The Purpose of the O.T.

[Rodri]

Oh my, you really know what successful games companies need to do.
/sarcasm
In the business world, if you simply do what the rest do, then you will always be status quo. Business leaders and truly successful businesses do not do what others do simply because others do it. And just because others do it does not mean it is a good idea.
In the past Cisco and Google and Yahoo once provided free drinks and snacks to their employees. Was that a good idea? If I started a tech company then I should also provide free drinks and snacks to my employees because some other tech companies do it?
Toyota, Mitsubishi and Honda make their employees pay for all drinks from the vending machines. Maybe we should just do what they do.

Acer, do not use what other people do as a reason. That is not critical thinking nor is it what truly successful people do. Dont be afraid to do what YOU think is best regardless of what others say or do. That is called vision. That is called being a leader, not a follower.

The reason why online gaming companies offer social forums is quite soundly based in good buisness practices. Online gaming is a social phenomenom. By encouraging interaction between the players, both within the game and in a forum site, the gaming companies are encouraging their customers to form emotional attachments associated with their product/s.

I have seen so many posts from players in these boards saying that the main reason they continue to play Evony or visit these forums is to keep in touch with the friends they have made. If you were to ask the players of server1 why they still play, I am sure that most would say it is about the players they have met and the social interaction of an online community. A customer that keeps coming back is good for business. A large, active community is good for business and can even be used in a variety of ways to sell the game to new players.

MMO games such as Evony are basically two businesses in one. They are both a game and an online club. Offering social services such as forums which include Off-Topic boards is simply catering to the needs of their customers.

[Revoltion]

Offering social services such as forums which include Off-Topic boards is simply catering to the needs of their customers.

Especially the ones that don't play anymore.

[Rodri]

Especially the ones that don't play anymore.

Being active on the boards, even if you no longer play keeps you exposed to the company's products and any new releases they might be making. This means there is a possibility that you may be drawn back to play again or play a new release.

I would also refer you to this poll I held a while ago. As you can see, over 60% of the respondants still play Evony in some form or another. A further 28% voted that they still had an interest in online gaming, be it playing other games or looking for other games to play. That 28% could still possibly be enticed to return to playing a game that this company releases at some time in the future. Only 10% expressed no interest in online games and even then, that 10% are being exposed to the companies product simply because they visited these boards.

[japanpimp]

So Rodri, then why does a game company need to host and manage something that accomodates a Social Environment or phenomenom? That is not what game companies should be doing. Game companies should be working on their games, not facilitating social clubs.
A game is entertainment, the entertainment business. Just like music and movies and so on. I do not see music and movie owners creating, hosting and managing online social groups. Fan sites do that. Why should games be any different?
Does it matter if the game company hosts and manages the online social facilitators? Why cant a third party do that so the game company does not need to spend time and money hassling with it?
I am not saying that forums and social facilitators are bad. I am saying that entertainment companies have no business hosting or managing them because that is not what they do. That is not their business.

[King Dylan]

So Rodri, then why does a game company need to host and manage something that accomodates a Social Environment or phenomenom? That is not what game companies should be doing. Game companies should be working on their games, not facilitating social clubs.
A game is entertainment, the entertainment business. Just like music and movies and so on. I do not see music and movie owners creating, hosting and managing online social groups. Fan sites do that. Why should games be any different?
Does it matter if the game company hosts and manages the online social facilitators? Why cant a third party do that so the game company does not need to spend time and money hassling with it?
I am not saying that forums and social facilitators are bad. I am saying that entertainment companies have no business hosting or managing them because that is not what they do. That is not their business.

*facepalms so hard that his hand brakes through his forhead*

[Rodri]

So Rodri, then why does a game company need to host and manage something that accomodates a Social Environment or phenomenom? That is not what game companies should be doing. Game companies should be working on their games, not facilitating social clubs.
A game is entertainment, the entertainment business. Just like music and movies and so on. I do not see music and movie owners creating, hosting and managing online social groups. Fan sites do that. Why should games be any different?
Does it matter if the game company hosts and manages the online social facilitators? Why cant a third party do that so the game company does not need to spend time and money hassling with it?
I am not saying that forums and social facilitators are bad. I am saying that entertainment companies have no business hosting or managing them because that is not what they do. That is not their business.

I don't think you will ever get it.



Just go away quietly.

[Arathorn136]

So Rodri, then why does a game company need to host and manage something that accomodates a Social Environment or phenomenom? That is not what game companies should be doing. Game companies should be working on their games, not facilitating social clubs.
A game is entertainment, the entertainment business. Just like music and movies and so on. I do not see music and movie owners creating, hosting and managing online social groups. Fan sites do that. Why should games be any different?
Does it matter if the game company hosts and manages the online social facilitators? Why cant a third party do that so the game company does not need to spend time and money hassling with it?
I am not saying that forums and social facilitators are bad. I am saying that entertainment companies have no business hosting or managing them because that is not what they do. That is not their business.

Alright. I'm probably sticking my nose somewhere it shouldn't be, but oh well. You will live.

Anyways. I'd like to make a point here. If social forums were bad for buisness, did not benefit a gaming company in many ways by owning and operating one, then explain to me, why is this?

http://forum. runescape.com/forums.ws
board.ikariam.org/
http://forums2.battleon.com/f/tt.asp?forumid=209
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/index.html?sid=1


Also, I don't play Evony any more, but I still come to the forums. Lots. Why? Becasue I still liek the people I've met online.

[Reasoner]

Lots of companies have forums, Tons of questions are answered in the H&Q, and it's a good way to meet people, set for alliances, make friends, just a social community. There is nothing wrong with this at all, It's easily beneficial to the company JP. You word your sentences to make them seem complex as in there right, but bottom line your points and logic is fiddled with flaws. If you pick at your posts it may seem like your trying to bait and flame everybody.

[Wildor]

Alright fellas... Take it easy, will ya please?


Japanpimp's point is, I believe, that gaming companies are not in the business of on-line forums and probably shouldn't be. In the case of Evony, he's probably right, as the history of this whole place proves in my mind.
The problem was at first that the thing grew so big, so fast, that the creators of the game found themselves riding a mad horse, so to speak. Both regarding the game itself and the forum. Having little to no experience, those young people simply went in over their heads, and had no idea how to manage a successful on-line game and it's adjacent forum. And decided, rightly, to concentrate on the game fixes and improvement required, hiring Dawnseeker to face the forum mob mostly on his own and stonewall as best he could regarding game problems, while trying to make the best of a bad situation regarding the forum and the rapidly growing community born to it.
Then, subsequent hirings and recruitment of a better mod team lead to a stronger involvement in the community from the directorship (at least by proxy) and to the taming of what was once a very wild and unruly place. This happened to the betterment of both the game itself and the community, I felt. But the fact remains that it happened at the instigation of one employee and volunteer mods, who took this place (the forum) seriously enough to try to make it work better. Indeed, I resigned my modship after only a few weeks to protest against interference and lack of vision from the directorship of the site. That I was asked back, and eventually made Senior Mod, convinced me that I was making some headway in having this forum taken seriously and the community as a whole treated with a measure of appreciation and respect. Though Lord knows I never was the only person working to that end, and never thought for a minute I was. Even plain forum members helped in making this place respectable.

But, again, the fact remains that the directors of this game site always have, and I suspect always will, see the forum as a customary, necessary evil, regardless of any actions taken by volunteer Mods or even a paid employee. Recent events prove this in my mind. And, in that sense, regarding Evony itself, Japanpimp is probably right. Just because other sites do so doesn't mean Evony should run it's own forum. Though of course, it is theirs to do as they please. I have maintained that point throughout my modship and have not changed my mind. It's the simple truth. That they are not good at it doesn't change the fact that it is theirs.

Which have lead me to believe that if this community, which I cherish, is to have any future, it probably will be in some other place than here.

[japanpimp]

Yeah Wildor, thanks, that is what I was trying to say.
I am in no way saying that forums are bad or not necassary. They are great community facilitators. But why does a gaming company need to hassle with it? Why cant a third party run and manage it?
I never said they were "bad for business" or 'not beneficial' to the company.