Hello future Torchlight fans, my name is Jason Lamb and I do quality assurance here at Runic Games. I’ve been with Runic since early June, though as I’ve worked for Flagship since before it’s eventual demise I do not feel like I’ve ever left.

Originally from San Diego, CA, I’ve tested software ranging from state correlated educational programs to bitstreams on your satellite set-top box, and have even dabbled in a few MMOs. Working for game companies is by far the most fun, but in my experience working at Runic is by far the most fun COMPANY to work for period.

There are a lot of horror stories conjured up by game testers (*see Grandma’s Boy) about just how low they are on the totem pole. But I can tell you that here, everyone is equal, and all input on the product is valid. We’ve done a very good job of breaking down the barriers between the different departments of our little team, and I truly believe that anything we put out will have something for everyone because of this.

Does this mean our games will lose focus? Too many paws in the cookie jar? No. It just means that the decision makers take all of the wonderful ideas, narrow them down, then implement them in the best way they can.

I look forward to being here for a good long while, and hope that I can help to give you the best dungeon crawler around.

Hi! My name is Jeremy Huxley, I have been in the industry for 6 years now and it has taken me all over the world. I am an environment artist here at Runic and I have been here since the beginning of May. I have greatly enjoyed my time here. Everyone is really busy, but we have accomplished so much in a short amount of time. We are on the final push to release the single player in less than a year of production, that’s amazing!

During my time in the games industry, I have worked for a lot of different studios, including Flagship Studios in San Francisco, so a lot of these guys are friends. It is great to work directly with these guys for the first time, other than Max and Erich who were also down south, and Adam whom I grew up with in a tiny town –this is what we always dreamed of doing.

Bottle-necks in production are very common in this industry, where some of the people will work very hard on something and then once its passed on it can stagnate or disappear completely, there are millions of factors that lead to this, even when people all have good intentions. Personally, I have never worked at a studio where everyone works as diligently and cares so much about the project as they do here at Runic, and Travis and the programmers put us all to shame. In parting I would like to say that we hope you really enjoy the game, I feel it truly has heart and I hope you are all planning up your Mods and TC’s for the game, I know I am!

At E3 this Summer, we hinted around at our 3rd class. “She’s female,” is all we could confirm. Then little leaks came out – She’ll be a mixed-range class. Guns and bows. Badass babe stuff. You’ve been waiting … and we’ve been waiting to show you.

Girls of Gaming was her official debut, and what better way for a fine and classy young avatar to meet her public than with a smoking gun and a smirk on page 4. We also revealed that the third class –who you now know as The Vanquisher—had a backstory rooted in the overall world, even beyond the boomtown of Torchlight. She travels to Torchlight in disguise as a fellow treasure and adventure seeker. Secretly, however, she is a member of the elite and deadly guards of the world’s capital city, sent to investigate the mysterious and violent disturbances surrounding the boomtown’s Ember mines.

She has a nasty road of corrupted Ember and death ahead of her, but our girl is up to the task. Please meet the long-awaited Vanquisher.