Category Archives: Community

The Griefer With The Coin Bag

March 8, 2011 by Eric | 41 Comments »

Got back from GDC week and still trying to get back into the swing of things… and here comes a funny story straight from GDC! Go ahead and read it, it’s pretty funny. (Original story) (Cached version because it’s very … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Design | 41 Comments

“The Dev Team” Footprint

February 10, 2011 by Sandra | 3 Comments »

Sanya Weathers at Eating Bees posted last month about “Things That Make Me /Facepalm When I See Them From Moderators“. You should read and embrace the post in its entirely. But I wanted to expand on one of her points. … Continue reading →

Posted in Community | 3 Comments

SOE: Reduced to Patent Trolls

November 29, 2010 by Eric | 17 Comments »

Are you kidding me, SOE? You guys are a huge bunch of pricks. You patented my technique. I know you guys have a long history of basically using money to destroy competition, because hey, you have money, why not? Because … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Community | 17 Comments

“I shouldn’t be posting this, but…”

November 8, 2010 by Eric | 8 Comments »

Is there anything more frustrating for a community manager than discovering that a member of the dev team posted something stupid? Yes. It’s when that stupid dev post starts out, “I shouldn’t do this, but…” Wizards of the Coast has … Continue reading →

Posted in Community | 8 Comments

“No-Reply” is the same as “No-Respect”

May 20, 2010 by Eric | 4 Comments »

Ever had to deal with an asshole customer? Ugh! They can really ruin your day. I’ve had to deal with my fair share, so I should know better than to be one myself. But I was just an asshole customer. … Continue reading →

Posted in Community | 4 Comments

Community Friendliness: Size Matters

January 15, 2010 by Eric | 22 Comments »

Sometimes when I’m talking to an old AC2 player, they will ask me the most surprising questions. One that really stuck out was, “How did you manage to get such a great community around AC2?” And it’s true. AC2 had … Continue reading →

Posted in Community | 22 Comments

Two Kinds of Developer Relations

November 10, 2009 by Eric | 20 Comments »

There seem to be two main ways that MMO developers interact with players. These two ways have serious pros and cons, but usually the choice isn’t made consciously. Instead, the choice comes from the culture and situation the team finds … Continue reading →

Posted in Community | 20 Comments

Please, EQ2, Sell Out More!

January 14, 2009 by Eric | 12 Comments »

You probably heard that a little while ago, EverQuest 2 started offering items for sale as micro-transactions. I’m all for this. I think the only people who get hung up on microtransactions in these games are the fuddy-duddy “hardcore” users, … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Design | 12 Comments

Player Superstitions

October 27, 2008 by Eric | 16 Comments »

There’s a quest in World of Warcraft called, “Are you there, Yeti?” where you have to find two pristine yeti horns to complete the quest. A couple years ago, the drop rate for these yeti horns was atrocious — 5% … Continue reading →

Posted in Community | 16 Comments

Taming the Forum Tiger

June 30, 2008 by Eric | 32 Comments »

If somebody’s only interaction with a game were reading its forums, they would come away thinking just about any game in existence is terrible. Not just terrible… a blight upon the world, a source of misery and death, the reason video … Continue reading →

Posted in Community | 32 Comments