<STRYKER> Hello! First of all, the EvolutionGame Journal, from the Brazil Ogame's Community, is pleased with the time you provided so we could make this interview!
<Kebab> no problem
<STRYKER> Let's start talking about you. What's your name? How old are you? Where are you from? What do you do, besides surfing the web?
<Kebab> I'm 20 and a Student in the UK, studying Chemistry. Apart from OGame etc I'm quite sporty and play mainly both Football and Rugby
<STRYKER> Inside the OGame.Origins Community, what's your position now? How long have you been on it? Did you get into the community already in this position? How was your path inside the community 'til you get there?
<Kebab> Well I guess I have a few positions and roles. I'm the Board Supporter, Lead for Bugs & Support etc. Basically I'm one of the replacements for Francolino, helping to lead Origin. I first started just looking after bugs as I'm a member of OGame Tech and my roles developed from there.
<STRYKER> What is the OGame.Origins for you? And what your function/position influences the other communities in other countries?
<Kebab> For me?
<Kebab> Well I guess it's there as a support for other communities, especially the smaller ones. It offers both teamlers, and users a place to go if they want more information or to help influence the path of their game. And also it's a sort of central base for the communties, as things like the Tolerated tools & scripts list is stored and sorted here.
<Kebab> As for my role, I'm more to do with the Bugs & Support side. So with help from the communities I pass along bug reports to ensure they get to the developers (and so fixed), I help maintain the Origin Test server so future versions can be tested.
<Kebab> Basically there's a few things I do, but it's not really what individuals do that makes Origin work and (in my opinion) successful, it's the fact that anyone who is interested can come here and contribute in whatever way they can.
<STRYKER> Now let's get a little deeper in his office.
<STRYKER> Some communities already have too much universes, and most of them are true deserts, others already suffering the process to became such. Trying to holg the players and the fun inside those universes, GameForge accepted the suggestion of universes' fusion. Do you believe this will solve the problem? This will be a short or a long term solution?
<Kebab> GF accepting the Merging of Universes was a massive step forward, of course it won't alone solve the problem of "dead" universes. But it's a start. One thing that people fail to grasp is that this "unifusion" process isn't a one off thing, it's a long term process.
<Kebab> Many universes will be merged at first, but as others start to die and numbers decrease they to can be merged - offering them new life
<Kebab> So it's very much a long term process
<STRYKER> Many says that the main problem in Ogame would be the poor marketing about it. Do you agree? What do you know about the GameForge's marketing project for OGame?
<Kebab> Unfortunately it's true that OGame has pretty poor marketting when compared with other games, but whether it's the main problem in OGame - I'm not so sure. There's not much point in doing your up-most to attract players to a game if the game is stagnant. And like it or not, OGame was for a long time. There was no development and it sat very low down in GameForge's portfolio.
<Kebab> But this isn't the case anymore, OGame is now getting some rapid and much needed changes (some of which not everyone in the communities are happy with). But you can't please everyone.
<Kebab> If I knew anything about GFs plans for our advertising, I wouldn't be able to say
<STRYKER> So many new things are on their way, like the 3.0 version. What are your expectations about these new stuff?
<Kebab> OGame 3.0 is a very important version in my eyes, as it's centered around one of the biggest complaints and reasons for new players leaving the game, newbie protection. Of course this update alone won't solve all these problems, but it's definitely a good start!
<Kebab> A lot of people have been quite vocal in their complaints about certain aspects of the update, but like always players will adapt.
<STRYKER> Now, let's analyze the history of the Ogame, since it's creation 'til nowadays. What are the main positive and negative aspects the game has acquired?
<Kebab> hmm... where to start...
<Kebab> this could be an essay in it's own right lol
<Kebab> OGame has changed alot over the years, from a simple and very basic browser game in a basement to a major multi-national Online game, enjoyed by thousands around the globe. For sure no one could imagine it'd grow this big.
<Kebab> Probably the biggest flaw in OGame is the fact it has no end.
<Kebab> That you can play the same game, the account for years. But this is the reason it's so addictive, when you put so much time into an account and develop strong ingame relationships with others you really don't want to leave.
<Kebab> Sure the game changes in little ways here and there, but the core is still the same.
<Kebab> That was a hard question, but hopefully I covered it lol
<STRYKER> Would you like to say anything else? Sending a message to our community or something like it?
<Kebab> Of course,
<Kebab> OGame is going through a lot of changes at the moment and your opinions on them really matter, so come and get involved with us at OGame.Origin. Tell us your feedback, what you like/what improvements you'd like to see.
<Kebab> And keep enjoying the game
<Kebab> Thanks
<STRYKER> The EvolutionGame Journal is truly grateful for sharing this with us. Thank you very much!
<Kebab> no problem
<Kebab> Hopefully people enjoy reading it
<Kebab> no problem
<STRYKER> Let's start talking about you. What's your name? How old are you? Where are you from? What do you do, besides surfing the web?
<Kebab> I'm 20 and a Student in the UK, studying Chemistry. Apart from OGame etc I'm quite sporty and play mainly both Football and Rugby
<STRYKER> Inside the OGame.Origins Community, what's your position now? How long have you been on it? Did you get into the community already in this position? How was your path inside the community 'til you get there?
<Kebab> Well I guess I have a few positions and roles. I'm the Board Supporter, Lead for Bugs & Support etc. Basically I'm one of the replacements for Francolino, helping to lead Origin. I first started just looking after bugs as I'm a member of OGame Tech and my roles developed from there.
<STRYKER> What is the OGame.Origins for you? And what your function/position influences the other communities in other countries?
<Kebab> For me?
<Kebab> Well I guess it's there as a support for other communities, especially the smaller ones. It offers both teamlers, and users a place to go if they want more information or to help influence the path of their game. And also it's a sort of central base for the communties, as things like the Tolerated tools & scripts list is stored and sorted here.
<Kebab> As for my role, I'm more to do with the Bugs & Support side. So with help from the communities I pass along bug reports to ensure they get to the developers (and so fixed), I help maintain the Origin Test server so future versions can be tested.
<Kebab> Basically there's a few things I do, but it's not really what individuals do that makes Origin work and (in my opinion) successful, it's the fact that anyone who is interested can come here and contribute in whatever way they can.
<STRYKER> Now let's get a little deeper in his office.
<STRYKER> Some communities already have too much universes, and most of them are true deserts, others already suffering the process to became such. Trying to holg the players and the fun inside those universes, GameForge accepted the suggestion of universes' fusion. Do you believe this will solve the problem? This will be a short or a long term solution?
<Kebab> GF accepting the Merging of Universes was a massive step forward, of course it won't alone solve the problem of "dead" universes. But it's a start. One thing that people fail to grasp is that this "unifusion" process isn't a one off thing, it's a long term process.
<Kebab> Many universes will be merged at first, but as others start to die and numbers decrease they to can be merged - offering them new life
<Kebab> So it's very much a long term process
<STRYKER> Many says that the main problem in Ogame would be the poor marketing about it. Do you agree? What do you know about the GameForge's marketing project for OGame?
<Kebab> Unfortunately it's true that OGame has pretty poor marketting when compared with other games, but whether it's the main problem in OGame - I'm not so sure. There's not much point in doing your up-most to attract players to a game if the game is stagnant. And like it or not, OGame was for a long time. There was no development and it sat very low down in GameForge's portfolio.
<Kebab> But this isn't the case anymore, OGame is now getting some rapid and much needed changes (some of which not everyone in the communities are happy with). But you can't please everyone.
<Kebab> If I knew anything about GFs plans for our advertising, I wouldn't be able to say
<STRYKER> So many new things are on their way, like the 3.0 version. What are your expectations about these new stuff?
<Kebab> OGame 3.0 is a very important version in my eyes, as it's centered around one of the biggest complaints and reasons for new players leaving the game, newbie protection. Of course this update alone won't solve all these problems, but it's definitely a good start!
<Kebab> A lot of people have been quite vocal in their complaints about certain aspects of the update, but like always players will adapt.
<STRYKER> Now, let's analyze the history of the Ogame, since it's creation 'til nowadays. What are the main positive and negative aspects the game has acquired?
<Kebab> hmm... where to start...
<Kebab> this could be an essay in it's own right lol
<Kebab> OGame has changed alot over the years, from a simple and very basic browser game in a basement to a major multi-national Online game, enjoyed by thousands around the globe. For sure no one could imagine it'd grow this big.
<Kebab> Probably the biggest flaw in OGame is the fact it has no end.
<Kebab> That you can play the same game, the account for years. But this is the reason it's so addictive, when you put so much time into an account and develop strong ingame relationships with others you really don't want to leave.
<Kebab> Sure the game changes in little ways here and there, but the core is still the same.
<Kebab> That was a hard question, but hopefully I covered it lol
<STRYKER> Would you like to say anything else? Sending a message to our community or something like it?
<Kebab> Of course,
<Kebab> OGame is going through a lot of changes at the moment and your opinions on them really matter, so come and get involved with us at OGame.Origin. Tell us your feedback, what you like/what improvements you'd like to see.
<Kebab> And keep enjoying the game
<Kebab> Thanks
<STRYKER> The EvolutionGame Journal is truly grateful for sharing this with us. Thank you very much!
<Kebab> no problem
<Kebab> Hopefully people enjoy reading it