Interview #2: Staff member Tom "Spetsnaz" Nezvigin has an exclusive "sit-down" with Chris Scaglione, Associate Producer of Crave Entertainment. Chris, a.k.a. Zmoe, is a popular figure in the Global Operations community. You can find him on the official Global Ops forums, answering all the tough questions and keeping us "in-play" with what's in store for Global Operations.

1. Hi, can you please tell us your name?

Chris Scaglione (aka ZMoe)

2. If you don't mind, may you please tell us a little bit about yourself?

I'm just a regular schmoe that's always loved to play videogames.

3. What does your position in the gaming industry require you to do?

I work with producers to track project status, create milestones, and insure the development team has everything required to finish tasks in a timely manner. I work with the developers, and designers to establish and maintain content organization and production processes for product development. I organize and help track game data, I'm responsible for the flow of game assets from creation to implementation, and I administrate the product website. I work with QA a lot tracking and confirming bugs and bug fixes. I supply media to the Marketing department for use in online and print advertising. And when required, I go offsite to gather assets for the projects (for example: took photos of guns for use in Global Operations).

4. What excited you most about Global Operations when Barking Dog Studios began its developement?

You mean other than being able to shoot that Phenom guy? I'd have to say the most exciting thing for me about Global Operations, from the start of the project all the way up to the release (and even now, after) has been the Recon specialty and the teamwork that the game promotes. A lot of people say "It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game." Well, if you play as a team, you'll win every time. So you get the best of both worlds. ;)

5. Global Operations is a extraordinary game, but many people are concerned with minimal bugs and details. Are you happy with the final product?

I AM happy with the final product. It's not easy to make a game that's 100% compatible with every PC rig out there, but I think we did pretty good.

6. Ok, so we've all seen the picture of you with the lion on top of you. What's the story?

There was a gun exhibit at the LA Zoo (it was just held there, had nothing to do with the animals) and I went to take some photos of the Stoner96 for the game, and the people I met up with let me "play" with the lion seen in the photo. At first I was sitting next to it on the floor, then it licked my face and put its paw around me and that brought me to the ground. It was just playing, but yes, I was scared (as if you can't tell in the photo). The front paws had been declawed, but that thing was damn strong!

7. Do you spend alot of time playing Global Operations? What server(s) do you usually play on?

I play as much as I can. Even when I'm at home. I love the game and almost can't live without a Recon. ;) I tend to play on the Crave server a lot just because I'm the admin. I try to jump on Big Brother's House, HomeLAN, and Tassof's servers once in a while.

8. What's your favorite Class and Weapon to use? What do you suggest for the average n00bie?

For me, the Recon kicks ass and even when I'm not a Recon, the SP2340 is my gun of choice. Yes, it's just a pistol, but once you're compfortable with a gun, you can get pretty good with it.

For new players, I'd recommend the Commando specialty. It's well rounded and has access to a good array of weapons. They won't have to spend a lot of time figuring out how to use the LSD, Medkit, or Remote C4 charges. They can just jump in the game. Then, when they've gotten a little more use to it, and have seen how other players use the Recon etc., they can start trying out the other specialties.

9. For all of the gamers that are a little bit unfamiliar with Global Operations, can you please tell them what this game has to offer? Why should they choose this game over the rest?

Two words... Fun. Teamwork. (or maybe that's 3...does teamwork count as 1 word or 2?) ;P

There's no better feeling when you're on a team that works together to accomplish the goal of the mission. There are a lot of other games that require players to use teamwork to win, but most of them are more like playing a simulation game. I think GO is a happy medium between pure action (ala Quake3 Arena) and team based combat (ala Rainbow6).

10. If you could be any breed of dog, what breed of dog would you be?

That big one that could fly. You know, the one from "The Never Ending Story".

11. Any final thoughts/comments?

Every day I more and more want a CBR900RR. Anyone wanna buy my FZR600?

12. On behalf of the Inside Gamers Network and the many dedicated fans of Global Operations, I thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Are there any final thoughts you would like to add to conclude interview?

When you're playing Global Operations, PLEASE!!!...for the love of Cancerboy, communicate with your team.

(Note* Cancerboy is the name that Chris Mair from Barkind Dog uses in game and on our forums)

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