Meet Hi-Rez: Duke

Today we feature the third part of our interview series Meet Hi-Rez: our interview with HiRezDuke, who is Hi-Rez's Community Manager and Social Media Coordinator! You can follow Duke on Twitter and check out Lightning Round, a webshow that showcases content creators that Duke has been working on.

 

How and when did you join the Hi-Rez team?

Duke: About 6 months after the launch of Global Agenda, I contributed to the community and bugged Stew enough to get an interview at the studio. At first, most of my time was spent on the lighter side of technical support, but I worked more and more toward Community Management.

 

What is your primary role within Hi-Rez?

Duke: Recently, most of my focus has been on social media initiatives like posting news & events, private messages (TONS), and of course giveaways! I am still very much involved in Community Management, but most of it is behind the scenes work now.

 

What’s your usual day like at Hi-Rez?

Duke: I come into the office and make a point to harass Gavin and Gabe before doing anything else. They sit near me, and it is as important to their day as it is to mine. Once I have completed this most productive part of my day, I check out all of the Smite Facebook private messages to point people in the direction of the information they need. I verify that our free promotions on Twitter and Facebook are still running properly. Throughout the day, I respond to emails from community members and coworkers, check out discussion boards like /r/Smite and other community-run sites, and many times I join HiRezAlex in the playtest room to record for the next official video release. I contribute to some recurring video projects as well.

 

What’s your favorite part about working at Hi-Rez?

Duke: Casual dress code for every day that ends in Y.

 

What were your expectations for Smite when you first started?

Duke: I really was not sure what to expect. The devs were trying something that was not new to any of them, but it was new to the public. A MOBA that requires people to aim basic attacks? A camera that is locked on the character? While it was fun to play in-house, I was anxious to see what people thought outside the studio. Needless to say, many of us have been pleasantly surprised by how excited players and spectators are about SMITE.

 

How would you say Smite has evolved until now?

Duke: Oddly. But I mean that in the best way possible. On one hand, the game has become more similar to other MOBAs (Conquest map revisions). On the other hand, we have traveled into mostly uncharted territory for the genre (various game modes that are typically seen in other types of games). Overall, I would say SMITE has evolved from "another one of those MOBA things" into a 3rd person action game with MOBA mechanics. The game has a much broader appeal than I think any of us ever expected.

 

What can we expect from Smite in the future?

Duke: More gods. More items. Bigger tournaments. That's all I can really say about that.

 

If you had the ability to change any one thing within Smite, what would it be?

Duke: I would add Horde Mode to the game because I enjoy difficult PvE encounters. I know. I know. It's a PvP game. Still though. You versus 100 Fire Giants in a map where the floor can be lava anywhere. Amirite? (NOTE: This is not a tease. It's really just something I think would be fun with the Smite cast of characters.)

 

Who’s your favorite god in Smite?

Duke: Vamana. People say we look alike.

 

What’s your favorite game mode?

Duke: Arena. I enjoy chaotic gaming encounters. (See previous comments.)

 

What’s the biggest challenge you face as a Community Manager?

Duke: Holding back information that is not ready for public consumption even though I know most of the community will enjoy it.

 

Tell us about a project you’re working on right now.

Duke: Lightning Round! It's a little web show I've been doing with community content creators.

 

What is, in your mind, the ideal state for the Smite community?

Duke: Honestly, I enjoy a happy medium in all categories. In my experience, fanbois who think we do no wrong are as nonconstructive as insanely negative folks. Having steady growth month-to-month of reasonable fans who can have intellectually honest discussions is my desired happy place for the community.

 

A huge thanks to Duke for taking part in the interview series and thanks to our readers! If you like the interview, you can follow me on Twitter to get updates on my upcoming interviews and content. Thanks!