August 27, 2004
Shadowbane Developer Interview: Janus Anderson
Below is a copy of the interview with Janus Anderson, Wolfpack's new Creative Director. Wolfpack Studios is of course the developer of the PvP centered MMRPG Shadowbane.
Wolfpack has made some new additions to the team since last year. One of these new members is Janus Anderson, the new Creative Director of Wolfpack. Here is a short interview with the new Wolfpacker to give you a little insight into his character.
Q: What is your current position, duties, and responsibilities at Wolfpack? How long have you been with the Team?
Janus: I've recently been hired as the division's creative director, which primarily means that I will be overseeing the operations of the design department. I'll also be working closely with the producers and project leads in order to assure that any development here at Wolfpack meets the highest standards possible.
Q: How long have you been in the games industry? What is your professional background like?
Janus: I'm still a pretty young guy, but by industry standards I'm a 'grizzled old veteran' with over a decade of game development experience. I actually entered the game industry as a programmer/designer hybrid - back then, development teams were very small and everyone was much less specialized. On my very first 'professional' game (see Amulets & Armor), I created around half of the programming, half of the design, half of the sound effects, and all of the music! It's amazing to have watched the game industry mature from 'garage development' to the behemoth it is today.
After my first game was finished, I became involved as a programmer/designer on the first-generation graphical MMORPG The Realm for Sierra Online, which amazingly is still running. In '99, I began work on the first generation Middle-earth Online (which is still in development up at Turbine due to a *very* rocky history). My last position was as the lead designer of Electronic Arts' space MMORPG Earth & Beyond.
Q: What are your primary short-term objectives for Wolfpack right now? How about in the Long term?
Janus: Right now I'm focused on integrating myself with the Wolfpack team and learning the ins and outs of Shadowbane so I can provide quality input as to the direction Shadowbane should take in the future. That's about all I can say at the moment… ;)
Q: As a member of the gaming industry, it is safe to assume you play games. Do you tend to prefer console or PC games?
Janus: I'm mostly a PC gamer, but I definitely fire up my PS2 or Xbox when something good comes out. In general though, I prefer the depth that PC games offer.
Q: What kind of games do you find yourself playing mostly? Any particular genre?
Janus: I'm a huge fan of all games, even board, card, and table games, and I'm especially drawn to highly competitive games that demand lots of skill. My all-time favorite games would probably be: chess, poker, Street Fighter (2+), Magic the Gathering, and StarCraft.
Q: What game(s) are you playing currently?
Janus: I just finished Doom 3… awesome! In the recent past: City of Heroes, Dungeon Keeper 2 (an old favorite), Warcraft 3, Warlords Battlecry 3, Disciples 2, Etherlords 2, Railroad Tycoon 3, Sacred, and Beyond Divinity.
Q: Do you like to listen to music while gaming? If so, what kind?
Janus: Not usually, since I find that out-of-context music generally distracts me from immersion in my gaming experience.
Q: Anything in particular you'd like to let the Shadowbane Community know?
Janus: There have been some exciting developments here at Wolfpack… although I can't say exactly what at the moment; you can expect to hear great things in the near future!
Thank you for your time, Janus!
Thanks Ashen Temper
