User:Mike Zadorojny
Through destruction new destruction begins...
What I do:[edit]
Wow, a lot has changed in the past year. A year ago I was spending most of my time focusing on GW1 while working a little bit to help out GW2. This year that's completely flipped and I'm now spending most of my time focusing on GW2, while working a little bit to help out the GW1 Live Team. John Stumme has done a tremendous job taking the reigns over for me on the production side and has continued to push the team for a high level of creativity and excellence. The team has changed several times over the years, but the passion and dedication of the members on it has never wavered. Meanwhile, Elijah Miller has taken over leadership for ArenaNet's Quality Assurance department. Like John, he has done an amazing job taking over where I left off. ArenaNet still continues to have one of the best QA teams that I've ever worked with in this industry. Like many others at the company who volunteer their time to Guild Wars, I still get to wear one of my many hats from Designer, to Programmer, to Sounding Board, to Diplomat, to Tactician, or whatever the situation dictates.
Who I am:[edit]
I've been working on and off in the gaming industry since the late 1980's. The first game I ever worked on was Dudes with Attitude for the NES as more of a hobby and as one of the two testers. I was responsible for several of the co-op levels that were implemented in the sequel that was released two years later. Later I ended up working at two of the biggest publishers in the industry where I helped launch two next-gen systems before coming to ArenaNet. Since joining the company I've worked as a Quality Assurance Tester, the QA Manager, the Live Team Producer and in my current role as Content Designer for Guild Wars 2.
Additional contributions:[edit]
ArenaNet is a very open workplace where anyone with a good idea can contribute our games. Working with designers like John Stumme, I have helped bring the following quests to the game.
Nightfall
Eye of the North
Live Team
Final Thoughts:[edit]
You'll probably still see me around both in game and at the conventions. My job now is to make sure that Guild Wars 2 is a game that fans of the original will enjoy and love. I'll be doing my best to make sure that when you're running around the world in GW2 you'll recognize familiar places, names and a history from a game that you all have spent so much time in.
