BioWare Introduces Live Team

Straight from my inbox:

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – May 1st, 2002 – BioWare Corp. today announced the formation of the BioWare Live Team, a group of employees dedicated to supporting the fans of our games, the BioWare community. The Live Team’s responsibilities include the creation and distribution of game patches, technical support, and any additional content that enhance the depth and functionality of a title after its release. The BioWare Live Team is also responsible for the creation and maintenance of the BioWare Communities that have formed around our titles. The Live Team ’s first project is the Neverwinter Nights™ Community Site, which acts as a hub for fans to meet, discuss, and coordinate the development of additional content for Neverwinter Nights™. “Supporting our fans is our top priority,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, joint CEO of BioWare Corp. “The BioWare Live Team is tasked with understanding what our fans want, and with creating and maintaining top-quality content for our games post-release, ensuring that our fans have the best gaming experience possible, for as long as possible.” “With broadband Internet connections becoming widely available and affordable, multi-player gaming is becoming increasingly popular, and online fan communities are even more important to a gamers overall experience with a title,” said Dr. Greg Zeschuk, joint CEO of BioWare Corp. “Beginning with Neverwinter Nights™, the BioWare Live Team is adding a new level of support for our audience – and our fan community.”

BioWare Live Team Bios:

Derek French
Position: Producer, Live Team

Born and raised in Edmonton, Derek French graduated from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology with a diploma in Computer Systems Technology. After spending some time as a systems administrator for various companies in Edmonton, Derek was hired at BioWare as a Line Producer for MDK™2 for the PC.

Function on Live Team: Responsible for overseeing all work of the Live Team, as well as coordination of the Neverwinter Nights™ Community Site and ongoing maintenance of the Neverwinter Nights™ game.

Andrew Gardner
Position: Live Team Programmer

Andrew Gardner received a B.Sc. in Computing Science from the University of Alberta in 1998. Before joining BioWare, Andrew worked as a developer of protein and DNA sequence analysis software. He was pleased to bring his experience with cross-platform communications programming and customer support to BioWare and the world of electronic entertainment earlier this year.

Function on Live Team: Andrew has been working on the Linux port of Neverwinter Nights™ as a Live Team Programmer.

Robin Mayne
Position: Web Developer

After obtaining a BSc in Honours Genetics, Robin Mayne gravitated towards web development and he has been working as web developer and team lead on various projects for about 3 or 4 years now. Other achievements to date include building several houses, showing horses, swimming competitively, playing and recording guitar/drums/bass with several bands, cloning various strains of bacteria, and conducting genetic experiments with corn embryos.

Function on Live Team: Developing and maintaining all of BioWare’s web sites and web applications, both internal and external.

Dave McGruther
Position: Client Care Specialist

A 24-year-old veteran of customer support, Dave graduated from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology with a certificate in Network Administration. Having performed telephone support for major Internet service providers, he now finds himself handling various customer support issues with BioWare and its products.

Function on Live Team: To coordinate support between BioWare and the official support provided by Infogrames.

Jay Watamaniuk
Position: Community Manager

Jay Watamaniuk’s skills include extensive experience in Public Relations, several years as a writer, a Prefectural Advisor, and an avid game fan. Additionally, Jay has been actively involved in Edmonton’s Live Role Playing Society, where he gained knowledge and experience in both role-playing and community development. He has also worked in Japan, in the Ministry of Compulsory Education as a Prefectural Advisor on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme.

Function on Live Team: Managing communication between BioWare and its fan communities, as well as production of BioWare’s community websites.

Craig Welburn
Position: Live Team Programmer

Originally born in Edmonton, Craig Welburn has traveled the world, living in England and various Canadian cities. Craig holds two degrees, a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Calgary and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from Simon Fraser University. Craig previous worked at Electronic Arts both as a Quality Assurance Project Lead and a Software Engineer.

Function on Live Team: Implementing the automated auto-patching/updating system for Neverwinter Nights™, as well as various other applications to enhance fans’ experiences with Neverwinter Nights™.

Duleepa Wijayawardhana
Position: Web Developer

Originally from Sri Lanka, Duleepa Wijayawardhana calls St. John’s, Newfoundland home and is one-half of BioWare’s web team. A graduate of the Memorial University of Newfoundland with an MA in History, Duleepa has been working on web and Internet-related projects since 1993 and has long been an avid gamer.

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