Originally posted by Shane on the V20 Blog.
So Im going to take a moment to share something with the community as it was shared with us internally at CCP today. 1991 was the year White Wolf Publishing and Vampire both came into being and today we had a very special anniversary for one of our own who has been an integral part of the World of Darkness and Vampire: The Masquerade from the very beginning. The following was sent out to the company today and I would like to take the time to share it with the fans because a part of this was directed to you. Very briefly for those of you that dont know Chris, he was the one everyone can thank for the classic green marble cover on the original Vampire and is largely responsible for the concept of vampires having “Clans”. He’s been with White Wolf and Vampire since the very, very beginning and is heading up the World of Darkness MMO. Some of you might have met him at last years Grand Masquerade and thetas Chris at the podium in the previous blog post picture for those of you that don’t know.
So on behalf of the V20 team I’d like to say Happy 20th Anniversary Chris!
Vampire would never have been the same without you!
-Shane
Dear CCP (and former White Wolfer’s),
Today marks a significant milestone for me that I would like to share with the company. April Fool’s has always been a special day for me because ironically, it marks the beginning of my full time employment with White Wolf. While some may be inclined to call it the most epic April Fool’s joke ever played, April 1st, 2011 is my 20th anniversary working at two of the greatest companies in the world!
I thought I would take the occasion to just say thank you to former White Wolf, current CCP, all of our employees and all of our fans for making the last 20 years so amazing!
So thank you to all of the crazy people who started White Wolf, without your insanity and willingness to break molds in both the way product was created and the way people were treated, there would have been none of this.
To all of our fans, thanks for sticking by us for all of these years and being the muse and the engine that makes great things happen.
To all of my old roleplaying group who are still my best friends over 30 years later, thanks for sharing all of my crazy stories and actually encouraging me to tell more.
To all of the people I have ever worked with, thanks for being the kind of teams that allow people to learn from their mistakes, inspire them to do great things and change the world.
To the families of our employees, thanks for putting up with the passion and absurdity.
To CCP for taking a chance on an insane merger with White Wolf and putting me in charge of this crazy monster called World of Darkness, I won’t let you down.
To the EVE team, by standing on your shoulders, hopefully we can help CCP reach even higher.
To the DUST team for taking the courageous, challenging and ridiculously difficult task of bringing CCP to China and the console.
To the World of Darkness team for keeping the dream alive.
To my parents who encouraged me to pursue my dreams (even if this gaming thing had no future).
To my family, for standing by me in good times and bad, challenging me to be better than I was yesterday and giving me a reason to do so.
To CCP, thanks for all of the t-shirts, vacation trips, meals, RoxoR’ing, promo videos, snacks, travel, Christmas gifts, spaceships, vampires, wang slapping, oil rubbing, paychecks, cut eyes, scrum training, fire alarms,Gen Con’s, E3’s, kickoffs, parties, booze, mechanical bullriding, country band playing, blue lagooning, golden circling, fanfests, world tours, karaoke, Clermonting, St Patty’s Daying, ipod’s, Xboxes, Nintendo Wii’s, Bon Jovi, challenge coins, yearly photobook’s, fearless magazines, monthly updates, tech summits, productions summits, art summits, fashion summits, broken foots, golf’s, boat rides, Grand Masquerades, GDC’s, vacation time, pee sharking’s, close to functional video conferencing, dollar gifts, white board notes, dunk tanks, standing by me in tough times and most of all…
the best set of friends, fans and co-workers a guy could ask for!
One final note: It might sound goofy, but I love CCP (and White Wolf) with all my heart. One reason is that both the employees and managers have a respect for each other, the fans and a respect for what we do. If you have never worked anywhere else, you may have no idea what a rare and wonderful thing this is. It shapes all decisions and choices we make. I have participated in discussions on all levels of the company in the past and in the present and that respect exists on every level. I have never seen a group of managers who give so much trust to the folks who work for them, employees who believe in the company so much and a company who care so much about it’s customers. We have not always done right, it is not always conveyed well and we have certainly made mistakes, but I can tell you that the spirit is there. Always. It’s easy to be cynical about things but I can promise you, this is the best company you will ever work for, warts and all!
I would like to buy you all a drink, but since that is not quite possible, I will buy the first round of drinks (or pitchers of beer) for anyone and their significant other at Will Henry’s today at 6PM after work! Please come by and celebrate with me! For those of you in other offices, I’ll have to owe you one until the next time I see you, but remind me, I’m good for it!
I look forward to spending the next 20 years with all of you.
Again, thank you,
Chris McDonough
World of Darkness Executive Producer
(Chris back in the beginning)
