[2022] Roshen Joins Intrepid Studios as Sr. Community Manager

Hey all,

Hail and well met! Today is my first day with the Intrepid Studios team. I’m excited to be here in San Diego, and getting to know the Ashes of Creation community. Starting at Intrepid feels like a reunion to me as I come back together with great people I know from previous roles, working together on a variety of different games.

I’m an old school MMO player with way too many hours spent in game worlds like EverQuest and World of Warcraft. It’s games like these that are the reason I was motivated to work professionally in the gaming industry. I started my professional gaming career on the tabletop side of things, working on games like the World of Warcraft TCG. From there, I moved to Sony Online (which later became Daybreak Games) working on the EverQuest franchise and other titles. I’ve also worked at other studios, on MMOs like New World and Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis.

Digital worlds and the communities we build around them matter. I’m stoked to be a part of the Ashes of Creation Community Team, as we build something special together in Verra, and outside of the game in all of the places online where gamers hang out today and in the years to come.

My first few days here should be pretty chill, so if anyone wants to chat it up, this thread is a great place for us all to get to know each other.

Thanks!
-Ry “Roshen” Schueller
Senior Community Manager

Super excited to have you join us @Roshen !! Woot! 🤗

Dygz

Yes.
Those of us who know you from SOE/DBG are pretty stoked to see you hop aboard!!

WELCOME!!!

Appreciate it! Between already knowing members of the staff and player community from our time on other MMOs, I think we're all going to have a great time here ^_^

Welcome to the team @Roshen !! I'm so excited to work with you! I think we'll make an awesome team together :smile:

Ozijak

What are some of your favourite memories in MMOs?

My favorite MMO memories are the stories we tell, that OUR PEOPLE can relate to, regardless of what server we were on at a time.

A few examples:

EverQuest: Rallos Zek players organizing together as a server and deciding not to wake the Sleeper for several years. Expansions later, them coming together in an organized way across server to defeat the "unkillable raid boss."

World of Warcraft: Zul'Gurub corrupted blood making it into cities, and how each server reacted to the debuff spreading between players and NPCs.

Asheron's Call: The Shard of the Herald event, and players on the Thistledown server deciding to work WITH the event NPCs, instead of completing the event "as intended."

--

Even if we weren't playing these games on these servers when these things happened, we can ALL geek out about these things together. MMOs are more than just games. They're the stories we tell, and how we can relate to the stories others MMO players tell.

Many questions. Handle it!

JustVine

1. Rock, paper, or scissors?

Good old rock. Nothing beats that!

JustVine

2. Any favorite memories from mmos that really stuck with you?

Geeking out here.

JustVine

3. What sort of energy do you hope to bring to the table?

I'm generally a high energy guy, and likes finding ways to solve problems for members of the community.

JustVine

4. What class are you looking forward to hearing about the most in future AoC development?

Real Talk: I'm excited to explore different Archetype combinations as a player.

Most often I game as a tank, because that's what I group I play with needs.

JustVine

1. What about your role do you feel is most importantce to the community's success?

In Community, I personally think it's important to be the VOICE OF THE PLAYERS internally for the company. Both getting information from the team and sharing it with players, AND getting what players care most about in front of the right people on the team is so important for "community success"

JustVine

2. What are some community challenges you have encountered in previous communities that you felt shaped your current approach to c.m.?

Not to be hand wavy, but I feel strongly that "you have the community you cultivate."

If you don't overcome challenges so more players can feel safe being a member of the community, more and more of us are going to have a bad time.

JustVine

3. Which of your skills do you feel will serve you best in your newest position?

MMO players know when someone does or doesn't know "their game."

Being an MMO player, and being part of Community and Marketing teams for a variety of MMOs for over a decade, feels like something that's going to help me communicate effectively here on Ashes of Creation.

JustVine

4. What do you want your first priority to be after you get settled in?

While I don't have a specific answer for this on day one, my priority is working backwards from what the best player experience is, and working with players and staff to get closer to that.

"The best player experience" isn't a destination though. It's a journey, and you have to always work towards this.

JustVine

5. Cake or pie?

Pie > cake.

Immortality

Welcome @Roshen :D

So my question for you: What is the biggest MMO sin you've commited? Think ninja-looting, killing a low level player for fun, undercutting someone on the AH by 1 copper. Something of the likes :D

Years ago in EQ, we had a guildee fall asleep with levitate on. On the one side of the zone, there was water.

Since there was collision in the game, if a group of us stood right next to him and moved TOWARDS him, he would also move. Just a little.

This took a while, but we spent some time pushing him towards the water. When lev faded, he drowned. Since he didn't bank much XP into his level, he deleveled.

The next raid he had some pretty choice words for how we were bad friends....

McMackMuck

I may? be the first to point you to the following commonly referenced resources generated by community members:
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/ @Lex
https://www.ashes101.com/ @Jahlon
https://asheshq.com/ @Simurgh
I don't know what background research you did before your successful appointment (obviously enough!), but the above is some high quality educational material based on what we know so far from Steven. We accept that some things may need to change between now and release, but this is the best information that we have to date.
I hope you manage to get settled in before things get too hectic.
Best Regards, Mack.

Appreciate the links, and the welcome message :)