Meet the Mods

[SeanDeCoy]

Hey there all you Mage Warriors,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for helping us build such an awesome and active community.

In this thread we'll have various moderators introduce themselves and let you know what they do for MW, and what kinds of questions they'll be good at answering. As time goes on we'll update this thread with any new information in terms of who is modding what thread, etc.

For now though:

I'm Sean, I'm the Director of Operations over at Arcane Wonders - I came on board about two years ago and instantly loved the game. I'll probably be answering more questions pertaining to the logistics of MW as a product (ship dates, events, planned expansions, marketing, etc.), but I hope to also answer some questions about story, art and design as well while I'm here. I'll try to be as transparent a resource as possible.

Other than that, I love gaming and even (shameless plug), co-created a game "Two Rooms and a Boom" that premiered over at ProtoSpiel 2012 and will be published sometime in the next year.

And with that, MageMods- sound off!

Edit: Oh, I run a Beastmaster Unicorn Power spellbook, so bring it on noobs ;-P

[Gigan]

Hi all,

My real name is John Guytan.  I mainly handle art direction and graphics for Mage Wars.  In addition, I write flavor text, contribute to game design and the back story.  I also did the artwork for 2 spells in the game:  Mordok's Obelisk and Mage Staff!

I am an avid gamer, mostly video games, but I also love board games!  I joined the team about 2 years ago after trying out Mage Wars through a local board game design group, and I've been hooked ever since!  I have been working professionally as an artist/art director on online video games for over 15 years.  Currently, I am getting our artists ready for the first expansion of Mage Wars: The Forcemaster and Warlord.  I can answer any questions regarding artwork, game design/gameplay, and the storyline.

In Mage Wars, I like playing as a Lightning Wizard.  But, the Warlock is a fun diversion when I just want to pummel and burn things.

[Shad0w]

Hello all,

I am one of the lead playtesters for Mage Wars. To tell you a bit about myself I have been a avid gamer for over 20 years now. I play all kinds of games video, card games, pc games, bored games. I have been on tons of beta and playtest teams. Including but not limited to Sony PS3 beta tests, Ubi soft beta tester, Smirk and Dagger beta / playtester tester, AEG playtester, Zman games playtester. I have been on over 150 playtest teams thus far. My group joined the playtest team back in the winter of 2011.

I was asked by Ben to help over see the community. I am here for all kinds of general purpose questions and support.

[patrickconnor]

Real Name: Patrick Connor
Favorite Hobbies: Gaming, Camping, Hiking, Fishing, Family (not necessarily in that order)
Favorite Mage: Priestess

I am the Communications Director for Arcane Wonders. I began working with the Mage Wars team at Origins 2011. It has been an amazing ride! If you have any questions, please let me know. If I can't answer them, I will direct you to the person who can.

By day, I am a K-6 technology teacher in a small, rural district in western - NY. I helped create a board game library at our school, and specialize in using games in teaching and learning.

[Arcanus]

Hello All,
This is Bryan Pope, the creator of Mage Wars.  I love games of all kinds, and have been making and playing games since I was 7 years old. I live in Dallas, Texas with my wife and 5 kids.  
I am so excited to see the game finally come to fruition and the level of reception its getting.  Those 5 long years of development were worth it!  The game was designed by gamers for gamers. We made something we wanted to play ourselves - a REAL Mage battle that works and feels like real magic.  Much deeper and more satisfying than a card game.  Yet still quick enough so you can play it a couple times in one evening and still have time to tweak your spellbook later that night!
I will be on the Forums as much as possible. I am also keeping busy working on those expansions!
Thanks again everyone for the enthusiasm and support!  

[Thessial]

Hey there Mages,

My name is John. I have joined Arcane Wonders as Director of Operations. I first saw the game at an Alliance Distribution Trade in Show 2011. I thought the game was amazing. Then I thought 'wouldn't it be cool if....' Unfortunately I said the second out loud and the rest has been an amazing ride with the Mage Wars Playtesters, Writers, Organized Play Team, and Event Organizers. I'll be most useful answering more questions pertaining to the logistics of MW as a product (ship dates, events, planned expansions, marketing, etc.) I also expect to field many of the questions regarding story and world. Occasionally, I can answer questions about art, design and rules.

I will do my best to always shoot straight in my answers.

Aside from the above, I have done some paid writing work and a ton of organized play work for WOTC. I love games as a concept and thus my collection is ever growing. Aside from Mage Wars, I have also been known to throw down in Malifaux (Go Team Gremlin!), Hordes (Fear the Forests!), Sentinels of the Multiverse (Do NOT pester Fanatic!), and Pathfinder (Halfling Rogue Soloing Kraken? Bet on the Halfling). As for Mage Wars, I prefer a Mana Leaching Wizard!

Thank you for playing Mage Wars!!!

[Laddinfance]

Gentlemen, I bet you're wondering why I brought you here today...

Actually, I would like to introduce myself. I'm Aaron Brosman, Creative Director at Arcane Wonders. I get to help design future sets as well as manage all of our fantastic playtersters. In addition I am here to help retailers as best we can. As with everyone at AW, I get to wear many hats. So far, I've been enjoying this job profusely. He's to a bright future for all of us at AW.

As for the rest of my gaming, I've played more CCG's than most people can count, and still have a soft spot for several of them. I've been an avid RPG player since High School. In fact, I had taught the Pastor who performed my wedding how to play D&D. I'm a sucker for miniatures games, and play several. Put a new rulebook in front of me and I can't help chew through it.

This has been quite a trip for me, to come from game store retail, and now into the manufacturer side. The best advice I can offer anyone is, "DON'T PANIC".