoped would be my favorite game ever. However, this has all given me time to think back about what SWTOR has given us this year. The year 2010 was the year of SWTOR reveals. Some have questioned whether too much has been revealed -- or rather, hyped. We have had group combat videos, designers switching games, CEOs retiring, opinionated play-throughs, and many other news items. Would you say we have had a plethora of SWTOR news this year? Oh yes, we have had a plethora, El Guapo. I have my favorites and my not-so favorites. Let's explore a few of them in this little retrospective.
Hands-on with SWTOR's Jedi Knight on Tython
Last month, Massively was invited to LucasArts for a whole day's experience with BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic. One of the perks of living on the West Coast is that I get to attend all these awesome in-depth Silicon Valley events and really expand on Massively's sessions at various conventions! For all my enthusiasm, I have to admit I approached this hands-on with no small amount of trepidation. I'm a huge Star Wars fan (I still play Star Wars Galaxies!), but I fell out of "expert" range on the saga a decade ago. Like many of you readers, I've been wary of the hype and even warier of delusions of grandeur on the part of game companies trying to do justice to the IP. I was really afraid that it wouldn't be as good as I'd hoped and that I'd walk away disappointed. And given the parts I saw, SWTOR's not as good as I'd hoped. It's better. %Gallery-108535%
Hyperspace Beacon: Rockin' the Roleplay
I once asked, "What is roleplay?" in Massively's IRC channel. My intent was to define roleplay in its simplest terms. After all, the majority of us play RPGs, even if they are MMORPGs. I was surprised that, once you added "game" versus just the word "roleplay," the context changed astronomically. For instance, roleplay taken by itself could be defined as taking on another character. We all know that LARPing (live-action roleplay) is dressing up as character and performing the actions of a character who is not you. If you ask someone who considers herself a roleplayer in an MMO, she would define roleplay similarly: taking on a character in that particular setting. But ask a group of gamers what defines an RPG and you'll certainly get a wide variety of answers. Some define it as leveling. Others say it's telling a story in a game. Some define it by the DIKU-type playstyle. Some go so far as to say that you have to have a gamemaster, rules, and story for it to truly be an RPG. Our Senior Editor Brianna Royce suggested in the interview with Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Manager Stephen Reid that BioWare is "putting the RPG back into MMORPGs," to which Reid replied in general agreement, "I think that's part of it. It's really about allowing you to experience real choice in a great story." The phrase "putting the RP back into MMORPG" (or something very similar) was used a couple of times in "booth chat" with developers of SWTOR. It was good to see a developer respond to that phrase. But is it true? Does SWTOR put the RP back into the MMORPG? What makes an RPG an RPG? Does SWTOR fit that bill? How will it will work with traditional MMO roleplayers? Join me past the break to find out.
Massively's in-depth interview with SWTOR Community Manager Stephen Reid
Last Friday, Star Wars: The Old Republic finally revealed the Crew Skills crafting system. In a slightly less important announcement, BioWare also announced its new Community Manager, Stephen Reid. OK, I'm teasing. It is very important announcement. Since Sean Dahlberg stepped down, the community team has been without a face and voice to the community. Those left behind had to put in extra effort into providing the fans with the latest releases from the SWTOR news room, and for a while, the community was unsure who, if anyone, would be able to fill the shoes. Now, Stephen Reid has taken the helm of the massive community starship. Now since we have a new voice of the SWTOR community team, Massively thought it would be interesting to get his thoughts on the game, on the community, and on how we, the fans, could best make Star Wars: The Old Republic the game it should be. Massively Senior Editor Brianna Royce sat down with Stephen at a recent LucasArts event for an in-depth interview -- join us past the break to see what he had to say!
BioWare names Stephen Reid the new SWTOR Community Manager
A few months back -- just after PAX -- community manager Sean Dahlberg stepped down from his position at BioWare to join UTV True Game's Faxion design team. In the intermediate time, his Star Wars: The Old Republic duties have been filled by community representatives like Joanne Laroche and Alyson Bridge. But now Sean's empty seat has been filled by none other than Stephen "Rockjaw" Reid. You may know Reid as the Community Director at Gazillion Entertainment or maybe the Senior Community Manager at Trion World. Either way, Reid's experience is well-known in the MMO world. And prior to his work in the States, British-born Reid specialized in public relations and community-related projects for NCsoft UK. His voice has been heard on the Yellow Spandex podcast as well as the official NCsoft Europe podcast before that. It's safe to say the Force is strong with this one. Reid has been a regular reader of Massively and has been known to comment on our stories via his twitter account Rockjaw. We'd like to congratulate Stephen on his new position, and we look forward to hearing the latest SWTOR news from him. Be sure to send him a warm welcome on the SWTOR forums, and don't miss our interview with this new addition to the SWTOR team coming in the next few days. In the words of Han Solo in A New Hope, "Don't get cocky" -- I mean, "Here's where the fun begins!"
Super Hero Squad Online: No more "nameless sidekicks"
These days, it takes a lot to impress me. Oh sure, I love MMOs. But sometimes I feel I'm in a rut, waiting for something new and different. Something that doesn't just have a "new" sticker, but actually has some new hook that will keep me happily playing -- not grinding -- more than a month. Something that will make me feel good about being a gamer again. Something cute and friendly that actually relieves stress rather than creating more. That's why I was so surprised by Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, the official premiere of which I was lucky enough to attend yesterday in downtown San Francisco. (The folks at Gazillion Entertainment and The Amazing Society put on a great show!) I certainly didn't walk into the event expecting SHSO to pique more than my passing fancy. Comic book-themed games are definitely something I love, and Marvel couldn't be hotter right now, but let's be honest -- SHSO's press release and early screenshots suggest an overtly family-friendly, even kid-oriented, cartoony romp. I figured the game would be Free Realms in capes, and that Massively's readers would probably be more interested in the other Marvel MMO (simultaneously in development by Gazillion with Gargantuan Studios). Well, I'm pleased to report that my preconceptions about Super Hero Squad Online were mostly wrong, and now I've got a new upcoming game to add to my "gotta buy" list. Join me on the flipside of the break and find out why SHSO seems poised to *POW* *ZAP* *BLAMMO* the casual MMO sweet spot!%Gallery-93313%
Post-NCsoft Rockjaw speaks out
No, of course he didn't drag his former employer through the muck or curse their good name. Stephen "Rockjaw" Reid is better than that. But the former Creative Concepts Manager for NCsoft Europe does talk a good bit with John and Matt (former hosts of Tabula Rasa's TabulaCast) on the Limited Edition Podcast about all things comic-related. Despite the bad news of his recent departure from NCsoft, Reid has just announced a new gig as Expo Community and Gaming Manager for the Eurogamer Expo. This is certainly good news, as Reid has always been loved by the gaming community. Reid's only comments on the podcast regarding his departure from NCsoft were, "It ultimately comes down to business, nothing more." He also discusses the reaction of his City of Heroes colleagues to the DC Universe Online development, and chats a good bit about his views of Champions Online. If you're into comic books and the popularity that comic books are gaining in the MMO space, this podcast may interest you.
New official NCSoft Europe podcast online
Stephen 'Rockjaw' Reid, Creative Concepts manager at NCSoft Europe, has put episode 2.5 of the NCSE podcast up for our perusal. This new episode follows up on the wildly successful MiniCon, focusing on the aftermath of the mammoth City of Heroes playing event, Task Force Omega. Who were the contestants, how did they survive, and who ultimately emerged triumphant? NCSoft Europe have been highly active in the events field lately, with their appearance at the Comics Expo in Bristol, UK bringing in major bucks for charity. The next major event in the NCSoft Europe calendar will be the UK Games Expo on May 31st and June 1st. Once again, you'll be able to get a favorite character sketched courtesy of the artists from the Draw the World Together project. For the first time, they'll also be selling copies of the DTWT sketchbook, filled with images of the CoX heroes and villains!Listen to the podcast online, or if you prefer, download it and save it for later.
NCsoft Europe's 2nd podcast, featuring War Witch
The second episode of the Official NCsoft Europe podcast (called that because no one's been able to come up with a better name, apparently) is up, and concerns itself mostly with a revisiting of the Ultimate Heroic Weekend. From all accounts, it was quite the bash, and next year's event is not to be missed!Additionally, there is an interview with Melissa 'War Witch' Bianco, one of the more famous developers from City of Heroes and City of Villains, recorded during the final days of the event. Hosted by Stephen 'Rockjaw' Reid, the podcast is a worthwhile listen, especially if you're a fan of CoX. Listen to it on their site. And as an aside, man, is there anyone who doesn't play Rock Band?[Thanks, Aero!]
NCsoft Europe launches first podcast
NCsoft Europe launched its first official podcast today, and it's full of City of Heroes goodness. Why should us Yanks bother?Sure, in the inaugural episode Stephen Reid ("Rockjaw" from the CoH EU forums) talks about an upcoming European community event (happening in Birmingham, UK, March 2st-24th), but he also chats with Matt "Positron" Miller (Lead Designer of City of Heroes), and gets the scoop on Manticore and Sister Psyche's wedding from none other then the real life couple behind the heroes themselves, Sean and Jen Dornan-Fish. Sean is the Lead Content Designer on several unannounced NCsoft projects, and works on CoH and Exteel. Jen is a freelance CoH writer (and anthropology professor). There's even some Guild Wars love thrown in for good measure as they speak to Martin Kerstein (European Community Team Lead for GW) about the Bonus Mission Pack.Click on over to the NCsoft EU site where you can download the podcast and the transcript.
