An Interview with Tom Mannino

Our newest interview is with the elusive Tom Mannino, host of the Twin Skies Video Blogs. He gave us some great behind-the-scenes info, updates on where Ollie has been hiding, and an insider scoop on what it's like to be Nerf-attacked by Donna.

TSH: Hey there Tom, thanks for the interview! How are you?

Tom: I am radical, thanks for asking!

So, when did you start working at Meteor Games?

Technically, never. I haven't actually really ever really started working. I just spend my days all day keeping tabs on the Baby Salabounders and feeding the floating kittens. Please don't tell Adam and Donna, though. They will surely fire me. [Mid-February!]

You were at one time a Neopets employee, right? When and how long did you work there, and what did you do?

I was, indeed, known as the mighty Piratezug. I worked there from 2002 until around 2005. I was a multimedia developer, and did random things. I worked on some Neopets original games like Advert Attack, and my pride and joy, Freaky Factory. Lots of sponsored games, too. (Yuck.) I also did a lot of work helping set up games for the translation team to translate them into a million languages.

As the cross-meteor, err, media developer for Twin Skies, what is your daily routine like at Meteor Games?

I start my day by sitting down at my desk, taking my two vitamins and getting caught up with what work got done on the previous day, in the various departments. Then, I am all over the place, as I tend to juggle a few different projects and tasks, depending on the day. Helping with some of the flash games, working with the artists and animators to make sure the assets for the games are getting done and are awesome, thinking about video blog stuff, and meetings. Since what I do involves every aspect and department of the company, I spend a good amount of my time answering questions, or finding answers to questions for other people. I also have a few flash games of my own, like Junkworm and a few other secret ones that I poke at when needed. I also love peeking at the artists and animators to see them work their magic, as well as talk with Aaron about game-designy stuff.

What's your favorite part of coming to work each day?

It's such a positive environment. There's so many creative and talented people that work here, so many positive attitudes, everyone is really excited about making this happen. There's a lot of work to get done, so the positive vibes really help. Knowing you guys are out there, watching and waiting patiently is really inspiring as well. In short, my favorite part of the day is knowing that I am coming to work to help make an awesome game.

What's your current project, and what can you tell us about it?

Most of my time recently has been spent making sure the flash part of the PAX demo is the best, most awesome and exciting thing in the world. It's the first big example of the kind of cross-media technology we'll be using in our game in the future, so we want to make sure it's impressive and awesome. As I've said in the video blog, the stuff I'm working on is hard to explain. It's just something you have to see for yourself! Unfortunately, my next project is the tippy-toppest of secrets!

Who do you plan on interviewing next in your informative, and recently hilarious (we loved the Adam and Donna one!), video blogs? (Psst... try and get Ollie to do one!)

The public has spoken, they want to see see Ollie. Actually, now that I think of it, I haven't seen him in a while... He must be hiding somewhere... ??? I'll have to look behind the T-Rex. We have a lot of fun in the office, but we want to make sure we show you guys the progress with the game, as well.

Did the Nerf attack from Donna hurt? :(

Yes. She knocked out two of my teeth and gave me a concussion. I'm very sorry and I will never, ever bother her again. Actually, it didn't hurt at all. I think it hurt her more then it hurt me.

How frequent are the Nerf wars? Do you guys have organized teams? :O

The nerf wars have subsided.... For now. Tensions are high, however. It's a bit of an arms race, really. People steal all the nerf darts and horde/hide them, which yields a huge ambush, and then people gobble up the darts and the whole process repeats itself. We're all waiting for the nerf nuke to get to the office. As for teams, it's every meteorite for his/herself.

How did your costume fittings go? (Pictures!!)

Very well, indeed. You can see most of my costume in my apology video on the YouTube channel.

How many people in the office are going to PAX? (And will we be getting any video blogs from PAX? *hint hint*)

If you count Salabounders as people, then a little over a thousand. We are hoping to get lots of footage from our adventures from PAX. No promises of course, we might just spend the weekend playing video games.

Any last words?

I like cats!

This article was written by: TSH Staff