Shannon Posniewski has been with Cryptic for many years, but now that he's the new Executive Producer of Champions Online, we thought it'd be a good time to check in with him and ask some questions. Read on to learn more about Shannon!

Q: What do you do on Champions Online?
A: I am the (new) Executive Producer for Champions Online. The EP is ultimately responsible for the game as a whole; everything from overall game vision to programming. Previously, I was the Lead Programmer on Champs (and more as you'll see below).

Q: How long have you worked in gaming, and what did you do before Champions Online?
A: Though I've been a professional programmer for longer than I care to think about, I have worked professionally in the gaming industry since 2003. In 2003, I joined Cryptic Studios and did a good chunk of the programming on City of Heroes and City of Villains. My main focus was on the combat engine and advancement in CoH, but I also designed most of the user interface, the badge system, supergroup base building, and about a zillion other things. CoH had a pretty small team, and everyone did a lot of everything.

Since then, I've become Director of Game Programming at Cryptic, where I have oversight of gameplay systems for all of Cryptic's games. As games need new or extended features, I help architect and implement them.

As Champions Online neared completion, it needed a little extra love and more direct involvement, so I stepped in as the Lead Programmer. Since then, I've coordinated fixing Champs bugs and laying out and designing future features for Champs and our other games.

Q: Who is your favorite Champions Online character?
A: I am partial to my own character, "Mr. Bunny," which looks like a happy six-foot tall bunny. Until he punches your face off.

Q: What is an interesting fact about you that players would be surprised to know?
A: My forum avatar is a photograph of myself.

Q: What was your first favorite video game?
A: Well, this will date me horribly. My favorite early game was probably Pitfall, though I put a LOT of time into Asteroids (both on the 2600). I suspect we were the last ones on the block to get an Atari 2600, though ours was actually a rebranded Sears Telegames. We also had an ancient Magnavox Odyssey (you would stick a graphic overlay to the TV screen using static electricity for the pictures - this is not a joke).

I spent a lot of time in arcades in my youth and have always loved "electronic games," as they were called then. I've always been partial to pinball machines too. Early ones I liked were Black Knight and Space Shuttle. By far the best pinball machine ever made, though, is Addams' Family.

I was good at the vector Star Wars arcade game, and sucked at but loved Tempest. I also played Moon Patrol and Qix. Dare I mention that I played these at the roller skating rink? This is a place where parents would drop their children off unsupervised for hours at a time. Do roller skating rinks even exist anymore? I expect they would have metal detectors at the entrances now.

My first "real" MMO was the Ultima Online beta. I remember being enraged by my good friend (Craig Zinkievich, now Star Trek Online's EP) because I would grind and kill stuff to get equipment and he would literally dance for money. He would spam the directional keys and chat "Dancing for money!" and someone always came by and dropped him some ludicrous piece of loot. Five minutes of this and he'd have this crazy high-end stuff. I, on the other hand, would have been killed viciously by a rabbit or something. So very unfair.

Q: What is your secret superpower?
A: If I told you, it'd hardly be secret.

Q: Which is cooler: monkeys, robots, pirates or ninjas?
A: A difficult call, but I'd say a robot that can make a great Mai Tai, especially if the robot has a fez. I suspect that a ninja Mai Tai would be too dangerous to drink, and a monkey Mai Tai may have quality issues with the ingredients. Pirate Mai Tais have potential, considering their connoisseurship of rum, but I think they may be a bit too willing to substitute gunpowder for orgeat syrup.

Q: What advice do you have for someone who wants to break into the gaming industry?
A: For all candidates, a deep interest in games and gaming in general is useful. Not just computer games, but all kinds of games. Be conversant in gaming as a general subject.

For programmers, I find that data structures and algorithms are the bedrock upon which all your other skills lie. In essence, programming is a philosophers' stone: You take bits in some order and turn them into bits in some other order. The way this is done is by structuring the data and operating on it. If you choose good structures, strong algorithms, and are careful and rigorous when you code, then you can be successful. If you lack any one of these, you will likely fail.

For all candidates, write games on your own. They don't need to be computer games (though it may help). Invent a board game or card game. Devise a variant of Settlers of Catan. Restrict yourself; make a game whose only input device is a single button, or whose output is only four tones of beeps. Challenge yourself and be creative.

Of course, the question wasn't "What makes a great person in the gaming industry?" it was "How do I break in?" A couple personal rules I'll mention: Do not be excessively clever with your cover letter or resume; that's just annoying. Send an accurate and complete resume to recruiting; do not give me an "updated" one when you arrive.

And now, the tricks: Apply to many places and show you have what it takes. Do not be shy about using whatever connections you may have to get an "in" at a studio. Know about the company you're interviewing with; know their games and their history. Get hired as an intern while still in school.

Finally, I've worked in many industries (GIS systems, hardware design, device drivers, web programming, etc.) and by far the most challenging and difficult work I've done has been in the MMO games industry. For me, this is great because I love to be challenged intellectually and personally. I love my work and I am very passionate about it. I work hard. I like to see everyone have some of that same passion for what they do. If you aren't willing to really bust your hump and work like heck, you won't like working in the games industry.

Q: Is there anything you would like to add?
A: If you ski or snowboard, wear a helmet. I was in an collision accident just a couple weeks ago and I believe that it saved my life. No joke.