Meet the Team - Craig Zinkievich

[nhamlett]

It's taken us six months to bring you this one, so without further ado, we'd like to introduce our Executive Producer, Craig Zinkievich. Find out what makes the driving force behind Star Trek Online tick!

Meet the Team - Craig Zinkievich! (http://www.startrekonline.com/meet_the_team_craig)

[47Wasps]

(eagerly rushes to link,reads article.)

He likes Spock.
We're in good hands.

[STO]

Greetings, I had read a little about you when PE turned over the project to a "mysterious force." We strongly suspected Cryptic had their hands in the pot :) Glad to hear a little about you.

[promatolya]

Like the QnA said in the game intro.
This guy nerfed my ship :D

But I promise you, if you actually deliver this game to me before I have grandchildren, I'll never complain to you again :P

[Ensign.Ricky]

Ah the man behind the curtain. Good to meet the almighty Oz and his goat. Your "Which Alien" and "Favorite Episode" answers are very impressive. I have to say my excitement really is building up for this game.

Monkeys and Asteroids. This man has my vote. :D

[phifur]

If you could choose to be an alien on Star Trek, which species would you want to be?

The alien races that really intrigued me are all the secondary and tertiary ones. Like the Breen, the Bolians and the Andorians - those kinds. The races that have gotten nods in the shows and you know that there’s a lot more to them, that a lot more thought that went into the creation of that race, but the shows and the movies didn’t really go into them. One of the joys of being on this project is getting to look at those races, to talk about those races, do the research on those races, and get those races a little bit more in the forefront. In an MMO like we are, which has got to be huge, we’ve got to go deep. So we really can’t just pay lip service to all the cool races in the Star Trek universe. We really need to get them – and as much of their history as possible – out there.

I love his answer to this question. We going to get a rich history of secondary races :D This open up alot of storys in STO.

[critch]

Welcome, best of luck to you...

<Martok> AND YOUR HOUUUUSSSEEEEEE....</Martok>

[RogueEnterprise]

Personally, I think Snowflake should start coming into the Cryptic offices so she can maintain her own dev blog.

But seriously though, how about some more hardball questions! What development methodology are you using... what task tracking system are you using... how many people are on the team now, and what's the team size going to be before the game ships... and how many of those people are YOU responsible for? :D

[Sevenblade]

If you could choose to be an alien on Star Trek, which species would you want to be?

The alien races that really intrigued me are all the secondary and tertiary ones. Like the Breen, the Bolians and the Andorians - those kinds. The races that have gotten nods in the shows and you know that there’s a lot more to them, that a lot more thought that went into the creation of that race, but the shows and the movies didn’t really go into them. One of the joys of being on this project is getting to look at those races, to talk about those races, do the research on those races, and get those races a little bit more in the forefront. In an MMO like we are, which has got to be huge, we’ve got to go deep. So we really can’t just pay lip service to all the cool races in the Star Trek universe. We really need to get them – and as much of their history as possible – out there.

I love his answer to this question. We going to get a rich history of secondary races :D This open up alot of storys in STO.

Agreed. Many people love the undeveloped secondary/tertiary species like the Andorians, but unfortunately not of the series deemed it important enough to expand on them. It's somewhat paradoxical, however, that they aren't built upon, because after all, the Andorians were a founding member of the Federation, and are still one of the more commonplace members of Starfleet. ENT tried expanding on them somewhat, but only in a limited fashion. And then there's plenty of others who haven't even had that much. If Craig is in command, then he'll serve us well in answering a lot of the "What happened to this storyline/species?" questions.

[zinc]

Personally, I think Snowflake should start coming into the Cryptic offices so she can maintain her own dev blog.
She's got an attitude. I'm not sure you'd enjoy what she'd have to say all the time!

But seriously though, how about some more hardball questions! What development methodology are you using...
Oh - you mean the boring project management ones? : )

Here goes: We use whatever methodology fits the task. MMOs are large and I don't subscribe to forcing a single methodology onto every aspect of the project just for consistencies’' sake. For content - we use more of a scrum/agile methodology that allows us to control iteration towards completion. For critters and powers - it's closer to waterfall, the workload for the different departments doesn't match up so well. Game systems – those have their own method too. For each piece of the game, it's own.

what task tracking system are you using...
We use a modified JIRA in house for the majority of the project tracking. For many of the other things - tickets, errors, crashes, etc... - we've grown our own. Cryptic's big on writing our own tool chain. We figure if we control it, we can make it what we want. I can easily imagine our own project tracking tools in the next couple years.

how many people are on the team now, and what's the team size going to be before the game ships...
I'm thinking it'll top out at around 40 people on the dev team. (Not counting QA, Core engineering or any of the fine people in publishing, OCR, CS or Ops.)

I believe that you keep a team small and you get ownership down to each member. If have a 300 person dev team - the majority of the people are going to come in and punch the clock. Build the assets on their list and go home when the boss lets them. But - you put together a team of 30-40 wicked talented and passionate people and you get people who will really get invested in what they're making.

With a team at that size, the artist who has a really good design idea feels like he can walk over to a designer and talk to him about it. We can all play the game, give feedback and feel as though our voice is heard. If you give everyone a MAJOR role and responsibility in making the game, people rise to it and it shows in the passion they approach their work with.

That's the theory anyhow. : ) It's what Cryptic has done for all its projects and it seems to be paying off.

and how many of those people are YOU responsible for? :D
Biologically? : )

[brenatevi]

How did you get a goat?
She came with the house.
I'm just intrigued. Why did they get a goat in the first place? But I also find it cool that you kept the goat when you bought the house, although I can imagine the conversation when you decided to buy it:

Craig: We love the house. We'll buy it!
Realtor: Great. Oh, and by the way, it comes with a goat.
C: A goat.
R: Yes, she rules over it with an iron hoof. You must bow down to her mighty horns.
C: Waaaay too many drugs. We'll take it any ways.

Later-

C: Crap, she wasn't joking.

[RogueEnterprise]

Oh - you mean the boring project management ones? : )

Well you know, SOME of us want to be producers when we grow up! =D

Thanks for answering those questions, its cool to hear about that stuff. Err, at least for me.

[SIMONLEV]

I was impressed when Craig mentioned Inner Light as his favourite episode. Its good to know that the STO centre brain is not just focused on the action aspects of Startrek.

[JaGid]

What profession would you want to have if you lived in the 25th century?

I think the opportunity to just go out and explore; to just go out, point your ship at some place, and just go is really, really appealing. Just go and find something new. Not go and fight the Klingons. Not go and do something on the front of battle. But to really go out and explore planets, solar bodies -things that nobody else has ever seen before. That fascinates me.


Amen my brutha.

I am looking forward to deep engrossing interactive non-combat game play. My faith that it will come has just increased by an order of magnitude.

That's not to say I don't want to rip into a few Klingon ships. I just want to have plenty of other things to do also.

Thank you. :)

[Elanel]

I really liked Craig's answer to the profession of choice in the 25th century. Exploration is something I'm really looking forward to about STO, probably above and beyond anything else at this stage.

[Drunk1n]

I am looking forward to Exploration as well - you have been on the team for awhile CZ, but welcome any ways.

I look forward to more of the information you deem we should hear!

[SenshiBat]

Conquest has many meanings... Gus on The conquest of the unknown
not the subjugation of it in Genghis Khan terms..

I like Craig's Take on that..

and Our Goats Like Snowflake too - a shout out from the Namibian dwarfs Prince,Black,Betty,Amanda,Adam,Cesar,Angela,and 6 red shirts...

[eNDIE]

very nice that he answers the other questions in the coments to. tnx:)

[Jayded]

What a great choice for a favourite episode!

[HailingFrequencyZach]

thanks for the update and thanks to craig for answering those extra questions.

[Qugie]

The Fact He Like The Episode The Inner Light tells me were in good Hands. Great Episode and one of the best.

The Inner Light (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5EluFlra2A&feature=related)

[Thibor]

Ah another gamer who cut their teeth on the old 2600. =)
I can't tell you how many blisters on my right thumb I got from that damn joystick due to space invaders, etc.

Good answers all around both the interview and follow up on the forums.

I have a question myself:

Assuming you enjoy various types of computer gaming (and assuming your response about other MMOs), what would be your favorite game in these categories, RTS/Strategy, RPG and FPS and why? Just curious what sort of game play elements and mechanics you've found really enjoyable.

Thanks!

[robgomm]

Loved the interview with Craig, especially the bit about his favourite episode. Inner Light is one of the most amazing episodes of any series you'll see. A great emotional story, with a touching ending. Also great to know that he loves the idea of exploration, and developing races like the andorians, bolians etc.

[amb]

You are all right... I like you. :D

[cv_coco]

Nice interview with some great answers. And finally a monkey!! :D
I like!

[SenshiBat]

I forget .. Did you say You liked MOO? The Early Miroprose Dielio....I mean retro .. Space Race gaming

Think about it... You could have development mini game to satisfy an demographic thats not Conquest driven..

Even Tribble Farmers and Shrubbers should have a place in these Difficualt economic times where
Strange Ruffians say NI to little old ladies.. in space bars?

[Flatfingers]

Thanks for doing this interview, Craig.

Like others here, I'm also energized by many of your comments. Spock? Check. Preference for exploration? Check. Adventure on the Atari 2600? Big-time check. (Warren Robinette was the first person I ever admired as a game designer. Did you discover his "hidden room" Easter egg in Adventure? Classic.)

And like RogueEnterprise, I also appreciate your additionally giving us a peek behind the kimono regarding the development processes and tools you're using. Scrum/Agile tells me you're open to trying new processes. Waterfall tells me you know better than to forego using an "older" process just because it's older. JIRA tells me that you understand the need for a task tracking tool that insures everyone knows what's expected, when it's due, who's responsible for it and where it stands. And your willingness to build your own in-house tools tells me that you're capable of investing time and money if you can see a long-term payoff in quality.

I also developed my own project tracking tools when I got transmogrified into a project manager. I know the value that good process management tools bring to hitting schedules and catching bugs before they go into production. So everything you just said makes me feel better about the odds of Cryptic launching a Star Trek MMORPG where others have failed, and the odds of that game's quality level being high enough to give it a decent chance of commercial success.

One thing I'm still wondering about, though, is how much influence you have on Star Trek Online's core design. You may personally prefer exploration and "The Inner Light" over violent conflict as I do, but Al Rivera, STO's lead designer, is a self-professed (http://www.startrekonline.com/articles/meet_al_lead_designer_for_star_trek_online) fan of combat systems.

These are different -- and sometimes incompatible -- visions of what constitutes "fun" gameplay in a MMORPG. Neither is "wrong"; both bring something valuable to the MMORPG design table.

But they are different.

So when there's a difference of opinion on the design direction for Star Trek Online, and the design opinions of both the executive producer and lead designer seem reasonable, whose vision usually wins?

Just curious. :)

--Flatfingers

[RogueEnterprise]

So when there's a difference of opinion on the design direction for Star Trek Online, and the design opinions of both the executive producer and lead designer seem reasonable, whose vision usually wins?

Good question! From what I understand about the industry, this is highly dependant on the studio. Some producers are mroe designer-y and some are more schedule-y. I imagine the ideal situation is a little of both.

[The_Padre]

Thanks for doing this interview, Craig.

Like others here, I'm also energized by many of your comments. Spock? Check. Preference for exploration? Check. Adventure on the Atari 2600? Big-time check. (Warren Robinette was the first person I ever admired as a game designer. Did you discover his "hidden room" Easter egg in Adventure? Classic.)

And like RogueEnterprise, I also appreciate your additionally giving us a peek behind the kimono regarding the development processes and tools you're using. Scrum/Agile tells me you're open to trying new processes. Waterfall tells me you know better than to forego using an "older" process just because it's older. JIRA tells me that you understand the need for a task tracking tool that insures everyone knows what's expected, when it's due, who's responsible for it and where it stands. And your willingness to build your own in-house tools tells me that you're capable of investing time and money if you can see a long-term payoff in quality.

I also developed my own project tracking tools when I got transmogrified into a project manager. I know the value that good process management tools bring to hitting schedules and catching bugs before they go into production. So everything you just said makes me feel better about the odds of Cryptic launching a Star Trek MMORPG where others have failed, and the odds of that game's quality level being high enough to give it a decent chance of commercial success.

One thing I'm still wondering about, though, is how much influence you have on Star Trek Online's core design. You may personally prefer exploration and "The Inner Light" over violent conflict as I do, but Al Rivera, STO's lead designer, is a self-professed (http://www.startrekonline.com/articles/meet_al_lead_designer_for_star_trek_online) fan of combat systems.

These are different -- and sometimes incompatible -- visions of what constitutes "fun" gameplay in a MMORPG. Neither is "wrong"; both bring something valuable to the MMORPG design table.

But they are different.

So when there's a difference of opinion on the design direction for Star Trek Online, and the design opinions of both the executive producer and lead designer seem reasonable, whose vision usually wins?

Just curious. :)

--Flatfingers

Geko's view is understandable since he built the powers for CoX and the initial combat system for Champions, so I'd say in this instance the Executive Producer. However that would, I'd imagine, entail a more balanced view of the game exploration/combat systems overall.

[0wl]

Well met! :)

[miqrogroove]

Hi Craig, thanks for taking a dip here in the kiddie pool.

I'm curious how the deal with Infogrames has changed development or your management of it?

[Trendkilla]

Nice to hear from the "captain".
Im getting more and more confident about this game being great.
And a late happy new year to everyone

[Tezzle]

......YAY, SNOWFLAKE!

...I like goats.

[KirksOtherSon]

Really encouraging news here.

I confess, I was a bit surprised to see so many of Craig's answers mirroring my own. The preference for exploration, and the fascination with the "peripheral" races, in particular.

As others have said, I don't mind the occasional space battle, so long as it's got a good story context informing it (in the grandest Trek tradition), but even on a non-Trek level, I've played SO MANY GAMES which were almost exclusively combat-oriented -- it'll be nice to have the option to play a game which offers something in addition to pure action.

As I said here a while ago, canonical or not, Star Trek Online is likely to be the only active, ongoing continuation of visual Star Trek as we've known it.

Abrams Trek will either succeed, and become the Trek "version" most ordinary people will know henceforth -- or else, Abrams Trek will flop (critically, if not financially) and visual Trek will go back into a coma for another five to ten years.

In either case, Star Trek Online looks to be the last iteration of the original Trek timeline begun by Roddenberry and Coon. And in this final phase -- we're it, folks. We are the face of the final frontier.

Exciting. And doubly so, to know that the lore is in such good hands.

Thanks, Craig!

KOS

[Denzen]

all I want to know is did u request that clause in the closing or did the seller insist ? LOLZ

I want a goat

:eek:

[Ubica_Zu]

Please do not enter a subscription, let the game be more expensive when you buy it, but without the subscription because it has a lot of us who can't afford the month subscription!!Also,players please support this proposal.:(

[Trekkie]

Although I read this article when it was initially released, I was just going through some of the older articles and happened upon this one again. I really like the "Meet the Team" articles because I think they let the playerbase feel considerably more connected to the people creating the game that many of us will surely be devoted to, and this installment certainly didn't disappoint! Thank you for posting this!

[Sherp]

I think the opportunity to just go out and explore; to just go out, point your ship at some place, and just go is really, really appealing. Just go and find something new. Not go and fight the Klingons. Not go and do something on the front of battle. But to really go out and explore planets, solar bodies -things that nobody else has ever seen before. That fascinates me.

I find this deeply heartening from the main man in charge of this project. This aspect of the game is what will seperate Star Trek Online from the rest of the MMOs--what will make it special. It will not appeal to everyone, which is why I do not expect STO to overtake World of Warcraft, but those of us who are drawn to it will find something utterly unique and deeply rewarding. The fact that STO's Executive Producer has this at heart is cause for much cheer. :)

[mattig89ch]

I would just like to know, if you'll be limited to captaining 1 ship, of if you can command a fleet of NPC's.

Or, if you can buy one ship, and use it while leaving the previous one in dry dock.