Interview with Sace, Lineage 2 Community Manager

With the Goddess of Destruction expansion on it's way for a North American release, Lineage 2's Community Manager, Sace, spent a few minutes with us to answer some questions.

I met up with Sace at the NCSoft Meet and Greet held Friday night at PAX East at the Weston Hotel. Having no idea who I was supposed to look for, she found me, having researched who I was through a number of sites.  We quickly introduced ourselves and she brought me back to the area to play Goddess of Destruction, then did an interview with me where I got to give my impressions of the game.  Having never played Lineage 2 before that night, I had to say the game was amazing and something I definitely look forward to playing.

After that, we moved out to the lobby to do the Q&A below.   Due to technical difficulties, we ended up being unable to do the interview in person.  However, Sace agreed to answer the questions we had for her via e-mail.  So below is the Q&A she did with us.

EOGamer:  A year ago, you mentioned in your last interview that your ultimate goal as a community manager was to make the players feel cared for and to show you that feedback on the forums makes a difference to the game! How well do you think you've managed to do this so far?

Sace: I believe that this has been a success thus far. Some of the suggestions made on the forums were implemented in the game, such as the Birthday Buff redesign. But most importantly, the constructive feedback on the forums helps us understand the major player perspectives, and that influences us as we make decisions moving forward.

EOGamer:  Is there any adjustment in your ultimate goal going forward now that you've been in the position for quite some time now?

Sace: The ultimate goal remains the same but additional goals have been added. These include bringing more players to the forums and having more involvement with players in-game as well as out.

EOGamer:  Do you feel the hot topic about bots died down at all.  Have you seen an improvement in the game in regards to bots?

Sace: In recent months, there has been a significant decline in bots, and we are always working to improve our efforts.

EOGamer:  What would you say has been the new hot topic up for debate?

Sace: The hottest topic right now is the Goddess of Destruction update, which will bring major and very exciting changes to the game. We are steadily releasing information about the update and are eager to share more about the thrilling new content.  Players should check out our website on April 28, 2011, which is also the 7th year anniversary!

EOGamer:  What has been your favorite event to launch thus far?

Sace: The Elpies From The Past GM Event was definitely my favorite. It was the first time the staff and GMs were openly involved with players in-game, and it was a huge amount of fun and excitement for everyone.

EOGamer:  Are there any plans to bring back some of those Twitter events?

Sace: Yes, in fact we started them up again recently.

EOGamer:  How involved are you with integrating the player's feedback into the game?

Sace: I have been doing several feedback reports from our events and other larger issues our players bring to us. We send those reports to the development team for review. Based on the feedback that developers receive from players around the world, they implement changes to the game, many of which can be seen in our latest update, High Five.

EOGamer:  How difficult do you find it to manage the feedback of so many players, all with different opinions on how the game should be developed.

Sace: In many ways, the feedback on the forums manages itself. Players make suggestions on the forums and get feedback from other players. As a result, the popular opinion of each topic emerges. Oftentimes, we’ve seen that the Western player opinion is similar to that of Korean players, and consequently the decisions of the developers appeal to all.

EOGamer:  For years we have heard that Lineage II is a dying game.  Is this still considered to be a myth? Has there been any a rise or fall in the population?

Sace: Lineage II is certainly not dying. It is instead full of life and is constantly evolving with the global perception of MMORPGs. It continues to be one of the largest and most successful MMO franchises worldwide, and every time we release a new update we’re always happy to see the increase in the number of players and their excitement  as they check out all the new content.

EOGamer:  What is your favorite thing coming out in the Goddess of Destruction patch?

Sace: Goddess of Destruction will be much more than a mere game patch; it will be the largest content since game launch in 2004. As for my favorite thing in it, I hate to choose just one, but it would have to be the lore. Ever since the beginning of Lineage II, the gameworld has been marked by the stories of its creation long ago, but now the story is literally coming to life as a fixed point in time. This kind of active lore really gives players, myself included, the feeling of being directly involved in the story of Lineage II. Players will be able to say, ‘I was there when the Goddess of Destruction awoke!’

EOGamer:  What's your favorite TV series at the moment?

Sace: I don’t watch TV very much since I’m always at my computer. But I do sometimes catch up on a lot of the big TV series by watching them in bulk. My all-time favorite is Battlestar Galatica.

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I would like to thank Sace both for her time at the NCSoft Meet and Greet as well as the time she took to answer these questions.

I took the picture of Moxie, left, and Sace, right, while at the PAX East NCSoft Meet and Greet.

This article has also been posted into the Lineage 2 wiki here.