Episode 122: A LilyFire Conversation

Episode 122: A LilyFire Conversation

The People's Guild: A Splinterlands Podcast

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Welcome to the People's Guild. The long wait is over! Splinterlands' wonderful support team member, @lilyfire, swings by for a conversation with us in this one.

We talk customer service, wins for the team, upcoming developments, new cards, and much more. We have a blast getting to know Lily throughout the episode - another great reminder of the incredible caliber of person we've got on Team SPL.

Enjoy the show!

Service Industry Experiences and Recommendations

Hepthorn and LilyFire discussed their experiences in the service industry. LilyFire shared that her first service industry job was at a Wegmans during high school, and she highly recommends it. Hepthorn shared his experiences working at a seafood restaurant and delivering newspapers. They both agreed on the importance of service industry jobs in teaching people how to treat others decently. LilyFire also recommended trying Wegmans' half moon cookies. The conversation also touched on the differences in terminology for certain items, such as "soda" and "black and white cookies."

Service Industry Experiences and Splinterlands

In the meeting, Hepthorn and LilyFire discussed their experiences in the service industry, with Hepthorn reminiscing about his time in a restaurant and LilyFire sharing her experiences as a licensed massage therapist. They also discussed their involvement in the game Splinterlands, with LilyFire explaining how she joined the team as a KYC specialist after being convinced by her partner, RoyalEagle. The conversation also touched on the challenges of the KYC process and how it has been streamlined since LilyFire's involvement. The conversation ended with a discussion about the team's interactions with customers and the positive feedback they received.

LilyFire's Splinterlands Journey and Royal's Impact

LilyFire shares her perspective on learning Splinterlands as a game purely for fun, without any expectations of earning rewards. She was motivated by her young child critiquing her gameplay and expressing disappointment when she made poor moves. LilyFire aims to improve her skills to impress her child. Bjangles realizes LilyFire is married to Royal, another Splinterlands team member, and commends Royal for getting LilyFire invested in the game. LilyFire credits Royal for initially delegating her cards to play, but also for motivating her to reach higher ranks when he doubted her ability with those cards.

Improving Customer Service and Product

In the meeting, Hepthorn, LilyFire, and Bjangles discussed the challenges and improvements in their customer service and product development processes. LilyFire shared that their team, which now consists of only four people, has taken on more responsibilities, including QA and developer tasks. They also discussed the importance of early feedback from testers to improve product design. Hepthorn and Bjangles praised the team's efficiency and responsiveness, and LilyFire acknowledged the team's collaborative approach to feature requests and prioritization. They also discussed upcoming updates, including the addition of level-up progress bars on rebellion cards and the revamp of the battles page. Despite recent cutbacks and layoffs, the team remains passionate and committed to improving the game.

Gaming Passion and Splinterlands Updates

LilyFire discussed her passion for gaming, starting from her early years playing computer games and progressing to mobile games like Splinterlands. She shared her love for the game's immersive story, challenging gameplay, and the satisfaction of mastering patterns. LilyFire also revealed her favorite card, Undead Rex, and her excitement about the upcoming Battles page on Vnext. The team also discussed the importance of not making promises about release dates to avoid disappointing fans. Hepthorn asked LilyFire about the craziest request she had received, but she declined to share specific examples. The conversation ended with a discussion about memorable updates or rollouts in Splinterlands.

Player Base, Ticket Volume, and Support

Bjangles discussed the decrease in player base and ticket volume, while LilyFire highlighted the significant progress made in support article views, indicating a shift from high ticket volume to high support article volume. LilyFire also mentioned her role as the primary writer of the Knowledge Center articles and her pride in the team's work. Hepthorn praised the improvements in the help page, noting its usefulness even for long-time players. LilyFire confirmed that she collaborates with Manser on the development of the land feature, ensuring it's ready for release. The team also discussed the in-game chat bot, with LilyFire confirming its accessibility during team creation and its role in recommending articles and connecting users with humans.

New Contextual Tooltips for Learning

In the meeting, Hepthorn and LilyFire discussed the importance of customer support and the high satisfaction ratings they've achieved. They also talked about the new contextual tooltips feature, which is designed to help new players understand the game's rules and mechanics. LilyFire explained that these tooltips would provide helpful information without being intrusive, and would be especially useful for players who prefer to learn through experience rather than tutorials. Hepthorn shared his own experiences of learning from others' critiques and rethinking his card positioning strategies. The team expressed excitement about the upcoming feature and encouraged feedback from both new and veteran players.

Dune Inspiration and Auction Card

LilyFire and Hepthorn discuss their love for the Dune book series. LilyFire shares that she got a Dune-inspired tattoo and shows it. Hepthorn mentions dressing up as a Fremen from Dune for Halloween. They express their desire for Dune-inspired cards in the game and suggest ideas like a sandworm rider or abilities based on the Dune lore. LilyFire also provides details on the development process for the new Auction card, including earlier iterations of its abilities.

Rare Card Acquisition Strategies

LilyFire, Hepthorn, and Bjangles discussed their strategies for acquiring rare cards in a game. LilyFire shared her experience testing the auction and her top bid, while Hepthorn expressed his preference for sticking to gold level cards. Bjangles was torn between making the leaderboard and the cost of acquiring a rare card. They also discussed the addition of a new ability to an existing card, which Hepthorn believed was a first in the game's history. The possibility of two cards receiving this addition was also discussed, but no definitive answer was reached.

Splinterlands Gameplay and Upcoming Updates

In the meeting, Hepthorn, LilyFire, and Bjangles discussed their experiences with the game Splinterlands. They shared their thoughts on the new cards and rule sets, with a particular focus on the Rune Arcanus and the potential for more creative gameplay. They also discussed the idea of limiting legendary summoners in rule sets to encourage more diverse gameplay. The team also mentioned the upcoming release of Conclave Arcana, which they expressed excitement about. The conversation was light-hearted and focused on sharing experiences and ideas for improving the game.

Team Passion, Community Engagement, and Testing

Lily discussed her passion for the project and the importance of teamwork. She emphasized the need for community engagement, particularly in helping new players and providing feedback on outdated articles. She also discussed the need for extensive testing of the V-next battles on the map server, encouraging the community to participate. TPG expressed gratitude towards LilyFire for her contributions and positivity, and looked forward to the next meeting with the recent hire, Blaze.

YGGSPL