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Meet the Team - Al Rivera (September 8, 2008)

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
edited September 2008 in Galactic News Network [PC]
Learn more about Al "Captain Geko" Rivera, the lead designer of Star Trek Online!
My primary responsibility is to ensure that the team maintains that overall vision. This means writing design documentation, creating systems, implementing assets and managing the design team. It is also my personal responsibility to ensure that the work we do remains true to the IP. But most importantly, it is my job to make sure that the game is fun.

Read more here!
Post edited by Unknown User on
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Well it's good to hear he will keep the game on course, and STO isn't going to be just a average game. Plus the fact he owns a Bat'leth, and that's very cool.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    "This is not going to be another cookie-cutter MMO with a Star Trek skin on it."

    Music to my ears. The lead designer sounds cool.

    I will be taking a LONG break from the community forums. I trust Cryptic to do a good job until then, I hope they polish up the graphics and do not implement overly simplistic gameplay. Until there is serious information about the game, I will rejoin. It could be a month, it could be a year. we will see.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Congratulations on your promotion to captain, Captain Geko!:D
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Nice interview.

    Nice to know how the devs are going about on the combat system reminds me of SFC.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Salute to Captain Geko !
    Cheers for the insight into your work :D
    (and your favourite food :))
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Finally someone who else love DS9!!!! Dominion War anyone??

    Great info and great news about the shield/firing arcs, and diverting power to other systems!!!

    This game is so going to rock!
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Great interview, sounds like STO is in safe hands:)
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    YEEEYAAAAAHHH!!!!


    THIS is what I wanted to hear!!
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Makes Daron Stinnett seem like a distant nightmare. I hope we hear more from him regularly. For those of you who don't know, Daron was the PR man for PE for several years. Not very well-liked, to say the least.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Didn't learn much about STO, but thanks anyway.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Thanks for the Q+A session, I'm especially excited to hear about his involvement in the space combat design. I encourage a look at Star Trek: Bridge Commander (especially with the Kobiyashi Maru player mod pack) for inspiration, if he hasn't already.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    I expect everyone at Cryptic is hard at it trying to bring the true Trek experience to STO, and that is going to pay off for them in the end, as they see the many fans that subscribe to STO

    I also think they realize that the diehard fans will not let them work diligently and peacfully without keeping us updated on a regular basis.

    Most any tidbits of information on the project and it's progress will keep most of us folks happy.
    Prior to Cryptic for a couple of years.....nothing, as to the progress, so this is candy to the sweet tooth.

    The vast majority of us have been waiting for this for so long, that to a certain extent, it's kind of hard to beleive that it is actually going to happen.

    We tend to get overbearing or starved for information on what by now all of my friends and I have deemed as OUR game. So as you can see some can get territorial when it comes to this franchise.

    Thanks for the updates and reassurances
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Don't forget to play a lot of games, even games you don't like. Understand the mechanics, and learn to critique them objectionably.

    How does that work, exactly? Can I just swear a lot in my reviews?

    :p Glad to hear from you, Captain Geko! Hope to see you on this forum sometime! :)
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    The very last part of that post Al made on the main page I think we all need to hold him to that. :D
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Good to meet you Al, I'm sure you'll do just fine.

    I did have a question, and this is general anyone with knowledge and experience may answer it, I would like to get in the game industry... I have since I was a kid but I'm taking a not so traditional route, and I wanted to make sure there is possability before I get to set on the route I'm going.

    I tryed the whole art school thing, you know the ones that say "get your dagree in game design", and while I was there they trained me in Photo Shop, 3D studio max and all that stuff but I never finished and moved on to a traditional 4-year college due to wanting a dagree that could evolve into a masters (the art school known as AI - Art Institute wasn't a recognized school when it came to academics).

    Since then I've been honing my skills as a writer (with a dire dependency on spell check hehe) but I've had a few friends and family members read my stuff and they like it a lot. So I decided to get a dagree in English at a college next to my house (CSUCI - California State University of Channel Islands), my goal is to become a writer, I do understand its an uphill battle and not everyone makes it, so I'm looking for the "bread and butter" job, you know something to put money in my pocket and food on the table untill I actualy break through as a writer (if should be the prefered term, I realy do understand that not everyone can make a living off of just publishing books).

    So to get to the bulk of the question, is there any need for writers in the game industry?

    I ask only because the article about Al, had a section about "how to become" a game designer or creater and I figured with that tied into this thread I might just toss out the question. :D
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Q: What part of Star Trek Online are you the most excited about working on?
    A: Space combat. I am a combat system designer at heart, and I am very excited about the system we have worked out for space combat. Space combat is nothing like typical MMO combat, nor is it a dogfighter. It is deeply tactical, strategic and 100 percent Trek. Shield facing, turn rates, weapon firing arcs, power transfers, bridge officer skills, ship configurations and damage control are all things you will need to manage. We also are working on mechanics for different levels of automation if you want a simpler experience (put some weapons on auto fire, power level presets, that sort of thing).

    Oh my god that might be the single best news I've heard so far. This makes me so ridiculously happy, as that has been one of the most recent discussions I've been having. I'm so glad to hear combat will be dynamic and a thinking man's game, rather than the mediocre basic point and click bash 'em ups the industry likes to spew out.
    Al, ST:O is gonna come out wonderful if it's in your capable hands. I have faith that you'll put out a game that will be deserving of the series and of us fans. Thank you.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Nice. I am most impressed in your choice of favorite episodes.

    great news about the combat system. A big fear of mine was that the combat system would be some kind of mindless button mashing frenzy.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Awesome to read that the topic of space combat isn't turned into dogfight. Fireing arcs, tranferring energy & especialy bridge skills are the things I apreciate.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Outstanding introduction, I like the vision that you outlined.

    Can't wait to see it all come together.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Thanks for this new info
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    This article was very interesting! Thank you for posting this!
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    ......nice!!!!! :p
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Yes! You're the man! Thank the maker that a real ST fan is getting this game to us.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    It's great to hear the people working on STO are devout Trek fans just like the rest of us here, it let's us know they want this to be an awesome game just as much as we do and that they are doing their best to stay as true to Star Trek as possible. Live long and prosper Captain Geko.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Thanks Kestral, its great to hear from the team and see why they love STO so much.


    My only wish is that it was finished and we could play it now :)
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Thanks Kestrel and Al.

    The more I hear from Cryptic about STO, the less I am concerned for it and worringly, the less I want to play anything else!
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Sweet, it warms my heart to know the level of dedication the designers at Cryptic have to making games with players in mind. I look foward to spending many hours scouring the worlds you guys are creating.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Geko was a real favorite of the players over at CoX, so it's nice to know somebody with his dedication is heading up things here for STO.

    It's a great interview. I can't wait to read the next one. :)
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    I am very pleased to hear the information on starship combat - very deep and tactical, to the extent that they are adding "auto-manage" features to ship systems so people who don't like too much management in combat can relax.

    On the other hand, people like me who love to manage ship systems down to the fine detail will be very happy about this.

    So far, so good.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    I really can't say more, than I am very impressed

    keep up the good work :)
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