Nellie "Domesticon" Hughes is a content designer for Champions Online.
"Meet the Team" Interview[]
Q: What do you do on Champions Online?
A: I'm a content designer, which means I put the missions together and populate the zones.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Right now, I'm working on the framework for a set of neighborhood missions and working with the environment artist to create playspaces that fit the neighborhood's fiction and spawn groups.
Q: How long have you worked in gaming, and what did you do before working on Champions Online?
A: I've worked in the gaming industry for two-and-a-half years. I came to Cryptic after graduating from college, and I've been here ever since. My first game was City of Villains, and after that launched I worked on the expansions for it.
Q: What aspect of Champions Online are you most excited about?
A: I'm really into the gameplay. I'm a huge fan of being able to pick up and play a game and do well without having to read and learn a lot of crazy button combos, like many of the other games out there.
Q: What do you web surf to when you're avoiding work?
A: My favorite web comics at Nataliedee.com, Gametab and The Space.
Q: What are three things you can't live without?
A: Microwave popcorn, my computer and the Internet.
Q: Tell us a story!
A: One time in elementary school, I lip-synced to the Weird Al Yankovic song "Eat It." I got a standing ovation, and by far it was the proudest moment of my childhood.
Q: What is your guilty pleasure?
A: Watching old Tom Cruise movies from the '80s and '90s.
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: Gaming, watching Spongebob and getting out of the house and enjoying the California weather as much as I can.
Q: What's on your iPod?
A: Anything from Killswitch Engage to Beethoven and some M.I.A. I'm all over the place with my taste in music.
Q: What advice do you have for someone who wants to break into designing games?
A: If you're really passionate about it, keep trying to do what you want. Make your own design docs or work on a mod so that you have something to show when you're trying to get your ideas across.