Lydia "Zatozia the Torturess" Pope

I'm back! But then you probably already knew that, didn't you? Some of you may remember me from last year when I was overseeing Star Wars Galaxies as a placeholder. Well, now I'm back again! I've been quite busy since my return to Star Wars Galaxies. When Draakull first arrived last year, I had to walk him through not only our regular Community Relations processes, but also through SWG specific tasks as well. Now the favor has been returned. Over the past two weeks Draakull has been helping me adjust to being back on this side of the galaxy! Thanks for passing the torch back, Draakull! Now that I'm just about up to speed (for the most part), I wanted to share a little information about me!

Some people might say if SOE had dinosaurs, I would have been there with them. Actually, in my mind SOE did have dinosaurs, because I always thought the name of one of our first games, Tanarus, sounded like a dinosaur name. But anyway... I started working at SOE before SOE was actually formed back in the Verant days; May 7, 1999 to be exact.

Before I embedded myself into the world of gaming, I was an accountant. Yeah, I know yawn! I really wasn't looking for a change but a change found me. My interview process was, "Hey can I get a job there?" "Sure, come on out!" Well, okay, maybe my background helped a little! Before I interviewed, I had already spent time helping with Tanarus as a volunteer, then I played EverQuest in beta and joined the volunteer Guide Program. So when I started inquiring about a position, I had already made myself known to the powers that be.

Over the past 11 years, I have worked in various positions including Game Master, Senior Game Master, Lead Game Master, Quest and Events Master, Game Designer for EverQuest, and Community Relations Manager of course. In one way or another I have worked on many of our games including Tanarus, EverQuest, EverQuest II, EverQuest Online Adventures, PlanetSide, Vanguard, and Star Wars Galaxies.

In May of 2005, I joined the Community Relations department as Community Manager for PlanetSide and EverQuest Online Adventures. In January 2007, I switched to oversee EverQuest and of course last year, I was watching over Star Wars Galaxies until Draakull's arrival.

Now my current role is Star Wars Galaxies Community Relations Manager!

And now the question that is probably on everyone's mind, "Hey Zatozia, do you play Star Wars Galaxies?" As a matter of fact, yes. Yes, I do! My main play characters are on Starsider, but I also have characters on Sunrunner and a couple of other servers just for visiting with friends. My main play time is Saturday mornings from about 7am until 12noon Pacific Time. However, when I get extra time for video gaming, I do tend to play at random times throughout the week as well.

Repeating what I said last year, don't start quoting combat stats to me. I'm more into the social aspects of the game. I used to have a commando, but that was ages ago! In the past my main character was a Master Architect/Master Image Designer and Part-time Dancer. After my return to the game about 2 years ago I had to make a choice, and I decided to go with Entertainer, so now I have a Master Dancer.

I usually spend most of my play time decorating and attending social events. I'm currently in the process of finding a location for a new cantina! My house currently has objects just random placed. I plan on making a new combat character as well.

Now that things are settling down, I have some fun activities planned for the upcoming months. After Fan Faire, I plan to start running my own monthly in-game events, highlighting the community more, running some unique forum challenges, and I have some other things up my sleeves!

I'm sure by now many of you have heard about my Torture Cubicle here in San Diego. After Fan Faire, I'm going to start a transformation process to change it into a Sith temple! I'll be sharing pictures of the changes.

To kick off my return, I have opened The Torture Chamber. This is my private section of the forums listed under The Cantina. While I'm the only one who will be able to create new post in this dungeon-like forum, all registered forum members will be able to take part in the discussions.

I want to thank everyone for your welcome messages. I'm glad to be back!

I hope to see many of you at Fan Faire!

~Zatozia the Torturess in the Shadows~
Za-to-zia = Zuh-toe-zsuh (i.e. Zsuh Zsuh instead of Zsa Zsa Gabor, darlin'.)