Today was my last official day working for Trion World Network. On Monday, I start a new job as Community Director for Gazillion Entertainment.
Yes, that Gazillion Entertainment; the company I called ‘the new 800lb gorilla‘ when they de-cloaked back in March, and who are working on a variety of MMOGs, including two based on Marvel Comics.
Not so surprised now, are ya?
Yes, I’ll admit that when Gazillion’s acquisition of the Marvel licence was announced, my interest was very definitely piqued, if that wasn’t obvious. What really got me intrigued was that they had acquired NetDevil, a development team who I’ve been a fan of since we worked together on Auto Assault. I made some enquiries, heard some pleasing noises, and six months later… here we are.
You might think that I’ve spent the last six months scheming to extract myself from Trion, but that’s absolutely not true. In fact, I’ve had a blast over there, and I’m genuinely sad that I’m leaving. The development teams behind Heroes of Telara and the Syfy-MMO(Action)RPG are packed full of great people who I’m going to miss and in the case of the Syfy crew, now don’t get to work with – boo! Both games are looking great, and unfortunately I now won’t be able to help them across the finish line. Don’t think I’m forgetting the MMORTS in production with Petroglyph Games, either; a trip to Las Vegas earlier this year convinced me that they are going to unleash something that’ll shake up the genre. I still believe everything I said about Trion back when I announced I was working there, however… when opportunity knocks, you don’t just sit back in your easy chair.
Gazillion has got a stellar line-up of games coming, including some I know are going to surprise a lot of people, and my new role allows me to work on all of them, as well as tasking me to direct community strategies for the entire company. Once offered, I couldn’t turn that down, even if it meant leaving behind new friends and some great looking games at Trion.
Weirdly – at least for me – this means that I’m back to full-on secrecy mode. I thought Trion had a lot of secrets, but even after signing on with Gazillion, I still don’t know about everything they’re developing! Roll on Monday….
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks and I’m sure it’ll be a crazy couple of months ahead, but I’m very excited about it; perhaps even ‘stoked’ or ‘psyched’ if we’re being American. Here was me thinking I was done with big, tumultuous changes in my life. I guess all I can do is strap in and enjoy the ride!
#1 by Dr Toerag at October 18th, 2009
Congratulations! I look forward to many more posts beginning “I can’t talk about this at all/in detail/you’re not cleared for the answer!”
On a serious note, that looks to be just about the highest you can go in your business, short of Blizzard high muckety-muck. That move to the West Coast seems to have been very wise. I take it ANOTHER move is on the cards now?
#2 by Rockjaw at October 18th, 2009
Actually no, don’t have to move at all – Gazillion are just a little further up the road, so the commute will extend but not even by that much. Hurrah!
And thanks Doc!
#3 by Extremus at October 19th, 2009
Sounds like a pretty big job, but one that you seem suited too, so – nice one! Hope it all works out in a stellar fashion.
Just don’t ask Romero when he’s going to make us his bitch, I mean, we’re all still waiting, but yeah.
#4 by Chet at October 19th, 2009
Long time listener, first time caller. Good Luck in your new position at Gazillion–it must have been really difficult to leave behind one of the most treasured gamers of all time in pursuit of new opportunities.
#5 by Mystie at October 26th, 2009
Congratulations on your new job. You’re a fantastic community lead. All the luck in the world from here, over the pond in Blighty.