Spotlight on Staff/Spotlight on Isten

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"...but personally I just think it'd be fun to screw around with peoples' heads." -- Isten

SGM of Teams, Training & QC (Chairman - Ministry of Mystery)

I was a GameHost and Sage for a year or two before becoming a GM in early 2000. I began my GM career by co-managing the GameHost program and then inherited the GM hiring/training program a year or so later.

Nowadays my team oversees the GameHost program, the GM training program, the Mentor program, the board moderator program and QC.

Where were you born?
Massachusetts. It's enough to make a baby cry.
Where do you currently live?
Still residing in the Socialist Republic of Massachusetts. Viva la revolucion!
Do you have any pets/kids/both?
No children, but currently I own an African Grey parrot and a cat.
What is your current occupation?
Business owner
What did you want to be while you were growing up?
For a while I flirted with becoming a lawyer, but the world really didn't need any more of those.
Favorite TV shows?
Hmmm... The Sopranos was some of the best television I have ever watched. Hell's Kitchen is a guilty pleasure of mine, but I really don't watch a whole lot of television.
Favorite actors/actresses?
Sean Connery, Paul Newman, Al Pacino, James Gandolfini and Johnny Depp are among some of my favorite actors. As far as actresses go, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Meryl Streep and Jodie Foster rarely disappoint.
But all of the above actors and actresses must bow down before Bruce Campbell. He's the man.
Favorite musicians/bands?
Choosing a favorite is impossible because I enjoy too wide a spectrum of music. I suppose if I was cornered and told to select just one I would choose Bruce Springsteen as a favorite; I may not like some of his more experimental albums or agree with his politics, but even though he's pushing 60 he can still put on concerts that put most to shame.
I enjoy everything ranging from cheesy hair metal to sleep-inducing Celtic tunes, so you really don't want me to start rattling off band titles or we may be here all day. ::g::
Favorite books/authors?
Again, impossible for me to answer since I read a wide range of books. Since this is a GemStone IV interview I guess I'll stay loyal to the genre and select George R.R. Martin as one of the all-time best fantasy authors, and Terry Goodkind as a simple guilty pleasure.
Where did you go to college and what did you study?
Are you kidding? I barely had the patience to finish high school!
Favorite/least favorite job you've ever had?
My favorite job would definitely be breeding gaited horses. If my other businesses didn't demand so much of my time, I'd still be doing that today.
My least favorite job would be GM'ing for Gem… err… wait… forget I said anything. ;)
So far I've always been self-employed, so I don't have a negative job experience to cite. Sorry!
Favorite hobbies?
I'm definitely into gaming - mostly console games, but I'll do some online gaming when the urge strikes. It's hard for me to nail down favorite hobbies though, because I fully embrace the "variety is the spice of life" philosophy.
Favorite foods?
Pizza and Cajun food. Heck, I'd consider moving to Louisiana just for the food.
Favorite board games or computer games?
My family was really into board game, so I've played a LOT during my younger years. I'm not sure if it qualifies as my FAVORITE, but I've probably played Monopoly more than any other game... so I guess that's a safe choice.
Computer games? I've been gaming for so long that picking favorites is a challenge. I'll go old-school and say Wasteland was one of the best computer games ever created. For more recent choices, I enjoyed Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Crackdown quite a bit. At the moment I'm digging Forza Motorsport 2.
Favorite sports/sports teams?
My favorite sport would be boxing, followed by hockey. I don't really follow sports enough to have favorite teams, though.
What would you do with a million dollars?
Piss and moan as I watch Uncle Sam take almost half of it away. ;)
Seriously, if I was given 1 million dollars tomorrow, I would probably donate 10% to charity and re-invest the majority of it either into a new business or real estate.
What three people past or present would you invite to dinner?
Nathan Hale, Edgar Allan Poe and Doc Holliday
What is your favorite quote?
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
Name something you'd like to do before you die.
I'm already pretty content with what I've done so I don't have any real yearnings, but I think it would be fun to take a year's vacation, move to Vegas and live life as a professional gambler. Live the whole Vegas experience 24/7.
What's your favorite acronym?
WT* is an acronym?
Who is your hero or heroine?
There are many past and present figures that I hold a lot of respect for, but I generally don't go so far as to call people heroes. I guess my hero would be my grandfather - he was a major influence in my life.
If you could have any musical group or artist, past or present, play at your birthday party, who would it be?
Geez, since I praised Springsteen's live shows earlier, I kinda painted myself into a corner with this question, didn't I? Actually I'll choose another band entirely: Rammstein. Those Germans know how to put on one hell of a live show.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
The ability to turn invisible. I'm sure there are many honorable reasons why a person would want such an ability, but personally I just think it'd be fun to screw around with peoples' heads. "Driverless" cars... moan in a few houses to convince the owners it's haunted... there are countless Candid Camera opportunities waiting to happen.
And the Zobmondo question
Would you rather...
Have each finger of your dominant hand stuck in the mouth of a bottle (one bottle on each finger) for a year....
Or...
Have your right foot stuck in a bucket for a year?
Wow... what an appealing choice! Well, the bottles would get real annoying real quick, so I guess I'd choose the bucket.
Who knows, maybe it would start a trend. Pay a few cheerleaders and football players to run around school with identical buckets on their feet and call it the new fashion. Before you know it, all the cool kids will be clamoring for a bucket of their very own.
Far-fetched? Bah... I was a child of the 80's. It couldn't be much worse than what we wore back then. ;)

Co-Worker's Not-So-Candid Quotes

  • "Isten's a big picture guy, and while the details are important to him, the end result for both staff and customers is his priority. He's also got this sense of humor that just creeps on you and makes you laugh really hard when you realize it. "
  • "We like to call him "The Man of Action"."
  • "I absolutely love working with him. He is supportive, responsive, candid, and incredibly tolerant of my occasional ranting and raving. When I started GMing, I had a choice of two positions, and I've never regretted that I ended up on Isten's team. He will have to pry me out with a crowbar if he ever hopes to send me elsewhere. :)"
  • "I think maybe he’s in the mafia."
  • "Isten and I have had great discussions, and debates, about what some players think passes for in-genre fashion in GS4!"
  • "All of the modern day GameMasters owe a debt to Isten, as he and his dedicated team serve as guides through the transition into GMhood. It is through them that the fundamental groundwork is laid for all that we do."
  • "Very funny!"
  • "I enjoy working with Isten partly because of his easy, low-key manner, but mostly because of the sense of faith he projects toward me and my abilities. He's never made me feel like anything I wanted to do was something I couldn't accomplish."
  • "One word: patience!"