User:NuclearVII/Essays/Questions and no answers

DISCLAIMER: I will not explain these questions. If you wish to answer them, fine, but not expect any clarification.

To Izzy

1. Are you working alone? If there are a team of subordinated under your command, why have we not heard of them? If you are alone, have you not yet understood the impossibility of your task?

   I mainly work with Morello(Ryan Scott), Chaplin(Jonathan Sharp), James Phinney, and Linsey Murdock, but we talk to a lot of people form all over the community and many other people in our office join us in different discussions.

2. From the incident with Signet of ghostly might, I gather that the beta phase for nightfal was either non-existant or increadibly short. Was the public release used as a cheap beta?

   Ehh sometimes small things get missed that become huge issues, when you fix thousens of bugs it's easy for one to get missed this was actually fixed a few times but due to another bug that was interduced broke again after it had been fixed. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

3. Why did you take so long to fix some of the game's problems? Exactly how overworked are you?

   It's an matter of priority when your making games you take all the issues put them on a list and fix them in order or priorder, sometimes things dont' make it on the list, or are miss prioritized. These things are normally the issues that feel like huge problems. So the ones that took long either where not on the list or miss prioritized. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

4. Some of the introduced issues (Namely SWAY) has not been fixed. Are you showing sympathy towards these builds, in shame of what you have done, found no possible solution (Ample solutions were proposed), overworked or just thinking they are fine?

   We believe they are currently not a major issue, allthough we have a few ideas we've tossed around that would help balance them more. (Aka their priority is lower then other stuff) Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

5. To what extent are the updates tested? Do these test (if they exist) interfere with the frequency of the updates? How many "dud" updates are identified this way?

   we have a full test team, they rock, you have no idea how much they rock lol Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

6. Prior to the release of Eye of the North, you were quoted as saying he could remove shadow fang with shatter delusions, and that made it a "cool" skill. Similar to the previous question, why did you speak as if you tested your skills when your theorycraftying proves you are wrong?

   Well over a 1000's skills I'm sure I'm not the first one to quote a bad combo. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

7. You have been quoted as saying "I think the thumper builds are cool". Why do you consider them so, and why do you show sympathy towards gimmicks?

   Thumper builds are a neat way for someone else to deal damage other then a warrior, I don't think gimmicks are bad, I think hard to deal with gimmicks are bad. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

8. Exactly how good a player are you? How many games do you play each week?

   I have over 10,000 hours in the game post release, I've been #1 on the ladder a few times, I've played with hundreds of top guilds, I'm no Last of Master, but I can play when I need too. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

9. Is it true that you have used your dev powers to reduce the rank of one of shard's friends after your defeat in HB? If so, do you justify this as an act of justice or vengeance?

   lol no, not even something that is possible, there is no dev command to reduce someones rank. I lose a lot, it builds character :) Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

10. What is the authority do you command within Anet? Can you, for instance, remove a profession from play on your whim, or do you consult superiors? If so, who are these "superiors"?

    James is the lead designer, he has the final say, but drive the discussion and we come to agreements on what needs to be changed, making video games isn't about one person, if one person made all the decisions your game would be very bias. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

11. With each expansion, half of the new skills are "filler" skills. Is this a way to promote game, when most of these "fillers" are totaly worthless?

    We make a lot of skills some are bad some are good, it's hard to see which are which when you make them, thats why we buff and nerf skills to bring balance to as many skills as you can, not all skills are used everywhere some skills are meant to be good in one game type and bad in others. We've never made skills for the sake of making skills and we go back and redo bad skills when we have time. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

12. Do you get a saying in the skills and professions that go in the game, or does the rest of the team get to decide on the skills and professions you add with each expansion?

    We all get a say but when their are decisions to be made someone makes them, there are a number of people who make calls about different things with skills, James, and I are the two main people who make calls when it comes to skills, and professions. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

13. Why did you you split pvp/pve? The changes concerning this update are almost non existant. Why is this split not being used for balance purposes?

    To preserve the fun of PvE, while allowing the freedom to balance overpowered skills in PvP. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

14. What is your favourite profession/build/skill/gimmick/pvp format/pve area?

    Warrior/Rage of Natuka Sword Warrior/Bulls Strike/Byob/GvG/Riverside Province Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

15. Why was HB so neglected and left to rot whilst you clearly seem to play the format. Do you abuse the gimmicks present, and, if so, is the presence of gimmicks acceptable from a balance perspective?

    Just a matter of time and priority Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

16. What was the dervish class meant to be? The interraction between their primary and weapons seem insignificant. Is this intentional?

    A hard hitting, aoe melee character who stacks enchantments and pulls them down for different effects. I would hardly say this character is insignificant. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

17. Why were duplicate skills made? For "filler" purposes, and, if so, why are there no duplicates in NF

    On the dev servers we used to multi slot any skill for testing, there where a bunch of fun builds, we figured people might enjoy builds like that and they where free to make so we figured why not give people extra skills for very little work. We stopped them in NF due to their lack of popularity. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

18. Do you, personally, as a gamer, enjoy the level 20 cap?

    I personally enjoyed it when there was no level the game is about collecting skills, making builds, playing content, the level cap just seems to add confusion to what the game is about IMO. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

19. During the construction phase of the prophecies, did you have any significant say on the mechanics of the game? Were you consulted (being a balancer) on specifics such as the 8 man parties, 20 level cap, and the 60 armor level; or were you expected to simple "take care of" or "deal with" whatever the other designers spewed out?

    I was newer to the team, but I always give my opinion on anything I felt was bad for the game, so yeah I had say. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

20. English does not appear to be your first language. From where do you hail?

    Lol English is my first language I just don't like it, my brain thinks in numbers. I was born in Phoneix Arizona, USA, moved to seattle when I was 18 because of a girl I meet in UO.

21. Finally, is there another game you enjoy more than GW?

    At the momment no, but I play a lot of games, any good designer does. Team Fortress 2 is a game I play a lot as well. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

22. When it comes to balance, which it the most balanced class? Which one do you enjoy balancing? Which one is the hardest?

    Warrior is most balanced, I enjoy balancing the Mesmer because they are so tricky, and the Monk is hardest. Izzy @-'---- 21:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

To Anet

1. Is the current GW setup profitable? is the income of "pay once - play forever" model sufficient?
2. Why did you make your game unique? I assume to appeal to the large niche that were against grind, but was there another reason?
3. Why did some of the ex-Blizzard employees of ANet leave Blizzard? Was the cause pay, or did you wish to start your own enterprize?
4. Some of the early leaks indicate that GW structure will be similar to that of WoW. If it is, is this done to appeal to a larger niche and "compete" with WoW?
5. What is, roughly, the amount of input seriously considered fromt his wiki? Given the amount of nonsense, do you take the Wiki seriously, or are we expected to keep shouting to deaf ears?
6. How much is the avarage pay of each programmer? What is the pay gap between executives and individual devs?
7. How big is anet? On the official site, the specific number of employees is not clarified. Are you a what we might call a "big" company?
8. Apart from GW2, are there other projects or ideas going on inside ANet? Will the company produce more than the GW line?
9. Why is GW abandoned in favour of GW2?
10. When GW2 comes out, will the veterans of ANet (Izzy and hit "team") maintain it? If so, will there be new people hired for GW1? If not, will the "vets" be expected to maintain GW1? If so, do you not think these vets would be overworked?
11. What is the life expectancy of GW2? Wİll it be "abandoned" like GW when GW3 is announced?
12. Anet has a track record of implementing changes and adding features based on what the majority wants. While this does sound like a sane idea, it has a track record in itself - most of the what might be considered broken professions were added based on fan feedback. Will GW2 (and subsquent) be influenced by fan feedback, or what ANet thinks and ultimatly knows as balanced?
13. How much of the crap that is posted on the GW2 suggestion pages are being seriously considered?

That is all for now.