Quote:Can you give us a brief introduction about who you are and your community?
For those who don't already know of me, my name is James, and I go by the screen name of Mystiko. Those of you with Habbo UK experience may also know me as the owner of one particular fansite.
In April 07, I posted the very first prototype of BittyBay on this forum, and it has spiralled ever since. To date, I am still the sole developer of the BittyBay client, working alongside a great bunch of both talented and hard working individuals.
Quote:Favorite foods? Drinks? Movies? TV shows? Songs?
Food : Garlic mushrooms
Drink : Spring water
Movie : 300
TV Show : LOST
Song : Baba O'Riley (Sorry it's an 'oldie'... First song that came to mind!)
Quote:What would you consider your MMOCC's accomplishments up to this point?
Setting aside that fact that we have a working client and server, I would say an honest, hard working, committed and competant team is the best accomplishment we have achieved.
Finding a team of people to back you, and who possess relevant skills to work together proactively is definately one of the hardest parts about making a MMOCC.
Quote:Any failures your chatting community has faced?
I wouldn't say 'failures' as such. There are definately areas of our community that need to be refined, and these shall of course be rectified over time... but I think the key aspect to remember is that BittyBay is extremely 'young' in terms of both development and community. Any wrong doings have acted as a steep learning curve for us, so hopefully things shall only improve.
Quote:Bittybay got extremely popular extremely fast! How do you explain your great accomplishment? Where did you get the inspiration to create Bittybay?
I think I was very fortunate in terms of how quickly BittyBay has established itself. One of the hardest parts of creating such a game is finding a coder who can lift ideas off of paper, and turn them into a working prototype.
I started creating BittyBay because I had the necessary skills to start on my own, and without input from others. My inspiration came simply from wanting to succeed, and a continual interest in refining my skills. BittyBay was born, the prototype posted, and a flurry of activity followed. Continual improvements, and fast updates have helped to capture alot of peoples attention.
Quote:Bittybay has quite the team! Amazing programmers and amazing graphic artists. How did you and Spire meet up to develop Bittybay into what it is today?
When I first posted on this forum, BittyBay used graphics made by 'Mic', who many of you might still remember. Spire saw the prototype, and contacted me with a proposal... He would redo all of the graphics, in exchange for my coding assistance with Solace-City.
Taking a bit of a chance, and having seen Spires artwork, I offered him part-ownership of BittyBay if he would forget about Solace, and join me working on BittyBay full time. It subsequently turned out to be a very wise decision.
After getting Spire on-board, I then approached Trent who I had previously collaborated with on another project. Knowing he was a great C++ programmer, I immediately offered him part-ownership of BittyBay too, in exchange for his time and skills.
This is how the 3 of us came to working together, and surprisingly we work quite efficiently (most of you know that I live in the UK, Trent is from USA, and Spire is from Australia... so it has been difficult to manage time).
Quote:Any advice to those wanting to start their own virtual chat?
Some might agree or disagree with me on this point, but I would definately say "If you can't make it yourself, don't expect someone else to do it for you".
Some time ago when I was just a newbie, I wanted to make my own site. I didn't have a clue how to do it, and realised that taking on such a project would be unfair on everyone involved. Unfair on myself having to pay everyone, and unfair on others who are misled into believing the project would somehow take off. Don't fool yourself or others.
I waited, and learnt the necessarily languages myself. As I have posted so many times in this forum, 2 words seem more relevant every time. "Skill-Up!"
Quote:Where do you see the MMOCC market in ten years?
I would guess that as computor hardware gets cheaper, and processing power increases, sites will make ever-more use of 3D worlds. Sites such as Second-Life are becoming increasingly popular, but I would like to think that those with a liking for more 'retro' communities will stick with 2 dimensions!
Quote:Where do you see Bittybay in ten years?
I'm not much of a dreamer. I know where I would like to see BittyBay, but as with everything we have done so far, it's really best to just see how things pan out.
Quote:About a week ago Bittybay introduced some new moderators. How does the moderator application process work? What would you recommend to those wanting to be future Bittybay moderators?
The application process it quite long and drawn out, to enable us to pick those who we feel are mature, and have experience in terms of both moderation and age.
The initial phase is to fill out our application form, which contains lots of general questions relating to previous experience etc. Successful applicants from this stage are then invited to a small interview on BittyBay, which contain lots of scenario based questions, and are aimed at finding out how a particular person responds to each situation as it arises (or escalates). Those who pass this stage are then asked to submit photo identity, and sign a non-disclosure agreement, prior to being given training in-game.
Advise wise, it would probably be best to ask those who have already passed the entire process. The biggest piece of advise I would personally give is 'take your time!". Don't rush and be eager. Lot's of people have been declined due to rushed answers, bad grammatical errors etc. Use full sentences, Do Not Capitalise Every Word, dO nOt CaPiTaLiSe AlTeRnAtE lEtTeRs, and be truthful!
Quote:What can people who purchase "Member Benefits" expect later on?
Member's should expect lots of exclusive avatars, items and features. We are very keen to expand on our member's benefits, to represent excellent value for money (not that we don't think its a bargain already!).
Quote:So, we're all dying to know... what upcoming updates can we look forward to? New (or exclusive) avatars? Creating our own private rooms/burrows?
Anyone who has the tiniest bit of experience in regards to our updates could answer this question already. We don't reveal ANYTHING. Part of the reason why we believe user's have shown enthusiasm is because we provide updates frequently, and we never reveal what they contain. We might drop hints, but nothing more.
All I shall say is, Private rooms form part of our plan for the next big update. Yes, they will be here this year... When? I'm not saying. For a more realistic time-scale, the graphics will all be completed for the end of September, ready to begin coding as soon as I finish getting my suntan on holiday! (I need a break sometimes too you know!)
Quote:What does the future hold for Mr. Mystiko?
Quite a few of you may know that I am actually off in January to start training as a commercial pilot. User's will see alot less of me from that time onwards, however it is still my intention to work on updates in my free time. Hopefully the rate of development shall not be effected too much!
The future... 2 word's I am learning to not be so scared of. Hopefully I shall be speaking to some of you as your pilot