Stratics Interview with Raph Koster of SWG!
Stratics has an incredible interview with Raph Koster, Creative Director of SWG. He's the man who makes sure that everything in the game meets the creative vision of the designers, as well as makes sure the dev team and the player community are on the same page. He's better known by some as Holocron on the Star Wars Galaxies Forums ...
We learn all about the Raph in this interview. We see his career from MUDs to UO to SWG. He's even composed music used for a Canadian/European syndicated show! Here's a bit from the interview:
STRATICS: What is the most rewarding thing you have done in your career? RAPH KOSTER: I am not sure I can pick just one. Humor me if I list off several. :) One of the moments I most treasure came when there was a UO player who was leaving the game. He decided to give away his stuff to the player who could best express in a brief essay “Why I love UO.” Reading the replies was a great thing, but beyond that, one player waited until after the contest was over, and posted that he was confined to a wheelchair, and that he loved UO because “in it, I can run.” That was just such a powerful thing to read that it gave me chills—still does. Also very rewarding has been seeing people like Jeff Freeman, Scott Jennings, Dave Rickey, people that I debated with on web boards and in Usenet (and who I often got into huge arguments with) eventually come to join the industry and work on MMORPGs. I don’t know how much credit they give me, but I like to think that part of the reason they ended up where they are, and damn good at what they do, is because of those hours I spent arguing with them. :) Lastly, stuff like seeing essays like “Declaring the Rights of Players,” the “Online World Timeline,” or “A Story About a Tree” have an impact well beyond the communities for which they were written. I know of a couple of online games that use the former essay as a guideline for writing their games’ codes of conduct, for example. For me, the posting and discussing of design issues and community issues, and engaging players and developers alike about the future of these games, and the theory behind them, is very rewarding, and I’d like to think that my contributions have been worthwhile.
With SWG in the hands of a man who puts importance on things such as this, I really think that we're looking at a great game. You should definitely check out the entire Article HERE. Thanks to Stratics for giving us this incredible insight with the man who has a handle on the creative side of SWG! -Kenti
STRATICS: What is the most rewarding thing you have done in your career? RAPH KOSTER: I am not sure I can pick just one. Humor me if I list off several. :) One of the moments I most treasure came when there was a UO player who was leaving the game. He decided to give away his stuff to the player who could best express in a brief essay “Why I love UO.” Reading the replies was a great thing, but beyond that, one player waited until after the contest was over, and posted that he was confined to a wheelchair, and that he loved UO because “in it, I can run.” That was just such a powerful thing to read that it gave me chills—still does. Also very rewarding has been seeing people like Jeff Freeman, Scott Jennings, Dave Rickey, people that I debated with on web boards and in Usenet (and who I often got into huge arguments with) eventually come to join the industry and work on MMORPGs. I don’t know how much credit they give me, but I like to think that part of the reason they ended up where they are, and damn good at what they do, is because of those hours I spent arguing with them. :) Lastly, stuff like seeing essays like “Declaring the Rights of Players,” the “Online World Timeline,” or “A Story About a Tree” have an impact well beyond the communities for which they were written. I know of a couple of online games that use the former essay as a guideline for writing their games’ codes of conduct, for example. For me, the posting and discussing of design issues and community issues, and engaging players and developers alike about the future of these games, and the theory behind them, is very rewarding, and I’d like to think that my contributions have been worthwhile.
With SWG in the hands of a man who puts importance on things such as this, I really think that we're looking at a great game. You should definitely check out the entire Article HERE. Thanks to Stratics for giving us this incredible insight with the man who has a handle on the creative side of SWG! -Kenti