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DEVELOPER SPOTLIGHT
Getting to Know the Head of SOE: Seattle
Sure, we all love - and love to hate on - MMOs, but it's not like any suddenly springs to life full-grown straight from the creator's womb. (All we can say, ladies, is "ouch.") Rather, each is the end-product of countless individuals who toil day and night for months and even sometimes years at a time to bring you the best online experience imaginable.
Instead of just covering the latest and greatest massively multiplayer diversions, we've therefore decided to also shine the spotlight on a few of the many great people responsible for today's top titles. After all, the heart and soul of the gaming industry are the talented folks who often toil away in obscurity dreaming up the next big trends in social networking and electronic entertainment. Besides, if you're going to call someone a %&@#! [censored] for screwing up an in-game call or banning you from a server (not that we'd encourage this kind of behavior), well. It's just that much sweeter when you can reference them, or their mother, by name.
So without further ado, we bring you a little background information on our first unsuspecting subject. Meet Matt Wilson, executive producer and studio head for Sony Online Entertainment Seattle, who's currently working on the studio's next generation of blockbuster games:
LQGaming Services:: Please tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the gaming business: Rumor has it you've got quite a history...
Matt Wilson: Technically, my first game that shipped was a macro in Word 6.0 called Mindbender. I spent most of my efforts as an engineer working on DirectX with Alex St. John. I got a great education on the technical aspects of gaming, but soon realized it was the content that I loved. I moved to the Internet Gaming Zone and became a producer on the first MMO games Microsoft was involved with (Fighter Ace, Ultracorps, Allegiance, Asheron's Call.).
After that, I worked on a few single-player games both on PC and Xbox, and got the opportunity to work with Chris Taylor on Dungeon Siege. It was great to work on that project and watch Gas Powered Games grow from a startup to the company they are today - I learned a lot. After Dungeon Siege, I moved on to become the executive producer of Mythica. I worked two years on that project and met a ton of talented people I will never forget.
After Mythica, I left Microsoft and co-founded FireAnt, Inc. with John Smith, Alex Pfaffe, Craig Link and Ed Fries. We focused on bringing our vision of mainstream gaming to the online market. Within a year, we were purchased by Sony Online Entertainment and started up SOE's Seattle studio.
"Keep it simple. Once you have an idea, get the core in the game engine, and go from there."
LQGaming Services:: How did you come to work on Microsoft's Mythica team, and what's the real deal on that project?
Matt Wilson: I was a Group Program Manager in Microsoft Game Studios working on a variety of projects both internally and in publishing. I decided I wanted to get back into internal development, and moved over to head up the Mythica team. Over the two years I was there, we created a fantastic world, were nominated for an E3 Online game of the show award, and were just about to go into our Alpha phase when the project was killed. It was a hard education of what happens when a major publisher decides to focus less on internal development and more on external publishing.
LQGaming Services:: We hear you might actually have bought the rights to resurrect the title at one point? Do tell...
Matt Wilson: When we all co-founded FireAnt, it was one of the opportunities we were actively pursuing. We had great interest in the project. We were inches away from closing the deal with another publisher, and then SOE stepped in with an offer we couldn't refuse. ;-)
LQGaming Services:: What did Sony Online see in you guys?
Matt Wilson: I have known John Smedley and Russ Shanks since the Tanarus days. Our paths have crossed multiple times from those early days, to the days before the original EverQuest launched, and then afterwards. John Smedley met our team after we started our FireAnt studio, and it was clear the direction we wanted to go was exactly where SOE wants to be. It just made sense for us to work together.
For more information, forums and more check out our
Everquest II, Matrix Online , and Star Wars Galaxies Communities.
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