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Kristen Neal, Software Engineer

What does a Client Programmer do? Pretty much everything you see on the screen that's not part of the world - the user interface, all that stuff - I've had a direct hand in creating. I spend a lot of time working with the game's system development teams and the artists on how everything is going to look, how it's going to work and how all the information from the server is going to be presented to the player. One of the items that I'm working on that I'm really excited about is the Tome of Knowledge. This is one of the features we really hope will differentiate WAR from other games out there. At it most basic level, it is a massive in-game encyclopedia that tracks player actions and their progress through the game's storyline. What makes it really cool is how you unlock entries as you explore the world, revealing new information and story lines, and earning experience and other rewards. What is your background? I got involved with computer graphics at the University of Virginia while in college as a Computer Science major. In 2003, I got a summer internship with Mythic's QA department. I was hired 6 months later as a programmer (which was probably a good move on Mythic's part, since I was probably their worst intern/envelope stuffer to date...) and, anyway, I've been programming ever since. Prior to working on WAR, I developed our internal world building tool used by our terrain artists and content developers. I also worked on Imperator. Oh, and in high school I spent a lot of time running cross country and making ceramic ducks. What excites you about working on WAR? My cube is right next to Brad's (the sound guy) office. And depending on the day, you hear a variety of random sounds coming from that direction. A few days ago, I think he was recording Dwarf drinking songs. I was trying to talk to a colleague who was working remotely, but had a lot of trouble concentrating—but not as much as the time he seemed to be recording female "combat noises." (I hope that is what they were.) Let's just say I would have been embarrassed if my grandmother had called. What was your "welcome to the game industry" moment when it hit you that you were really making games for a living? When we shipped Catacombs expansion for Dark Age of Camelot. I'd been working as a graphics programmer for only a few months. My boss had just been promoted to Tech Director, so I was the only person listed with the "Graphics Programmer" title on that project's credits. I got tons of misplaced recruiter calls after that…clearly they didn't have a good sell. Do you collect any WAR figures? I have a few, artistically modified with a Sharpie, sitting on my desk. Many at Mythic are horribly offended by this desecration—a lot of people really carefully paint these things beautifully. Mine just have black streaks. What have been your favorite video/computer games of all time? The first computer game I ever loved was Ultima Underworld. In the early 90's, I played it with two friends as an obsessive team, crowded around a single computer. One person controlled the mouse, one controlled the game book, and the other kept an active log of what worked and what didn't. After we beat that game, we moved on to Daggerfall, which had superior undead creatures to kill and the ability to go shopping. This filled all of our teenage-girl needs...until we discovered boys. As for online games, I've spent a good deal of time playing Diablo and Everquest. Recently I picked up a copy of The Sims 2 when I was out at our Redwood Shores office. I'm up to 6 "woohoos!" but lately I've been having trouble getting my Sim laid...

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