Today we kick off our Meet the Team blog series, a dedicated space to learn more about the developers behind Fleet Command. Let’s start with Avery, who stands at the cockpit of Game Design. You probably heard of him during our Commander’s Hub Podcast.
So what’s your role inside the team?
I’m a Lead Game Designer on the team, with a focus on game Systems. Basically, I crunch numbers and work in Excel a lot. We have three Lead Designers overall, two of which are Systems-oriented. The third heads up the Narrative team.
What is it that you love about the game and the franchise?
I love in Fleet Command how each server has a community of players that make up the rest of the galaxy you inhabit. Interacting with other players feels more like an MMO and keeps the game eternally fresh.
Star Trek is wonderful in how it explores the human element through humans (and aliens) exploring space. We capture that the best we can with all the missions and narrative experiences in Fleet Command, and it’s a privilege to work on a game that gets to explore and play with that, even a little bit.
What are you currently working on?
Currently working on the Next Big Thing™ for Fleet Command. Even though it’s months away, I’m excited to bring players a new experience and expand the gameplay of STFC.
If you were a Star Trek officer, Who would you be and why?
Reginald Barclay is my spirit animal. To me he represents the insecure nerd in all of us. Watching him I’m always confronted with the uncomfortable reality of, “ugh, why am I like this,” as I see too much of myself in his insecurities. But every once in a while he gets to display what he’s really made of and save the day.
Well that’s the fantasy, at least!
What are your favorite ships from Star Trek?
Hmm so when I was younger and played only munchkin characters in D&D I would have answered USS Defiant (Sao Paulo, technically). But now that I’m older it’s a toss-up between D’deridex-class (I love its menacing profile) and HMS Bounty (cuz Whales is my favorite movie).
That’s technically 3 answers – is that considered cheating? But there are so many incredible ships in Star Trek!
What are your favorite crew?
I PvP a lot so you can’t go wrong with Yuki + Khan + (Marcus / Kang / Charvanek).