Beyond Bossfights

Beyond Bossfights 6 – Gaming Communities (Part 2)

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This month, I’m joined by Roger Edwards, proprietor of the Contains Moderate Peril podcast and blog. We talk about communities within game forums (both official and unofficial), game fan sites and blogs, and also touch on communities that form around gaming press sites. Lastly, we tackle some of the newest kinds of gaming communities, those that surround recorded and live-streamed video.

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Show notes:

Guest this episode: Roger Edwards of Contains Moderate Peril Podcast and Blog

Main Topic – Community (continued from episode 5)

—-

Questions/Topics for discussion:

  • Official Game Forums
      • Primary method of communication between game companies and existing players – is this effective? Forums are still only used by a small percentage of the playerbase
      • What is the purpose/motivation of this community? In recent years community has been more about ordered marketing by the developers, rather than a free and equitable platform to be used by players
      • What are the pitfalls of a) maintaining the community (for the game co) b) becoming too involved in this community (for players)? For both groups this can lead to an adversarial relationship. Also there is a risk of both parties lacking objectivity
      • Unofficial Game Forums
          • How do these communities come to be, and what is their purpose/motivation, generally speaking? It may be due to dissatisfaction with official channels or simply to fill a gap in the market
          • Are these types of forums necessary/needed? Are they helpful or problematic? The unofficial LOTRO forums are a prime example of the good and bad that arise from such niche communities
            • Fan Sites/Blogs
                • Player/fan created content. Are these effectively utilized by game companies today? Some companies have the wisdom to capitalise on fan content. take the Priority One ST podcast that Cryptic regularly use. Turbine greatly benefitted from CSTM. Arenanet want all outlest for Guild Wars 2 under their wing, yet Dulfy.net is an asset they recognise
                • Should they be treated more like actual press? What would the pro’s/con’s be of such an arrangement? Depends on the nature of the fan site. The official gaming press is not something I am impressed with at present so why aspire to it
                • What are some of the challenges with building communities around blogs? It takes a lot of work and dedication. The risk of burnout is high. The public have high expectations. You’re dealing with passion and readers may not always react logically
                  • Press sites
                      • Exclusive/early access to game/game company news and ability to spend time providing that news brings a lot of views/comments/followers
                      • The gaming press has to tread a fine line between informing the public and becoming an extension of the ongoing marketing campaign. I feel they tend more to the latter
                      • Communities exist mainly in the form of post commenters and RSS or podcast subscribers
                      • What is the purpose/motivation of these sites to foster community?
                      • Is community in this setting more one-way (readers to authors) than in others
                        • YouTube/Streaming
                            • Newer/Younger communities
                            • How else are these communities similar/different than the others mentioned? The new communities are very much about “immediacy” and streaming addresses this
                            • What do you think is attracting younger gamers to these types of communities? Live streaming and YouTube provide a far more direct answer to many gaming questions and queries. In some respects its the next best thing to “try before you buy”

                              • Feedback

                              e-mail:

                              None this week

                              iTunes:

                              One of the best podcasts out there and it is done by Braxwolf so that makes it awesome by default. Keep them coming and continue to be amazing!

                              – BraxFan303

                              Beyond Bossfights is a rather unique podcast, in so far that it celebrates those that contribute to the wider gaming community. Braxwolf is the ideal host asking his guests a broad mixture of questions in an intelligent and enjoyable manner. Keep an eye on this podcast. I suspect that this will be the show that everyone will want to be on in the months to come.

                              – Moderate Peril

                              You can send your feedback to [email protected] and I’ll read it on the podcast. Reminder that Beyond Bossfights is on iTunes and Stitcher. I would appreciate your ratings and reviews!

                              Contact information:

                              Guest

                              Twitter: @ModeratePeril

                              YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MoreModeratePeril

                              Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Contains-Moderate-Peril/147681581953735

                              Website: containsmoderateperil.com

                              e-mail: [email protected]

                              Me

                              Twitter: @Braxwolf

                              E-mail: [email protected]

                              Facebook: www.facebook.com/braxwolf

                              YouTube: www.YouTube.com/user/braxwolf

                              Blog: braxwolf.wordpress.com

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