Sigil Games Online
Sr. Manager Marketing & PR
Most video games today are played largely online, or at least have an online component. Back in 1999, the game EverQuest was the first big success in the newly forming online only genre. It went on to generate millions of subscribers and for many years was the most finanically successful game in the world. This game was finally overtaken in popularity in 2004 when Blizzard Entertainment famously launched World of Warcraft.
Some of the orignial creators of EverQuest were convinced they could strick gold a second time and left to form a new company, Sigil Games Online. They envisioned an online game called Vanguard: Saga of Heroes which would push the limitations of computer processing power at the time. This desire to push available hardware would make the game accessible only to players who had the financial ability to upgrade their systems. Part of the success of World of Warcraft, however, was their intentional design that made the game playable even on lower end systems. So it was a challenging choice for marekting to promote a game that would not be playable by the masses.
Some of the orignial creators of EverQuest were convinced they could strick gold a second time and left to form a new company, Sigil Games Online. They envisioned an online game called Vanguard: Saga of Heroes which would push the limitations of computer processing power at the time. This desire to push available hardware would make the game accessible only to players who had the financial ability to upgrade their systems. Part of the success of World of Warcraft, however, was their intentional design that made the game playable even on lower end systems. So it was a challenging choice for marekting to promote a game that would not be playable by the masses.
I was recruited away from the parent company to join this rebel team and while the game crashed and burned end theend and the company folded, the work experience was highly valuable.
Interviews where I am quoted:
- The game was originially scheduled to be published by Microsoft. Our management team was courted by Sony Online to instead publish with them. These business negotiations between the three companies were taking place in the months, weeks, and even days leadiing up to E3, the largest video game trade show in the United States. As the PR and Marketing lead, I had to plan our presence at both publishing booths, because we didn't know which way the deals would go. I also set up our own booth as Sigil, so we had some neutral control to be able to meet with media and sales representatives without a publisher, if need be. I had been told to not work with Sony unless the deal went through, but I knew the importance of planning our presence ahead of time as Sony would not have been able to present us well at the show without advance planning. The president of my company was very happy in the end that I had secretly worked with Sony on a plan that could include us because two days before we would leave for E3, we did agree to have Sony become our new publisher.
- Our fan base at Sigil loathed the previous parent company, Sony Online, and when we decided to partner with that company for publishing power, I had to carefully craft a communications plan that would keep our fan base on our side.
- I lead international efforts for the promotion of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes with my favorite event taking place at a mideaval castle just outside of London. I conducted the game demonstration inside the giant dining hall with the game projected on the castle wall.
Interviews where I am quoted: