For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Tracy Seamster (aka Owlchick) and I’ve been a game designer for SOE since 2004.

Every day that goes by, I’m grateful for the opportunity to work on games my kids have actually heard of. Prior to my work with SOE, when I worked on text-based RPGs, they were constantly asking me, “What’s the name of that game again?”

At SOE, I worked primarily on EverQuest II, a game to which I am still quite attached (just ask their producers how many times I pester them about stuff I wish I’d fixed before I left). I also spent time working with the Free Realms team to build up that world’s history and lore. Late last year, I moved back to my hometown of Seattle to join The Agency’s team as a writer.

There’s nothing more beautiful than the Pacific Northwest. Snow-capped mountains fringing deep blue waters in the lakes and the Sound…bright blue skies on crisp, clear days…gun-metal grey clouds at other times…the scent of the firs and pines (to which I am allergic, but that’s another story). It’s a wonderful place to live!

The Agency is completely different from every other game I’ve worked on in that it’s set in a modern era. I’ve done Ancient Greece as well as various medieval fantasies, but modern is completely new to me. It’s refreshingly different. There are few jobs where I actually can use some of my old Army National Guard skills to good effect.

Last year at GDC, I was on a panel that discussed breaking into the gaming industry. My contribution was that every job gives you something that you can take with you on your way to the next until you have enough life experiences to make that move. Until now, however, no one cared that I had been able to break down an M-16 in under two minutes or had a sharpshooter badge or could throw a grenade. I am hoping, however, that no one is going to make me do any of those things again anytime soon as that was a long time ago, in what seems like another lifetime.

That’s my history. A brief introduction to one of your friendly, neighborhood designers who hopes to continue making blog posts for some time to come.

Tracy