EQ2_Bloggers
01-20-2011, 07:03 PM
http://www.station.sony.com/images/community/features/employee_spotlight.jpg
2011 has arrived and with that we would like to highlight more of the many diverse employees here at SOE! You’ve met the Community team on the forums and at Fan Faire. But what about our fine folks in Finance, Human Resources, Development, Legal, Quality Assurance, Office Operations, Public Relations, Administrative Assistants, and Marketing, just to name a few. We have people from all walks of life here at SOE.
The Community team would like to introduce you to those people in this monthly feature, the SOE Employee Spotlight. Each month our spotlighted employee will also appear in some fashion on the Official SOE Podcast.
This month you will meet Mitch Evans from the Free Realms development team. Take a moment to find out about what a typical day in the office is like for him, what his favorite SOE game is, and other fun tidbits. As a special bonus, we learned where his favorite location in-game is and included a screenshot for you to download!
http://www.soe.com/images/community/employee_spotlights/Jan2011/mitch.jpg (http://www.soe.com/images/community/employee_spotlights/Jan2011/mitch.jpg)
Question: Tell us about yourself!* What’s your name and what do you do here at SOE? How long have you been working at SOE?
Answer: My name is Mitchell Evans, and I’ve been a senior programmer here at SOE for a little over five years, primarily working on gameplay code.* I get to translate the designers’ vision of our games into the crunchy little bits that run on your computer.* It takes a bit of education and a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding when we get to see the game come together!
Question: How did you get into the industry?
Answer: I originally started out as a software engineer for Texas Instruments, and worked on command, control, and communication software for the US military.* Several friends of mine were in the game industry at the time and constantly bugged me to come work at Blue Sky, making computer games.* Eventually, I did, and started a long (and happy) career making software that puts a smile on folks’ faces.* I’ve worked on PS1, Xbox, PS2, and PC game titles in several genres and for several game companies.
Question: Tell us what a typical workday is like for you.
Answer: My typical workday starts with a rather lengthy commute, followed by a cup of coffee and our morning status meeting.* We all get together for about five minutes and discuss what we’re doing and how the work is progressing.* After that, my day is filled with programming, meeting with other people about the systems we are building, and stomping the bugs found by our quality assurance folks.* *And lunch time, of course.* Sign me up for sushi!
Question: Let’s talk Favorites… What is your favorite SOE game title? What is your favorite location or favorite thing about that game? Do you have a favorite memory or moment from that particular game?
Answer: I found this job at SOE because I had friends here, and because I was a rabid EverQuest player.* I really enjoy the cooperative nature of MMORPGs, and have been playing them for over twelve years now.* I still remember my nervous entry into the estate of Unrest and Castle Mistmoore–two of my favorite zones from EQ.* The density of monsters and the constant threat of player-made monster trains kept me on my toes!* I think my favorite memory in EQ was when I killed the dragon Nagafen for the final time with my guild.* I had been trying for months to get a specific staff for my druid, Doccus.* This time, I was the only druid on the raid…and Nagafen dropped *four* of the staves!* I played after that point on several different servers, with several guilds, but always kept that staff on hand!
Question: If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?
Answer: If I could be a fictional character, I would probably choose to be a Herald from Mercedes Lackey’s series of books (Heralds of Valdemar).* The combination of having an intelligent creature as an ally / friend and tirelessly working to make the world a better place both appeal to me greatly.
Question: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Answer: If I could have any superpower, it would be speedy flight.* There are so many things to see, people to meet, and places to investigate in the world, it’s hard to fit them all into a busy schedule.* I’d love to be able to SHOOOOM to work, do my job, speed on out to some faraway spot for lunch, speed home, and have a night on the town with my family anywhere in the world.
Question: Let’s get real! Hobbies? What’s last book you read, or last movie you saw? What do you do to unwind after a busy day?
Answer: I have a ton of hobbies!* I love to hike, photograph nature, fly fish, canoe, sightsee, SCUBA dive, ride horses, cross-country ski, cook, read, and play a large variety of games, both on computers and not.* I grew up in Wyoming, and have a deep love for the outdoors…the more rugged the country, the better!
The last book I read was A Feast for Crows, by George R. R. Martin.* I had read it before, but decided to re-read the series and have them fresh in my mind for the upcoming HBO miniseries.
I went to see Tron: Legacy (in 3D!) with friends recently, and that was the last movie I saw.* It was a decent story, with some awesome visuals, and a fantastic soundtrack!* I am much more of a comedy fan than an action movie fan, but it was TRON, and I’m a programmer…so it was a must see!
I unwind at the end of my busy day by heading home, eating dinner with the family, and then helping my son with his homework.* Afterward, we often enjoy some family reading time, or get on our computers and slay some pixilated dragons.* Typically, there’s not much time during the week after we finish our family fun to do much else than head off to bed, and start again the next day.* Weekends, though, are for adventure…
Enjoy this screenshot from EverQuest in Castle Mistmoore, one of Mitch’s Favorite Locations!
http://www.soe.com/images/community/employee_spotlights/Jan2011/Mistmoore.jpg (http://www.soe.com/images/community/employee_spotlights/Jan2011/Mistmoore_lg.jpg)
We hope you enjoyed meeting Mitch and will take a listen to Podcast #102, where Mitch will be lending his voice talent. Return next month for another SOE Employee Spotlight.
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Visit This Blog Page... (http://stationblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/soe-employee-spotlight-january/)
Visit StationBlog (http://stationblog.wordpress.com/)
2011 has arrived and with that we would like to highlight more of the many diverse employees here at SOE! You’ve met the Community team on the forums and at Fan Faire. But what about our fine folks in Finance, Human Resources, Development, Legal, Quality Assurance, Office Operations, Public Relations, Administrative Assistants, and Marketing, just to name a few. We have people from all walks of life here at SOE.
The Community team would like to introduce you to those people in this monthly feature, the SOE Employee Spotlight. Each month our spotlighted employee will also appear in some fashion on the Official SOE Podcast.
This month you will meet Mitch Evans from the Free Realms development team. Take a moment to find out about what a typical day in the office is like for him, what his favorite SOE game is, and other fun tidbits. As a special bonus, we learned where his favorite location in-game is and included a screenshot for you to download!
http://www.soe.com/images/community/employee_spotlights/Jan2011/mitch.jpg (http://www.soe.com/images/community/employee_spotlights/Jan2011/mitch.jpg)
Question: Tell us about yourself!* What’s your name and what do you do here at SOE? How long have you been working at SOE?
Answer: My name is Mitchell Evans, and I’ve been a senior programmer here at SOE for a little over five years, primarily working on gameplay code.* I get to translate the designers’ vision of our games into the crunchy little bits that run on your computer.* It takes a bit of education and a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding when we get to see the game come together!
Question: How did you get into the industry?
Answer: I originally started out as a software engineer for Texas Instruments, and worked on command, control, and communication software for the US military.* Several friends of mine were in the game industry at the time and constantly bugged me to come work at Blue Sky, making computer games.* Eventually, I did, and started a long (and happy) career making software that puts a smile on folks’ faces.* I’ve worked on PS1, Xbox, PS2, and PC game titles in several genres and for several game companies.
Question: Tell us what a typical workday is like for you.
Answer: My typical workday starts with a rather lengthy commute, followed by a cup of coffee and our morning status meeting.* We all get together for about five minutes and discuss what we’re doing and how the work is progressing.* After that, my day is filled with programming, meeting with other people about the systems we are building, and stomping the bugs found by our quality assurance folks.* *And lunch time, of course.* Sign me up for sushi!
Question: Let’s talk Favorites… What is your favorite SOE game title? What is your favorite location or favorite thing about that game? Do you have a favorite memory or moment from that particular game?
Answer: I found this job at SOE because I had friends here, and because I was a rabid EverQuest player.* I really enjoy the cooperative nature of MMORPGs, and have been playing them for over twelve years now.* I still remember my nervous entry into the estate of Unrest and Castle Mistmoore–two of my favorite zones from EQ.* The density of monsters and the constant threat of player-made monster trains kept me on my toes!* I think my favorite memory in EQ was when I killed the dragon Nagafen for the final time with my guild.* I had been trying for months to get a specific staff for my druid, Doccus.* This time, I was the only druid on the raid…and Nagafen dropped *four* of the staves!* I played after that point on several different servers, with several guilds, but always kept that staff on hand!
Question: If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?
Answer: If I could be a fictional character, I would probably choose to be a Herald from Mercedes Lackey’s series of books (Heralds of Valdemar).* The combination of having an intelligent creature as an ally / friend and tirelessly working to make the world a better place both appeal to me greatly.
Question: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Answer: If I could have any superpower, it would be speedy flight.* There are so many things to see, people to meet, and places to investigate in the world, it’s hard to fit them all into a busy schedule.* I’d love to be able to SHOOOOM to work, do my job, speed on out to some faraway spot for lunch, speed home, and have a night on the town with my family anywhere in the world.
Question: Let’s get real! Hobbies? What’s last book you read, or last movie you saw? What do you do to unwind after a busy day?
Answer: I have a ton of hobbies!* I love to hike, photograph nature, fly fish, canoe, sightsee, SCUBA dive, ride horses, cross-country ski, cook, read, and play a large variety of games, both on computers and not.* I grew up in Wyoming, and have a deep love for the outdoors…the more rugged the country, the better!
The last book I read was A Feast for Crows, by George R. R. Martin.* I had read it before, but decided to re-read the series and have them fresh in my mind for the upcoming HBO miniseries.
I went to see Tron: Legacy (in 3D!) with friends recently, and that was the last movie I saw.* It was a decent story, with some awesome visuals, and a fantastic soundtrack!* I am much more of a comedy fan than an action movie fan, but it was TRON, and I’m a programmer…so it was a must see!
I unwind at the end of my busy day by heading home, eating dinner with the family, and then helping my son with his homework.* Afterward, we often enjoy some family reading time, or get on our computers and slay some pixilated dragons.* Typically, there’s not much time during the week after we finish our family fun to do much else than head off to bed, and start again the next day.* Weekends, though, are for adventure…
Enjoy this screenshot from EverQuest in Castle Mistmoore, one of Mitch’s Favorite Locations!
http://www.soe.com/images/community/employee_spotlights/Jan2011/Mistmoore.jpg (http://www.soe.com/images/community/employee_spotlights/Jan2011/Mistmoore_lg.jpg)
We hope you enjoyed meeting Mitch and will take a listen to Podcast #102, where Mitch will be lending his voice talent. Return next month for another SOE Employee Spotlight.
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Author:
Visit This Blog Page... (http://stationblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/soe-employee-spotlight-january/)
Visit StationBlog (http://stationblog.wordpress.com/)