Skam
The Half-Wit Phoenix
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The man has been almost as big a mystery as loot itself. (No, it’s not Lootius.)
He is like the troll that gets the blame when things go bad, and the savior that gets your gratitude when things go well. Those who take interest in what goes on behind the drapes in the backstage area of the Entropia arena might already know Magnus Erikssons name.
He’s been at MindArk since 1999, and started off as a programmer back then. The position he holds now is Chief Operating Officer of MindArk, but what you might remember him best as is the infamous Balancing Manager.
If this interview was a Broadway-show, some really dramatic music might have played at the end of that last paragraph. Balancing is a tense subject; it touches a lot of nerves. After all, the real cash economy has a tendency of bringing up strong emotions in players.
Handing out goodies
It is a cold and rainy autumn day outside in Gothenburg, Sweden. Workdays are long, for both MindArk and First Planet Company staff after the CryEngine2 implementation. It’s a Friday afternoon, and the coat rack is filled. It’s been a long week, there’s a lot of work left to do. The coffee-machine is probably close to overheating.
As for Magnus and the other system designers, they have had to reprogram the balancing system to fit the new motor.
- We’ve made a lot of adjustments of course, but the economic mechanisms work in the same way as before CryEngine2. We’ve basically plugged the old code into the new engine. So there aren’t any changes, so to speak.
We’re sitting in a conference room overlooking Järntorget. Despite the gloomy weather outside the windows surrounding the conference-room, talking about the Second Golden Age makes his face light up.
- Large events, such as the second golden age, means more work, yes. Then again it’s always good to hand out desirable items to the community! Of course it will have some effect on the market, so it needs to be done carefully. But it’s a very pleasant task, he smiles with his eyes, the same eyes used to monitor our loot.
Things have changed though, and while people still talk about the Balancing Manager, the position is not the same as it used to be. Today, his usual work day involves analyzing activity, discussing the activity with the balancing group, and creating reports which eventually affect the design and balancing system.
- Back when I filled the role of Balancing Manager, I worked a lot more by myself. We were a group, of course, but I had more individual responsibilities regarding balancing matters. Now I never work alone, there is a large group of system designers that takes care of it with me. Things are also a lot more automated now.
Planets in Sync
That, however, does not mean work is scarce for Magnus and Co. The split between MindArk and First Planet Company, and the upcoming planet partners, brings a whole new set of challenges for the balancing group.
- I must admit, that it has been hard to let Marco and his team do what they want to do, without having my fingers in it. It takes some getting used to, but it’s not a negative thing.
- Balancing the planets with each other is also quite the task. The basics need to be the same, at the same time as we wish each of the planets to offer something very different, to be unique.
- Will one planet be cheaper than another?
- Well, that’s somewhat up to the planet partners, regarding how they wish their planet to be. The basics need to be the same, though. I mean, they could choose the equivalent of a Snablesnot Young to be the fiercest mob on their planet, and thus it might be cheaper. But the layers need to stay the same; the upward progressions on planets need to be balanced with each other. Planets may grow in opposite directions however.
Looking at the planet partners’ web-pages it sure looks like it will be different. There will be movie-themed worlds and a time travelling experience, there will be zombie killing, sci-fi and fantasy side by side.
- We want them to be as different as possible, but they still have to work together, you know?
- So we’re not going to be able to loot a dozen modified first aid packs each on another planet.
- Hehe, no. That wouldn’t work very well. You’re supposed to be able to bring items from one planet to another, and such a scenario could disrupt other planets’ economies.
Virtual banking
Since the beginning, MindArk have been focusing a lot on the mergence of virtual reality with real life. This have shown itself, with varying degrees of success, in projects such as New Oxford, Vexed Generation, in-world advertisement, in-world events linking to real life, Cash cards and their latest project: The MindBank.
- It will be more up to the planets now if they decide to go after the VR-RL merge, but I know there are quite a few ideas circling. I think there are a few exciting things in the pipeline. The bank will also make it easier for companies to connect to the Entropia platform, since most of the systems are already in place. The bank is quality and security guarantee mark for the real life companies that wish to go into Entropia, Magnus explains.
- These things do take time though. The bank had been in planning a long, long time, but getting the banking world to understand our reality is a challenge in itself. It is not something they are faced with every day. We have the license now, though.
With MindBank, the future is looking a little brighter for the long awaited Cash Cards. They’ve been off market for several years now, after the company they originally launched it with didn’t prove as stable as they wished it to be.
- It will be reintroduced, yes. There’s no ETA right now, but it will be back. Things do take time though, from setting things in motion to them becoming a reality.
Read this interview in:
French
German
Polish
Italian
(Huge thanks to the translators!)
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