Adobe PDF Format - Why I Believe the Gaming Industry is a Good Fit

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(734) 536-7558 • Michael Patino’s Gaming Portfolio • [email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................. 2
COMMUNITY .............................................................................................. 3
Community Relations Highlights ..............................................................................3
Community Development..........................................................................................3
In-Game Meta-Communities .....................................................................................3
Gaming Reporting .....................................................................................................4
Developer Network ................................................................................................... 5
PR & Marketing ......................................................................................................... 5
Event Moderation...................................................................................................... 5
Technical Knowledge ................................................................................................6
Community Philosophy .............................................................................................6
The Alternates ........................................................................................................... 7
Introduction........................................................................................................................................7
How it Works ......................................................................................................................................7
Joining the Alternates ........................................................................................................................7
Using the Alternates .......................................................................................................................... 8
Sample Request Post ......................................................................................................................... 8
Expanding the Concept ..................................................................................................................... 8
LS Dueling Society.....................................................................................................9
Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 9
Rules & Procedures ........................................................................................................................... 9
Controlled Combat ............................................................................................................................ 9
Open Combat ................................................................................................................................... 10
Duel Masters.................................................................................................................................... 10
Rules for Duel Masters:................................................................................................................... 10
DM Procedures for a Duel: .............................................................................................................. 11
Implementation for Normal Duels:................................................................................................. 11
Implementation for High Tournaments: ........................................................................................ 11
Red Duelists......................................................................................................................................12
Online portfolio: www.gamingcv.info
Page 2 of 12
COMMUNITY
Community Relations Highlights
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9 years of experience in the development and management of online communities.
Built, Administered, & Moderated forums, websites, and mailing lists for online communities.
Background in Video Game reporting and news coverage.
Marketing and Public Relations experience in the gaming industry.
Proven track record as a representative of a major studio to the player population.
Experience mediating and resolving disputes amongst players and communities.
Solid understanding of the use of player incentive, rewards, & in-game events for player
retention and recruiting.
Community Development
I began gaming in 1987, with my first true love being Sierra adventure games and MUDs. I quickly
moved into AOL's Neverwinter Nights (a predecessor to the MMOG world, although they could only
host 600 players at a time), and found my real passion in gaming... building communities. The guild
(www.grey-company.org) I helped build there has been thriving for over two decades, and has
become a major force in every game world to which we have journeyed. In fact, various Tel'Mithrim
(the Grey Company) websites are even linked on Wikipedia for Elvish and Drow language resources,
and we are also the only surviving guild from the original Neverwinter Nights on AOL listed on
Wikipedia’s entry.
My taste in community building was not sated with just running one community, and in 1999 I took
on my first experience building Meta-Gaming communities. UOLS was an experiment in creating a
server-wide community where members from every facet of the game could come together and
participate as a whole. Our forums and guild hosting features quickly made us a powerful entity on
the shard, with literally a third of the shard's population utilizing our forums, and over half reading
our news coverage.
In-Game Meta-Communities
I also developed several focused in game meta-groups for specialized interests, including Role
Playing, Player vs. Player combat, and Crafting. Here are a few samples:
A loose organization of players from EVERY shard/server who were willing to help play bit
characters, townsfolk, quest characters, fortune tellers, pirates, orcs, savages, or whatever was
needed for player events. The primary purpose was not to replace Studio sponsored organizations
or events, but rather to enable player organizations to field large groups of players for their own
events. In short, it was a RolePlaying/Event Temp Service. You need bodies? We had bodies.
(click here for full details on the Alternates)
Page 3 of 12
LSDS was not a guild, but rather a meta-guild community that allowed participants from any guild
to become an active member. A group of Duelers were recruited as Duel Masters, their only purpose
to watch and record Duels performed by members of LSDS and record their standings on a global
ladder. As members won Duels, they gained points. As they gained points, they rose on the ladder.
Once a month, the top 8 contenders on the Ladder were invited to meet and perform at a public
"High Tournament" against each other, where increased points were given for winning, as well as
other prizes.
(click here for full details on the LSDS)
Gaming Reporting
As my experience in the gaming world increased, I began to leverage my talents as a reporter,
editorialist, web developer, and community activist to many other MMOG news/fan sites.
Throughout all of these media experiences I have built up many connections, both among the
player-base and with the organizers of many of the MMOG news and fan sites of note. Here are a
few of the MMOG news sites I have worked with over the years:
UO Lake Superior
- Community Manager, Editor
A meta-community based on the Lake Superior shard of Ultima
Online, offering news for everything of interest to players on that
shard, as well as general UO related coverage.
UO Powergamers
- Editorialist, Developer/Designer
A community dedicated to the Player vs. Player play style.
Unknown Player
- Guest Editorialist, Audio Interviewer, E3 Reporter
A multi-genre news site dedicated to online video gaming, mainly covering news blurbs and
articles of particular note to the player community.
Stratics
- UWOO Community Coordinator, E3 Reporter
The grandfather of MMOG news sites. Stratics includes General
News, Shard News, General Forums and dedicated Forums for
Shards and Character Professions for almost every major MMOG in existence. Not to mention just
about every Statistic and Strategic bit of info, Utilities and Tools, Reviews of Player Run
Establishments and other features they could dig up.
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GameRifts
- Guest Editorialist
A multi-gaming news site, with a focus on player issues.
Ianstorm
- E3 Reporter
Yet another multi-game news portal.
Developer Network
I have had many opportunities to cultivate relationships with a large range of developers, with an
emphasis on MMOG studios/publishers. Here are a few of the studios and publishers I have
expanded my network to include:
PR & Marketing
In 2001 I was approached through some of my contacts to help with a new CRPG based on the
Talislanta RPG. As one of my favorite RPGs, I could hardly refuse, and began to work with them as
their PR and Marketing Lead. Unfortunately, the project failed to find funding and was eventually
canceled, but the experience I gained with them was invaluable in my understanding of the PR beast
as it relates to gaming.
I have also developed, and helped develop, several "real world" player luncheons/meetups for
gamers of all types, with developer attendance, including events at the Electronic Entertainment
Expo in Los Angeles. I am comfortable speaking with large crowds, and well versed in the dynamics
required to coordinate and orchestrate such events.
Event Moderation
In 2004 I was hired as an Event Moderator for EA's Ultima Online MMOG. Event Moderators were
responsible for running in game events for the players, creating unique plot lines and quests,
developing and dispensing unique "quest items", and many other social related activities. Our
duties placed us in the difficult position of representing the game's developers "in game", despite
Page 5 of 12
the fact that we had very little to do with the actual development process, as development team
members rarely ventured within the game (visibly, that is). It was vitally important to present an
engaging and friendly demeanor to our players, while being careful not to release any privileged
information on expansions or upcoming features. Furthermore, part of our duties included the
development and dispersion of unique quest items, which were highly sought after by the player
population. Learning to exercise the proper level of professional distance while still engaging them
in the various scenarios and quests that were our prime directive was a challenging but rewarding
exercise.
(click here for samples from my EM career)
Technical Knowledge
In addition to the obvious gaming community experience, I am also proficient in many applications
that would aid in the development of a quality community relations department. As a business
consultant specializing in Service Oriented Architecture, I have developed, implemented, and
administered Customer Relationship Management applications for many business models. I believe
that a properly constructed system would make Community Relations a very dependable source of
Public Relations. If all gaming news sites, fan sites, and key community leaders are viewed as a
"marketing asset", and carefully cultivated to produce maximum return on the company's time
investment, it would be possible to achieve a very significant online presence for a minimal
investment. In addition, there is no reason that a CRM could not be configured to serve as the
primary infrastructure for the Support, Marketing, and PR teams as well, again without any
significant investment on your studio's part beyond the manpower to configure an existing
enterprise level solution, such as SalesForce, Sugar, vTiger, or Microsoft CRM. With such a system
in place, it should be possible to automate a vast portion of work done manually by most
Community teams, including the maintenance of community contacts (players/developers/media),
development of community profiles, metric reporting of community activity, community acceptance
of development initiatives, etc.
Community Philosophy
If you are a visible voice in the player's gaming lives, then they will come to you with their problems
before they cancel their accounts and disappear. Players want to be heard, and if they are given an
open line of communication to express their frustrations, misgivings, opinions, and
disgruntlements, then they will pursue this first. Despite the end resolution, if they feel that their
views have been treated with respect, they will stick around to give it a shot.
If you have created a structure that entices your audience with incentive rewards and in game
events based on both the studio's plans AND the players wishes, then the community will grow.
If you cultivate your communities, nourishing them with the appropriate programs, interest, and
tools, then they will retain their own player populations and add to the overall health of your game.
- Return to the Table of Contents
Page 6 of 12
The Alternates
Introduction
The goal is to create a loose organization of players from EVERY shard who are willing to help play
bit characters, townsfolk, quest characters, fortune tellers, pirates, orcs, savages, whatever is
needed. Our main purpose is not to be a Seer like organization, actually running events on all the
shards, but rather an enabler for existing organizations to field large groups of players for their own
events. In short, I see it as a RolePlaying/Event Temp Service. You need bodies? We have bodies.
How it Works
Members in the Alternates generally do not provide backup for their own shards. Instead, they use
their open character slots on OTHER shards to create characters as needed for specific events and
quests. If a member has open slots on their own shard, then they are welcome to use them as well,
but out goal is to make full use of our empty character slots by solidifying a group of players cross
shard to work together for everyone's benefit. Members of the Alternates can certainly make use of
the resources for their own shard as well, and in fact we expect that MOST potential members will
make use of the program from both sides. They will provide support for other's quests just as they
are running their own.
Nobody is on a schedule, but if you RSVP to participate in an event we would certainly appreciate if
you showed up to do so. We will be building specific tools to send reminders of events you have
signed up for, so most of this should be relatively simple.
Almost any type of player could be useful in something like this, from RPers, PvMers, PvPers, even
Crafters. There is no telling what type of events or quests we might get called for, so having a rich
and diverse background would be very helpful. I would expect that we will likely see most of our
calls separate into two categories:
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RPing characters.
Bad/Good Guy Canon Fodder.
Since all of these characters are basically newbies, it isn't like we would give much of a fight. For
some of you dedicated PvPers, you might look at it as an interesting challenge. Can my newbie
Warrior kill someone else? *chuckles*
Joining the Alternates
Joining, for now, is just a concept. If the idea is favorably received and we get about 50 people who
are willing to sign on (which we will gauge by replies to this thread), then I will make a set of forums
specially for the Alternates on their own web site. To join, you would simply register an account on
the forums and fill in your contact information. ICQ, Yahoo, AIM, MSN, email, etc. With that
information, we will be able to send out reminder notices for upcoming events, as well as having an
internal calendar for staff use to show what we are doing, where, and who is needed. All in all, it is a
relatively simplistic production.
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Each shard will have an Alternates stone, for use in Trammel/Malas oriented PvP conflicts. Wars
will be declared on this stone ONLY for the night of the event, so as to prevent misunderstandings. I
am not really certain how much threat a guild of newbie characters would be to anyone anyways,
but better safe then sorry! *chuckles*
Using the Alternates
To use the alternates, all you would need is an idea, equipment for our people, and means to
provide transportation to the event. Bringing us home afterwards is not needed unless you plan to
run multiple events with the same bit characters. You would write up a post on our forums with the
necessary information, provide your contact info, and we'd get back to you with what we can help
with. It would be that simple.
When a player on shard ____ has a need for some actors from our group, they post on our forum
requesting them. They are responsible for providing us with armor, clothing, weaponry,
transportation, and scripts (if there are any). If they need people to play specific roles, then they
request those as well.
For example:
Sample Request Post
We are hosting a guild event on Pacific, Monday, September 08, 2003, at 9pm PST. We
need help with a number of roles.
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Orc Chieftain with lines.
Two Orc Lords, with lines.
About 10 Orc warriors.
One Royal Guard for Lord British (with lines).
PvP is part of the quest, and we plan to kill everyone. We will meet with the Alternates at
the Haven Bank and provide gates to our staging area at 8 to 8:30pm PST, where we will
equip you and provide you with specific details. For the speaking roles, we can provide your
lines ahead of time, if you need them. Email me at [email protected].
Please make all names Orc like, for example "Kaug'ub" and such. If you have any other
questions, contact me at [email protected].
From there, members of the Alternates would reply with RSVP's for the event, show up at the
appropriate time, and have some fun doing it!
Expanding the Concept
This sort of program could easily be extended to HOSTING events and quests on other shards, as
well as facilitating them. For now, I am focusing on the enabling aspect, as I feel it would be an
easier "Stage 1" operation, but it is entirely likely that we might push the extent of our focus to
actively running our own quest & story lines. We'll see what the future holds.
- Return to the Selected Section In-Game Meta Communities | Community Section | Table of Contents
Page 8 of 12
LS Dueling Society
Introduction
LSDS will attempt to re-establish a strong and dedicated PvP community on Lake Superior, by
providing a fun and easily managed group for dueling purposes.
LSDS is not a guild, but rather a meta-guild community that allows anyone from any guild to
become an active member. A group of Duelers will be recruited as Duel Masters, their only purpose
to watch and record Duels performed by members of LSDS and record their standings on a global
ladder. As members win Duels, they gain points. As they gain points, they raise on the ladder. Once
a month, the top 8 contenders on the Ladder will be invited to meet and perform at a public "High
Tournament" against each other, where increased points will be given for winning, as well as other
prizes.
The end effect should be a fun constant activity where Duelers can challenge other members
privately, and under the observation of a Duel Master, strut their stuff. Duel Rankings will be listed
both on the Global Ranking list, as well as on their UOLS board profile, so other Duelers can always
see their standing within LSDS. The High Tournament will give them a chance to show off in public,
for greater rewards.
Rules & Procedures
Duels can be run anywhere, and on any facet, though Red Duelists will have problems with some
events. Most DMs will have preferred places to host impromptu Duels. We understand that with the
advent of AoS Player vs. Player combat has become a LOT more item centered. It is not our purpose
to simply let the player with the biggest bank roll to dominate, yet we do not wish to exclude ANY
type of PvP combatant, so our Rules & Procedures for dueling allow two specific modes of combat:
controlled and open combat.
Controlled Combat
This combat is centered on the thought that skill and expert manipulation of your player archetype
is more important then gear. Duelers are limited by the following rules in Controlled Combat:
Only the Duelers can participate. Any outside help of any sort will result in the cancellation of the
fight, and no points being awarded.
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Duelers may ONLY use GM crafted armor and weaponry. No runic/magical items.
No robes (we have to see what you are wearing).
Jewelry is allowed.
All spells are allowed.
The use of poison and all other potions is allowed.
All summonings are allowed.
All transformations are allowed.
Only horses, llamas, and ethereal mounts are allowed.
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Hiding & Stealth is allowed.
Looting of no sort is permitted. Looting another Dueler's corpse is grounds for immediate
termination from LSDS.
Giving a murder count to another Dueler is grounds for immediate termination from LSDS.
Attacking a Duel Master (when not in a ranking duel with them) is grounds for immediate
Winners of a LSDS Controlled Combat Duel receive 6 points.
Losers of a LSDS Controlled Combat Duel receive 2 points.
Open Combat
This is an anything goes, all out melee fest. However, since so much of Open Combat is determined
by gear/pets, less points are awarded for winning/losing. Duelers in Open combat can use any
weapon/tactic/whatever, as long as it follows within the following rules:
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Only the Duelers can participate. Any outside help of any sort will result in a cancellation of
the fight, and no points being awarded.
Any weapons (including magical/runic/artifact!), armor, jewelry, and any other equipment,
is allowed.
All spells are allowed
The use of poison and all other potions is allowed.
All summonings are allowed.
All transformations are allowed.
ALL mounts and pets are allowed (this means tamers CAN compete in Open Combat
duels).
Hiding and Stealth is allowed.
Looting of no sort is permitted. Looting another Dueler's corpse is grounds for immediate
Giving a murder count to another Dueler is grounds for immediate termination from LSDS.
Attacking a Duel Master (when not in a ranking duel with them) is grounds for immediate
Winners of a LSDS Open Combat Duel receive 3 points.
Losers of a LSDS Open Combat Duel receive 1 point.
Duelers must agree on whether a ranking fight is Open or Controlled BEFORE the Duel
begins, so that the DM can ascertain they are not wearing illegal armor or weaponry.
Duel Masters
Duel Masters are referees and observers, nothing more. Their purpose is to watch duels and report
the standings of individual members, making sure that the proper points for each fight are
distributed. They must be easily contacted, and ready to run fights at various locales.
Rules for Duel Masters:
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DMs may compete in LSDS, but may NOT be DMs of their own fights. Another DM must
bear witness to any ranking fight and record for them.
DMs may invalidate any fight if there was outside interference of any sort. Outside
interference includes, but is not limited to: other Duelers, monsters, pets, blue healers etc.
In all cases, the Duel Master has the final word in this issue.
DMs may call the cessation of a fight at any time.
DMs must come to an agreement before both of the Duelers on the terms of the fight (Open
or Controlled), and subsequently what points the fight is worth. See more on this in "Rule &
Procedures".
Page 10 of 12
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DMs are held to greater standards then other duelers. Any cry of cheating, foul play, or
rigging the results of a fight will result in the immediate suspension of that DM pending
further investigation.
Ranking fights can occur anywhere a DM is, provided the DM is notified of the intent of the
fight and checked over the gear before hand. This includes public PvP nights of another
sort, random meetings, whatever.
DM Procedures for a Duel:
1.
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DM is contacted to observe a ranking fight, and arranges to meet the fighters at a location
of his choice, possibly arranging travel to an unknown location (to the Duelers) to minimize
the possibility of ganking.
DM asks if the fight will be Open or Controlled (see more on this in Rules & Procedures).
DM verifies the equipment on both Duelers if it is controlled.
Both Duelers flag on the DM, and begin the fight at the DMs call (the drop of a wall of stone
or similar effect).
DM observes the fight, and the winner, and resurrects as needed.
DM logs onto UOLS, and adds points to each player accordingly... which will automatically
update their standing on the LSDS Ladder, as well as adjust their personal account totals.
Implementation for Normal Duels:
Once a fight has been arranged, everyone meets and the DM makes sure they agree on terms (Open
or Controlled). The DM verifies he has the correct usernames for both opponents (on UOLS), and
they begin their fight. The DM records the points for winner & loser on a special points recording
page he has access to, and everything is adjusted accordingly (and automatically).
Implementation for High Tournaments:
High Tournaments are BY DEFAULT Controlled fights. A specific tournament can be run as Open
Combat, but only if it is publicized as such before hand, and all fighters are notified of such.
Approximately 3 - 5 days before the tournament, the top 8 rankers on the LSDS ladder will be
invited to perform at the Tournament, which they may decline if they so choose. Since the High
Tournament will be held at various places on all facets, it will require the Duelers to temporarily
join the LSDS stone for that event. High Tournaments will be held only once a month.
High Tournaments will have two phases, the Tournament itself and a "Grand Melee". The High
Tournament will be run as a single elimination contest, with winners in each duel progressing
through 3 rounds until a "Tournament Champion" is found. The winner will be declared
"Tournament Champion", and their UOLS forum title adjusted for that month.
Points will be awarded as follows:
 Participating in the Tournament: 5 points
 4th place: 5 points
 3rd place: 7 points
 2nd place: 10 points
 1st place: 15 points
Furthermore, at the end of the Tournament, there will be a "Grand Melee". The "Grand Melee" is
open to ALL Duelists in attendance who took the time to add themselves to the LSDS stone (for the
event only), and will basically be a free for all till the last man standing. Open & Controlled rules
still apply, but otherwise the Duelists are free to create alliances, break alliances, and do whatever it
takes to come out standing on top. The winner will be declared "Melee Champion", and their UOLS
forum title adjusted for that month.
Page 11 of 12
Points will be awarded as follows:
 Participating in the Grand Melee: 2 points
 Winning the Grand Melee: 15 points
Red Duelists
Red Duelists, while welcome to participate in our ladder and ranking system, will sometimes be
overlooked for Tournaments when they are held in Trammel or Malas. This is an unavoidable
aspect of UO's game mechanics, and while we will do our best to make sure that some tournaments
will be held in Fel, it will not always be possible.
- Return to the Selected Section In-Game Meta Communities | Community Section | Table of Contents
Page 12 of 12

Adobe PDF Format - Why I Believe the Gaming Industry is a Good Fit

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