G
Ghost_Writer
Guest
I recently met Jeremy at the UO Town Hall meeting in San Diego, CA and was fortunate enough to persuade her to sit down and answer a few interview questions. Jeremy struck me as a warm, friendly and honest person with an immense passion for games. Rather than asking her a bunch of questions about UO that have been asked a hundred times over, I wanted to know just who Jeremy was and what exactly brought her to work in the gaming industry. For those of you particularly who question a staff member's dedication to the game they represent, I think you'll find this interview quite interesting. These questions were posed as personal, and answered as another gamer, not as an EA Mythic employee. Unfortunately I did not have a recording device so the answers are from notes and not exact quotes, I'm sure if I misquote Jeremy she will be happy to correct me. Without further ado, here is the interview.
Q. How old were you when you played your first game and what was it?
A. I was 5 or 6, Kindergarten; one of my friends got an Atari and we used to hang out for hours playing. I don't even remember what games he had but we played that thing as much as our parents would let us. I was so impressed I started saving all my pennies and when I had enough money I got my dad to take me and my jar of pennies to buy my first Nintendo. I think I remember my dad took me to the bank first to change my pennies into dollars so we didn't **** off the guy at the game store.
Q. What made you decide to make games your career?
A. Ultima Underworld. When I played that game for the first time I thought, "This is it, this is what I want to do with my life". So fresh out of school I moved to Austin, I wanted to work for Origin Systems. Got my first job at NC Soft instead and the rest is history.
Q. When did you start playing UO, and are you still an active player?
A. In '97 when the game was released. Yes I still play, I'd consider myself a casual player. I'd say I play for fun at least a few hours a week. That's above and beyond what I do for work.
Q. What's your favorite Character class and play style?
A. Paladin, because he's pretty indestructible, not the greatest of fighters but he's almost impossible to kill unless you fall asleep. Between spells, bandages and potions he's pretty easy to keep alive. I play PvE; my reflexes aren't good enough for PvP, and I’d just get my butt kicked.
Q. What do you like the most about UO?
A. Its flexibility; being able to create any type of character that suits your play style. It's non-linear, you can play any part of the game at any level, no restrictions. Most other games you have to grind levels to gain access to new areas or skills etc. UO isn't like that, you can start with any skills you want and develop just those skills.
Q. What do you like least about UO?
A. A lot of aspects of UO are not user friendly. Tedious skill gain, resource gathering, things that force you to do repetitive tasks.
Q. What would you personally like to see fixed the most in UO?
A. Well, there are a few things I'd really like to see fixed. I know this is supposed to be personal, but from a professional standpoint, I'd really like to see the ROT skill gain on Siege get some love.
Q. Do you play other games and if so what?
A. Yes of course, I'm a gamer; I've played most everything at least to try it. I play CoH and WoW to name a couple.
Q. What else do you do with your spare time besides gaming?
A. Currently Karate, athletic stuff, lifting weights, running. I spend so much time at the computer I feel like I have to do something physical.
Q. Where do you want to see your career go from here?
A. That's a tough question, as being a community liaison I'm kind of at the top of what I can do in the community area of gaming. I think I'd like to work on some bigger projects, possibly get into design and development. I know C++ and just about enough game code to be dangerous. The devs let me look over their shoulders occasionally to see what the code looks like and for some ideas.
Well, I promised you ten questions so I'll let you off the hook at this point. Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with me and giving such honest and candid responses.
And that concluded our interview. There are a few things I'd like to mention that just don't make the translation between sitting and talking with Jeremy and reading it in text. The look on her face when she spoke about her first gaming experience and saving her pennies for her first Nintendo; she looked like a child remembering Christmas. The look of passion when she talked about Ultima Underworld and moving to Austin to look for work at Origin. She is definitely in the right industry; I doubt she would be happy doing anything but games for a living.
Until next time,
Ghost Writer
Q. How old were you when you played your first game and what was it?
A. I was 5 or 6, Kindergarten; one of my friends got an Atari and we used to hang out for hours playing. I don't even remember what games he had but we played that thing as much as our parents would let us. I was so impressed I started saving all my pennies and when I had enough money I got my dad to take me and my jar of pennies to buy my first Nintendo. I think I remember my dad took me to the bank first to change my pennies into dollars so we didn't **** off the guy at the game store.
Q. What made you decide to make games your career?
A. Ultima Underworld. When I played that game for the first time I thought, "This is it, this is what I want to do with my life". So fresh out of school I moved to Austin, I wanted to work for Origin Systems. Got my first job at NC Soft instead and the rest is history.
Q. When did you start playing UO, and are you still an active player?
A. In '97 when the game was released. Yes I still play, I'd consider myself a casual player. I'd say I play for fun at least a few hours a week. That's above and beyond what I do for work.
Q. What's your favorite Character class and play style?
A. Paladin, because he's pretty indestructible, not the greatest of fighters but he's almost impossible to kill unless you fall asleep. Between spells, bandages and potions he's pretty easy to keep alive. I play PvE; my reflexes aren't good enough for PvP, and I’d just get my butt kicked.
Q. What do you like the most about UO?
A. Its flexibility; being able to create any type of character that suits your play style. It's non-linear, you can play any part of the game at any level, no restrictions. Most other games you have to grind levels to gain access to new areas or skills etc. UO isn't like that, you can start with any skills you want and develop just those skills.
Q. What do you like least about UO?
A. A lot of aspects of UO are not user friendly. Tedious skill gain, resource gathering, things that force you to do repetitive tasks.
Q. What would you personally like to see fixed the most in UO?
A. Well, there are a few things I'd really like to see fixed. I know this is supposed to be personal, but from a professional standpoint, I'd really like to see the ROT skill gain on Siege get some love.
Q. Do you play other games and if so what?
A. Yes of course, I'm a gamer; I've played most everything at least to try it. I play CoH and WoW to name a couple.
Q. What else do you do with your spare time besides gaming?
A. Currently Karate, athletic stuff, lifting weights, running. I spend so much time at the computer I feel like I have to do something physical.
Q. Where do you want to see your career go from here?
A. That's a tough question, as being a community liaison I'm kind of at the top of what I can do in the community area of gaming. I think I'd like to work on some bigger projects, possibly get into design and development. I know C++ and just about enough game code to be dangerous. The devs let me look over their shoulders occasionally to see what the code looks like and for some ideas.
Well, I promised you ten questions so I'll let you off the hook at this point. Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with me and giving such honest and candid responses.
And that concluded our interview. There are a few things I'd like to mention that just don't make the translation between sitting and talking with Jeremy and reading it in text. The look on her face when she spoke about her first gaming experience and saving her pennies for her first Nintendo; she looked like a child remembering Christmas. The look of passion when she talked about Ultima Underworld and moving to Austin to look for work at Origin. She is definitely in the right industry; I doubt she would be happy doing anything but games for a living.
Until next time,
Ghost Writer
. I can honestly say she has been on these boards and gets down in the dirt to resolve the problems and is not afraid to go toe to toe with some of these rude people.