I would reiterate what Derek has already said. There is certainly a sense of pride when people are playing and enjoying the content that one has had a hand in implementing.

In addition there is the knowledge that if when I'm playing through I come across some quest that isn't implemented properly, or some monsters that are just a bit too hard/easy, or if I have a great idea about some camp that could fill in some empty space, I can take an active hand in getting things fixed and more playable. Almost any time I'm playing a game I have those 'wouldn't be cool if...' moments, the difference is that when I'm playing Vanguard I can actually act on them.

By spending so much time working with the guts of a game system it is certainly easy to lose the magic of immersion and wonder when first exploring a world, but I've found that has been replaced by the joy I get from being able to work to improve the very game I'm playing.

This is a really good question conquestt!

Before working in this industry I had always thought that developing (or testing) a game would really ruin my enjoyment of it for pretty much the same reasons you have allready stated. I would know everything about the game and thus the excitement factor of playing it for the first time would be non-existent.

Now, having worked on Vanguard for over a year now, I can tell you that that 'first time excitement' is definetly not the same, but it has been replaced by something much more. Rather than getting excited about 'what new camp I'm going to find over that hill' or 'what new quests I'm going to come across', I get excited because 'I designed the camp over that hill' and 'I wrote those new quests'.

There is a certain different excitement that comes from seeing your hard work and creative ideas come to life in a game. Much like how a chef would take satisfaction in seeing people enjoy his hard-prepared meals, I enjoy watching people play through and have fun with the content that I have created.

Also, because the game is still in development, things are always changing/being added, so there somewhat is still a sense of 'first time excitement' quite often.

So to answer your question in short:

Is the 'first time excitement' of playing VG still as strong as it was since the first time I played the game? Obviously not.

But it has been replaced with the fact that I can take pride in lpaying the game because I have worked hard on it; and believe me when I say that we at Sigil have a lot to take pride in.


-Derek