Back Ground Courtesy of Sniper Elite
In the Scope
-DrFajitas
Maj. Gen HellDuke - DOTA 2 EU Commanding Officer
Tell us a little about yourself and your time in TAW.
I have been in TAW for close to 6 years. Started out in Company of Heroes Online (turned into Company of Heroes during Vanguard). Once it launched I became the Division Officer. I kind of stuck to TFO positions ever since with a few intermissions (including a year long hiatus from TAW). I took the position of Corps Lt. Commander in 2nd Corps about 4 years in, and then a year ago I was asked to take over 6th as the Corps Commander. Due to a misunderstanding I had to give up my position. In total I have been in Corps Command for a little over 2 years. While I will have to take another break soon due to time constraints and changes in life, currently at the urging of my former TFO staff I am staying in TAW and helping as much as I can in other roles. Naturally, once time permits I will look to returning.
You have been in TAW since 2010, what would you say in your experience keep’s TAW relevant in todays gaming community environment?
For one, it’s sheer size. I don’t think you will find many communities as large as this. We have so many games in TAW and a solid process to bring new games, so we should not have many problems growing even further! The base command structure is not unique for TAW, but the size of the community shows how sturdy it is. There have been several incidents that would have decimated smaller communities, but we continue to stand strong. Otherwise, we emphasise communication and fair and mature play. I would imagine a great deal of players are looking for something like that and a community that has been standing for such a long time would be a good bet to find that.
In your experience, what is your philosophy on leadership and how has it evolved since you joined
TAW?
In leadership positions we tend to work with incidents between players. It’s important for leadership to be firm, however I have learnt that it takes work to reach fairness. Consistency is also important. Having been on the receiving end of a decision lacking in both has made believe that it’s even crucial. Other than that, all my previous TFO can tell you that my motto is “communication, communication, communication”. This is something I have developed rapidly when working with VERMGUY. I feel that if you fail in communication then all your consistency and fairness will go down the drain.
If you had a crystal ball, what would you like to see in TAW’s future?
TAW is a very stable organisation. The changes that happen are generally more of the same or are a reaction to what is currently going on. Since I am in the IT field myself, the only thing I could think of is probably a new website. Will we get one? When? What will it look like? What administrative woes are going to be alleviated? Otherwise I feel confident that TAW can, despite many problems it may face, remain strong and grow.
What advice would you give to somebody considering a leadership position in TAW?
Be prepared for politics from TFO and up. There will be disagreements, unreasonable decisions and requests. You have to be diplomatic, consistent and fair, however you must also keep an open mind to different approaches and opinions. It’s a hard balance to strike as you must also be prepared to stand your ground. Working in a team is the norm here so I will go back to my motto: “communication, communication, communication”. Be clear and provide as much detail as possible. There is nothing worse than hearing of a decision because they did not have all the information (as far as you know) or having something “read between the lines”. If find yourself concerned about what is being implied, stop, think it over and ask for clarification. Reading between the lines should never happen.
On a lighter side, can you tell us what was your favorite game in TAW and Why?
Well, Dota 2 is currently my favorite game. Regardless of how much I play it, that’s the one game I feel like I can always come back to. It falls nicely in that small area where it’s familiar and not too hard to get back into but at the same time something will be different every game. While I love FPS, MMO, RTS and RPG games, when I think of returning to some of those, I just think “Meh… Would be nice to play, but not now”. What about Dota? Always “yeah, sure, I’m up for a game” (ends up being more than one most of the time)
What is your favorite thing about TAW as a community?
My favorite thing has to be seeing all the passionate people that take up the position and in all honestly want to make this a better place. It’s a community by players for players. Once we fall into the mindset of “just keep things going” I feel we lose part of the reason we came here. So to me, finding that spark in other people is thoroughly enjoyable. It’s quite the joy when you get an enthusiastic and charismatic person into their first battalion level position or even better, get them up into TFO or CC.
I have been in TAW for close to 6 years. Started out in Company of Heroes Online (turned into Company of Heroes during Vanguard). Once it launched I became the Division Officer. I kind of stuck to TFO positions ever since with a few intermissions (including a year long hiatus from TAW). I took the position of Corps Lt. Commander in 2nd Corps about 4 years in, and then a year ago I was asked to take over 6th as the Corps Commander. Due to a misunderstanding I had to give up my position. In total I have been in Corps Command for a little over 2 years. While I will have to take another break soon due to time constraints and changes in life, currently at the urging of my former TFO staff I am staying in TAW and helping as much as I can in other roles. Naturally, once time permits I will look to returning.
You have been in TAW since 2010, what would you say in your experience keep’s TAW relevant in todays gaming community environment?
For one, it’s sheer size. I don’t think you will find many communities as large as this. We have so many games in TAW and a solid process to bring new games, so we should not have many problems growing even further! The base command structure is not unique for TAW, but the size of the community shows how sturdy it is. There have been several incidents that would have decimated smaller communities, but we continue to stand strong. Otherwise, we emphasise communication and fair and mature play. I would imagine a great deal of players are looking for something like that and a community that has been standing for such a long time would be a good bet to find that.
In your experience, what is your philosophy on leadership and how has it evolved since you joined
TAW?
In leadership positions we tend to work with incidents between players. It’s important for leadership to be firm, however I have learnt that it takes work to reach fairness. Consistency is also important. Having been on the receiving end of a decision lacking in both has made believe that it’s even crucial. Other than that, all my previous TFO can tell you that my motto is “communication, communication, communication”. This is something I have developed rapidly when working with VERMGUY. I feel that if you fail in communication then all your consistency and fairness will go down the drain.
If you had a crystal ball, what would you like to see in TAW’s future?
TAW is a very stable organisation. The changes that happen are generally more of the same or are a reaction to what is currently going on. Since I am in the IT field myself, the only thing I could think of is probably a new website. Will we get one? When? What will it look like? What administrative woes are going to be alleviated? Otherwise I feel confident that TAW can, despite many problems it may face, remain strong and grow.
What advice would you give to somebody considering a leadership position in TAW?
Be prepared for politics from TFO and up. There will be disagreements, unreasonable decisions and requests. You have to be diplomatic, consistent and fair, however you must also keep an open mind to different approaches and opinions. It’s a hard balance to strike as you must also be prepared to stand your ground. Working in a team is the norm here so I will go back to my motto: “communication, communication, communication”. Be clear and provide as much detail as possible. There is nothing worse than hearing of a decision because they did not have all the information (as far as you know) or having something “read between the lines”. If find yourself concerned about what is being implied, stop, think it over and ask for clarification. Reading between the lines should never happen.
On a lighter side, can you tell us what was your favorite game in TAW and Why?
Well, Dota 2 is currently my favorite game. Regardless of how much I play it, that’s the one game I feel like I can always come back to. It falls nicely in that small area where it’s familiar and not too hard to get back into but at the same time something will be different every game. While I love FPS, MMO, RTS and RPG games, when I think of returning to some of those, I just think “Meh… Would be nice to play, but not now”. What about Dota? Always “yeah, sure, I’m up for a game” (ends up being more than one most of the time)
What is your favorite thing about TAW as a community?
My favorite thing has to be seeing all the passionate people that take up the position and in all honestly want to make this a better place. It’s a community by players for players. Once we fall into the mindset of “just keep things going” I feel we lose part of the reason we came here. So to me, finding that spark in other people is thoroughly enjoyable. It’s quite the joy when you get an enthusiastic and charismatic person into their first battalion level position or even better, get them up into TFO or CC.