Ascenders’ Log #2

It’s been almost a month since the last time our office transmitter went crazy, but that changed yesterday. After some hours of hard work, we were finally able to make sense of this new incoming message.

This second transmission appears to be another Q&A interview from one of our team members; shot into space for… future preservation. And it seems to be from none other than our CEO — Jackson Poon!

Who is this?

I’m Jackson. Internally, we have a Pokémon codename for everyone. Mine is Pikachu since I’m the official mascot of Ascenders. I started my career as a corporate lawyer, transitioned myself into investing in crypto, and now to developing Web3 games. Many of our community members asked how I made my career change, which is quite simple really; I did it by meeting people outside my circle and pursuing my passions!

What got you into games?

I always love the social aspects of playing games with friends. It’s a common activity, where friends can compete or work together towards a common goal.
Games are also a vortex to another universe. It’s a pure form of storytelling where you are in the centre of action. Most memorable games for storytelling to me are: Final Fantasy 7, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and BioShock Infinite. Unfortunately, many new games attempt to hijack our attention and monetize it instead of building deep and immersive experiences. Ascenders is built as an immersive gaming experience.

What is your role within the Ascenders team?

First and foremost, my role is to recruit the best talent to work on Ascenders. My team does most of the work of building the game but I am there to do quality control and review everything that gets out the door. I also manage all the external relationships such as our investors and partnerships with other games and guilds.

What about your usual day-to-day work?

I usually have a lot of meetings between different parties in a day.

Most enjoyable thing within the job?

There is nothing more satisfying than seeing an idea being built into reality. It’s incredibly fun since I get to see new art, characters and environments being built out in our game.

What are you looking forward to most with Ascenders?

Playing the game.

Although, I heard from Will that when you spend so much time developing it, you don’t really enjoy playing your own game anymore. You end up playing the game and be like; why didn’t we fix that bug there?

Is there something you can’t wait to share with the community?

Our land development. It’s incredibly interesting since we are bringing parallels of the real world into our game. Lands shouldn’t be just a jpeg. Lands should be measured in meters, topography, height, and location; which all matter when buying land. We can’t wait for the community to see what we have built for lands and we look forward to players building on their lands too! I want to see the skyline of Ascenders being built out by the players as time passes by.

Any final words of wisdom to share with the community?

Always seek for high quality and in-depth experiences. Those are the experiences that you look back on with fond memories. In the past few years, I’ve deleted all the apps or games that create and monetize addiction since none of those experiences are memorable for me.

Lastly, this Friday, July 8–17.00 UTC+2, we’ll be hosting a Twitter Space; answering your questions on topics in the White Paper and other things you might want to know. See you then!