Interview planning for "Living Epic" online course

[Roger Travis]

The only mystery is which of the several wonderful possibilities for an interview will be the one this time around!

This is the place to put the questions you'd like to ask a bard.

Update: Very cool news to share! On 2/26 (updated, postponed from 2/24) I'll be talking to Chris Pierson and Meghan Rodberg of the Turbine Inc. The Lord of the Rings Online team! Chris is the Loremaster of the game, and Meghan is the senior community manager. Feel free to pose specific questions about MMO's and about the transition from literature to game!

[andybear]

1. Game Designer- When creating a game and its gear do you consciously design one or two pieces of equipment which are far and away superior to the rest, or do you try and have a balance in your weapons so that all styles of character can be on the same level?

2. Game Designer- Do you look to design weapons based on previous ideas that you have seen either in literature or in previous games, or is it to you to come up with original weapons which will earn their own fame?

3. Bard- How important was gear to audiences in your time? Did people believe that special gear, say that was wielded by Achilles or Diomedes, held special powers or gave its owner special abilities in combat?

[Mike Stamatis]

1) (somewhat similar to previous questions) When coming up with new gear, how important is the name of the gear? Do you think it adds an epic effect to name a spear Gungir, or a shield Aegis? Or do you think it's an easy way out of creating an original name?

2) In an MMO type of game, do you think it's plausible to have a single best weapon? Should there be an end-all-be-all or should there be weapons with different stats to suit different roles?

3) Some developers use reskins for the models of multiple pieces of gear. Is this just an issue of laziness/convenience? Perhaps limits of technology?

[randyjsu]

I'm pretty confused if this is still the place to post questions because there aren't any questions from ethical critique.

Hopefully someone will point me in the right direction if needed.

Questions for developer:
What concepts or topics do you set boundaries and not infuse in your games?
What ethical considerations do you make when developing a game? Is there anything you always consider?
Questions for the bard:
How do you change the song of epics without changing too much the characters or meaning meant to be portrayed?