I'm ALIVE!

Whenever a blog goes silent it is usually due to one of two reasons: A) the person is too busy and B) they just lost interest. Luckily for me it is the former and not the latter.

Indeed I am now just working on Dungeon Runners. We’ve needed it for a long time, and we got it – another community person! She’s working on Lineage I and Exteel communities and she’s doing a fantastic job. Around the same time I joined Dungeon Runners full time CuppaJo also joined Dungeon Runners as our Associate Producer. We used to work together on the COH and I was curious to know if the boards were talking about it. Indeed they were, and I got a huge kick out of it:

COH forum thread

I'd post a reply in that thead, but ya know, my account actually isn't active and I wouldn't dare post as 'Cricket' under any other account. Since that particular account was work related (not my personal play account) account support put a block on it after I left COH. But that's okay. It's more of a security thing and I completely understand. It ain't like I'm gonna go back in there and wreck the place up. Oh lord. That thought it so absurd I just can't help but find that funny.

I also was humored by the notion that many think CuppaJo and I must have some kind of gaming curse....the games we moved to didn’t do so well so eventually we just landed on DR. The success (or lack of, whatever the case may be) actually has nothing to do with it.

I actually left COH for a one main reason - the dev team (which was Cryptic at the time) were out in California while I’m in Texas. Working remotely with the dev team, marketing, and the producers wasn't easy. Now up to that point that was always the case, but it always did make more sense to have the community team out in California. So finally it happened. They were generous enough to make me a relocating offer but I declined. Mostly it was because I'm terrified of California's cost of living. Oh, and the governor happens to be the Terminator. THE TERMINATOR. That movie scared me when I was little.

When that relocation offer happened another community spot opened up here when someone left to go work elsewhere. Whew. So I took that. And my titles were - hold on to your hats -

Auto Assault (closed a few months later)
Lineage I
Exteel (was in beta)
Dungeon Runners (was in beta)

I won't lie. It was hard. I couldn't be everywhere at once. I actually had the same issue on COH after CuppaJo left but before Lighthouse got on board. One person can only stretch themselves so much.

Finally the day came when we could hire another community person to take over Lineage I and Exteel. That’s when I went to (stayed, technically) with Dungeon Runners. I had to pick a game, and I decided to go with the game that had the development team in house. I’ve never really worked with a dev team closely before so I couldn’t say no to that opportunity. Then I heard CuppaJo accepted an AP position for Dungeon Runners, leaving her Tabula Rasa Associate Producer position. I was pretty damn happy about that. She accepted the position because we needed a producer BAD after our previous one left. It simply was a matter of filling a need and we knew she'd fit right in. And yes, I knew she’d actually like the job :) CuppaJo is one smart cookie; she wouldn't accept a job unless she has a good feeling about it. She also wants to go where she is needed the most. She’s a good sport, that Cuppa.

I can personally say I don't think I bailed out of any sinking ship. Exteel is actually doing very well. Lineage I is also holding on strong like a rock. (Why that surprises some people I don't know.) I don't think I cursed either one of those games, whew! Auto Assault closed months before, which, coincidentally enough - happened the same week when I was out of the office due to a rather personal (life changing) experience. It was rotten luck, and thank goodness we had good people around, good people who were a part of Auto Assault long before I was. I certainly felt bad that I couldn't be around for it and I have no doubt that from the outside it probably looked rather inconsiderate of me. But, that goes along with the job. Community Managers can't always worry about very single outward appearance unless or we'd all burn out real fast. I still think of Auto Assault and I even still have some Auto Assault stuff I’ve been holding on to. I don’t have the money to ship it out, but I hope I can give it to some die hard Auto Assault fans one day.

I was a little surprised by the "old mods vs new mods" turn the thread took. I know, I know, I shouldn't be. I just haven't been on the COH boards in awhile. I completely forgot about one COH forums characteristic trait - loyalty. Whether it is for a certain red name, in-game character, etc. COH players have always proven themselves to be quite dedicated to their beliefs. It goes with the spirit of the game. And damnit, it makes me want to play COH again. It’s too bad I got my hands full as it is. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it was my 2nd MMO but my first MMO love. Awww.

Now I'm not just being all super nice here when I say the current COH forum team (mods and community managers alike) are a pretty solid team. The structure improved, and I think CuppaJo and I are both glad to see that happen. Now I'm not saying CuppaJo and I are chopped liver. I'm proud of what we both did and I think we ROCKED every situation we faced.

When it comes to personalities, yes, both the current crew and the old crews both have plenty of that going around. Now with what you prefer, hmmm, that all just boils down to personal preference. I think all of our personalities work. Now with me, it took me awhile to find my style – my voice, so to speak. I’m much more casual now and I’m generally a little quirky. I’m not ashamed of admitting when I’m wrong and I’m a big advocate of speaking plainly. My confidence – and my sense of humor – has grown. And when it comes to writing in general I just think that simplicity is the way to go. I know I’m not the best writer in the world, but I try to write with a certain amount of feeling involved. That may not work for everyone, but I think it suits me.