Every month we bring you an exclusive Q&A with a member of the Horizons Development team. This month we spoke with Monika Carlson, Director of Customer Service and Quality Assurance.

Can you explain exactly what you do as Director of Customer Service and Quality Assurance?

I oversee both the Customer Service and Quality Assurance departments to ensure that Artifact Entertainment provides our customers with a quality product that is backed up with superior customer service and support.

How did you begin your career in the gaming industry?

This is actually my first position in the gaming industry, but I am not a newcomer to software support and services. I’m a mechanical engineer by degree, and have previously worked in the software industry.

What's an average day in the life of Monika Carlson like?

I usually get into the office between 8-8:30am, coffee in hand! I start off by touching base with the World Admins and the QA Lead to get the morning update on the state of the game and the performance of the shards. After reviewing the metrics I usually touch base with my counterpart (Luca) at Digital Brothers who will be managing the European Customer Service department. After he and I have completed our morning updates, I go through the support inbox to make sure that all issues have been assigned and are being looked into. I then tackle my own emails (where do they all come from?! Jk) and make sure that everyone’s questions are answered. Throughout the course of the day I get together with different members of the Customer Service staff to ensure that all of the beta participants are being assisted, and that we continuing to make progress on setting up our Customer Support package. Most days I also have conference calls with Atari to ensure that the beta process is going smoothly and that we are settling any issues that have come up. If I have time I drop into chat or read some of the postings on the boards to keep up to date with the thoughts of the community.

How many World Administrators, World Masters, and Customer Service Representatives will there be per server?

For launch we will have a team of 6 World Administrators, 12 World Masters, and 18 Customer Service Representatives. The World Masters will be shard specific since they will be involved with daily events that take place on the shard, but the World Admins and CSR’s will be pooled to support the various shards.

Could you explain what the hiring process is for World Masters and Customer Service Representatives, and the criteria required for those positions?

Ideally the World Masters are individuals who have extensive gaming experience, and prior experience supporting a MMORPG. The World Masters will have a substantial in-game presence and need to be advanced users who understand not only how to play the game, but why people enjoy playing these games, and how we as a department can ensure their happiness in game. While it does not hurt for the CSR’s to have gaming experience, it is not required. For the CSR group I am interested in finding more individuals who have either customer service or technical support experience. The CSR’s are the front-line of Customer Service, and are often the first Artifact Entertainment employees that a player will meet.

Do you plan on allowing experienced players to volunteer their time to assist with customer service?

There has been discussion about a volunteer program but at this time I have no plans for one at this time. It may be reconsidered in the future.

Has the Customer Service team learned how to use Horizons as quickly as anticipated?

The Customer Service team has exceeded my expectations in regards to learning how to play Horizons. They also work well as a team and I often hear different hints and workarounds to issues being shouted over cube walls from one team member to another.

Has the support system been fully implemented or is it still under construction?

The Customer Service solution is still under construction. The package we purchased, ServiceTraq, was first customized by Cyberspace HQ to meet our specific requirements. Currently it is undergoing internal optimizations and integrations with the game to provide a seamless interface between Horizons and the support package.

What is your goal for response turnaround time to customer inquiries?

The sooner the better! From a consumer standpoint I understand that response time is critical to customer happiness. I understand that nobody wants to sit in a queue for an endless amount of time waiting to ask a two-minute question. We are providing a service to our customers and I would like my staff to ensure any interruption or issue with that service is dealt with on a timely manner.

What are some of the tools and functions that Customer Service Representatives and World Masters will have available to them?

The Customer Service staff will have the ability to review all account and character information as soon as a player requests support. They will various tools available to them to help players in-game and out of game to fix/affect a character’s inventory, location, etc. They will also have tools available to them that can be used to investigate and take action with harassment issues and any other issues that are in violation of the Horizons player policies.

How comprehensive is the “knowledge base" at this point?

The knowledge base has a good deal of information at this point, and it continues to grow each day. We have gathered the content from internal documents, as well as from questions asked and answered among the beta community. We realize that if one person asks us a question, most likely there are 10 people out there with the same question that haven’t come to us yet. We’d like to provide as much information as possible to the player base so they have the opportunity to help themselves if desired.

Will Horizons launch with a paper manual or will the "knowledge base" be used as the manual?

Horizons will have a paper manual provided by Atari that will be useful in getting a new player started with the game. Once someone has started playing though, they should refer to the knowledge base for more in-depth questions and answers.

How do you plan to prevent staff favoritism?

We will have different systems in place to monitor the interaction between the Customer Service staff and the customers. I will monitor their activities to ensure that no unfair advantage is given to any player by a member of my staff.

What difference will there be between the customer service provided on a normal server and a role play server?

There will be different player polices that apply on the role-play server. These policies will be publicized before launch.

Are there plans for a “stuck” function so that players may fix their character’s position or will staff intervention be required?

Players can use the Recall function if they get ‘stuck’ somewhere in the world.

How do you perceive the work-flow to change between beta and launch?

I think we will go from very busy to incredibly busy. I think that the type of issues we will be contacted about will change between beta and launch, but the volume of questions/issues will only increase.

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

Aside from the beautiful Adamantium armor, I love the social aspect of the game. I enjoy talking to people in game as much as I do in real life, and the ease with which I can communicate with others in the game is great.

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

The engineer in me has to say that I’m amazed by the complexity of the server structure and the way in which hundreds of servers can keep track of thousands of players and other items on the shard. I find it truly amazing.

In your opinion, what makes Horizons unique?

The incredible Customer Service department of course!

What's the oddest problem that has happened in your department to date?

Oddest problem? How about odd occurrences? :o) My two favorite odd moments to date are: 1 – the day an unnamed AE staff member was running around the Customer Service department with an Easter basket on his head yelling “I’m wearing my Patching helmet” and 2 – The day I heard one of the World Masters yell out that they saw maggots in town … and I realized that now that I work here comments like that are not out of place. Anything else odd is just amusing and part of the job.

[ Return to Horizons Interview Index ]

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