Welcome summoners!

You have found the portal to the background of some of the more prominent members of this community. This time round I was able to wrestle out some answers with one of the newest additions to the Splinterlands team @hardpoint - Vice President of Engineering. He may be new but has taken the bull by the horns as a key figure in the executive branch and is providing a professional structure to Splinterverse.

So, lets hit the ground running and have a chat with Hardpoint!

Hope you enjoy 😎

Platypus: Welcome Hardpoint! Tell us about yourself, what’s your technological / career background?

Hardpoint: I’ve been a developer for twenty years, and I love it. I started out coding at the age of twelve. I then moved onto intern work. My second year in college I started writing web pages for a non profit, I fell in love with development then. I can’t get enough of development, I do it day and night. I’ve been a player-coach manager for almost a decade, and exclusively an architect for another decade I’ve always had two jobs, a day job and another job I do at night when I’m bored. Splinterlands is the first time I’ve had a full time job that keeps me totally busy. I’m not bored now!

Platypus: I bet! Sounds like your more than qualified for the role and if you love what you do then all the better.

Platypus: How long have you been involved with the hive network, were you involved with
STEEM?

Hardpoint: I’m brand new to the HIVE network since joining Splinterlands, and have only
heard of the STEEM days.

Platypus: Yeah cool, so what got you interested in working with tools / Dapps on the HIVE network?

Hardpoint: Joining the Splinterlands team.

Platypus: So that leads us into the next question. What is your goal with the Splinterlands game?

Hardpoint: Global domination! But seriously my hope is that I can contribute to the Splinterlands game, and take it to be a AAA title, one of the first that is both a game and a financial engine/ wealth and prosperity generator for the community

Platypus: So, I know you're still fairly new to the system but what is your favourite feature in Splinterlands?

Hardpoint: I love the fact that the economic engine and the vision of the company is that when the players earn money, the company will eventually earn money. Tying those two tightly together is one of the most important things that I see we’re doing in SL. It’s hard to find companies where you can go play a game and also build lasting wealth; I haven't seen it before and I’m excited to see it here. I love Aggy’s vision of enabling people who are interested in building wealth to build wealth, I love Matt’s dedication to pushing boundaries on making the game as block chain friendly / crypto friendly as we possibly can. I love Nate’s art style and flair for creating emotion and energy with his art. And he is so funny.

Platypus: Yeah Nate comes across as a fairly chill dude that's 100% passionate about what he does, a rare combination.

Platypus: Are there any tools / features / ideas you have in the works that you can share or want to talk about?

Hardpoint: SPS governance Alpha! Find a way to get Quality of Life and minor enhancements from the community, and allow community to vote with staked SPS. I love the concept of getting feedback from the community, especially those who have invested in us. This is a big jump, and my pet project. I am trying to make this happen a lot sooner than other people thought it would happen, and it’s a challenge to see if I can make it happen with the resources currently allocated to
me.

Platypus: No matter what sector you are in, everyone is faced with constraints. What are some of the challenges you have faced so far?

Hardpoint: Biggest challenge is to figure out how to not only fight fires that are burning right in front of me, but to simultaneously plan weeks and months ahead of time as well. Another challenge is in identifying and hiring the best of the best to build a team and an organization that can run fast and furious on making this vision possible.

Platypus: Yeah, getting a solid team around you is key but if you get that right all the pieces fall into place. What are some of the challenges you foresee in the future?

Hardpoint: The challenge in the future will be knowing how to grow this organization to a multibillion dollar corporation, while retaining our essence of what makes us great now, the passion for the player and the respect for the individual team member.

Platypus: Yeah nah, harder said then done but if you can achieve it, then Splinterlands will truly become something generation defining!

Platypus: There are so many great monsters that have been created in Splinterlands. What is your favourite splinter and card?

Hardpoint: I’m heavily biased because I’m a newbie at the game, my first week of playing I won a season reward of a legendary card: Djinn Oshannus of the water splinter. He’s been carrying me through bronze in all my matches, and reminds me of Poseidon from Smite, who I always thought was aesthetically cool. I’m sure my favorite will change over time.

Platypus: Nice, he was my first legendary drop in the new reward card set too!

Platypus: Any other NFT games you like or are involved in?

Hardpoint: No, not right now. Over the next couple of months I will be investing heavily in lots of other NFTs as I explore how to take this game to the next level and look into our competitors.

Platypus: You seem to be a pretty good fit in the team. How did you meet the splinterlands team, what’s the relationship?

Hardpoint: One of my mentors in the industry knows Matt pretty well, and my name was casually dropped as somebody who might be willing to consider this opportunity based on my love of gaming and the crypto space.

Platypus: You're new to HIVE but been in the industry for a long time, any advice for others looking to make or work with Dapps on HIVE?

Hardpoint: Look for ways to make other people successful is a key way to be successful yourself. Look for a niche that people need, and look to fulfil it. This is a very proven model for being successful.

Platypus: Great advice!

Platypus: Where would you like to see the HIVE network go, what direction do you think it will take?

Hardpoint: I would love to see it continue to grow organically, and see other uses for it outside of Splinterlands, the more other uses for HIVE that work, the better. This creates a better ecosystem overall for everyone.

Platypus: If you could choose one person that has inspired you the most to achieve your goals, who would it be?

Hardpoint: Oddly enough, Bill Gates, in his early years. When I was a teenager, reading about how he built Microsoft into a big corporation, it was exciting and inspiring of what a developer could do. I always wanted to live that dream myself, so it inspired me to keep pushing my boundaries on what I could do myself.

Platypus: What’s your favourite flavour, scent and colour?

Hardpoint: What is this, a dating profile?

Platypus: I'm getting a bit of push back from this question from you guys! Making me start to think you guys are hiding something, LMAO 🤣

Platypus: Are you a cat or a dog person?

Hardpoint: Cat person, 100%. We just got our first cat last week and her name is Bella.

Platypus: Well that will make @byzantinist happy, not to many of the interviews have fallen towards cats 😋

Platypus: Do you have a hobby outside of gaming?

Hardpoint: Programming.

Platypus: This has been great but we gotta draw it to a close so one last one. What’s the best / your favourite story you have heard come out of the Splinterlands community?

Hardpoint: The fact that the entire support team is so heavily invested in this game that several of them win tournaments on a regular basis. Yet, they still give their heart and soul to trying to take care of the community, and go above and beyond every day.

So another edition done and dusted! Just wanna thank @hardpoint again for his time, as he wouldn't have to many free minutes in the day to put aside, so it really is appreciated and I hope you guys, the readers are getting some great insights into the inner workings of the Splinterlands community!

Till next time.

• @Platypus-Dundee