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Reducing Pesky Fan Noise?

Posted by simoniker on from the less-noise-more-sound dept.

Thanks to FiringSquad for their editorial about how gamers and developers interact in public forums, inspired by Alex 'Marweas' Rodberg's public outburst in the HomeWorld 2 forums, which in turn inspired a Penny Arcade strip about the trials and tribulations of being a 'community manager'. The FiringSquad article suggests that "...there's an increasing divide between the people who make the games and the people who play them. And guess whose fault it is? It's yours, not theirs", and goes on to venture that "Online interaction is so impersonal, so fraught with assurances of anonymity, and so littered with the maladjusted and juvenile, that there are no social repercussions for acting like a jackass." What's to be done?

3 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Community managers by orkysoft · · Score: 2, Informative

    Duh.

    --

    I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
  2. Alex and Sierra by Tnylr · · Score: 2, Informative

    I used to work with Alex. First off, he's more of a Brand Manager/MARketing WEASel than PR.

    Second, he's been marketting games and interacting with communities for a long time. (IMO) A lot of why he does community relations is that he likes being part of the community since he's a big gamer himself. I'm unsure if it's even (a big) part of his job description- though that doesn't excuse anything.

    I found it quite odd to see his comment. It's not something I'd expect him to write. Though I'm betting Sierra marketting is under a lot of pressure right now with not a lot of resources.

    - VU/VUgames has been 'for sale' for almost a year now, and VU hasn't been doing to well.
    - Sierra has quite a few PC games to market this season (Half-Life 2, Homeworld 2, Lords of the Realm 3, Ground Control 2, War of the Ring) plus their console stuff). I seriously doubt they have either the manpower or the budget to adequately cover all of them. Which isn't something that any dedicated marketting person would be pleased with at all.

  3. Having been on both sides by DaveCBio · · Score: 2, Informative

    I see fans as a double edged sword. There are some incredible people out there playing and appreciating games. Then there are some that make you wonder if the long hours and draining work is worth it. In the end, if it's possible, the best course of action is to usually ignore the trolls and listen to the people that have real feedback both positive and negative.