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Quick-Fire Community Questions - Round 2: Damian (Damo_Kb8)
By Ashlea Buckley Edited by Colum Blackett
4/6/18
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Ashlea: Tell us a little bit about the role you play within the Ubisoft Community.
Damian: I try my best to keep active in a few Ubisoft game communities, mainly Assassin's Creed and The Division communities but branching out to others, I like to try spread positivity within those communities, keeping those people smiling, as there can be a lot of negativity around and gaming should be a happy place of enjoyment. I like to offer help to those that need a hand, give out hints and tips, spread news about Ubisoft games, get involved with ideas and discussions about potential games, plus a bit of cosplaying :-D
This week on Quick Fire Community Questions, we interviewed Ubisoft Star Player and Assassin's Creed Community Member Damian! (AKA: Damo_kb8)
Ashlea: Hello Damian, thank you for taking part in round two of our Quick Fire Community Question series!
Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
Damian: Hi there im Damian, im 32, from the UK, and a massive obsessed fan of Ubisoft :-D
Ashlea: When did you first become involved in the Assassins Creed community?
Damian: Well I used to be just one of those really shy people and just browse forums and websites but not interact, its not till I got to grips with social media and good internet a few years ago now (im showing my age) that I found somewhere where I can really express my longtime love and passion for the franchise and be able to show the world not just my dedication to Assassin's Creed and Tom Clancy series but to the whole of Ubisoft, meeting many players who share the same passion and love as I do, instead of hearing myself being called a geek and "im wasting my time/life"
Ashlea: What is your favourite game series by Ubisoft?
Damian: Hmm... can i say 3? My main loves have always been Assassins Creed, Tom Clancy's & Far Cry series.
Ashlea: Do you have any Ubisoft related collectibles? What is your favourite item in your collection?
Damian: Yes I have quite a lot which but since I've moved house a lot is in the loft but slowly filling up my desk with new collectables, one of my favourite items has to be my old Altair collectors edition Statue as right there that's where it started, I was hooked on AC. Another one I love is the Assassin's Creed Unity: Prima Official Initiate Edition that contains the chalice and a sealed scroll, and one of my favourites The Division collectables has to be the collectors edition art book from TITAN, its a thing of beauty!,
Ashlea: Do you have any rare or unique items?
Damian: it's hard to tell what is rare as I've seen a lot of people post some great items, but I've got 3 Ubisoft items I've not seen many people with. One of them is a Promo hooded T-shirt for the original Assassins Creed, another one is a The Division Branded Roll of Hazard Tape, whilst the other is a beret from Tom Clancys END WAR,
Ashlea: Have you attended many events through your Community activity for the Ubisoft brand?
Damian: One of my favourite things is to meet community members at conventions whether that is at EGX or MCM comic con. I had the opportunity to get a special fan viewing of the assassins creed movie, that was special!, But E3 this year topped everything about meeting community members.
Ashlea: How does it feel to be a Ubisoft Star Player, what does it mean to you?
Damian: When I received the email telling me I was selected I was on my lunch break at work and literally my hands started to shake, started to well up, was totes emosh, was unbelievable feeling, and it all still didn't sink in till I landed in LA it felt like a dream. To be selected meant the world to me and for those that see me there you could tell from my face I was in the bliss, there would not be enough words for me to describe all the feelings I had and still have, my wish to those who selected me was not to let them down and show them there that they made a great choice in putting their faith in me,
Ashlea: When were you asked to be a star player, and what was their reason behind selecting you?
Damian: Still to this day im still unsure the real reasons, and for what game, i can only assume that as I try my best to support a number of Ubisoft franchises I literally got selected as a "UBISOFT" Star Player as a fan of all things Ubi, i do have a running joke with Oliwia that it was my AC Syndicate Socks that finalised that decision, for those that don't know I met her at EGX in September and I had 3 t-shirts on at the time (AC: Origins, The Division, Far cry: Primal) AC Socks and a Division backpack with multiple Ubi game badges on.
Ashlea: What does being a Ubisoft Star Player entail?
Damian: It involves being a representative of Ubisoft and or there particular game franchise, showing how passionate you are about the games and communities they create.
Ashlea: What was it like at E3?
Damian: Quite simply E3 was one of the best experiences of my life, not just the venue and the city, it was the people, the players, the developers and YVES!! I wish I could go back year after year and talk games with all those people again, it was just magical.
Ashlea: How did you get to the event and who did you meet there?
Damian: We had these shuttle buses that took us from the hotel to E3 or Ubi Lounge. The sheer amount of people I met was overwhelming, and would be a crazy amount of names to list but meeting the game development teams on AC: Odyssey, The Division2, Skull & bones, Starlink, Trials rising, BG&E2, Rainbow6, also a few legends of Ubi like Ashraf Ismail, Alix Wilton Regan, Zack Cooper, Magnus Sanford, Gabe Graziani, and Yves Guillemot just to name a hand full.
Ashlea: Please tell us a little but about your experiences at E3 and the conferences you attended.
Damian: So the Booth at E3 was massive it was probably one of the best set ups I've seen at a convention, but quite alot of the other Ubi star players will agree with me on this one is the Ubi lounge we had alot of fun in there doing workshops with the game developers. Some of the stuff that got said in there was under NDA so cant really say what went on but it was just amazing being able to talk with the individual team members, chat about there roles and discuss potential future ideas on updates or games, giving feedback direct face to face as you play the demos. It was just invigorating to be apart of, on top of that is being able to meet those other star players who you might not ever got to meet, speaking with many from other games and seeing that we all had a common passion, a passion for Ubisoft.
I feel blessed being apart of our group of players that were there, and I couldn't ask for a better bunch of people to share this experience with. Our guides for the whole thing were simply amazing. The team at Ubisoft Club were just the best, and they helped me in more ways than they all know, also going out of my comfort zone and doing interviews on camera was so nerve racking but I'm so glad i overcame my fear to do them. One of the best moments was getting to meet Yves and to ask him questions. I tried to thank him for giving the dev's the time they need to bring the quality of game that's worthy of Ubisoft, but i was a bumbling mess of nerves, never in my life would I ever of thought id be speaking face to face with the CEO,
Ashlea: What was the Ubisoft conference like?
Damian: The UbiE3 conference is as every bit you dream it will be, after spending years staying up late watching streams of it, being there in person surrounded by other great people was just mind-blowing.
Ashlea: Are you excited for release of AC Odyssey?
Damian: YES YES YES... I am indeed, I've seen a lot of negativity around it after getting back for e3, but after playing a very deep demo with many aspects of gameplay involved all I can say is that if you loved Origins then you're gonna love Odyssey! Many other gameplay editions that make it fun and enjoyable, such as extra bits for combat, more sea combat! Sharks!! Pitched battles on beaches, new mercenary system, these are just a hand full of highlights. I think it will surprise a few people, as we still don't know a great deal on the story but I can see us all getting ourselves lost in Ancient Greece.
Ashlea: What promotions are you hoping to see from Ubisoft before the release of the new game? Trailers, cosplay, gameplay demos etc?
Damian: I would like to maybe see a bit more info on the story, more on both characters, and the mysterious cult,
Ashlea: Do you have any plans for future Ubisoft community projects/ cosplay/ art etc?
Damian: Well before I went to E3 I was working on a Crossover Cosplay "#AgentCreed" a mix of assassins creed and the division in the same universe. Now i'm back I hope to finish it up, plus I'm looking to get involved with all the different communities more, in many different ways, hoping to join many communities together from different games, WeAreUbisoft! But you never know what's around the corner, hopefully, people have seen what I'm like as a person and see what I am about and it will bring about opportunities, I'm always open to taking on and trying new things and challenges, we'll see what happens next, only the future will tell. It has been a pleasure talking with you guys as always.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Damian for joining us for this edition of Quick Fire Community Questions.
You can find Damian on:
Twitter
Instagram
