PhantomsCV said:
Will PWO be around in 5 years?
Without having any real information about what's happening behind the scenes it's hard to say for certain, but I don't see why not. It kicked off its alpha client in January 2008, so it's already survived for six years. Back in 2008-2009 we were just one of around ten total Pokemon MMOs in development, and from what I understand PWO is currently the only one still kicking from back then. I know that the staff is passionate about the project, and that they aren't going to give it up without a fight.
PhantomsCV said:
I've tossed the idea of reapplying for an entry level role around in my head a few times already. I don't think that it'd work out, as my old computer melted. The one I'm currently using isn't up to snuff. I wouldn't be very useful. If that changes, then I might more seriously consider reapplying. I have no problem with being an apprentice, and would prefer that due to how long I've been away. Beyond that I have real world work constraints eating up my time.
PhantomsCV said:
What will make PWO succeed the most?
This first bit is a side note and not the direct answer to the question, but it's something that's stuck with me: A focus on customer service. I fully disclose that I have not been around to see the way in which the staff has interacted with people over the past year, so I am unable to fairly comment on the way things currently are. However, when I was here the staff was a little bit too eager to find trouble and act on it. The attitude was one of shoot first, ask questions later, and to me that's not really the best way to go about it. I personally feel that, when it comes to customer service relations, generating results is not the same as generating good results.
The real and honest answer is finding more quality staff members. I would say that about 90% of the people that we've had on staff have been great, and I'm very proud of the fact that the PWO staff has a knack for quality. The only regret is that many of those same quality workers are bogged down with heavy schedules, and so either don't last very long or can't commit as much to the project as they'd like to. Finding people that can consistently produce satisfactory results 3-5 times a week, several hours per day, and for no pay is a huge undertaking. I feel that when I was in charge of staff recruitment in 2009 that I did a fantastic job giving people a chance and taking risks, and the majority of the time the people that I gambled on really pulled through for us and proved their salt.
I'm proud of the staff and how well that they work as a team, but admit that after a certain point I wasn't fit to be our recruiter anymore: my personal standards for new folks took a side seat to nepotism from the team. After a while the people that were sent my way all ended up being friends of current staff members, and at that point I really had no say anymore. Just as long as the current staff remembers that their friends might not be the most reliable coworkers, and as long as they're willing to take risks on people like I did in the past (such as making a certain controversial European Guild Leader a [MOD]), then things will be more than fine.
Again I'm over a year removed from things so I have no idea how much things have changed (and I'm always going to assume that things are constantly improving), but I have and always will have full confidence in the team.
PhantomsCV said:
What is something you miss about PWO?
Watching the team work together to realize a goal.
I liked sitting down and brainstorming with people on an open and equal basis. Sure as the boss I had the final say, but a lot of the time the team would come up with something really unique or great and we'd run with it. I really miss being in a situation where fictional Jane has an idea and then watching the team run with it. I'd call it an art form, but in a way it was too scientific for that. Some of our better events came from that, such as the haunted Halloween maps a few years back. I had almost no say in that event and it's still one of my favorites.
PhantomsCV said:
What is your least favorite thing about PWO?
It's a fantastic game for what it is, but it's never felt authentic to me. As much as I poured myself into polishing the game, while I was here it never had that same charm to me as the Nintendo titles. A large part of that was the client interface that Shane sort of just threw together with one other staff member, but if we're still using a variation on that client interface then it's still going to feel more like Runescape than Pokemon to me.
The biggest problem to me was global chat. I really want the chat system to be overhauled if it hasn't been already.
PhantomsCV said:
What things would you change?
Never, ever would shiny Pokemon have different stats. Never, ever would I change the experience formula. Never, ever would map development support have ended.
These three things were the biggest thorn in my side and the biggest detriment to balance, aside from the broken battle system obviously. They were just as bad, and directly prevented us from implementing Hoenn (which directly prevented us from implementing a ton of new content and Pokemon).
To clarify regarding maps, I don't mean the introduction or creation of maps by the team. I mean the development of the back end of the mapping system.
PhantomsCV said:
What is your favorite memory of PWO?
A few years ago we had our first Christmas event. It honestly wasn't very good, but it was a labor of love and something that the entire team, from top to bottom, poured into.
When I say first event, I don't mean Fennikusu's Mewtwo raffle that ShadowWolf won. I mean Festive Town. It was a bit ugly and a little bit of a nightmare for the server to handle, but it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had. The players gave great feedback and I feel as though we were more than rewarded for a great first attempt.
PhantomsCV said:
EDIT: added 1 more. Why are more things happening now that were said they couldn't be done? TMs / Escape Ropes / Revives / things like that happening with the current staff that were said were "Impossible"
Because I am not a programmer (unlike Teck and Bluerise), and for a long time it was Jinji and I sailing the ship. While Jinji is more than competent, he wasn't as available as he'd have liked to have been. Introducing more quality, reliable programmers into the staff opened up a ton of doors that weren't available before. It's as simple as that -- personal limitations prevented us from doing anything that we really wanted to do, and kept us mired down in small potatoes, if not appreciated/needed, projects such as map updates, spawn changes, and move updates.