Ask A Dev - Melissa "War Witch" Bianco - Answers!

Back in January we kicked off the "Ask a Dev" series by Re-Introducing Melissa "War Witch" Bianco.

Thank you to everyone that submitted questions. We'll be announcing our next Candidate for "Ask a Dev" soon so stay tuned.


MrHassenpheffer - What does the future hold for base editing?

Certain restrictions in base building are being adjusted and/or removed so with that comes some freedom and more options, from an editor perspective, the degree of control and fine-tuning you have in placing items. So that’s one thing. I’ve seen a lot of “creativity” with the way players use one object (or hundreds of them) to act as another so my other plan is to provide more base objects, more textures, and more themed sets. Suggestions?

Unknown_User - So will your leadership have any affect on features like base raids, citadel of pain, items of power, a secret identities system? Will the work on features like these be scaled back in favor of new content?

We’re working on some of that, yes. Given certain limitations of our systems, some features will get love and some won’t.

treboreleets - How do you determine what Powersets get made and which ones don't? What determines the priority of the sets that do get made? (Example: Why did MM's get Thugs before Demon Summoning?) And what powersets can we expect to see in the future?

The powersets are determined by a few factors:

1. This is low-hanging fruit, with little assets from Art
2. This new powerset can fill that gaping hole, it’s been a long time coming
3. This is the powerset of X signature character, so it just makes sense to put it in the game
4. This is something players have been asking for forever and now we have time to “do it right.”

As for your example, the difference in complexity between a simple thug and a demon (when you see it, you’ll understand why) are vastly different and since thugs were “mostly built” anyway, they were a logical choice because they existed on a rig we currently used and didn’t have any strange technical issues with. Now Demons…whole other story.

TheJazMan - What direction are you planning on taking the game? Lately we have been getting a lot of issues/additions but little to do. Some players feel a game of this vintage has to keep evolving to keep it's players. I notice the player numbers are very low lately and maybe this is a partial explanation? So, what will be your focus in the upcoming year? More missions, game mechanics, innovations?

What I meant by “more content” was just that. We’ve included a lot of new “systems” lately from Ouroboros to Mission Architect, but what we haven’t done a lot of has been providing simple mission content and zones. Well, you’ll definitely get both with Going Rogue, but I want to make sure it becomes a mainstay for Issues, going forward. I realize players will breeze through them quickly, but there are some great stories out there, and we’re just the team to tell them. This game has plenty of material (endless, really) to draw upon and an excellent missions team, so it just makes sense to do what we do well.

I also want to make sure that they look good, their bases look good, and they can RP their hearts out, so yes, I want to make sure we’re getting a steady stream of animations, costumes, and other aesthetically pleasing tidbits.

biomechanic - My question: will we be seeing more zone revamps as we did with Faultline and the Hollows?

Well, I keep saying that I’d rather create a new zone rather than reinvent an old one. The nice thing about the Hollows was that while the zone itself didn’t change in terms of environment, it got a “face-lift” through new villain groups, mission door adjustments, a spawn overhaul, and adding some repeatable missions to the zone. That was fairly low-hanging fruit that required no Art support. The pain comes in when we decide to adjust geometry and that is usually where discussions come to a grinding halt in favour of something more “bang for the buck,” because the Art team’s time is always very tight with every issue.

Sentai_Sage - Are there any new badges or types of badges that are in the works? Or perhaps any information pertaining to Badge'ing that you could divulge?

Are more badges coming? Yes. New information? Well, there’s more of them and they’re easy to get.

Jake_Summers - Do the other devs ever make fun of you for being Canadian or are they too afraid of your mighty Canadian archetype powers [Like the ability to cut down a tree with one chop of an ax while eating a donut]?

They don’t make fun of me as much. But any time I throw in a Canadianism, I get “the look.” I’ve learned to tone down the “eh’s” so as to avoid needless mockery, however, it doesn’t always work. And can I just say in a very quietly respectful tone that I am very proud of the showing my fellow Canadian countrymen (and women) had at the 2010 Winter Olympics in my hometown of Vancouver? Okay, I’m done. Very proud.

Liquid - When you took your first position at Cryptic Studios back in February of 2002 (archive.org says you were the Office Manager in August, is that what you started as?), did you have any ambitions to work directly on the game itself at all, let alone become the Lead Designer? Do you have any thoughts and/or feelings to share about the changes you (position and skill-wise) and the game have gone through between then and now?

I just wanted to be part of the game in any way I could be. I was willing to take out the garbage if I had to. I’d put many hours in as a beta tester on many MMO games, but I’d never been part of one before and since Cryptic was local, it seemed like a great opportunity.

If you had asked me, did I think I’d be here today, when I first walked into the Jury Court building, I would have told you you were insane. I don’t think that I could have even begun to imagine myself in this role. Every time I look back and how much I have learned and how much I have grown over the years working on this game, I am stupefied. When I started, I didn’t even know how to use the editor, didn’t know what a beacon was. Now, my brain is crammed full of information and process and lore and history. It’s served me very well over the years as the “old guard” has been replaced with the new.

jwbullfrog - Now that the real world War Witch has gotten a promotion, will there be an improvement is the "not exactly dead" status of the in game War Witch? Maybe her own task force?

There better be. I hate being dead. No offence to Ghost Widow, she rocks the look. A War Witch Task Force, wow, I really like the sound of that. It’s a bit self-serving, though, isn’t it? Maybe if others clamoured for it, it wouldn’t sound like it was coming from me

NeoMystic - The work that you do, does it give you enough time for a personal life? Or is it like coming home and for the rest of the evening worrying about the next day of work?

My days are pretty hectic. I’m usually up by 5 a.m. so that I can go work out (this is a new thing) and then I’m at work by about 7. I make myself leave for lunch (most times) and I try to be out of the office at a relatively decent hour (5, 6, or 7), but by the time I get home, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for hanging out. I have to be in bed asleep by 9 p.m. so I can get a full night’s sleep. It doesn’t always work out, but that’s the plan. Most of my ideas come to me on the treadmill or on the commute home in rush hour. And it IS an hour. Weekends make up for it, though. I go hiking, play videogames, find a cause to jump on, read books, write, spend time with my family, go to church. That kind of thing. My husband takes it in stride, he knows the job means a lot to me and that I’m trying to get up to speed and do right by you guys.

Crimson_Archer_EU - When are you coming back to the UK??? We miss you!

I miss you guys, too! I heard they got rid of Omega Sektor??!! What’s that about?

BubblegumBomb - What kind of motorcycle do you drive? How long have you been riding? Are you in a MC?

I have a 2009 Suzuki GSX 650F. It has one of the lowest seats on the market and I had to have it lowered because I’m so short. I bought this bike because it reminded me of the 1987 Suzuki RG Gamma 250 that I had back when I was in college. I have also owned a 1980 Yamaha (which I pronounce “Yea-ma-haw” and drive my husband crazy) 400 Special. I got my license back in the 80s but didn’t ride for a lot of years. Then I hit 40, had a mid-life crisis, bought some cheesy medallions, and got my MC license for California. They don’t take kindly to expired British Columbia Class 6 licenses here in California. No MC’s though. I wish more of my female friends rode, though, that would be fun. Female Bike Gang. CRAZY.

Gargoyle_KDR - After college did you take any continuing education courses that were job related? If so, what sort of courses were they? Were you really born in Vancouver proper, or was it West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, or (shudders) Surrey? Those of us who live around the area do know the difference. What do you most look forward to doing in your new role? Who is _your_ role model? Why?

I went through Vancouver Film School so that I could get my Director’s Guild of Canada permit (Flagperson’s Certificate), I took classes at the Art’s Club Theatre on Grandville Island (no relation to Arachnos) for screenwriting, and I took video instruction at the local television station so that I could be a camerawoman at a local television station back in North Vancouver. I also took a few years of American Sign Language, which helped a lot as I worked as an ASL interpreter. That was my first goal, be an interpreter. But as I was working at the college towards my AA, the “international” fees were killing me ($155/credit!?) so I had to give up that and find a real job. I was working at the college when the Cryptic opportunity presented itself.

I was born in Vancouver proper, thank you very much! I went to elementary and high school in North Vancouver. Go Argyle ’87! I also attended college in North Vancouver. Well, and Fremont, and online via Liberty University. I have lived in about 90% of the cities you mentioned, even the one people make fun of, but not by choice! (And as soon as I was able, I moved away. Ha ha!)

What do I look forward to most in my new role? I look forward to focusing our goals and gaining momentum again with the features we’ve already implemented and adding to them. I like missions, and zones, and task forces, and costume sets, and animations, and all those things. So I’d like to do more of that.

Who is my role model? Too many to count, but my mom’s probably my favourite. She’s a warrior. She’s had some big ups and downs in life (as we all have), and she just keeps moving forward, learning and growing and taking it all in one day at a time. She is the kind of person who gets excited about a cause or a creative endeavour and she passed that on to me. She has taught me to be the kind of person who is energized by helping others. It’s an amazing feeling; best cure for the dumps that I can think of.

Terwyn - First, what is it like to be a Canadian living and working in the United States? Was there a significant amount of culture shift? I know that professionally speaking, Canadian culture is generally more collectivist in contrast to the American culture's individualism. How long did it take to get used to the different professional culture, and how did you manage the shift?

Actually, it was tough at first. There is a very different culture shift in general. However, I am nothing if not malleable and I just had to adapt. As with all workplaces, you just have to adapt and grow. So it’s worked out pretty well for me

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@Damz Find me on the global channel Union Chat. One of the best "chat channels" ingame!

Great read

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The Rabbit and Hare collective clamor for a War Witch T/SF!
C'mon, it's got to be co-op!

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Rabbits & Hares:Blue (Mind/Emp Controller)Maroon (Rad/Thermal Corruptor)and one of each AT all at 50
MA Arcs: Apples of Contention - 3184; Zen & Relaxation - 35392; Tears of Leviathan - 121733 | All posts are rated "R" for "R-r-rrrrr, baby!"|Now, and this is very important... do you want a hug? COH Faces @Blue Rabbit

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@Damz Find me on the global channel Union Chat. One of the best "chat channels" ingame!

War Witch Task Force!!!! DOOOOO IT!!!

you could make it the story of her coming back from being not so dead.. or many multitudes of different story's !

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Consider this a clamor for a WWTF.

Apex must make an appearance in at least one mission, however.

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... *grumbles* no mention of Burn, Fiery Aura, or Dark Armor.

Anyways, I'm for a War Witch Task Force, providing we get some kind of answer for the above listed items.

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War Witch Task Force!-bring out your undead!
I never realised W.W. was from someplace so close to home.

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Kohei-Vigilance Committee Founder

"Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once." - Caesar by Shakespeare

AE ARCS: search for Kohei, Vigilance Committee, or...
#365403: Arch-Nemesis Inc.
#130465: The Dark Side of Time
#328975: Power Broker
#159392: Animal Uprising
#70770: Attack of the Bee People
#331282: Universal Evil

A fascinating read, interesting details about our new Lead and what areas of the game may be focused on in the future. Been playing for years now and even seen WW in person but didn't pick up on her being Canadian (probably coz we didn't talk), but you'd think I'd have heard of that.

I can back the idea of a War Witch TF, and in general, TF's that elevate some of the 2nd tier of contact/heroes/villians onto the main stage. It would be good to fill in some of the backstory of these characters to more fully flesh them out.

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K5K - The Killbot 5000
A Spanner In The Works Part One, ArcID: 336662, A Spanner In The Works Part Two, ArcID: 336665, Enter Japes, ArcID: 96001
In The Darkness Creeping, ArcID: 347709, When Dimensions Collide, ArcID: 412416.

Ohh, that was great! More! More!

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Playstation 3 - XBox 360 - Wii - PSP

Remember kids, crack is whack!

Samuel_Tow: Your avatar is... I think I like it

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Over 8 years of playing with more than 130 characters across 14 servers. Nineteen 50s with plenty more working their way up!

Find me in-game as @Super MC

I wants a WW S/TF and I wants a Europe Visit again, we feel missed out over here now

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Sapphire Maiden lvl 50 Eng/Eng/Flame Blaster
Misstrix lvl 50 Fire/Rad/Ice Controller
Foundations Claw lvl 50 Fire/Fire/Flame Tank
Lord Viscera lvl 36 Necro/Dark MM/Flame Mastery
Kestrell lvl 50 Rad/Kin/Soul Corr

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@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk

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Very good read.

[Guardian]Shadow Ravenwolf: WWTF Forming. PST for Invites!!

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A Guide to Champion Drama
My Videos
Ashcraft been published.

Ww s/tf nao plz!

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Seriously, I don't know how anyone couldn't love our RL WW!
Zero against Posi in the slightest... I'm super glad you have this position and I can't wait to enjoy all that you'll lead the team through!

I know all of us with brains don't get caught up in gender/race/nationalities to important degrees... But... How many female lead game designers of an mmorpg franchise are there?

Male or female, WW is a an awesome Dev and a seemingly great individual.

And...

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Main Hero: Flame Blade (Scrapper lvl 50; Katana/Regeneration)
Main Villain: Elenor Seahawk (Mastermind lvl 44; Necromancy/Poison)
My Arcs: #337278: Learning Curve
Fight my Brute: SMASH

Thanks much, War Witch; I'm a big fan. Much of this is pretty much what I'd guessed, but you said one thing that would make me tear my hair out if I still had any. I just don't "get" this:

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Pocket D War Witch Task Force please!

Level 30-35 would be nice.

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