Producer letter/December 2004

16-Dec-2004 Happy Holidays!

When the holidays come around, as they do every year (no matter how hard I try to stop them), I tend to get a little introspective. I’m prone to ramble on a bit about the things I’m thankful for, and one of the things I’m definitely thankful for is that as the Executive Producer, when I ramble on, people have to listen.

That includes you. Ho, ho, ho.

This year has not been an easy one for us – there are no easy years in game development. We’ve all put a lot of effort, a lot of time, and a lot of heart into this project, and it can be an emotional rollercoaster. For every one thing that we get right on the first try, there are twenty things that require playtesting, debate, argument and iteration. We have a lot to celebrate, but still a lot of work that needs to be done.

Through it all, I have been thankful for a great many things – for this wonderful team that I have the pleasure to work with every day, for the great opportunity we have in working with Dungeons & Dragons, and for the great partners we have in Atari, Hasbro, and Wizards of the Coast, who have been wonderfully supportive of us in creating this innovative and exciting game.

I’m also thankful for all of you, the community, who have influenced and improved this game in ways you’re probably not even aware of. You can’t necessarily see it, but the discussions and debates that start on these forums are continued in our own conference rooms and e-mail. The support you give us keeps us going on rough days. The challenges and questions you pose to us help in keeping us on our creative edge. And the high hopes and expectations that we all share for Dungeons & Dragons Online reminds us of our common ground, and common goals.

As 2004 draws to a close, I just wanted to thank you all for being a part of the DDO community, and hope that you’ll stay with us on through beta and release – 2005 will be a year to remember!

Have a safe and happy holiday season,

Judith Hoffman Executive Producer Dungeons & Dragons Online Turbine Entertainment Software