Five on Friday - July 24, 2008
"Why is this Five on Friday so short?"
We've got a couple of things going on this week that is seriously imbalancing my ratio of questions to answers. First of all, we have the Town Hall - I don't want to steal my own thunder, so some of the forward-looking stuff that I'd normally do here is being saved for that. Secondly, we have a number of people overseas at the moment training our teammates in Japan, so my list of people to pester for info is distressingly short. Thirdly, the next publish is scheduled slightly further out than y'all have become accustomed to, so I don't have the kind of solid QA-approved info on it that I usually would two weeks after the previous one.
I know y'all look forward to the FoF every week, and get most upset when it's not up to par - once we get everyone back in the same hemisphere, we should be able to get you more content to kick off the weekend. This week, though, you'll just have to wait an extra day or so for the reports to come back from San Diego!
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Now Hiring!
We're looking for someone to be our new Associate Game Designer. Here's the job description and requirements:
- Main responsibilities: Contribute significantly to game fiction, manage events, balance gameplay, and develop content using proprietary scripting tools.
- Understanding and or knowledge of Ultima Online game mechanics, history, and community interaction a definite plus.
- Experience as a Game Master, Counselor, Seer, or Event Moderator for Ultima Online a bonus.
- 2+ years experience playing Ultima Online
- Position requires dependable and relevant inputs to current state of the game, as well as contributing to future development of the game experience
- Gives inputs to other members of the team to enhance gameplay for the current subscriber base
- Due to the demanding scripting system surrounding Ultima Online, the designer must have expansive knowledge of scripting languages and have the ability to produce samples of work using similar tools.
- Level editing experience and module creation using open source gaming engines (Infinity, Unreal 2.5 or 3, Doom, Source, Aurora Toolset).
- Background or exposure to game development processes in the industry
- Essential to have experience working in small teams of 4-6 people.
- 3DS Max experience preferred
- 2+ years in the game industry and/or gaming school preferred
- Can demonstrate understanding of game design concepts to include flow, decision making, engaging storyline, and integration of art and sound
If you're interested in (and qualified for) this position, please send your resume to jdalberg AT ea DOT com and I'll put it in the right hands right away!
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What's To Come:
The Town Hall is the big news this week, of course, and next week we will have a bit more to discuss in terms of our focus for the coming months. Publish 55 is still a ways out, as we have people more scattered across the globe than is usual at the moment, but we'll have a few small tidbits to share with you on Saturday :)
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Town Hall News:
The San Diego Town Hall is Saturday! Check out the details here and please do RSVP if you haven't yet so we don't run out of chips and dip! Leurocian and I can't wait to see you all!
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Fansite News:
Whispering Rose Radio has quite a bit planned, up to and including the Town Hall!
- This weekends excitement of the UO Town Hall in San Diego is building and final details are being put into place...Attention everybody all over the UO world - there's gonna be a party for the UO world and everybody is invited...
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- Friday - July 25th - Live from sunny California, join TorAnn, Dr. Lil and PantherBabe for UO Shard Chatter starting at 7pm PST, 10pm EST on WRR. Hear UO players chat about this weeks game topics and discuss the UO Town Hall meeting for Saturday!! As always the weekly show finishes with the "You know you have been playing UO too long when..." segment where very comical endings are presented by UO listeners. Feel free to send yours in (ICQ numbers can be found on the www.wrrad.com website).
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- Saturday - July 26th - If you're not able to attend this Saturday's San Diego UO Town Hall have no fear, for once again members of the Whispering Rose Radio[WRR] staff will be broadcasting it live and you're invited to join in 'party-time' fun at the special WRR Dave & Busters site on Lake Superior ...click here for location map starting at 3pm Pacific.
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- Sunday - July 27th - The Pacific Auction House (located just East of the Luna Moongate) continues after 4 fantastic years to bring you more great deals. Get there early for best seating. Auction starts at 12pm PST, 3pm EST and is broadcasted live on WRRadio.
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- Sunday - July 27th - The weekly "Tazz & Keg's Underground" radio show on WRR is broadcasted live at 7pm PST - 10pm EST. Entering their underground world leads to a world you will long remember and never want to miss. Are you bold enough?
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- *Deal or No Deal ~ 'UO Style' returns next Saturday to Oceania at 3pm PST, 6pm EST. Watch for next weeks 'News' bulletin for more details.
- 'Everybody's gonna have a good time' this weekend playing Ultima Online and listening to the broadcasts from WRR ~ see you all on the flip side.
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And two announcements from the city of Guardians Gate on Chesapeake!
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- Join us inside the city of Guardians Gates Coliseum for the opening round of the United Sosarian Alliance Archery League! This four week event will take place each Monday at 9pm and will travel each week to another player run city within the alliance. There will be no entry fee to participate and each week's champion will receive 100k along with an engraved trophy and box to commemorate the event. Along with each weeks winner points will be awarded for the top five finishers towards the months overall championship which will receive all the above mentioned along with a check for 500k! Registration will commence at 8:30pm inside the Coliseum.
- The general ruleset is as such:
- - No entry fee
- - Double Elimination, Head to Head Competition
- - Any and all weapons armour and jewelry allowed
- - All competitors must be registered to compete
- - No late registrants accepted after round one is complete
- - Spamming, along with other disruptions are grounds for dismissal
- - Arrows and Bolts will be the repsonsiblilty of the competitor
- After the conclusion of each round standings and details about the evenings event will be posted to all major sites to allow competitors to keep track of the league and to not miss out! Come on out and have some fun as these are always a grand event! See you all there!
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- Join us inside the city of Guardians Gate for public auctions every Friday night at 9pm. Items will begin being accepted at 8pm inside the auction house and throughout the event. There will be a 5% share going to the guild and city coffers for each sale and books and bags will be available for sale on site. No sales and checks will be issued immediately following the conclusion of the auctions bank run. Come on out and have some fun, find that elusive item you've been hunting for, and make a few new friends along the way. See ya there!
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I'm off to sunny San Diego bright and early tomorrow - hope to see y'all this weekend!
- Jeremy