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WoW community comes together to help a father
We've all had bad days in World of Warcraft. Your group wipes, the tank yells at the DPS, the DPS yells at the healer... and before you know it everyone is yelling at everyone, turning what should be fun into pure misery. We've all had game days like that. So why do we keep coming back to the game when it can be so frustrating? It's probably because the people we play with can be really amazing, too, as when Senna logged on to Reddit to ask for help: So im older (late 50's) and my son used to play lots of WOW while he was recovering after getting hit by a mortar in iraq. Recently he passed away and I decided that I wanted to connect with areas of my sons life I never understood. WOW is one of those areas. The response? The WoW community has banded together to offer sympathy and assistance with a thread over 700 comments long. It's the sort of thing that reminds you why you're still part of this game after more than a decade -- and want to reach out a helping hand to your fellow players.
PAX South 2015: Camelot Unchained's proactive approach to community management
In the crowdfunded independent industry, we are starting to see some ups and downs. Backers have seen some games fail and other games soar. One of those games that seems to be doing very well, at least if you ask its Community Manager Jenesee Grey and its legions of fans, is Camelot Unchained. At this weekend's PAX South, I spoke to Grey about her experience as a CM for a crowdfunded game.
PAX South 2015: Massively's Larry Everett to guest on MMO community panel
For MMO fans headed to Penny Arcade's inaugural PAX South in San Antonio, Texas, this weekend, there's one panel not to miss: Where Did Multiplayer in MMOs Go?. Massively's Larry Everett will guest on the community-oriented panel, which runs from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday in the Bobcat Theater. You can probably figure out the topic from the title, but here's the official blurb: In early MMORPGs, interacting with other community members in places like taverns and main cities were a necessity for advancement and survival. Today, interacting with random players has become a rare event instead of the tools for survival. Is this what we all wanted to happen? Join Alex Albrecht alongside Larry Everett and Patrick Mulhern to discuss the future of communities in MMORPGs. Larry will join Zerg ID Co-Founder Alex Albrecht, Lorehound Editor-in-Chief Patrick Mulhern, YouTube Gaming Strategic Partner Manager Meg Campbell, and Camelot Unchained Community Manager Jenesee Grey for the panel. Massively's big sister Joystiq will also be represented at the show; Joystiq Editor in Chief Ludwig Kietzmann and Community Manager Anthony John Agnello will host the In(s)ane Joystiq Quiz on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. local time in the Falcon Theater.
The sixth season of 'Community' starts March 17th on Yahoo Screen
Back in July, Yahoo announced it would revive NBC's popular Community for a sixth season after its original network cancelled the show. Today, the company announced that the new collection of episodes would begin March 17th on Yahoo Screen. Two episodes will premiere that Tuesday, with new ones following on a weekly basis for a total of 13. Of course, some of the original cast has already departed, so Troy (Donald Glover), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) and Pierce (Chevy Chase) won't be regulars this season. When you finish up with that corned beef and cabbage, you'll be able get cozy on the couch for the return. [Photo credit: NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images]
RuneScape debates auction halls on retro servers
The old school servers for RuneScape are something of a community experiment. Yes, the servers are meant to keep a classic feeling alive alongside the modern game, but they're also meant to be fun for the players. This is why the developers have opened up a thread for discussing whether or not to bring the Grand Exchange on to the old school servers, with a detailed explanation of the potential benefits and drawbacks. Some of the features available in the Grand Exchange on the "main" version of the game would not necessarily be available on the old school site due to technical limitations. It would, however, replace the Trading Post while still leaving the game's normal trade interface untouched. If you're an old school gamer who wants to sound off on the matter, take a look at the thread and figure out what would best serve the community. That's why it's up for discussion, after all.
The Daily Grind: Does your MMO guild use social networking tools?
The apparent popularity of ZergID, the most recent social network and online gathering spot for MMO players and guilds, made me wonder just how many gamers actively use these types of tools. I can remember them at least as far back as the early 2000s, when ezBoard was king (remember ezBoard?!). More modern versions, like Enjin, expanded on the message board format to include profiles and calendars and even DKP. But my guild has shied away from most such tools. We've always had a custom-built website with our own tools, some purchased software and some handcrafted just for us. I wouldn't want to risk losing data on another network, and truthfully, most of my guild's communication is done through other outlets anyway, like Steam, voice chat, and text-based chat channels. What about you folks? Do you use ZergID, Enjin, or other sites to organize or track your friends and guildmates online? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Shroud of the Avatar's Richard Garriott and Starr Long on MMO community
If you've been making a list of sandbox features and checking it twice, chances are you'll find many of those items in Shroud of the Avatar. And if player-generated content and a great community are near the top of that list, then this crowdfunded title might very well be the present you want to get yourself! While still under development, this sandbox has already grown exponentially from its humble beginnings of a chicken in a room to a current state that includes a bevy of features -- with more arriving like clockwork every monthly update. And plenty of those features are tools and systems that allow players to make the game a personalized experience for themselves and others. What about Shroud of the Avatar makes it so great for player-generated content? What makes the community great? And how has Steam affected the game? I sat down with Portalarium's Richard Garriott and Starr Long to talk about the move to Steam, updates, PGC, and the amazing community that's supporting the game. These guys had so much to share that this is only part one!
The Mog Log: The two-way community street in Final Fantasy XIV
If there's one thing that hit me after the live letter this weekend, it's that the Final Fantasy XIV community is kind of a mess. I've been working around this game since before it launched, and there have always been weird issues going on with the way the community has worked. Part of this is because the game's community has a weird sort of isolationist streak, as if the online installments of this particular series are the only online games in existence, but part of this is also a matter of dealing with a community team that reports to bosses who aren't speaking the same language as the US playerbase. Community management is a two-way street, and this weekend's antics served to remind me of how many elements of this really need to be addressed. So let's talk about how both the players and the community team can improve our overall culture from both sides.
Shroud of the Avatar unleashes a community update
Do you want to venture into a dark mine filled with kobolds? This time it will be different because it will be taking place in Shroud of the Avatar once the game patches Release 13 to a live release. But that's hardly the only point of the game's most recent update for the community, which comes hot on the heels of the game's overall success on Steam's Early Access service. This most recent update also includes several player-made screenshots and guides as well as the community event schedule running through the weekend for Release 12. A 12-hour telethon is also planned for December 1st, starting at 11:00 a.m. EST; the development team will be live to answer questions and interact with players through the broadcast. Check out the full dispatch here to catch up on community news and get a peek ahead.
Global Chat: Gamers Secret Santa
One of the yearly traditions in the blogosphere that I always look forward to is Stargrace's Annual Gamers Secret Santa. Currently in its sixth year, Gamers Secret Santa accepts any and all who want to sign up to be a part of a gift exchange. You'll end up sending a gift ($20 maximum) to someone and will receive a gift from another person during the month of December. There's even a digital exchange for more remote locations. It's always a blast to see what gifts I end up getting (and they are always geeky), and I wanted to encourage others to be a part of this. You'll need to sign up by December 1st if you do, however! It's grown every year, but this year I'm giving a bit of Massively publicity, so let's see if we can make this the biggest year ever! Another blogger-driven Christmas initiative is Syl's Blogosphere Xmas Countdown, during which she's assigning various blogs a day to write about the theme of positive gaming and community. Keep an eye on MMO Gypsy to see this advent countdown progress!
Sound off: Show us your used and abused phones!
That sad, broken handset is what one friend had to use while waiting for his new one to arrive. We know that you too, have felt his pain and are bound to have some similar photos floating around. Whether your phone was dropped into a pool of hydrofluoric acid or ran afoul of a mantis shrimp, we want to see the evidence. Show us in the forums or tweet it out with a #brokenphone hashtag, and let's enjoy a bit of cellphone shadenfreude together.
League of Legends rewards positive behavior
Just how toxic is League of Legends' community? According to Riot Games, it may not be as bad as it once was. The team posted a letter praising "positive behavior" in the community, saying that 95% of players have never received punishment. Furthermore, only 1% of the crowd have caused issues that resulted in lengthy bans or chat restrictions. Riot says that it is trying out new ideas to further combat bad behavior: "We've recently been focused on addressing extreme cases of verbal toxicity, and will soon be testing additional systems that address gameplay toxicity like leavers, AFKs, and intentional feeders." To players who haven't received any punishments in the 2014 season, Riot will be granting four-win IP boosts next week.
Reddit's new crowdfunding site draws on your fellow fans for help
The Reddit community already has a knack for rallying people around common causes, whether they're charities, fan shirts or getting soldiers decent toilet paper. Wouldn't it make sense to create a crowdfunding site that harnesses that energy? Apparently, Reddit agrees. Its new Redditmade site not only lets you raise funds for projects, but gives those projects a promotional boost if they're linked to official subreddit campaigns. You'll get extra attention on Redditmade, and Reddit itself will automatically generate free ads. And, as is often the case with Reddit, there's a charity angle -- if a project exceeds its goal, you can donate the extra proceeds to another organization (including Reddit's charity fund). You don't have to be a redditor to sign up, so feel free to give the site a look if you're thinking of pitching in.
WildStar opens up free, indefinite megaserver transfers
How's your server's population in WildStar since the switch to megaservers? Does it still feel a little empty? Community manager Tony Rey says that the team has heard the complaints that the PvP servers are quiet, and the team is responding by opening up indefinite free transfers between the PvE and PvP megaservers in both directions. You can move your PvE character to the PvP megaserver as you wish, and vice versa. Rey says that while the team was initially happy with the stats on the PvP realms, the EU PvP megaserver in particular had certain difficulties with player numbers after PvP-to-PvE transfers were opened up but before the megaservers went live. Having free transfers in place does carry the risk of allowing people to level on a PvE server only to transfer over at the level cap, but players are assured that the team is watching for shenanigans and will shut down untoward transfers. These transfers are currently open for an indefinite period of time; Carbine will decide whether or not these free transfers will remain in place after monitoring the health of the server system.
One Shots: Foot-in-Chest disease
I don't think a lot of us fantasize about the way that we're going to die. My philosophy is, if it must happen, it should be as cool as possible. I think that getting kicked off of the top of a speeding train after a penultimate boss fight would fit the bill. Of course, I'd probably rather be the one kicking than being kicked, especially if the kickee is a supernatural terrorist like this jerk. Reader Jonathan shares our first screenshot of the week: "This is from the cutscene as I was finishing the Last Train to Cairo in The Secret World. I think it's a great action shot, even if you can't see my character's face." Don't forget to do a proper Wilhelm scream, my friend! So what other gruesome fates await us in this collection of deadly images?
Star Wars: The Old Republic team 'investigating' character cap
With accelerated class story leveling, it's pretty easy at this point to start and play a new character in Star Wars: The Old Republic. So easy, in fact, that players are starting to really run up against the game's hard cap of 22 characters per server. Community manager Eric Musco took to the forums to explain that the cap was implemented originally simply because that was the upper limit before it would impact performance. Does that mean there's no hope for the future? Not necessarily. Musco states that the team has heard the demand and is currently looking into what it would take to raise the global cap beyond 22; it all comes down to whether or not the cap can be increased while keeping performance stable. So while there's unlikely to be an increase within the next few days, there's possible good news on the horizon.
The Daily Grind: Where did all the MMO bars go?
No, not those bars. The fun kind of bars. Massively reader Serrenity recently posted a provocative comment lamenting the loss of gathering places in MMORPGs: "Why aren't there many bars in games anymore? There's virtually no communal space. In capital cities everything has a numbers-related function -- learn to craft, spend money, repair your gear, auction, etc. [...] Everything is purely functional in games, without any 'flavor,' to the point of being the digital equivalent of getting socks for Christmas." And Serrenity is right. Many MMOs don't have bars or taverns or cantinas anymore, and those that do usually fail to imbue them with a purpose, but it wasn't always that way, so why and how did it happen? Where did all the bars go, and do we need them back? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR and the transparency dilemma
This past week on The Republic, I talked to prominent community members about transparency and broken promises in regard to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Both Heather from Corellian Run Radio and Redna from Ootinicast agreed that BioWare's community team has communicated too little and too infrequently with the players and has actually driven people away from the game because of that lack of dialogue. Also this past week, former Operative Class Representative Snave interviewed Community Manager Eric Musco, asking why the community team has been so quiet as of late and why it promised to deliver information by the end of September but it didn't. Snave also asked why there hasn't been more transparency from community team, especially when Musco specifically said that one of the things that he wanted from the community team was more transparency. Snave accused Musco of speaking out of both sides of his mouth when he said that he wanted more transparency but then wouldn't reveal what was going on with the announcement. Compounding recent events was a kerfuffle over the ongoing Cantina Tours. Players became upset when the Cantina Tour date for Las Vegas was moved from November 7th to November 15th, even though back in February, Community Coordinator Courtney Woods posted the planned dates of the Community Cantina Tour with the caveat that they were "subject to change." As a community, SWTOR players don't seem to be happy with or without transparency. The SWTOR community team cannot, as the saying goes, win for losing. What is the solution here? Let's discuss the details and maybe a solution or two.
The Daily Grind: What advice would you give as a gamer to a developer?
Communication between developers and gamers isn't always as simple as a one-on-one chat. The devs have an enormous microphone that gamers can't help but hear, but they also have everything they say scrutinized and analyzed past the point of helpfulness. Gamers, on the other hand, can only shout into the wind and hope that their voice rises above the rest of the mob to be heard by a studio team. But let's pretend that today, all of the MMO devs in the world are in an audience and you are up on stage with the mic. What advice would you give them? What would you want devs to know if they were really listening to you? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Do you like having NPCs fight alongside you?
The news that some garrison NPC followers will be able to become your bodyguards and fight alongside you is the first Warlords of Draenor information that's interested me at all. I love such systems in other games, such as companions in Star Wars: The Old Republic and Neverwinter. It's probably the same reason why I like pet classes: Having a combat NPC there makes me feel less alone and more in charge of a team, even if there's only code on the other end and not an actual human face. (Or so I assume.) Although, as in SWTOR, it might be a little awkward in WoW to see dozens of people running around with the same companion you have. Do you like it when a game gives you an NPC to be your bodyguard? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
