It’s time for another Xbox Team Showcase!  She writes, she loves pink Zunes and every Xbox 360 owner has seen or read her work thanks to the Out-of-Xbox Experience.  So she truly has a worldwide audience!

Sit down and welcome a new style to Unscripted 360…it’s Elle!

For those who may not know, can you share a little bit about who you are and what you do as it pertains to the Xbox Team.

I’m Elle, a tech writer for Xbox and Zune. My team is responsible for all of the content in the device manuals, plus supporting content on Xbox.com and Zune.net. We also cover UI text for console, devices, and software. Personally, I coordinate the customer-facing manuals and web content for the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows – LIVE platforms, and write UI text for the console and Games for Windows – LIVE.  And I write articles for a little column on Xbox.com on occasion.

What’s the story behind your Gamertag?

I’ve had variations of this name since the pre-Internet AOL days. (Come on, don’t hate.) I was already being called Elle in forums and in online games, so I took the name when Xbox Live started up.

Does the Xbox.com personality you have come close to the real person behind Elle?

I think so. I like to write in a friendly and approachable way, and I hope I’m like that in real life too.

Best part about what you do?

Seeing all the cool stuff way before it comes out, and being able to influence the design and direction of features. Text input device? Got one already, thanks.

I want one of those too! What’s a typical day like for you having to produce so much documentation?

That’s a funny thing. I actually don’t write much actual documentation anymore. In any given day, I’ll work with other writers on my team on the web and print content, provide text for new features, and work on our authoring tools and processes, plus any number of other projects my team takes on. Oh, and there’s meetings. Lots of meetings.

How does it feel knowing that every Xbox 360 owner has seen or read something from you?

It’s pretty cool. I mean, it’s all I can do to keep from walking into someone’s house, pointing at the screen, and saying, “see that button that says Achievements? Yeah, that was all me.”

Is it weird seeing the things you’ve written and been a part of staring at you as you play?

Not so much now. It’s been more than a year since I’ve written most of it, and I see it all the time, so it’s just taken for granted. What I hate most is when a mistake slips by, like a typo or a misspelling. There’s at least one that I know about in the May update. Maybe someone will find it.

How often do you find time to game?

Not often enough, unfortunately. I never get to play at work, except for the odd Arcade game. At home I’m doing other things, and I do get hooked on PC games sometimes (I won’t mention the name, but it starts with a W and has an o and another W in it).

Everyone gets hooked on WoW.  What title are you currently playing the most?

That’s a hard one. I like to try different games, but, as you can tell from my gamerscore, I rarely play any of them for very long. It’s been a few months, but Crackdown held my attention for a while.

Which of the Xbox 360’s upcoming titles is the one you just can’t wait to play?

Mass Effect. I saw it at E3 last year and it looked really good.

What is a typical gaming session like for you?

A typical Xbox 360 session involves me browsing through Xbox Live Marketplace and checking messages before I actually do any gaming. When I settle into a game, I kind of like to just zone out and play. Sometimes that means I ignore incoming messages and chat requests. Sorry about that.

What’s your favorite feature on the Xbox 360?

Network troubleshooter. Nah, just kidding (though it does rock). I’d have to say notifications and the Xbox Guide button. It gets overlooked when we have the big features like Messenger, Vision, Marketplace, and video, but they’re so darn useful. I can’t picture the console without them.

Name one thing you think the Xbox 360 does better than any of the competition?

Community, hands down. Unified friends list and messages, easily accessible wherever you are on the console or on the web.

I second that. If you could be any character in a game, what type of character would you be and what type of game?

I think I’d want to be a character in a superhero action game. I’d fly and squish stuff with my mind.

Ok.  One game.  One battle.  You against TriXie.  Who wins and what are you playing?

We’ll go way back and play Perfect Dark Zero. I win. But, if she had a frog-shaped marble-shooting gun, I’d be toast.

Any last words?

Just stay tuned for some really great things coming from the Xbox team. You’ll have to be patient, but things have yet to get boring around here.  Thanks for having me.

Thanks for taking some time for the Showcase.  I can’t wait to see what’s coming.