Take a look into some of the brilliant minds behind our incredible frontline hospitality force. These folks know stuff.

There are a lot of great people on the Gala Games team that make this the fantastic community that it is. Many of us here interact with the community all the time, but rarely get the chance to connect without hiding behind handles and the (often insane) day to day business of serving up the community with great entertainment experiences.

Galaxian Highlights

This begins to change all that. We’ve previously started to spotlight experts on our team, but we’ve experienced such meteoric growth in the past year that we simply weren’t able to keep up with the talented and wonderful people joining our team every day.

Gala Games is still growing, and we’re not going to get any further ahead on showcasing the people who make this community possible unless we get started. We’ll be regularly running this series in the future to introduce you to some of the folks whose work you may interact with every day, but you don’t even know that you know them.

In this first edition, we’ll be showcasing the defenders of our community– The Sages of the Red Flame

Sages of the What!?

Sages of the Red Flame– or alternatively (and lamely) named “Community Managers” — leverage passion and experience for the Gala Games Ecosystem and Community. They are the community’s go-to connection between what goes on under the hood and in the driver’s seat of games on our platform.

For our introductory edition, this will be a bit longer installment of Galaxian Highlights. Typically we’ll use these series to focus on individuals, but it’s only fitting for this re-inaugural issue that The Sages of the Red Flame lead the charge together, united.

What is your role as a Gala Games Community Sage?

Dillon (NephilimHoss): I’ve been in the Gala Games community since January 2021, but started as Community Manager in November (my start date was my birthday!)

My job is to oversee the Discord, serve as a liaison for the community members and Gala Games teams, and to make sure the passion that we all feel for the Gala Games community is intentionally nurtured and protected.

Cade (Cayde): I spend most of my day reading every channel in the Discord and conversing with the community.

I’m always looking for ways to improve communication between the teams and the community, as well as finding new ways to get the community engaged. I also like crafting puzzles for people to solve 🙂

Vera (VeraAwesome): My role is to be in service to the community. This means doing my best to keep it a high-vibe and friendly place, and making sure that community feedback is heard.

I like to answer as many questions as I can as fast as I can because I’m trying to convince people that I’m actually a bot.

Michelle (pharmermichelle): I strive to be that main line of communication between the greater community and the Town Star game team.

I spend most of my time gathering feedback and sentiment to report back to the engineers, developers, and project managers. I’m here to give the community a voice within the team meetings and to make sure everyone is heard.

Matt (taco): Gala Music is still a new business, so as the music community manager I’m helping the server grow as positively as possible, answering questions and keeping everyone informed.

I’ve been an active part of the discord for quite a while, and now I want everyone to feel as welcome as I did when I first discovered Gala Games. I also represent the community “behind the scenes”, since at the end of the day it’s all about them.

Tom (curioushero): With a high-octane game like Spider Tanks comes a passionate player base that wants their ideas to be heard and implemented. My role is to be the conduit between the players and the people who make the games happen.

I develop relationships with the players by regularly competing with them in game and taking their feedback to help improve the game. As a veteran player in the community I can also help the team understand what potential players want to get out of the game so we can make a better experience all around.

Note: Cade actually has moved to our Product Team since the inception of this article. You’ll still catch him all over Discord, but we wanted to congratulate him on this new position!

Dillon’s Note: Cade defected from the CM team between the writing and publication of this article. Please send all complaints directly to him.

What skills or experience do you bring to Gala Games?

Dillon: I truly love this Community. The things we can accomplish with Web3, gaming and beyond are bigger than we imagine. I aim to bring a balanced perspective and a long-term vision to the Community. How we do things is often as important as what we do.

Vera: My love of Gala Games has given me the superpower of having a fangirl Wikipedia brain. This helps me to stay organized with all the juicy leaks coming out and also to keep track of the promises made to the community.

Matt: Most of my career has been spent in management and customer service, so I’m thrilled to be able to to utilize that experience within a community I genuinely enjoy being a part of.

Tom: I have a diversified background in business that spans over 20 years in tech support, networking, finance, and marketing. The last decade I’ve spent building online businesses that focus on lead generation, customer acquisition, and building raving fans for the products or services I represented. Gala Games and Web3 have created an incredible opportunity for me to help the company and community all succeed.

Why did you pick your Galaxian adventurer title?

Most of us at Gala Games use an “adventurer title” for our job description. These are often a more fitting indicator of what we do and where our expertise lies than some boring corporate label.

Dillon: As an Oath of Ancients Paladin I have an enduring love for natural beauty, light, and harmony. It is my duty to turn back threats against transcendent good with vigilant warding and loyal vehemence. The Red Flame that inflicts holy burns also gently illuminates, for those who seek light.

Michelle: As Town Star Bard I spread the news of happenings in and around Town Star, tossing out Bardic Inspiration as often as I can.

Vera: I am a White Mage. White Mages are timeless, powerful, and wise. The healing arts are very important to me as a seeker of truth, high magic and beauty.

Tom: I choose Spider Tanks Community Samurai as my Galaxian title. The word samurai originally meant “one who serves”. Samurai live by a code of conduct — known as “bushido”, and I figure that’s a good representation of what I do for the community, Gala Games and Gamedia.

Favorite music?

Michelle: If I had to pick a favorite genre of music, which is tough because I love music, it’d be melodic metal. Although if I had to list my top 3 favorite albums to listen to front to back, it’d be a toss up between “You’d Prefer an Astronaut” by HUM, Blink 182’s self titled album, and “As Daylight Dies” by Killswitch Engage.

Matt: I’m excited about being a bigger part of the music community because I love so many different genres. Indie rock like Neutral Milk Hotel, The Mountain Goats and The Weakerthans.. “Stomp and Holler” like the Lumineers and Shovels and Rope.. but I’m just as likely to be listening to Miley, Jay-Z, or Missy Elliott. My first concert was Vanilla Ice and En Vogue opening for MC Hammer.

What are your favorite games?

Cade: My favorite games tend to be FPS and MMORPGs. I was hooked on Counter Strike 1.6 and played competitively when I was 14. Nowadays I enjoy Destiny and whatever FPS my friends are playing at the time. I’m also proud to have a maxed RuneScape character that I’ve been playing off and on for the past 17 years.

Vera: My favorite genres to play are simulation, strategy, and RPG games. Some of my favorites of all time include The Sims, Warlords (DOS), Alter Ego (Commodore 64), Two Point Hospital, Project Highrise, and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. For music, I enjoy pop, goth, and everything in between.

Favorite food?

Dillon: I’ll eat anything spicy. If you aren’t crying it can use more heat. Spicy seafood is bliss.

Tom: Pepperoni pizza for me.

Vera: Team Pizza all the way! If my life ever depended on eating a pizza every day to live, I would be immortal.

Any other cool hobbies or interests?

Michelle: Gardening. Although I’m not that great at it, so maybe I just enjoy playing in the dirt. 😂

Cade: I’m big into mechanical keyboards and anything auto racing, especially Formula 1. I also love playing basketball and watching my college team, Iowa State

Tom: I enjoy playing golf, surfing, snowboarding, scuba and being a dad.

Matt: Prior to getting a job working here, my biggest hobby was Gala Games. I’m transitioning from being a professional photographer, so that will always be a part of my life. I love going to flea markets with my wife and visiting new breweries.

Vera: Besides playing video games, I also enjoy journaling, writing, meditating, and going swimming.

Which SpiderTanks hat best describes you?

Dillon: Obviously the cowboy hat, y’all.

Vera: The cheese hat, because cheese makes everything better!

Tom: Roman plume… because, when in Rome!

Matt: The taco hat. Wait, there isn’t a taco hat? That’s a shame.

Which EoE faction would you align with?

Cade: The Royals. I love their aesthetics and lore. An ancient ruling party full of rich history and drama is too fascinating to me.

Vera: The Arbeiters. Personal independence is very important!

Which Town Star character could you replace, if only you were given the chance?

Michelle: I relate most to the Water Facility worker. He collects all that messy pond/river water, cleans it up and packages it in a nice barrel so those industrial workers can focus on making energy/gasoline and mining those hard metals. Just like I try to take the collective thoughts of the community, package it up nice and pretty, and hand it off to the Town Star team so they can keep on working to make Town Star awesome!

Vera: The Rancher. She looks like she has the most fun when she walks.

Tom: Tractor Farmer. I like to drive in the dirt.

Matt: Trucker for sure. I love the old movies (and music) from 70’s trucker culture.

Which Exemplar best fits who you are?

Dillon: A mix of Longhunt (what is sleep?), Clearblood (poisons are cool, subtle, and totally safe to drink), and Darksun (the night makes me feel alive).

Cade: Neverlook Halfling. I’m a major Elder Scrolls fan and I’ve always been one to master sneaking first so I can steal everything from the Imperial City and collect copious amounts of random items.

Vera: The Alchemist. Every problem has a solution. Being prepared with an arsenal of magical potions that are ready to be used seems like the most fun way to solve problems. Plus, you can never use too much glitter when preparing a magical potion!