Every month we bring you an exclusive Q&A with a member of the Horizons Development team. This month we spoke with Steve Escalante, Director of Marketing & Business Development.

Can you explain exactly what you do as Director of Marketing & Business Development?

As Director of Marketing I assist Atari in planning and strategizing the marketing mix. Most of the assets, Q&As, interviews, trailers, etc. run through my team and me. All of the merchandising falls to me as well. Things like the Strategy Guide, Fan Clubs, and action figures would be some examples. Most of the contract negotiations start with me with finals being passed to James and David. Some of the business development roles have brought me out to Europe and Asia to find partners in these markets, look for opportunities, understand distribution and strategies there, and ways to grow Artifact Entertainment.

How did you get started in the gaming industry?

I was a founder of a small development studio in Colorado called Maximum Charisma Studios. We self published an MMO called Fighting Legends that did not do well. Artifact picked me up shortly there after.

What’s an average day in the life of Steve Escalante like?

I generally get in the office around 8:30-9:00. Most of my mornings are filled with conference calls with Atari, our European hosting partner Game Network, or any of the many partners we work with (hosting, billing, merchandising, etc.). These typically end around lunchtime. I get an occasional call from some of the third party websites. I skip lunch; touch base with my web master (Noel Graham) and marketing artist (Fil Worobey) to make sure we are still on track with our current plans. Todd Jones is the man for our trailers. There is typically a trailer in production 24/7, so he and I discuss where he is and what he needs. Throughout this day I am working with the merchandising partners, making sure they have the art assets and content they need. Screenshot creation is always a bear, but Fil ensures we get some new ones as often as possible. There is typically something to work on in that respect. In the evening I try to get back to the many contracts I am negotiating. This usually entails many long phone calls with these other companies/partners to make sure we are in agreement. Then I write up my changes and send it off to legal. Around 7 pm I get in touch with Asia since it is the start of their day. In between the conversations with the companies in Asia I answer questions Atari has sent me via email and try to get interviews, Q&As and other online features done.

Do you believe that there is more that can be done from a marketing standpoint to expand the awareness of Horizons to the gaming community?

There is always more work to be done. Massive multiplayer games never stop the marketing machine. Atari is working very closely with us to ensure we have a smooth launch and a solid marketing strategy. They are doing a great job with the marketing plans which you all will see come to fruition soon.

Can you conquer our fears and explain why there is seemingly so little buzz surrounding Horizons?

I am not sure that I can conquer your fears or not, but I will say we are extremely pleased with the size of our user base. We were voted MMORPG of E3 by a few sites, the number of beta tester signups is very positive and yet the main marketing engine has not even started.

Will Horizons be shipped with a manual or will the manual be an online resource?

Both. The manual in the box will make sure you are in the game and have an understanding how to play. The online manual will be one of your greater allies, as it will be updated consistently and contain more information.

What will Horizons do to attract role-players?

Our team has implemented many role-playing features in the game without having to dedicate it as a role-playing server. Moving forward however, we do have plans to launch role-playing servers that will allow players to explore the richness of their race and the schools they are associated to. The world lends itself to a role-playing environment with the undead horde always looking to get an edge up over the player base. Players will have to respond to this threat in either combat or community aspects not seen in current RPGs.

Have you experienced any work heavier and harder at Artifact Entertainment than when you were preparing for E3 2003?

Yes, my daily activities. E3 is certainly a challenge to get off the ground, organized and executed well. It requires months of planning and design, more so than other projects I work on. The daily activities to actually launch a game can be daunting at times. When you consider it takes years in order to get a product out of development and onto the shelves it could be argued that launching a game is heavier and harder. :)

While Atari is preparing to market Horizons are you their main contact?

Atari has two main points of contact myself and producer Steve Snow. Steve is the more critical contact person in this regard due to his overall responsibilities with the project. I mainly interface with Atari with respects to marketing, sales, and business opportunities.

If you were to play a character in Horizons which race would you play and why?

I have played many but have not gravitated to any one race in particular. I have two Gnomes, one Half-Giant, a Sslik and a Fiend. Sorry for not marrying myself to one race here, but I do enjoy playing each of these since they have their own special abilities associated to their race and schools I have joined.

Since Atari has become the publisher of Horizons how do you feel your involvement within Artifact Entertainment has changed?

My role on the marketing side has changed to one of consultation rather than execution and implementation. I still handle most of the online activities for Horizons. My involvement with the business side of Artifact has been increased due to the over whelming task associated to hosting, licensing and growing the company. With Atari as our marketing partner it has allowed me to take on more in my business development roles.

What marketing can we look forward to in the next month?

We have print ads already hitting in Computer Gaming World and Dragon Magazine. Expect to see more of this moving forward with ads spanning across ore magazines in the months to follow. Our online initiatives should be taking effect soon, which you will see more of. We are gearing up with all the press for interviews, previews, Q&As, etc so you can expect to get reports from these experiences and events.

From a gamer's standpoint - What is your favorite aspect of Horizons?

Geesh. I know this will sound like a sales pitch but there is quite a bit to put in here so I will narrow it down to two very specific aspects of game play. The first is the spell effects. Awesome. Horizons gives me the feeling that I am blasting the vile cur I am battling and give me a feel good when I am victorious. And then of course the trade skills. I like the ability to make the things I want in order to improve my character. If I don’t have the means, then the player built economy is robust enough to support my desires in purchasing new equipment, techniques, tools or weapons. I don’t know how else to explain it other than it doesn’t feel heavy or forced. Its all based on choice of how I want to spend my time advancing my character. And what’s great for me is that the advancement is not necessarily tied to just killing monsters, but improving my character in order to accomplish other community based goals.

From a technical standpoint - What is your favorite aspect of Horizons?

The “flocking” of the monsters. So the other day I was cruising around with my Gnome Mage, happily blasting away all the zombies and skeletons that crossed my path. I leisurely attacked another, only to be surprised that he was part of a much larger group of monsters that had banded together. Well a few moments later I was engulfed in fire, had numerous arrows sticking out of my torso, and was being cleaved by a two-handed sword the size of my leg. Dieing like that might upset some people, but it was a great surprise… and I died well.

Has the cost of the monthly subscription been finalized?

Yes it has. We will be launching with a $12.95 per month subscription fee with varying degrees of cost benefits associated to three (3), six (6) and twelve (12) month subscriptions pre-paid.

In your opinion, what makes Horizons unique?

Three things really. Playable dragons, the trade/economy system and the community building. Dragons are just fun and exciting. The trade and player run economy system is very robust and makes me feel as though I am a contributor to other player’s experiences. I love the consignment system where players can buy my goods whether I am online of offline. And community building has never been done in this scale. Player owned plots, buildings, community built empire structures that effect the surrounding area in some way when built, controlling that plot as you see fit… it certainly is a distinguishing feature.

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