The Ardent Ledger is back! In this issue, get a closer look at the new Ardent Society content, check out the new V&H website, read player interviews, and much more!
The Headline
This holiday season in V&H sees not only the return of a certain green ghoulish beastie who, together with his band of fiendish elves, lords over a snow filled wonderland where great rewards, danger, and fun can be had by all, but it also marks the return of, after an absence of over a year, the little newsletter you all are reading right now, the Ardent Ledger!
Why the long delay? Many of you might recall that dark day in February when the lights of Villagers & Heroes went out for two incredibly long weeks thanks to the efforts of malicious cyber terrorists. While we were able to have the game up and running again as fast as we could, we nonetheless still lost a great deal during that awful time, including the main V&H website where the Ledger, and so many other vital sources of game information and relevant data were to be found. A temporary website with just the minimal basics was installed in its place. Until now.
That’s right! In addition to kicking off this holiday season with the arrival of the ever merry Grinchta’s Lair Event Zone, we are also thrilled to unveil our brand new, completely redesigned Villagers & Heroes website!
It’s going to be a fun time of year! The holiday patch, filled with an array of colorful gifts and goodies, not to mention a captivating new Yeti mount which can be earned for free by all in the Event Zone, will be going live in just a few days time.

In the meantime, sit back with the Ledger and read all about what other exciting game improvements you can expect with the patch, meet our new game designer, get a tour of the web site, find out which worthy players were just appointed new Royal Guardians of the Realm, and much, much, more!
Fan Works
Fan Friday
What a great year for Fan Fridays it has been! There is nothing more enjoyable than seeing all of the wonderful creations made by the talented players of Villagers & Heroes! Take a look back over the past year at some of the fantastic works our amazing community created!
WHAT’S NEW
Ardent Society Membership
Perhaps one of the most exciting new features in the upcoming patch is the new and improved Ardent Society Membership! As a team, we wanted to create something which felt truly special to players, and which would reflect the needs and wishes of the community as a whole. And so, based largely upon the feedback we received from all of you, we are pleased, and believe you will be, too, to present the new Ardent Society Memberships which, though laden with a great many more riches, will remain unchanged in price!
This snazzy new pop-up window can easily be found in-game, with just the click of a button. Look for the new ‘Membership’ icon atop the HUD, next to the calendar, and have a look at the many exclusive benefits afforded to Ardent Society members:

Royal loot
Claim daily Reward Chests, on each of your characters, given by special NPCs known as the Society Chestiers who can be found in Ardent City, Summer’s Hollow, and all Villages.
Every day, Ardent Members can claim their chests which will randomly contain a valuable and often unique item. Like what? Ultra Clockwork Harvesters, or Rezzies, special toys, special pets, exclusive mounts, powerful consumables, and much more! What kind of powerful consumables? How about an Infinite Water Valve, or an Automatic Gem Extractor? Or maybe a special potion which temporarily removes all gold costs from crafting and enhancing! And when we say ‘special toys,’ we mean just that — how about a Robo Gnome Kit, for example. Robo Gnome will give you, and everyone around you, access to your vaults anywhere in the game!
You never know just what you’ll get each day in the daily reward chest, which is half the fun! Barrel Tank mount, anyone?
Double XP
Get twice the XP for everything you do! This stacks with any other XP bonuses.
Free travel
Use any travel pad in the world for free!
Monthly gifts
Premium consumables will be sent directly to your inventory every month!
Two extra shared trunks
That’s one more than before! Use these to store and move items between your characters.
Shop discount
10% Item Shop Discount on ALL items ALL of the time!
Grand Style
Whenever a player signs up to be an Ardent Society Member, they will receive an exclusive outfit, pet, and mount! All already existing members will automatically be sent the same rewards.

When the patch goes live, all current Ardent Society Members will automatically receive all of the benefits of the new membership. (Players do not need to wait until their memberships have expired to reap the gains.)
The daily reward chests will stack to 100, but members need to be sure to log in each day to claim them!
Tis the season to be an Ardent Society Member! 🙂
Interview
V&H Player: Lady Dank
It’s always a genuine pleasure to get to know our players more in depth! A big thanks to Lady Dank of US2 (and the first Shaman to ever be interviewed in the Ardent Ledger!), for taking the time to talk with us. 🙂

Player: Lady Dank
Server: US2
Class: Shaman
Platform: Android
When did you first start playing V&H, and how did you discover it? What initially drew you to the game, and what keeps you playing still?
I’m pretty new to the game, I started around the end of August 2019. I had been searching for a non auto mmorpg. When I came across V&H in the play store, I read the reviews and decided to give it a try. Just like that I was hooked because on the surface it looks like a simple game, but it is far from that. It’s very complex and there is always something for you to do. One of the absolute best things is the community I play on US2, and always enjoy chatting with people. Everyone is very helpful which is a very nice change of pace from other games I have played.
In the past year, the game has seen a number of changes — a new class, new mobile improvements, the addition of dungeons, the wardrobe feature, new zones, to name just a few. Which changes have you enjoyed the most, and why? How about any improvements and features that you would personally love to see added to Villagers & Heroes, and why?
I would have to say my favorite change would be the Shaman class, but I didn’t really experience many of the changes other than the most recent when the level cap was raised to 95. I say Shaman because that is what I play. A couple features available to PC players that I as a mobile player would like to see is the knowledge book and a number for our combat xp level.
If you don’t mind sharing, what sort of activities do you enjoy when you are not playing V&H?
Spending time with my beautiful wife and 2 lovely daughters, doesn’t matter what we do. I also enjoy bowling every so often, but tend to end up rather sore afterwards haha.
What is your favorite event zone and why? If you could create a new event zone for Villagers & Heroes, what would it be? (Theme, style, visuals, etc.)
I have only been to 3 event zones, Twilight Vale, The Oasis, and Haunted Moors. Out of the 3, I liked Haunted Moors best, but the ladder event in the Vale was really fun. Possibly have an event focused towards the Cirque de’Derrigg where we could earn red doubloons.
What was the last book you read that you truly enjoyed? How about a film you saw?
The last book series that I read was Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas. As far as movies, Golden Compass I had never seen, and it was really good. V&H’s storyline is fantastic as well, if it were a book I would read it.
If you were to do a livestream of V&H, what would you most want to show other people about our game? An informative how to guide about a particular topic? Goofing around with guildies in the village? How to take down an event zone boss? Questing, combating, dungeons? Much to choose from!
Most likely I’d just stream what I always do, running around doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that and oh a plentiful node, haha.
Everyone has a guilty pleasure. (Or several.) What is one of yours?
In game, one is when I send someone an item that I found not expecting anything in return and then they end up giving me way more than it’s worth, well to me at least.
Outfits! Let’s talk fashion! What sort of outfit/attire would you most love to see added to V&H? And what kind of mount do you imagine as being the perfect compliment to your dream outfit?
I’d like earth shaman gear to look more Tanky. As for overall outfits I don’t know, but a way to be able to dye the stuff we do have would be amazing, then we could customize our characters so much more. An Armored Bear would be a fun mount I think.
If you could move your village to any zone at all in the game, which zone would it be and why?
I would have to say Fungal Caverns. I think the artwork out there is beautiful and fun.
You are the first Shaman to ever be interviewed for the Ledger! Please tell us about your experiences playing the new class. What do you enjoy most about it? Least? Any tips for new Shaman players?
I really enjoy playing as an earth shaman. And when you mix a little wind and water into your kit, it feels amazingly powerful. I enjoy the versatility of the class because if I ever happen to become tired of tanking, I can switch it up and try out healing, though I don’t foresee that happening. Tips for new shaman players would be: don’t neglect your crafting and don’t waste your sockets because you’ll regret it at higher levels if you do. Water shield is your friend, it is worth the 5 points in water even if you want to be all earth.
Do you consider yourself to be a gamer? Can you share with us a little about how the mobile VH experience has been for you on Android? Pros? Cons? Areas in need of improvement? Do you also play on PC?
I used to be a serious gamer but have become more casual over the years. V&H has a very casual feel. I really like that a game this in depth is available on Android. I currently don’t own a PC. Only thing I would improve for mobile is adding the knowledge book and showing current combat xp numbers.
Contest

Who doesn’t love having the opportunity to secretly exchange gifts on their server in a truly community oriented activity? We invite you all to participate in this year’s Secret Santa Event!
Send a gift to a player on your server who only you will know the name of, and in return receive a gift from your own anonymous Secret Santa! The Event Committee will randomly assign registered players the names of their gift recipients, so it’s anyone’s guess just who will be your Secret Santa!
Registration for the event closes on December 12th, so be sure to sign up now!
All information about the Secret Santa Event can be found on the forums here. (Players can also register on Discord.)
It’s going to be fun!
WHAT’S NEW
New Villagers & Heroes Website

We are especially excited about another new improvement to the game, one which, if you are reading this right now, means that you are already experiencing part of it for yourselves — the all new Villagers & Heroes website! What was previously just a landing page with a couple of pertinent links, is now a dense and highly polished website, the ultimate hub and resource for all things V&H related!
Gone are the days of never knowing where to find Patch Notes, or the game Wiki, or the Talent Builder, or the Mad Otter merchandise store, to name just a few. We wanted a single centralized location, where information about absolutely every aspect of the game and community we could think of, could quickly and easily be accessed by newcomers and veterans alike. Pssst! Bookmark this website, and all of your questions will be answered!
Who were those weird Legendary Four people I keep hearing about, or those twin sisters that some of my axes seemed to be named after? Click the ‘Lore’ button and find out! How do I become a Playtester for Villagers & Heroes? A button for that, too. I’m at work, and there’s a crown sale taking place, can I partake without going in-game? Yes, you can! Just click the ‘Buy Crowns’ button! Is there any important or pressing news that I need to be aware of right now? Just check the live ‘Announcement’ feed, which transmits all of the news messages displayed on the Character Select screen of the game (when applicable), and is now also displayed atop our game forums.

We will continue to improve and expand upon the new website as needed. Most notably, we will be implementing a localization feature in the upcoming weeks, so that players in certain countries will be able to view the site in their own languages!
We encourage you all to explore the new V&H website, and please post any feedback or suggestions that you might have in this forum thread!
The Sneaky Scribbler
Just when you thought you were safe. You’re not! The merry trickster who secretly gallavants around on all of the servers, eavesdropping on world chats and jotting it all down for our amusement, has returned and compiled an array of funny quotes and conversations gathered from all of you! (Albeit unknowingly.) Thank you, Sneaky Scribbler. 🙂
You Said It:
Parental Woes
[Gems]: I need send in a complain to devs. Yesterday i had to kill my son. Its not fair to name a bounty same as my son :O
[Wee Mad Tee]: You have a son named Wrinkles?!
[Gems]: lol. nope. Named caspar xD
[Wee Mad Teej]: I know the feeling. My daughter is named Gutgor.
— EU1
The Naked Truth
[leroy the savage]: how do rebirths worK?
[Sprigga]: First, take off all your clothes
— US2
The Color Purple
The purple people eaters invaded the chat, seeking purple people, prowling like a cat. When one showed up with nothing good to say, the purple people eaters pounced and sent him on his way.
— Impresario (US3)
Mommie Dearest
[Raphael Lenglet]: i just came from a most horrible first date ever
[Raphael Lenglet]: some ppl shouldnt go public
[Mutsie]: horrible for you, or her?
[Torsos]: haha, its bad when you discover your mums on tinder isnt it
— EU1
Etiquette Tips
Everyone always asks, when is druda, but not how is druda
— skitwidget (US2)
Love is in the air
[Ryler]: i love how you can mount in buildings in this game
[Zordon]: Your doing what to our buildings?
— US1
Curse of the Random Name Generator
[Elks Shadow]: can anyone help me with lvl20 elders pls?
[Izel]: lol Elk, type /die
[Izel]: 1 elder done
— EU1
Bless his little noob heart
[Invincible101]: I have too many motes of yorick!
[Raelin]: said no one ever
— US2
Ah, Youth…
[Aria Remus]: what does it mean when someone’s name is gray in the chat?
[Fruit Loops]: They are old?
— US3
Things that make you go, hmmm.
[Skurge]: 1 zing in lower halls
[Tallah]: If you have a zing in your “lower halls”, that’s a personal problem. ;I
— US2
Mod Sunshine
[Nyxxe]: Girls power, today?
[Ekimie]: always
[Nyxxe]: who run the world?
[Mrs Whitefoot]: we do !!
[Ekimie]: Corrupt politicians?
[Trashers Goddess]: hehehehe
[Nyxxe]: Girls, Eki, girls
[Trashers Goddess]: fair poin though
[Trashers Goddess]: point
[Mrs Whitefoot]: lol @ Eki…. way to burst my bubble :p
— EU1
Grandfathered In
[Kellara]: should I save golden grampa seeds?
[Kellara] gralla
— US2
A royal rebuke
[frya]: Sha up !
[Looking][Eriu]: snort… fancy way to hush someone?
— US1
Supercalifragilistic
[ASDFGHJKLQWE]: Okay nice!
[Wunsock]: love the name btw
[Wunsock]: very original
[ASDFGHJKLQWE]: Thanks! It usually gets pronounced wrong.
— US2
G-N-O-G-M-E-N-T-A-T-I-O-N
I don’t gong because I don’t get the whole snogging thing
— Alugard (EU1)
Reality Bites
[Nail Clipper]: i did so many thing during the shut down that i barely never have time to play normally
[Nail Clipper]: like taking a shower, brushing tooth,…
[Tallah]: I found out I had a house, car, pets, wife. I was floored!
— US2
Vegetable Donations
If the devs here need an office pumpkin, I am avalible
–Tindra Silvertass (EU1)
No prescription required:
[SprigOfHalcyon]: woo, gralla seed!
[Skurge]: v&h’s viagra
— US2
Huh?
yeh I a good time last night soloing them with peeps
— thingman3 (US2)
Internet Invasion
level 20? try the slopes/swamps of google
— twylla glittercrest
Best Description of Golden Speed Ever:
[Roselynne]: janye runs so fast D:
[janye]: have to, lost my horse 😉
— US2
Minor Lapses
[Vixen Bae]: I disconnected due to inactivity
[Tallah]: My brain does that a lot.
— US2
Not Disney
[YourDreamPrinsess]: YO BOB
[Nyxxe]: That is clearly not a PrinCess language
— EU1
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
[Vavi]: be careful when youre in the dungeon with karen.
— US2
New Player Problems:
[Muder Inc]: fk
[Wee Mad Teej]: What’s wrong, buddy? Murder business not turning a profit?
[Muder] Inc: i spelt murder wrong
— EU1
Royal Guardians
Congratulations and our sincere thanks to the following individuals for their outstanding contributions to the game and community. We are pleased to announce the most recent appointments of Royal Guardians for Villagers & Heroes! (And for the benefit of our newer players who might not know what Royal Guardians are, you can learn all about them here.)

WHAT’S NEW
Discord Server Updates
What began in 2016 with just a handful of players, here and there, scattered around the servers, has steadily grown and evolved over the years to become a massively thriving and integral platform of communication for Villagers & Heroes players everywhere — the V&H Discord Server! Entirely player-run and not overseen by Mad Otter in any way at all, this now vital element of our game has brought thousands of our players together from all over the world into a single space where chat, news, games, polls, fun, and so much more can be shared together in a safe and well-structured environment by everyone in our community.
But the V&H Discord Server did not just spring to life out of nowhere! Through the hard work and efforts of one player in particular, who not only founded and introduced the server to our community, but has continued to manage it with great care and implemented a host of exciting new changes to it over the years, he is incredibly deserving of all of our gratitude. Thank you, KAVE!
And who better to talk with you all about the many features, changes, and newly designed structure of the V&H Discord Server than its architect himself!
From KAVE:

Before the recent overhaul, the Discord server had one major issue, and that was the number of inactive users. We would have accounts join that would never participate in any discussions or activities, and they clogged up the member list. When designing the new version, I wanted to filter these individuals out. Now, when a new user joins the server they will only have access to the ‘Welcome’ and ‘Roles’ channels. They must read the information and assign themselves a role in order to gain access to their server’s private channels and the universal channels. In this way, the only users who have access to the server’s resources are those that take the time to read the rules and information.
Next, there had been many requests for server-specific channels. There are cases where players of a certain server wish to announce something to their colleagues without disturbing those on every other server. Event zone kill times and server downtimes, for example. The concern with having server-specific channels was that it could diminish the shared global interaction which users had come to love. This was a difficult decision to make, but in the end I figured there was no harm in giving it a shot. Now, every server has their own chat, event, announcements and info channel. I am still tracking the effect it has had on the server, but overall it seems to have had a positive impact.
I also learned markdown formatting real quick to design some studly looking pages. The Resources, Welcome, and Roles channels are now colorful and crisp.
Podcasts! A V&H Podcast is a concept which has floated around the game for a while, but never really took off. One day, there were a few people in Voice Chat. We spoke for a bit and turned it into a voice chat party. Over time, others joined in. We had a good flow of conversation going and I jokingly suggested we do a V&H Podcast. William pressed the idea and others agreed, so I eventually put it into a poll. It received enough support to warrant a trial later on. We’ve done two sessions so far, each had around 15 or more participants. They each lasted well over an hour and a half because this game has such a rich history and so much potential. We haven’t even scratched the surface in terms of talking points.
After these sessions and a few test runs, I’ve finally managed to acquire the optimal software for the job. The subsequent Podcasts will be much higher in audio quality, editing and won’t have an annoying watermark (Looking at you Filmora!).
The Youtube channel these are uploaded to is named The Ardent Tavern. It felt like a fitting title since we’re just a bunch of players with different backgrounds, ages, servers etc. yet we come together and have an open dialogue about important V&H and game industry related topics. We have a wide variety of perspectives on the show and as we become more comfortable talking with each other, I imagine the podcast will only improve.
There are a lot of ideas in the works and while there is no set day / time schedule yet – have to work around reality commitments – the interval between sessions is around 10 to 14 days. For those wishing to join, please feel free to do so on the Discord server. You can even listen in and chat with us in the text chat if you don’t feel comfortable in voice. Overall, I feel that this is really a unique medium to exchange ideas, brainstorm and get to know fellow members of the community. And the Mad Otter devs have agreed to try and join in at least once a month!
Other new changes! Another behind the scenes update was automation. As a programmer, it goes against my very soul to manually create events, assign roles and moderate chat. It takes time, is error prone and there are simply better alternatives out there. Introducing bots! I researched and tested out over 15 different bots during the overhaul phase. I was extremely picky as I wanted something user-friendly that checked off all the boxes.
For management, moderation and utility I chose Carl-Bot (nicknamed as V&H bot). This bot has been set up to moderate chat for spam, profanity and shady links. Not only will it delete anything that triggers its sensors, it also notifies and warns the user themself. They are welcome to vent their anger at the bot, he has thick skin. V&H-Bot also provides me with a comprehensive list of server logs, reaction roles, timed feeds, auto-responses and more. Overall, it has made human server management a thing of the past.
Next up is my personal favorite: Saber Bot. This tool is used to create dedicated events channels for each of the servers. Players post their activity information and the bot will spit out an embed box with all of the relevant details. It also pings users of that server’s event before it begins!

The next addition to the team was Pollmaster, who is a highly customizable poll bot. Rather than hand-crafting the polls, I simply put in the question and the potential answers, the bot will then neatly format it and keep track of the user’s responses. It turned a 15 minute task into a 15 second process.
Giveaway bot is used every now and then for lottery prizes, and is a quick and fair way to distribute rewards. There are plans for other bots in the future as well, such as one which keeps track of player activity and will reward them for participating in chat.
When the Discord server was made I never expected it to reach the point it is at now. The goal has always been for it to act as a supplement to the V&H forums, never as an alternative. The Forums are the perfect place to engage in deep discussions, create guides, share suggestions and keep up to date with the latest and greatest surrounding V&H. The idea behind the Discord server is to fill a market in player to player communication that involves real-time chat, voice sessions and capturing a snapshot of any news and announcements. There are some exciting event ideas bubbling up which I’m eager to share with everyone soon. Stay tuned 🙂
— KAVE

The new V&H website now has a special Discord button which will take you right to the VH Discord server, for any who want to quickly join. And more information and details about the server can also be found here on our forums. Thank you, KAVE!
Behind The Scenes
Interview with Sean Ryan
Sadly, as many of you already know, we recently said goodbye to our lead game designer of many years, Diet, who will be greatly missed, but of course we wish him the very best of success in all that he does. Fortunately, not only has an extremely talented new designer joined our Otter team, but Diet spent countless hours training and teaching him in all of the inner workings of Villagers & Heroes before departing, and was immensely confident in Sean’s abilities when he handed over the reins. And so are we!
We are so pleased to introduce you all to Sean Ryan! He has good genes, given that his older brother, Liam, is a long time Otter and our lead programmer, and both are the sons of another genius programmer, who worked closely with Damon back in the Dynamix days. Coding runs strong in the Ryan clan!
Everyone, please meet Sean, a most welcome addition to our Otter team, and one of the most personable and engaging young men you are likely to meet. Sean has done his very best to answer all of the questions you posted to him on the forums. Thank you, Sean! 🙂

What’s your favorite class / spec?
I would say that my favorite is the Shaman class. The main reason that I prefer Shaman is that I played it a lot when I first started interning at Mad Otter. I also like that shaman sounds similar to my own name. Seanman would be a pretty awesome superhero name. Probably the sort of superhero that would save puppies that were stuck in trees.
Between earth and water, I prefer water for two reasons. One, I like water as an element. There are so many different things that you can do with it. Two, I thought that the Water Shaman was really powerful when I first played, and I like to be strong characters.
If you weren’t a game designer, what career path would you be pursuing?
Maybe something involving art. I won’t say that I would actually be a good artist, but I do like art, so I would try my best.
What games do you play?
I used to play video games a lot, but I don’t play them as much anymore. When I did play, I played games like Legend of Zelda, Mario, and Halo. I also played Elder Scrolls Online for a few months. I would say that I am definitely more into the Nintendo type games. I like the cartoony art style of games like Breathe of the Wild more than the hyper-realistic art styles of games like Red Dead Redemption.
I also play card/board games when I can. My favorites are probably Smash-Up, DC Comic Deck Builder, and Pokemon the Card Game. One of my brothers is really into those types of games, so I play them with him whenever I visit home. Unfortunately, I always lose at Pokemon cards because he has new generation cards, which are overpowered. I win at the other games though (yes I keep track).
What is your vision for V&H going forward?
I think that the game itself is a joint vision of everyone involved. It would be a bit arrogant of me to come in and impose my vision of the game on everyone else. However, here are some things that I would like to see in the game.
I think it would be really awesome if you could actually enter your house in the village. I used to play a game called Animal Crossing and I found it really fun to customize my house with all the different furniture. It was like endless content. I remember spending hours trying to find furniture that would fit the theme of the house that I wanted (Liam’s house had no furniture except for singing totems for those that were wondering). I think that a system like that could be even cooler in a game like Villagers and Heroes. Imagine being able to craft/find/buy different furniture to customize your home. Or maybe having a room to show off your achievements, like a difficult quest that you completed, or a Zingara that you killed. I dunno, it sounds pretty neat in my head.
Another thing that I would like to see is more competitive content. I am a competitive person, and I am sure that there are a lot of players out there that are also competitive. I know that some people get nervous about competition because it can turn toxic, and Villagers and Heroes isn’t really the type of game for intense competition. However, I think that there is definitely a place in the game for some healthy competition.
There are some other things that I think that would be cool to add (Easter event?), but I don’t wanna run my mouth too much. A lot of stuff sounds cool in theory, but actually implementing it can be really hard. Whatever we end up doing, I hope that it is stuff that you all will have a lot of fun with!
Who is the better brother, you or Liam?
Liam is definitely a lot smarter than I am. It made college a lot easier for me than most people, I think. Having Liam as a brother is like having a cheat code in real life. However, I would say that I am definitely better at being annoying than he is. I will do my very best to annoy all of you (that means I care).
What do you oversee as a game designer (zones, quests, bosses)?
I’m involved in all of those things. I wouldn’t say that I oversee them though. I work with different members of the team to design all those things. I will say that if there is a bug with any of those things, then it is probably my fault. Sorry!
Do you play V&H in your off-time?
I do play it, but I don’t play it like a regular player. I am a kind of obsessive, so I spend a lot of time trying to make sure that I understand the game in-and-out. It is hard because the game is an MMORPG which means there is a lot of information for me to keep track of. I am getting more familiar with everything though (I’m really thankful that Cameron took the time to explain a lot of it to me).
What are your hobbies outside of work?
To be honest, I don’t have a whole lot of hobbies. I like to learn about different programming languages, because there is a lot to learn from how different languages do things. I have also been practicing 3D sculpting for around a year. I am not very good, but it is definitely satisfying when a sculpt ends up looking decent.
Are you trying to replace the “Damon Hair” meme with “Sean Hair”?
I didn’t even know that Damon’s hair was a meme. It’s funny though, because one of the first things that people notice about me is my hair. When I was in highschool, my football coach would call me “action-figure” because my hair would stick up everywhere. So I guess that I just have to live with my hair being a meme as well.
Do you have characters in the game that you play? (No, we don’t want the name or server)
Yeah, I have a character, but I haven’t played as him in a while. If I remember correctly, his name was some variant of Leonardo Di Caprio, and I tried to make him as ugly and mean looking as I could (I am sorry Leonardo Di Caprio). Please don’t start a manhunt for ugly looking Leonardo Di Caprio’s.
Do you have in mind any changes for classes?
This is a spooky question. Is there something wrong with the classes right now? I think that the classes are pretty good right now. I would like to add a new class at some point just because it would be fun to do.
What do you enjoy most about working for V&H?
There are a few things that I enjoy. First, I like that I get to work with my brother. It makes it easier to harass him with questions. The other thing that I enjoy is how nice everyone on the team is. They are always really encouraging and make sure that I am not stressing out.
What can we as players do to make your job easier?
I think that one of the most helpful things that players can do is to be really explicit when they are reporting bugs. For example, if I get a report that reads something like this: “Help! The Zombie quest in the town is broken! Please fix!”, then I will have no idea which quest that means. If you’re explicit (i.e. name of the quest, or npc and what the problem is) then it allows me to fix the problem (if there is one) a lot quicker.
Also, feedback is always welcome. A lot of you have definitely played the game more than me, and I am sure that you have some suggestions/ideas about what would make the game better (i.e. areas that you think should be improved or aspects that you don’t find fun). I would prefer that you don’t flame me, but I have pretty thick skin, so I won’t be heart-broken if you do.
What challenges (on job or off) are you dealing with right now?
A challenge that I am facing on the job is making sure that I understand and remember all the stuff Cameron (Diet) taught me (I am so glad he made videos). MMO games are really large, so I’m sure you can imagine how much code there is. I’m doing my best to make sure that I understand it backwards and forwards so that I can work efficiently
Off the job I would say that gaining weight has been really challenging. I am pretty skinny, so I want to put on weight. However, no matter how much I eat I never seem to put on any weight. It is pretty sad.
Is there any topic of inquiry you consider to be ‘off limits’? If so why?
Nope! I’m an open book. Consider my social security numbers yours.
Do you like the community to refer to you as Sean Otter, simply Sean, or by a different nickname?
Any of those names work fine for me. My family sometimes calls me Honnie, and some of my friends call me Seany. I am fine with whatever (just make sure to spell my name right).
What’s your favorite food?
It really depends on my mood. My top choices are probably Asian food, Mexican food, pizza, and hamburgers. I am a really healthy eater, I know.
Are you married?
Nope!
Are you planning to put otters in the game at any point?
It is not entirely up to me, but I would like to put otters in at some point. For example, imagine an underwater city of otters (think Atlantis with otters) that you can visit. Maybe there could be a group of evil crocodiles that you have to help them defeat. I think that could be pretty cool.