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The list of who we know is on the Development Team for DDO as of September 10, 2005:

My name is Jonathan Hanna (aka, Calandryll) and I am the Director of Community Relations for Turbine, Inc. Before I get into what that means, let me tell you a little about myself. I’ve been in the games industry for over 7 years now as a Community Relations representative and game designer for a variety of MMOGs. Before getting into games I was in Marketing for products such as blank audio tape and home alarm systems. But I left the “glamorous” life of selling 10-packs of audio tape and infra-red motion detectors behind when I took an opportunity to work in the marketing department for a start-up gaming company. Needless to say, I’ve never looked back.

I’ve been a gamer all my life, starting with pen-and-paper games and then moving to computer games when I got my first Commodore 64. I still joke with my dad who used to tell me to do my homework instead of play games all day. “You can’t get a job with the high score in Asteroids!” Of course, now he tells all of his friends how he’s the one who bought me my first computer and started me on my way in the gaming industry. Funny how that all worked out.

So what does a Director of Community Relations do? Basically it means I’m responsible for the Community Teams for all of Turbine’s games and will be helping to set policies and start initiatives that will make our communication with all of you even better. Much of my work will be behind the scenes (I get to go to lots and lots of meetings and read endless reports) although I do hope to post sometimes. Either way, I can promise you I do spend a lot of time reading the boards. Keep in mind that I am responsible for four MMOGs, so the Community Managers for each game will still be your main source of contact since they will always know the games (and all of you) better than I can.

I’ve been with Turbine for a week now so I am still getting up to speed. Plus, having lived in Texas for the past six years I have to get used to all of this white stuff falling from the sky. Thankfully I already have an amazing OCR team here and I’m very excited about the opportunity to work with all of you to continue to create the best MMOG communities on the internet! As we start working on new community initiatives (newsletters, fansite kits, etc.) I’ll probably post updates from time to time as well.

RELEVANT LINKS:

GameSpy Developer Diaries for Previous Project - Ultima X: Odyssey (UXO) - Oct 2003 thru Jan 2004
Part I
Part II
Part III

Gamespot Designer Diaries for Previous Project - Ultima X: Odyssey (UXO) - Nov 2003 thru Feb 2004
Summary Page with all Links

March 18, 2005 - Hello from D&D Online's New Community Relations Manager

Hello, Adventurers!

I'd like to introduce myself to you, as we will be working together closely starting today. My name is Victor "Sporkfire" Wachter, and I am assuming the role of Community Relations Manager for Dungeons & Dragons Online. Nik is currently working closely with me and will be posting about his new role here at Turbine soon. He is getting me all set up and educating me about the tremendous game we have in development here at Turbine.

I've been doing Community Relations in some form or another for several years, most recently with Sony Online Entertainment, working primarily on PlanetSide, with stints on EverQuest and EverQuest Online Adventures for the PlayStation 2.

I'm excited to be working on Dungeons & Dragons Online. So many aspects of this position intrigue me – bringing news and information to a pre-launch community, reaching out to the existing D&D community and bringing them into the online world, and generally growing our own presence so you can learn about the gameplay that's in store for you.

Plus, as just about everyone on the team agrees: What's cooler, in a geek sort of way, than working on an online D&D product? I doubt I'd even be a gamer today if not for the fantasy adventures I had as a teenager. Somewhere between the Village of Hommlet and the Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, a career was born. Although there were some brief side-trips to Top Secret and Star Frontiers, Dungeons & Dragons was home to the Chaotic-Neutral Dwarf I spent my weekend afternoons with.

The first thing everyone notices about me is the name. It's unusual and doesn't really, you know, make any sense and stuff. The story is a lot less interesting than you may think. When I took my first gaming Community Relations gig, a friend and I were outside talking about what I should call myself. He dared me to take something that was really rather absurd. Being the consummate professional that I am, I took him up on it, and the name Sporkfire stuck.

So, here we are… some time before the game is released but that day is getting closer. You want information and communication and Xundau and I will be here to fill that need. I'm already seeing quite a bit of work toward building and promoting the fan community and I look forward the most to working with you to keep that work going and help you add to it.

RELEVANT LINKS:

DDO Stratics Exclusive: A Conversation With Sporkfire - August 31, 2005

August 11, 2005 - Hello from the new Online Community Specialist!

Hello Everybody!

My name is Samera and I am the new Community Specialist for Dungeons and Dragons Online. I am very excited to be here and begin working with Sporkfire. I’ve been reading the boards for a few weeks now and I can already tell this is a really great community.

I’ve been playing computer games all of my life. Do any of you remember a text-based game called Moonmist? That is the first game I ever played. Since then, there have been countless other games, although for the past few years I have been almost exclusively playing MMOs.

As for pnp games, once a week I play in Sporkfire’s D&D campaign where I continually save my party members lives.

I look forward to working with you all.