Ree Soesbee has a long and productive career history even without her current duties on Guild Wars 2, but that's probably the part that MMO fans are most interested in. Guild Wars Insider recently conducted a lengthy interview with Soesbee, discussing her early career and her experiences working on Guild Wars 2 as it prepares for launch. And it's a meaty interview, filled with looks at the crevices of lore to be revealed over time.
Soesbee explains that she and Jeff Grubb share a secret wiki project where they collaborate on the sprawling storylines, making sure that both of them know what's going on at any given moment. There are some interesting rumors of naval approaches against dragons, hints of lore to be uncovered deep within the game, and talk of the Sylvari redesign. If you're looking forward to the game, it's well worth reading the full feature, which should provide several bits of information to hopeful fans.
Reader Comments (26)
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 7:57PM Irem said
Ree is my hero.
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 10:31PM DancingCow said
@Irem
I'd never heard of her until a couple of months ago. Then they rolled out the Sylvari and I became an instant fan.
I'm so glad she crossed over into gaming.
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I'd never heard of her until a couple of months ago. Then they rolled out the Sylvari and I became an instant fan.
I'm so glad she crossed over into gaming.
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 8:20PM DevilSei said
I must SEE that Wiki!
Or, see the big naval battle against a dragon!
Or at the very least a "Collectors Edition"... I would totally make do with even a hint of that...
And since I won't be able to find a CE anywhere, or the naval battles, excuse me while I type random things into my web bar in the vain hope that both said wiki is online, and that I shall stumble upon a magical backdoor leading into it.
Or, see the big naval battle against a dragon!
Or at the very least a "Collectors Edition"... I would totally make do with even a hint of that...
And since I won't be able to find a CE anywhere, or the naval battles, excuse me while I type random things into my web bar in the vain hope that both said wiki is online, and that I shall stumble upon a magical backdoor leading into it.
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 8:43PM Nikopol said
This made me smile:
"You have to like it that much, because the people who love these games are just that passionate, and if you’re not that passionate, they can tell. You can tell a game that was written by a guy who was kind of bored with it."
Just going by this interview, it's pretty clear we're not going to have that problem here. :)
Reading an interview with anyone who so obviously has a passion and understanding for the work she's doing is always a blast. Not only assuring, but a fun read as well. D&D, Star Trek, writing, Myth, online gaming, Sylvari, other Guild Wars lore and design anecdotes... All sorts of interesting stuff in there.
"You have to like it that much, because the people who love these games are just that passionate, and if you’re not that passionate, they can tell. You can tell a game that was written by a guy who was kind of bored with it."
Just going by this interview, it's pretty clear we're not going to have that problem here. :)
Reading an interview with anyone who so obviously has a passion and understanding for the work she's doing is always a blast. Not only assuring, but a fun read as well. D&D, Star Trek, writing, Myth, online gaming, Sylvari, other Guild Wars lore and design anecdotes... All sorts of interesting stuff in there.
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 8:53PM Nenene said
Nothing makes me more hyped to play this game than reading about the sincere enthusiasm the people creating the game have for it. For me, I like music so much more when it sounds like the people who created it are having fun and really love music, and with games it's the same way. That love comes out in the finished product.
Also, glad to see the whole 'Jennah is an evil mesmer who ensorcelled Logan into doing her evil bidding' talking point debunked. She's a good person.
Also, glad to see the whole 'Jennah is an evil mesmer who ensorcelled Logan into doing her evil bidding' talking point debunked. She's a good person.
Posted: Jan 17th 2012 5:39PM OrangeGamer said
@Nenene That is definitely what fuels my excitement for the game. The sheer amounts of talent AND enthusiasm at ArenaNet are mind-boggling.
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Posted: Jan 11th 2012 9:08PM Faction 3 said
Ree definately has that hot-nerd thing going on.
Anyway, hopefully the Beta is going smoothly, probably hear about its results sometime in the next few weeks I HOPE!
Anyway, hopefully the Beta is going smoothly, probably hear about its results sometime in the next few weeks I HOPE!
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 9:17PM Dunraven said
I saw her at Gamescom 2011 she is stunningly Beautiful I told her I was a fan of her works and she said aww aren't you sweet.
Sucks being a kid sometimes......
Sucks being a kid sometimes......
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 10:09PM Valdur said
If Ree was to be a GW character she would be an Elementalist, with her long fiery hair.
Man that was an interview and it put to shame a lot of those so called game journalists.
Man that was an interview and it put to shame a lot of those so called game journalists.
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 10:19PM Rialle said
Cool.
I actually met Ree Soesbee back when she was writing for Legend of the Five Rings. She actually signed my copy of Way of the Crane. Her work is one of the reasons I'm looking forward to the GW2.
I actually met Ree Soesbee back when she was writing for Legend of the Five Rings. She actually signed my copy of Way of the Crane. Her work is one of the reasons I'm looking forward to the GW2.
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 10:31PM Ahgasbane said
Ree ruined, RUINED L5R. She has always shown faction favoritism and she is a little above a hack. This is the hope GW people have for their storyline? Keep an eye out kiddos, her favorite faction will be where you want to play*cough*crane*cough*.
Quit giving her a pass because she's easy on the eyes. John Wick FOREVA!
Quit giving her a pass because she's easy on the eyes. John Wick FOREVA!
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 11:08PM Ahgasbane said
@Ehra
Look up her body of work, which projects she chooses to take on personally and how she overrode player determined storylines in L5R for her own whims. I cannot convey to you what the Day of Thunder was like live, but it was one of the greatest moments I have ever experienced as a gamer. She single handedly ripped that type of moment from L5R, and I'm betting if you dig into her other projects you'll find the same type of manipulation.
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Look up her body of work, which projects she chooses to take on personally and how she overrode player determined storylines in L5R for her own whims. I cannot convey to you what the Day of Thunder was like live, but it was one of the greatest moments I have ever experienced as a gamer. She single handedly ripped that type of moment from L5R, and I'm betting if you dig into her other projects you'll find the same type of manipulation.
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 11:09PM Irem said
@Ahgasbane
Ree doesn't work on classes in GW2, beyond general flavor.
I'm gonna be honest, after years of playing WoW and hearing both Alliance and Horde players adamantly insist that Blizzard favors the opposing faction in every way, I have to take your fervent declarations of Ree's evil designs on GW2 lore with a grain of salt. I like what I've seen of her work so far, but if it turns out in the future that she's secretly plotting to tread everything but charr mesmers under her boot heel, I'll buy you a muffin or something.
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Ree doesn't work on classes in GW2, beyond general flavor.
I'm gonna be honest, after years of playing WoW and hearing both Alliance and Horde players adamantly insist that Blizzard favors the opposing faction in every way, I have to take your fervent declarations of Ree's evil designs on GW2 lore with a grain of salt. I like what I've seen of her work so far, but if it turns out in the future that she's secretly plotting to tread everything but charr mesmers under her boot heel, I'll buy you a muffin or something.
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 11:36PM Rialle said
@Ahgasbane I think you're overblowing this. I don't recall Way of the Crane being all that bad. Maybe I'm biased because I played a Crane Clan deck at the time in the CCG, but I was a total Dragon Clan fanboy from a lore perspective.
In the first edition of the RPG books (which is the only version I played), the Lion Clan did kind of get proverbially crapped on by the designers. This includes John Wick (the creator of the franchise), who seemed to love the Scorpion clan.
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In the first edition of the RPG books (which is the only version I played), the Lion Clan did kind of get proverbially crapped on by the designers. This includes John Wick (the creator of the franchise), who seemed to love the Scorpion clan.
Posted: Jan 11th 2012 11:59PM Ehra said
@Ahgasbane
Sorry, but I don't care about what you claim she did in a book I never read for a game I never played. All I'm concerned about is her work with Anet and at Anet she's a writer and lore-keeper, not a programmer, a systems designer, or a skills balance guru.
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Sorry, but I don't care about what you claim she did in a book I never read for a game I never played. All I'm concerned about is her work with Anet and at Anet she's a writer and lore-keeper, not a programmer, a systems designer, or a skills balance guru.











