Tovin: I, and I'm sure many other original subscribers, have come back recently, with all the major changes going in. First of all, let me congratulate you and the entire Camelot team on the amazing things ya'll are doing with the game!

Sanya: Thanks :)

Tovin: Let's talk a bit about ToA and the things that have changed drastically there! Is what ToA looks like now something more in line with the original vision for that area?

Sanya: Yes and no. Yes, in that we wanted puzzles, challenges, new gear, character advancement, an awesome story, and new gameplay elements. No, in that we originally designed it to be a "big raid-style" expansion, which our players absolutely hated with the burning heat of a thousand suns.

In terms of the artifact items, we had this really cool, really challenging system that required skill, planning, and a touch of luck. It turned out to be one of those things that's really cool on paper (and cool in a pen and paper game), and... uh, not so much in a computer game with a player base like ours. So we nerfed the everliving daylights out of it.

If you fish through the Herald, I've apologized in multiple places. I still think the expansion's content is spectacular, and that if people go back and play it now, they will like it more.

Tovin: Is the team happy with the way things are now in ToA, or are more major changes planned?

Sanya: No more major changes are scheduled for now. We're doing a systematic class revamp now - we started a bit before the winter holidays and are spending the rest of the year on that and our fall expansion.

Tovin: Can we expect to see you at E3 this year?

Sanya: Of course :) What about you?

[I'm actually getting married a week before E3, and though we tried planning it, after the celebration and honeymoon, I'm gonna stay home and play housewife (and DAoC of course) for a few weeks! So I'll be covering the show from home for all of our Stratics representatives!]

Tovin: Will Mythic have any Camelot related announcements at the expo? Perhaps we'll hear something about the next expansion?!

Sanya: We won't have anything to show, more than likely, but I'll have a handout. With bullet points. It'll be cool.

Tovin: Camelot players seem to be of a particularly vocal sort. How much of your day do you spend going through feedback, forums, and emails?

Sanya: Um, Tovin, you just described my whole job. That's what I'm paid to do. Well, those things and doing interviews like this, which *came* in an email. I love my job, and could turn any of those elements into a full time job. I couldn't function without my minions, Missy and Kunou. They've made the team what it is, really.

Tovin: Can you think of any particular feature request that was implemented directly from a feedback form?

Sanya: Oh, jeez. Way too many to count this many years after launch. I'm currently eyeballing my "most requested feature" list and I can count five that will be in the fall expansion... but of course I can't talk about those yet.

Tovin: How do you feel instances affect an otherwise persistant world? Will Mythic continue to make extensive use of instances in future expansions?

Sanya: Well, the PR flack in me loves 'em. Players often say that the worst things about MMORPGs are the other players, and they are right. Sometimes you just want to hunt and not be bothered by kill stealing, petty annoyances, d00ds, and other forms of grief.

At the same time, and here I'm only speaking for myself, all of my in-game friendships were born of fighting common enemies, attempting quests some diabolical dev designed in a bad mood, or even rollicking debates in public channels. I worry about the long-term effects that the genre hasn't seen yet.

Hey, if I could predict the future, I'd be a producer, not a community chick.

Tovin: Pendragon has a very small dedicated group of regular testers. In your mind, what should players be enticed by on Pend, to assist with bug catching and reporting there?

Sanya: We need to do more in terms of events, and Uriel from CoC has been reminding me to push for benefits like /level 50 and access to Team Lead tools for all Pendragon players (free gold, armor, MLs, etc.).

Right now, the main enticement is that it's like your own server, which has its charms, as well as some of the most fun people on earth to talk with. I play there myself. That has led to a few conversations about me and the Herald; those were incredibly creepy for me. Anyway, we need to do more there.

Tovin: Circle of Five runs have been compared to ML runs, in the length of time they take, and the amount of players required. Are there any plans to make Co5 battlegroup credit-able, similar to some ML's?

Sanya: I just sicced the producer, Moderately Evil Overlord Walt, on this. He poked the content team, and they said that the reason it's not a BG-credit encounter is because the respawn timer is ten minutes long, and the encounter itself is set for one group of level 50 characters. One should be tankish, one should be a primary healer, and the encounter is tuned to be most efficient if someone has PBAE. There's a 2000 unit proximity requirement for credit.

Bringing too many people actually messes up the encounter.

So with that said, I always welcome feedback, and encounters change as a result of that feedback every patch.

Tovin: On a non-DAoC topic, have you found that being a woman in the industry has allowed you to change some of the stereotypes of gamers, or give a new vision for how things might be done?

Sanya: Ah, I always wince at this question. Mythic's a good place to work for women. The only bias is the really unconscious stuff that dudes just do, and a woman who cries about it might as well cry at the sky for being blue. The key is to set limits, let people know what you will and will not tolerate, and to have a sense of humor about the little things. If guys know you're not psycho, and you let them know in no uncertain terms when they've crossed the line, I promise you that nine out of ten guys will blush purple and apologize. And the tenth guy you can slap across the face without repercussions, because everyone knows he's an ass.

Aaaaaand all that said... I'm in a job people expect to find a woman doing. I'm not breaking any new ground here; I'm not bruising my fists trying to break down walls. I might feel differently if I were a programmer. Certainly I've noticed that the boys seem to think "you're more like a man" is a compliment ;)

But I wouldn't say I've personally changed any stereotypes. The kids that were thirteen when we were beta testing Camelot are in college now, and have never known a MMOG without a huge female population. More importantly, the teenaged girls that started playing these games back in the day are in college now, looking at gaming as a viable career choice. Change doesn't come when you force it. Change comes when the dinosaurs are replaced by men and women who grew up with feminism as a given.

Tovin: And finally, what's on your desk right now?

Sanya: A lot of house plants, Diet Vanilla Coke cans (I hoarded cases of the stuff when I heard it was going off the market), a stack of team lead reportpapers, a plastic crystal ball, my iPod, a big calendar, a half-empty bottle of nail polish, a stuffed hamster that sings "Kung Fu Fighting" and swings nunchucks when you squeeze his paw, an HRC mug full of pens, an autographed picture of Michael Shanks, photos of my husband that everyone makes fun of because he works down the hall and I see him all the time, two computers, and a sign that says "I'm not mean. You're just a sissy."