So lets get right to it shall we?  My name is Dusty Monk, and I’ve been playing MMOs in one incarnation or another for over fifteen years.  The first MMO I got addicted to I payed $24.00 per connect hour.  It was called Island of Kesmai, and I played it on the CompuServe information service.  I was almost fired over it, when the company I was working for (and that was footing the bill for the service), wanted to know why they had a $10,000 CompuServe bill, and what kind of research I was doing all hours of the night.

Since then, I’ve logged more hours in more services than I care to recant.  From Neverwinter Nights (the first one — the one that was based on SSI Gold Box games and only available on AOL), to Ultima Online, to Everquest, to City of Heroes and WoW, I’ve tried just about all of them.  I’ve fled from Agents in Matrix Online.. I’ve fought tusken raiders in Star Wars Galaxies, and I’ve assisted in the defeat of Onyxia. 

But besides being an addict to the games and the genre, it’s also my profession.  Currently I’m a senior programmer for Ensemble Studios, working on Halo Wars.  I’m the guy that’s responsible for most of the movement and pathing in that game, along with the last two major Age games Ensemble’s done.  In the past six years I’ve worked on the Age of Empires II Expansion The Conquerors, Age of Mythology, the Age of Mythology Expansion The Titans, and most recently, Age of Empires Three.  I also spent two years working on an unannounced MMO at Ensemble, but sadly that project was canceled by Microsoft before it ever really saw the light of day.  Before Ensemble, I worked at Midway, where I wrote tools and support programs that were used in Ready to Rumble Boxing, Hydro Thunder, and Offroad Thunder.  So while I’ll be the first to admit I’m as likely as anyone to talk about of my ass — I do have at least a modicum of experience when it comes to the industry of which I am so fond of. 

So there you go — a bit about what I do and where I come from.  If you have any questions, or just feel the need to yell at me, don’t hesitate to e-mail me at dlangar@hotmail.com.