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Ellie Crawley, QA Team Lead

What is it you do on a daily basis? I lead the embedded QA Content team. My team works directly with the implementers to make sure their content functions correctly. This requires open communication between QA and Content and a slightly different mindset for testing. Normally, when QA tests, we test and write up the issues we find. With my team, we test, communicate the problems with the team, and then they make corrections. Or we work together to try to get designs changed and then we retest. This process occurs over the course of five days per chapter, which means our schedule is tight. Since we also perform QA at the end of this process, we allot two days for going through the content again and reporting bugs. After we go through the content and bugs are fixed, the core group of QA testers will test the chapter again. My biggest responsibility is communication. As the team lead for this group, it is vital that I understand the direction that Content is taking so that QA can provide the necessary testing. What is your background? Aside from working in the gaming industry, for most of my professional life I worked with children. I worked as a nanny and in a daycare center to help pay for undergraduate school. I paid for graduate school by working in the Marketing Department of a Financial Management firm. What about college? Yes, and I plan to go back, I love being in school! Two down, PhD here I come. What are your degrees in? I have my B.S. in Business Administration Management and my Masters in Organizational Development with a focus on HR. Has it helped you with your job here? Yes, my education helps me a lot in my work. Since most of the work we do in QA is team based, it helps to have an understanding of how teams function. What was your 1st job out of school? I continued to work in the daycare center as a manager at that point, until I opened my own daycare. What was your 1st game industry job? My introduction to the industry was with Magic the Gathering. I started as a temporary tester part-time, evenings and weekends, and after a few months of doing that, I was offered a full-time position. How long have you been with Mythic? I have been with Mythic for a little over a year. Have you worked for other game companies? Oh my yes! MicroProse Software, Hasbro Interactive, Infogrames and Breakaway Games. I also had the honor of working with Firaxis Games in conjunction with Infogrames. What other titles have you worked on in the past? I’ve worked on Q*Bert, Battleship: Surface Thunder, Candyland, M1 Tank Platoon II, Magic the Gathering Interactive Encyclopedia, MechWarrior 3, Monopoly Casino, NASCAR Heat, Risk II, Sid Meier's Civilization II, Civilization II: Fantastic Worlds, Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold, Civilization II: Test of Time, Civilization III, Emperor Rise of the Middle Kingdom, Magic the Gathering, Magic the Gathering: Spells of the Ancients, Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers, Falcon 4.0, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard, X-Com: Enforcer, X-COM: Interceptor, European Air War, Gunship!, RollerCoaster Tycoon: Corkscrew Follies, RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loopy Landscapes and Majesty. What was your “welcome to the game industry” moment when it hit you that you were really making games for a living? When I walked into a Best Buy and saw the games that I had helped test on the shelves. And people were buying them. I thought “Wow, I helped make those games. I make games for a living, how cool is that.” What excites you about the Warhammer property? The diversity of the Warhammer world. There is so much to do. So many different races to dislike and kill! Do you collect Warhammer figures? Yes I do, but not Warhammer Fantasy, I collect and play Warhammer 40K, Mordheim, Battlefleet Gothic, and I used to play Blood Bowl in high school. Mordheim is my favorite. I play an Eldar in 40K and Norsemen in Mordheim. Does your spouse let you display them when friends come over for dinner? We proudly display all of our armies. My husband does all the painting. I do not have the patience to paint. What are your hopes/goals for the game? I hope that people have fun playing the game and see the passion that is going into making this great game. What your key influences when making the game? Everyone has their own opinions about games and my key influences are my personal likes and dislikes. What is the biggest problem with current MMO’s you hope to fix with WAR? We hope to bring the player-on-player action to the forefront. Too many games lack good or even fair competition against other players. We are doing our best to make that part shine above all others! What are your favorite video/computer games of all time? I love Bauldar’s Gate - I’ve replayed the game about 100 times - and The Sims 2 - I have fun killing the Sims. Hmm, I am noticing a theme of liking to kill things! What games are you playing right now? Eternal Sonata for Xbox 360, Puzzle Quest for the DS and Final Fantasy for the PsP. What music are you listening to right now? I am going thru a Jon Mayer phase right now, but overall I like listening to all types of music. Is there a recent movie you have seen or book/comic you read that you would recommend to others? I have recently finished reading Wicked an interesting look into the Wizard of Oz world. Anything else you want to add. QA Rocks!

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