I’m the Lead Community Manager for Crytek, which basically means I take care of all the websites that we run, look after the community, attend events, plan news pieces, competitions, visits, articles, and plenty of other interesting things.

Why did you want to work in the games industry and how did you get started? Do you have any tips for people wanting to get started in the industry?

Always loved playing games as a kid, and just never grew up I guess J. I can be pretty apathetic, so can only usually do something if I feel passionate about it. I have to do something that I really love doing to keep me motivated, and I found that in the games industry. There’s plenty of ways into the industry nowadays, hundreds of different websites cater for that. All I would say is that it’s not all fun and games (the irony!) we do have plenty of fun times and mess around, but at the end of the day it’s a lot of hard work, but if you love what you’re doing, then you’ll have a great time.

Where have you worked before?

Blizzard Entertainment Europe in Velizy, Paris, Tournament.com in association with Valve and then plenty of consultancy work all over. I did my time in a convenience store as well, which was far less interesting, and far less fun!

Why Crytek?

I wanted to move to another company, and Crytek has major potential. Having worked with some of the biggest in the world I can see Crytek doing even more great things in the future, and I want to be a part of that. Plus they have a really solid community filled with people who are great, so why not? J< o:p>

What are the best and worst parts of your job?

The best part is that each day changes, in Community Management you’ve got your set tasks and things, but most days whole new things get thrown at you that you just have to be able to react to and deal with. It’s definitely not for some people, but if you like a challenge and communicating with people then it’s the job for you. The worst part is probably that the hours are long and that includes weekends and holidays too.

What are you working on at the minute?

Lots of things, planning new competitions, going over plans for updates to MyCrysis. Making sure the producers of our games know what people want to see in them. This kind of thing, like I said, it can change within a minute.

What types of games do you like, and what's your favorite game of all time?

First Person Shooters or Real Time Strategy. My current favourite is Left4Dead, simply because the game is awesome, basically J. I do go back to old classics like Warcraft III from time to time, and Counter-Strike: Source.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work?

In true British style when I’m not at work I do like going to the pub and watching the football. As goes well with the job, I enjoy socializing with all kinds of people, and living in Frankfurt means that you definitely get to socialize with plenty of wild and wacky characters from all over the globe.

Fan Q&A

How did it feel to interview yourself?

I felt like I was interviewing someone I could really relate to. It was great.

We've now learned that Ghost rider would loose in a fight for death against Ironman. The next step is, who would win in a game of golf?

I have no preference, although I would lean towards Ironman if pressured.

How does Crytek's future look like in your opinion? Will you still work at Crytek in say 4 or 5 years?

I think Crytek has a great future ahead of it. Their community may not be the biggest right now, but the word is getting out there that they've got some great titles, and are commited to continuing along the same line. The community we do have is a strong one, everyone is pleasant and helpful on the forums, and always willing to help each other out. 4 or 5 years, a tough question, who knows, I'd like to say yes, as I really like Frankfurt and Crytek, but life takes you where it will.

How much does the "Lead Community Manager" get paid?

Not enough :P

Do you have any news at all on a new game mode or editor for Crysis Wars/Warhead? The community is very interested in both of these topics, as they want to see modes such as Capture The Flag implemented, and they want to be able to make custom maps using the new assets and features in the editor.

I can not give out too much information, otherwise it would be in a seperate news post. All I can tell you is that we're working on lots of things and the editor is most definitely one of those things. I have no timeframe on release though still, but I'm hoping we'll know more in a few weeks.

What is your favorite movie? Favorite band?

Favorite movie, is probably True Lies, always loved that movie. Favorite band, The Distillers, although I like all Metal, Punk, Rock, Alt, etc.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

The wood chuck would chuck 23.

One thing I'm curious about is why you chose Community Manager out of all the other roles in the game development industry?

I'm a majorly outgoing person, sometimes to the point where people wonder how I always have something to talk about, I've always worked in Customer Service or Community Management since before I even started in the games industry, so I always wanted to continue along that line.

You said that you had very long hours, so I was wondering, do you have enough time left to be able to do some personal stuff like hobbies or going out?

Hours do vary a lot, but recently I've been arriving at about 9:30-10:00, and leaving the office at Midnight, I also work weekends which can be a burden, but if you love what you do, you just do it. Personal life? Well, I don't think it effects it too badly, although I'm sure a certain woman would definitely disagree with you ;)

Also, as a Lead Community Manager, you must've worked with other communities than Crytek's before. So how long did you work at Blizzard etc. before you were "qualified" enough to become Community Manager and later on Lead Community Manager?

I was at Blizzard for nearly 2 years, and working with Tournament.com/Valve for another 'almost' 2 years, both jobs I was dealing with the community and their interaction with the developers, so I'd like to think I know how to maintain and expand a community, but obviously everywhere you go things are different.

'Qualified' is a difficult term to use with community management. You have to have vision to push things forward and the commitment to make sure things get done, obviously in terms of school, English really helps, and PR and Marketing always help. Of course the main qualification is a keen interest in the games industry, and extensive knowledge of how it works, from the inside and out.

Record demos in Crysis Wars, when?

Hopefully soon, but I don't know yet.

What qualifications did you need for the job of "Lead Community Manager" and would you recommend that sort of job to younger folks?

Qualifications mentioned above. Younger folks, it seems like a dream job when you think all it is, is posting on forums, that's all I'll say :)

It can be ALOT of hard work, and you can often be the last guy in the office trying to piece everything together for a big release, or anything like that. I'd recommend if it's something you think you want to do, join a games company as a Customer Service/Community Rep, and work your way up. That way you learn the industry, get your foot in the door and find out if it's what you really want to do.

How do you become a Community Manager? What do you have to do to become one? Is it fun? Do you get to go on loads of trips?

Get a foot in the door in the industry, through some lower level jobs, then just work as hard as you can, and show that you can get results. It is fun, but it is also a lot of hard work. I go on a fair few trips, but then you have to remember the longer you're away the more the work piles up. It's a 24/7 job, communities don't sleep the same hours you do :)

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest) how hot is Zoey?

11.

Do you have time to play on Crysis Wars?

I play in our internal tests whenever I find the time, so at least once a week for a few hours.

What is your so loved server?

Crytek Test Server when it was up was where I would play.

Boxers or briefs?

Boxers.

Do any of the team work at home?

Not that I know of, none of my team do, although I have the help of some great news posters and forum moderators who I would consider part of the team, although not employed by Crytek :)

On a scale form 1-10, how much do you enjoy torturing us with these presents?

It's the highlight of my day, but hey, you guys get given T-shirts for it! :)

In Closing

A special thanks to me for answering these questions (:P) and more over, those people in the community who contributed questions towards this article. The next Inside Crytek article will be up soon and we'll be allowing you to ask even more questions to another member of the Crytek staff in a short while.