![]() "It's great to have that participation back and forth. "It is amazing - it really is," she told me. Grey's proactive role, on the other hand, actually helps the community development part of the game by allowing the backers, who are ultimately players, participate in steering the direction of the game. In other games, the job of the community manager is to quell rioting fans. In many MMOs, the community manager is little more than a forum moderator. But it gives the developers direct and instant feedback about the ideas they have for the game.Īs Grey was explaining CU's philosophy to me, it hit me that this is a strinkingly proactive way of managing an MMO community. This is where the developers can directly pitch ideas to the backers who are fully aware that what's spoken of really, truly might not happen. She called it the "something to think about" section. ![]() In fact, she told me about a specific forum where backers can talk about things to come. A few times during my interview with her, Grey had to tell me that the team wasn't ready to talk about a specific topic just yet, even with the backers, who are "emotionally invested because they've put individual money into building something, and they are a part of that building process."Īs she put it, the community-first philosophy it's a double-edged sword, and to help alleviate in possible issues, Camelot Unchained has a backers-only forum for backers who are testers. Camelot Unchained, even though its an independent game, isn't immune from those same needs. "It's one of the wonderful things about crowdsourcing." As long as the ideas are presented as ideas and not promises, then everything works out well.ĪAA developers, on the other hand, are usually forced into holding back every last detail until it's ready. "Most people give me leeway to share ideas," she says. Grey has been the game's community manager long enough to feel she's built up a rapport with the fans and feels comfortable talking to the backers about things not every community manager would mention to her players. ![]() I have to be very judicious about how I do that because I don't want to make promises or say anything that can be construed as a promise and disappoint our backers." On the other hand there are a lot of things I'd like to say and information that I'd like to give out: ideas we're thinking of ideas we're toying with. "On the one hand, we have accountability and responsibility to our backers to make the game we said we were going to make. However, she also described the work of the community manager in a community-centric crowdfunding environment as a "double-edged sword." "We are making something that people are excited about and that people want to have," Grey told me. You can find out pretty much anything you want to know about Camelot Unchained by investing a few hours reading its Kickstarter page, and that's just part of what makes this game unique compared to other MMORPGs in development: The backers are not some corporate conglomerate looking to make money they're players who are looking to support a good game. At this weekend's PAX South, I spoke to Grey about her experience as a CM for a crowdfunded game. 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. Backers have seen some games fail and other games soar. ![]() In the crowdfunded independent industry, we are starting to see some ups and downs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |