2000-01-21: From the Desk of Bodi Darhma
From the Desk of Bodi Darhma
Jan 21 2000 5:47PM
This was originally posted to Volunteer Relations at uo.com.[1]
Salutations! When I first was asked to write this, I took the task to heart and crafted a creation tale for myself. Now that you have an idea who I am, I would like to tell you more about the program I work on.
I am part of the Player Relations Department here at OSI, and I am the Companion Coordinator. The primary goal of the Companion program is to be there to greet and aid new players in the game. This is no easy task. Since all users don’t arrive with the same amount of knowledge of Ultima Online, the Companions more often than not have to start at the very basics of the game - from mouse control to setting all the options. Once those tasks have been completed, they are ready to start showing new players some fun.
The Companion’s main task is to help the new player around the game, showing them such things as how to use a vendor and what the different skills are for. Since most players have in their mind what they desire to be, it makes the task a little easier. I have yet to hear a tale of a new player saying they want to be a 7x GM. J Most are interested in spell casting or a fighter breed of character. When we first started the program we were to be there for the occasional new player. With recent developments and partnerships, there is a constant stream of new players rather than the random one. This huge influx of new players has caused us to expand our numbers. We had originally estimated we would need our current enrollment number. But changes bring more changes. We now are trying to expand our numbers to three times what the current program size.
This too is no easy task. When we sent of the first call for Companions we received a staggering 1200 applicants. This was great. We went about drafting people to help train all of these new recruits. We were lucky enough to get a lot of really top-notch people. They ranged from students to retired military and they came from all over the world. We set about training all that we could. When all was said and done, we had trained over 500 people. But we wanted to expand our numbers still. So I sent the Arch Companions and the Senior Companions across the worlds to spread the word to the guilds of the lands. This task is still underway, so if you have not been approached yet, please be patient. They have to walk, so it takes a while. :)
So was does the future hold for the Companions? Well that is not any easy question. We are going to continue aiding our newest citizens and we hope to start coordinating with the Elder group to run events for the new players. With Renaissance coming out soon, we are going to have,… oops almost let the cat out the bag. :) Well, we’re definitely going to have a place with Renaissance! That is all for now.
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