On the Couch with Amabel, ep 5 - Tolero

[Amabel]

This week, we have a very special guest - Tolero! Enjoy.

Amabel: Tolero, thank you for agreeing to join Amabel on the couch, I know the fans will be interested to hear from you. I also know that you're very busy, so I'll try to keep this brief.

Tolero: This is a mighty comfy looking couch.

Amabel: As far as I'm aware, you're in a unique position, having moved from being a player to being part of Turbine's team. How have you enjoyed the transition, some 18 months on?

Tolero: The transition has definitely been full of highs and lows. The lows was giving up my real life house, family, friends, pets, spouse for a brief time, and in-game giving up my guild, rping, etc to do what I do today. It was very difficult. But sometimes you have to make big personal sacrifices to do what you love. Even with all that, I'm happy that I made the transition. Now things feel less alien, and work and home both keep me busy with fun!

Amabel: Do you think you've been able to give Turbine an insight into its DDO community that it otherwise wouldn't have had?

Tolero: Having a player perspective to mix with your professional perspective helps you see and anticipate things that you might not have otherwise. One thing I've learned is that my love for DDO is not unique among the staff, which is a great feeling! There are team members who have been playing their characters and rolling their alts since life was first breathed into the servers (even LOTRO staff members)!

Amabel: Have you ever wished you were "just a player" again?

Tolero: Several times. I can't play the game as I normally would because too many people know my in-game mannerisms and voice. I've had to uproot my mains off my original server (and in some cases I can't play them at ALL now); can't talk on voice chat anymore; can't openly roleplay; can't run player events... I've found I can't join a guild even - people start wanting to talk friendly personal stuff. I can't share pictures, can't meet up for real world guild get togethers, etc. It's MUCH different than the way I'm used to playing the game. These days I strictly PUG, solo, or duo with Hirelings. I must say, when you don't have close personal friends/guildies to play with, DDO is a different game practically!

Amabel: What's the worst part about being DDO's community specialist?

Tolero: I love to sleep and I love my husband. Whenever something bad happens with the game - no matter what time of day it is - they wake me up, or I have to stay late and miss dinner etc. I've had some really whacked out sleeping schedules during bad times, or times when I don't get to see the hubby at all for a day (or more). Sleep and spouse deprivation are powerful motivators to fix performance/game issues when they arise. oO

Amabel: What's the best part about being DDO's community specialist?

Tolero: I'd say it's a tie between: helping players and getting to be an intimate part of the game I love! It's funny to be in a Dev meeting reviewing something new that's coming to the game and bouncing around like a spaz. It makes being the gatekeeper of information very tough because you constantly want to be like "HEY GUYS GUESS WHAT I JUST SAW!!!" Helping players never fails to be rewarding. It can be something small like a confused new player, or something tougher like an account problem, but once you've helped them and then they get to be in the game and have fun with everyone... nothing beats that.

Amabel: As Merlask, you were universally renowned and admired for your live server events. Fashion parades, Olympics, even a protest! The blowing up of the old marketplace tent was laggy, but was some of the most fun ever on DDO. Can you let us know if there is any chance of seeing more official live events in future?

Tolero: Definitely. We've been trying to work out some kinks in our Event Arena, and we also have learned a lot about the way our Event tech works with the game. For a big event like the tent it takes enough dev work to be dungeons, so we've tried to find ways to still bring cool events, but reduce the work load a little so it doesn't dig so deeply into dev time. I'm a huge fan of player made and dev made events, so around the office I'm always poking and prodding for more events ad nauseum.

Amabel: You probably have as good a grasp as anyone on the differences between the DDO and LOTR communities. Can you briefly tell us what, if any, major differences you think there are?

Tolero: I'll toss Asheron's Call in this answer also, because they're important too! I have great love for all three communities (though I'm biased towards DDO of course). DDO players definitely have different priorities on what they like to talk about on the forums. I'd say the DDO community has a little more in common with AC players, who have more customizable character builds like DDO does. LOTRO players I find to be very lore-centric vs DDO players. Might be something from D&D being very "open" to new things, homemade settings, GMs tweaking things to go with their game... nothing in D&D is set in stone really. It also amuses me that all three communities are acutely aware of each other (thanks to our multi-game players). It's like what having kids must be like... when one gets something, the other knows and wants it right away! The differences in the games sometimes makes that a challenge...but we try where we can to share the love.

Amabel: Obviously all DDO fans want to see a strong LOTR, and for Turbine to have success in all it does. It's good for us too after all! How much does it mean to you all at Turbine that your fans were prepared to mobilise and get Turbine voted in as number 1 again during Escapist Magazine's March Mayhem?

Tolero: It means so much! Especially for me, because the LOTRO and AC staff took notice of just how much our DDO players were leading the charge. They'd make comments about how mobilized and passionate our DDO players were, and I'd just beam and say "that's right, those are my babies! DDO forever!" We also got a lot of interest shown for DDO from outsiders as a result of our players' passion - people who may have been on the fence or not even bothered were suddenly extremely curious to see what all the fuss was about!

Amabel: Can you tell the fans why you think the DDO is so special, and if there's anything you'd like to see us, as players, do to keep it that way?

Tolero: Mechancially speaking, the combat definitely makes it stand out. Organically speaking, I think it's the community. As the Escapist's March Mayhem has shown ... as well as on any game site that talks about our game ... our players are passionate about our game. That enthusiasm is a magnet to draw people in, that sense of "well it must be worth checking out, all these people can't be excited for no reason". I love our players' grass-roots efforts to welcome in more people to the game, their creativity, and that aura of excitement. Don't lose any of that!

Amabel: And finally, when you're looking for a dose of forum drama, which server to you turn to?

Tolero: Any server can have its day really. All I have to do is follow the Cube. The Cube seems to know where to find it, like a gelatinous drama radar.

Amabel: Ahhh, very diplomatic. But seriously, thank you very, very much for taking the time out to spend half an hour on the couch. It's been great chatting to you and I wish you and all the Turbine staff all the best, especially with mod 9 approaching!


Previous interviews (thank you to BBB for linking assistance):
On the Coach Episode 5 - With Tolero
On the Couch Episode 4 - With Psili
On the Couch Episode 3 - With Othea and Herra
On the Couch Episode 2 - With Gtar and Qwijy
On the Couch Episode 1 - With Gornn

[Wrustle]

Thanks for that.

[totmacher]

where do you see yourself in 5 years?

oh it wasn't one of those interviews

[Strakeln]

Tolero: Any server can have its day really. All I have to do is follow the Cube. The Cube seems to know where to find it, like a gelatinous drama radar.

Translation: "Khyber, of course"

Lovin' the series, Al

[lastprophet]

Good stuff mate. Glad someone suggested that you interview Tolero :P It always nice to see the human side of the devs!
It is actually not a bad idea to have a 'meet the devs thread or something along those lines and sticky it.

PS Sorry to hear the work/life balance is a nightmare Tolero we do appreciate all the work you guys do!

PPS Make sure you respond at some point during this thread so it gets put in the dev tracker

[BigBadBarry]

Another excellent edition Al.

Thanks to Tolero for taking the time to respond too!

For those new to these interviews here is the link to the past 4 episodes.

On the Couch Episode 4 - With Psili
On the Couch Episode 3 - With Othea and Herra
On the Couch Episode 2 - With Gtar and Qwijy
On the Couch Episode 1 - With Gornn

[Talish]

Very interesting and enjoyable. Thank you

[Gornn]

Great series, Al. Snagging Tolero was a coup.

I think pretty soon you're going to need to interview yourself!

[Altarboy]

Translation: "Khyber, of course"

Lovin' the series, Al

Doesn't the cube actually LIVE on Khyber?

[Rabbi_Hordo]

Doesn't the cube actually LIVE on Khyber?

For a few weeks there I thought he LIVED off my posts! ROFLMAO!

[baddax]

For a few weeks there I thought he LIVED off my posts! ROFLMAO!

/silly hordo. Dont feed the cube!

[Hakushi]

Here's my suggestions for interresting interviews:

Mythe
Babygirl
Hordo
Aussie
Tarrant, The Gelatinous Cube or any other Turbine staff
Some forum "celebs" like (some of them might have left the game, this is just examples): Kargon, MysticTheurge, Impaqt, Borror0, Angelus_Dead

[NXPlasmid]

For a few weeks there I thought he LIVED off my posts! ROFLMAO!

Hilarious!

[Aussieee]

Nice.Maybe you should make one thread to put all the links of all the interviews and update every week

[crock]

Outstanding Al! almost as good as the interview with Psili ;]

[Riot]

Devs once again encroaching on our turf.... bah.

[babygirl]

It was so good that I didn't read it LOL nice job Tolero...may I welcome you babygirl style and say...GET OUT! (no pun intended, if you have read any of my posts you should know this by now )

[RioRussell]

nice interview.

Tolero, as somone whose job pages them all hours of the night and takes them away from their family at random and difficult times, allow me to offer my encouragement. What you do around here is not missed or unnoticed.