> "From a pure hardware side, we weren't prepared. From the standpoint of how fast people were getting to max level and are we going to have content in place fo

> "From a pure hardware side, we weren't prepared. From the standpoint of how fast people were getting to max level and are we going to have content in place for them; we weren't prepared. We never really experienced what it's like to be on a game that never ever ends," adds Pardo. "In a lot of ways everything starts the moment you launch, which none of us were really mentally or emotionally ready for the difference, because again a lot of us had shipped games and you go through that final moment where you launch this thing and it's finally out there. Honestly, the first two years of post-WoW development was really this perpetual state of 'Can we just catch up to the popularity of the game?'" True for so many startups as well, where "max level/endgame" is the arrival of users with needs you didn't anticipate, whose momentum and confidence you rely on to present your brand in the marketplace. For every ounce of stress, though, there's two ounces of excitement, and that's its own fun.