SmokeJumper on Streamlining the New Player Experience
If you are wondering why there has been a whirlwind of changes and announcements about what new players experience from levels 1-20, it probably has a lot to do with the fact that Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson, EQ2’s Senior Producer, has been spending a lot of time creating new characters in each of the starting cities to find the rough spots and smooth them out.
After the jump, SmokeJumper‘s most recent comments on his own experiences creating and leveling new characters:
I’ve been playing every day since I got back, but I’m something of an alt-aholic, plus I keep dragging new groups of total newbies into the game so I can listen to them flail around (on VOIP) and take notes about what works and doesn’t work for them.
Since I started with the team, I’ve built up a 59 Troll SK, and a slew of 30’ish characters (Wizard, Necro, Troubador, and Monk), as well as some “get them to 20” characters.
I’ve focused on playing all of the newbie experiences (all starting areas, and playing through all the quests/content in original launch areas like Commonlands, Thundering Steppes, Nek Forest, etc.
I think I’ll either level up my SK further, or just stick with the Wizard and drive him forward. I’m tackling PvP and BGs next, on the way toward getting to 90 so I can raid.
P.S., I don’t cheat. I’ve purchased a few XP potions (mostly to feel the effect of those marketplace purchases), but in general, I’ve just played the game, just like the rest of you. I need to do that in order to understand what players are seeing. Cheating ahead is both a) not cool, and b) not useful.
Tags: smokejumper
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Comments (4)
Bubbahotep
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Nice to see a dev with their boots on the ground.
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Brian
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Gotta like that he’s playing the game from the ground up, seeing what works and what doesn’t, and is making adjustments based on those experiences. Not reading whiny forum posters, not taking anecdotal evidence, actually playing the game from a player’s perspective and fixing what doesn’t work.
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Striinger
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Playing devil’s advocate…if a dev is leveling up and finds something that doesn’t work or is nerfed….they don’t have to cheat, BUT they can get it fixed (rather than just deal with it and whine in forums).
So, technically not cheating, but similarly no dev is impoverished and subject to the will of others. i.e. if more devs picked <> as their main toon and played them, then that class would get voice in dev to dev chats.
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Rick
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Link?
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