Back To Meet The Devs

1. What is your name and/or nickname?

Chris "Slapp" Foster.
Senior Designer

2. How did you come to work at Turbine?

I was looking for a new challenge in game design, and Turbine was cool, cutting-edge and less than an hour from my home.

3. What other jobs have you had?

I worked at Impressions Software (part of Sierra) for four-and-a-half years; I worked my way up to producer and co-designer on a number of games, including Lords of the Realm and Caesar II.

4. Do you work on anything else besides AC (and can you tell us about it)?

Yes, and No, respectively. :)

5. If you could add or change one thing in AC, what would that be?

I'd adjust the spread of content at different levels of difficulty across the game, and add some firmer constraints on where characters can go as they develop.

I don't think we did the best job of keeping players entertained at all levels. And when low-level players have the opportunity to run through the thick of the Dire Lands, it leaves less for them to discover as they improve their abilities.

6. What's the most amusing or embarrassing death you've had or witnessed in AC?

The best deaths were during the "Fire in the Sky" beta event, at the Mountain Shortcut. A bunch of devs were gathered round, observing the area as the first major fire elementals started dropping; the snowy hills were littered with orange lights, as if slopes had been set up for night skiing.

When the first adventurers came through the portal, a dozen elementals repeatedly swept down and annihilated them. The landscape was littered with high-level weapons and armor until players started discussing the situation on the other side of the portal. Soon, organized packs of players started coming through, with dedicated healers and enchanters supporting the front-line attackers. After a few attempts, the elementals were subdued, and a group of players were able to hold the location indefinitely.

It was amazing to see players, over time, learn to take and maintain control of this patch of the world. It was a little, unscripted adventure which grew out of our first experimental event; it showed how simple but broad changes to the world can provide opportunities for players to tell their own stories.

7. Are you in an allegiance and do your allegiance members know you're at Turbine?

Yes. And No. I'm a fairly casual player at this point; I don't provide too much XP, and my patron doesn't provide too much loot. :)

8. Have you played any other MMORPGs and are you looking forward to any upcoming ones?

I briefly dallied with UO in its early days, and used to MUD in college. I'm excited by some of the less traditional MMP's on the horizon. I can't wait to see what Cyan's up to with their "Mudpie" project.

9. What's the current in-office LAN game?

Counterstrike is a leading favorite here, but the art department recently got on a Starcraft kick.

10. Favourites:

Music: Semi-obscure singer-songwriters (Michael Penn, Aimee Mann) or semi-progressives (Radiohead). Lotsa other stuff not aggressively poppy.

Film: Too many to choose. For their emotionality and audaciousness, I love the films of P.T. Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia).

Food: Sushi. Or good Portuguese cooking. Or my girlfriend's recipe for Sloppy Joe's. I make a mean pot o' chili.

Sport: I used to play ultimate frisbee. Now a brisk walk is about as sporting as I get.

Computer Game: Growing up, it was "Rescue from Fractalus!" -- the closest thing to flying an X-Wing at the time. In the recent past, X-Com and the Wing Commander games. Current Favorites are Deus Ex, Crimson Skies (on those rare days when it doesn't crash) and Shenmue (if I can sneak that in as a "computer" game.)

11. What was the first computer game you played?

Either Colossal Cave Adventure, or the mainframe "Trek" game. Both were on display at the Boston Children's Museum.

12. What would you like appreciative fans to send as gifts?

CD's they think I should listen to.

13. Did you get your pre-patch Greater Shadow Armour in time?

If you knew how weak my live-world character really is, you wouldn't even ask.

14. Fasten and then zip or zip and then fasten?

Fasten then zip. (And toilet-paper should roll down the front, not the back.)

15. Because of the lead- and asbestos-lined walls at Turbine's offices, you all survive the apocalypse - who'd get voted Supreme Leader?

(What? I don't get to be home with my loved ones?) Dave Bowman and Mike Steele take charge together. I shudder to picture the offspring as Turbine attempts to repopulate the Earth.