2001-07-30: Comments from Quixote
Comments from Quixote
Jul 30 2001 2:18PM
This was originally posted to Player Relations at uo.com.[1]
The not so distant days of my youth glow warmly in my memory with the camaraderie and adventure that came with the gathering of friends, a roll of the dice, and venturing forth into graph paper dungeons and cardboard tiled woods. And when the tales grew weary and the means grew worn, we carved out new quests seeking new ways to stretch our imaginations. The Commodore 64 sprang forth to further entice us with journeys into the Temple of Apshai and with my first IBM PC (jr.), Kings Quest, Wizardry, and the Ultima series followed. Though I continued playing these RPGs, as well as other paper and board games, they became just an occasional hobby as I treaded on into the midst of my career and family. Focusing on the technical side of the PC, I made a career that centered on the design, manufacturing, and improvement of these boxes that are, for most, the window of adventure and opportunity. By and by I found myself wearing many hats as a technician for this, liaison for that, customer contact here, and trainer there. Life was good, yet I wanted, in some regards, to return to my gaming and creative roots. Thus, when I found the name of Origin penned on the weekly parchment pronouncing an opportunity to not only revisit and rekindle the campaigns of valor and quest for truths, but to actually take part in maintaining a land I had long since forgotten and assisting in its evolution and longevity, I greeted the opportunity with wide-eyed enthusiasm.
I have been among the ranks of Player Relations for almost a year now, and have seen many changes and many faces, both familiar and new. But through these changes and the challenges that the team here continues to face in supporting a multi-faceted game and community, I still see that spark of wide-eyed enthusiasm when discussions of improvements and new editions to the game are thrown around. I am in the company of hopeless romantics, and every day a tale is born that makes me glad to be a part of it.
Since joining the team, I have focused on working with the Game Masters to define their roles, managing customer call volumes, and establishing a consistent guideline for policies and procedures for in-game support. The last point is by no means an easy task considering the complexity of the community we support, but we have seen continued improvements and we are dedicated to helping this area evolve. You, the player, are on this team with us. By posting on our boards and sending us your concerns you help turn the focus of our efforts to those areas that impact you the most and, as a player, I can empathize with many of these same issues and concerns. As we pursue this quest together, perhaps we can remind each other why we are here and take our game and community to the next evolutionary stage. I look forward to seeing what we accomplish.
Later days will find me gray and perhaps even soft as the hard, youthful, edge surrenders to the satisfaction of fulfillment of a well rounded life. And as I listen to the wide-eyed excitement of my grandchildren as they conquer the newest level of the latest dungeon quest on whatever the media is at that time, I can smile and know that our efforts will live on.
Good gaming –
BJ "Quixote" Morton
Team Lead
Player Relations
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