User:Regina Buenaobra/Journal/Archive Apr-Jun 2008

Nework and Data Server Maintenance - 20 June 2008
Heads up for you working on Survivor titles. We will be performing some scheduled maintenance on the network and data centers and this may affect connectivity to the game servers. You may also experience increased lag. Maintenance on the network will take place on June 21 and data center maintenance will take place from June 22 - 25. For more details, please check the Network News.

Dance Comparison Videos? - 19 June 2008
I figure that the all-knowing members of the player community may be able to help me with this one. Does anyone know if there exists a video that contains video clips of all the GW character dances with a comparison of the original source of the dances? For example, a video that shows the male Ritualist dance with a comparison to the Napoleon Dynamite dance? If there is one, could you leave a link for me? Cheers.

Transparency - 17 June 2008
One issue that was brought up in the community last week was transparency. Players want more transparency about what is going on at ArenaNet. Players want explanations for game changes. Explanations for game changes are found in our Dev Updates. I believe we have been addressing this desire for explanations about skill balance changes by publishing Dev Updates more frequently. Dev Updates reside on this wiki, and with these updates being housed here, there is a problem of visibility. To address this, we have been posting links to the more important Dev Updates to the News feed on the offcial website. Additionally, the Dev Updates are localized into several languages. We have been aiming at simultaneous worldwide publication of Dev Updates in multiple languages.

I am sure we can do more, and we are exploring options on what we can do to gather feedback intelligently. If you have suggestions, please leave a comment with a concise, bullet point summary of what you would like to see. Some suggestions I have spotted:


 * A feedback form
 * Official forums -- this is not likely to happen in the near future)
 * Developers posting in the forums -- this is also not likely to happen in the immediate future, epecialy en masse. A move like this would require approval from particular people at ArenaNet and before that, a lot of discussion. Also, it would take developer time away from working on the game and raise expectations from the community for devs to maintain discussions in forums, and frankly, the priority for them is to work on the game.

A player suggested that I post weekly updates of exactly what the developers are working on. One of the issues with this is that most of those updates would read like this:


 * The environment art team continued working on a region in Gw2.
 * The programming team continued working on effects in GW2.
 * The business development team continued working on contract negotiations for GW2.
 * The writing team continued to work on quests and lore.
 * Some new hires started this week.
 * The QA team fixed some bugs in GW1 and you can read about them in the Game Update notes on the official website.

Week in and week out, you would have vague updates about what the various teams are working on in GW2, and honestly I would imagine that you would get completely frustrated by this. Working on a videogame is kind of like working on a Hollywood film set. There's very little we can talk about, and we have to get lots of permission from higher ups before we can think about sharing any single detail. Any potential leaks, like on a film set, could potentially jeopardize the project.

Although many of the developers do not maintain a visible presence on the forums or the wikis, they are out there, reading and discussing everything you have to say and as a team we all discuss these conversation threads and the issues you raise.

My Guild of One and Another Idea for Consideration - 10 June 2008
I've been reading the responses (both here on the wiki and in the forums) to the idea of putting my guild (of one) to a community-driven purpose. Many players have astutely pointed out the potential pitfalls -- concerns about favoritism/elitism, concerns about not hearing a wide variety of voices, concerns that they might miss "exclusive" information revealed during one of these hypothetical guild chats. In the end, it looks to be more trouble than it's worth. Thanks for the great discussion and insight.

One idea that a player had was of having regularly scheduled chats in Lion's Arch, with other players moderating, by helping to keep the discussion focsed and friendly.

Questions:


 * What do you think about having regular, scheduled in-game chats?
 * How frequently should chats to be held? One potential problem about having too-frequent chats is not having much to talk about, game-wise. There is the possibility that game updates will be spread out a little more, so there may be more time in-between. I'm all for socialization and hanging out, but many players don't really enjoy that sort of chat with Community Managers, instead they prefer concrete information.
 * What about other venues, outside of the game, for chats?
 * What are your experiences with in-game chats with Community Managers from other online games? Do those other games do things that you'd like to see us do?
 * Any other ideas?

Back from the Nerd Con - 30 May 2008
The long weekend was tiring, but paradoxically relaxing as well. I was at a science fiction convention, and it was cool to hang out with fellow geeks. I do need to brush up on my science fiction reading. It's been absolutely ages since I read science fiction and fantasy avidly. I honestly don't know what is good these days or even where to start.

Thank you, everyone, for participating in the feedback discussion about a potential ArenaNet developer blog. I've compiled your suggestions and will relay them to the appropriate parties in due course. Discussion on that topic, at least for the immediate purpose of this initial suggestion compilation, is closed.

I have been following the discussions here on the wiki regarding the ArenaNet portal or namespace. Thank you to the wiki community for undertaking this task of moving certain pages and discussions to a central and hopefully more easily located place. I think it will really help wiki visitors to find what they need quickly. If you all need assistance from my end, please let me know what I can do to help.

In in-game news this week, I've been questing around burned-out Ascalon with my Mesmer. I'm pleased to report that I'm at level 8 and rising, with a new set of that I'm not planning on replacing till I progress past the Maguuma Jungle.

When I log into the game I often receive guild invitations. I always decline. If you sent me a guild invitation, thank you, but I have decided not to join player guilds. Since people keep asking why I'm not in a guild, I created my own. It is a guild of one, and I do not expect its numbers to swell beyond myself, at least not permanently.

I'm considering what sort of community-driven purpose I could give this guild. Someone suggested that I use a guild to temporarily invite players to chat and engage in discussion in a quieter environment than the public chat channels. I'm mulling that one over. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Another thing that I have decided is not to accept items or gold from players. I did accept crafting materials from a player back when I was in Pre-Searing. However, after thinking about this for a bit, I decided that it's probably best if I don't continue this practice. So if you open Trade requests with me, I will decline. Thank you for the offers, though.

I can't believe it's nearly June already! Where does the time go?

Weekend 'Assignment' - 21 May 2008
One of the ideas that was put out there during my conversations with the community over the past week or so is the idea/possibility of having a developer blog. What I would like to know is the following: knowing that we are extremely limited in what we can talk about regarding GW2, what sort of content would you like to see?

I'd like to know what your thoughts and opinions are on this. In the interest of keeping informaton manageable, please only list your top three ideas in a bullet point list on the talk page of this journal.

When I get back on Tuesday, I'll review your feedback, compile it, and summarize it for the folks here and see what they think. Bear in mind that right now I am just soliciting feedback on the idea of a dev blog and what you would like to read, so just because you've suggested something doesn't mean it'll necessarily be implemented.

Upcoming Absence - 20 May 2008
I will be out of the office on Thursday 22 May and Friday 23 May. Monday 26 May is a holiday in the United States, so I will be out of the office that day as well.

In-Game Chat and Other Communication Methods - 16 May 2008
I actually hadn't planned on visiting with players in-game yesterday, but I decided to do so on a whim. This was partly due to encouragement by people at the company who, like many of you who commented here on the wiki or in the forums, feel that having a virtual presence by staff is good for social reasons, which I agree with. I still tend to agree with those who say that online appearances are poor for information delivery to a large number of people.

The chat itself was fine. From my experience running chats on Xfire, which was supported by my experience chatting with players yesterday, 30 - 45 minutes is the optimal run time for a chat session. Anything longer than that degenerates into repeat questions, excessive spamming, and obnoxious behaviour. Towards the end of it, I was having a hard time muting problematic players and answering questions at the same time. Some players were helping to moderate the chat, by telling other players to chill out or stop spamming. If you were one of the players who was helping to moderate the others in Lion's Arch International District 1 yesterday, when I was talking to folks, thanks for your assistance. :-)

The chat itself was enjoyable and fairly mature. I answered as many game questions that I could, but at the 30 minute mark, as more people showed up, I could sense growing impatience because players felt they were being ignored, which naturally prompted more spamming and frustration from those present in the district. If the chat had more participants than it did, another GM to mute problem players would be needed.

Someone noted that trying to search the forums for staff postings is frustrating and time-consuming, and would prefer communication methods via more official channels.

On GWO there was a discussion about where players go for information:


 * Forums posts - scattered all over fansites
 * In-game chats
 * Frog - a fun thing that Gaile Gray did, in-game
 * The Scribe - an in-character oriented medium, located on the official website
 * News Posts - general news about the Guild Wars product, located on the official website
 * Game Updates - news about the game, such as skill balance changes, located on the official website
 * Dev Updates - explanatory articles about game changes, located on the official wiki

The items crossed out are discontinued communication methods. The Frog was a Gaile Gray trademark; I and the other Community Managers have no plans to get our own animal sidekicks. There are no plans to restart The Scribe. So what we have left are: forum posts, in-game chats, news posts, game updates, and dev updates.

Forum posts - These tend to deal with issues that require prompt attention, for example informing players that there is a server problem, or just random discussion. Could the former live in a more visible and accessible location?

In-game chats - The main goal of these is socialization rather than information dissemination, for reasons I've already discussed at length. However, that doesn't mean that information can't be delivered to those in the chat.

News Posts - These seem to be working as a good source for information.

Game Updates - These seem to working as-is as well, but if people have any feedback on that, speak up.

Dev Updates - Currently, these aren't very visible. What we do at the moment is create a news post and link to the Dev Update, which lives on the wiki. Could there be a better way to increase visibility?

One of the ideas brought up on GWO was the notion of a dev blog. I'm a big proponent of blogging, so I support this idea. I'd be interested in hearing what others think of this, and what they would like to see in a dev blog. Extending this idea a bit further, does anyone have thoughts on a blog written by the community managers? If you think this is a good idea, what would you like to see from it?

Post-Searing and Thinking About In-Game Chat - 09 May 2008
Have crossed over to Post-Searing. Am at Level 6 -- lower than the level at which I traditionally leave Pre-Searing (which is Level 8 or so) because I didn't do all the quests, but oh well. Chose Monk as Secondary Profession. I wish I had a couple hours of the work day to devote to playing this character, but I do not. It'll be a little while longer before I can reach Lion's Arch properly -- without teleporting by using GM commands, that is. I hope people understand that I do not wish to use my personal account for talking to players online.

Thinking out loud... Am unsure if I am going to be holding Q&A sessions in-game.

From a player perspective, they don't seem to be the most efficient means of gathering information, as with a little bit of effort you could find the same information you need online, and on your own time -- without relying on someone to spot your question amongst the rows and rows of text scrolling rapidly in the chat window. The chats tend to be extremely chaotic and difficult to follow, making for a less than ideal user experience, particularly with the spamming and inappropriate comments and language. Players also feel ignored if they don't get answers to their questions, which only increases the desire to spam, which further contributes to the chaos. I can certainly say that when, as a player, I was present for Gaile Gray's online meet and greets, I was really turned off by the obnoxiousness of a large number of players towards Gaile and towards each other. So much so that it negatively impacted my enjoyment of the chat and I didn't even want to be in the same district with these disruptive people, even though I had a keen interest in the actual content of the chat itself.

From a community manager perspective, they reach a very small number of people in real-time and rely on members of the community being in the game at the same time to disseminate the information outside the game. My login times are unpredictable, though I suppose one option would be to schedule an in-game "office hour". Compiling screenshots of the chat is labor intensive for members of the community, though I am aware that many take pride in being at the right place and time to discover and post these chat logs in the first place. Furthermore, it's extremely unlikely that I would discuss information that isn't already available (or soon to be available) elsewhere.

What I've been doing currently, that is talking to people individually, while it is a little busy on my end, doesn't result in player aggravation from their voices not being heard. It doesn't result in aggravation on my end in terms of offensive and problematic language and not being able to keep up because 30 people are asking a question -- in public -- all at once and expect an answer immediately -- in public. People seem to be more likely to spam chat and be disruptive in public because everyone is watching and some people like that kind of attention. However, the same efficiency and reach issues are still present.

Does anyone have thoughts or opinons on this? Pros? Cons?

Things I've Been Working on the Past Couple of Weeks - 08 May 2008
Apart from everyday duties:


 * Reviewing resumes and interviewing candidates for the Community Manager position - reading, research, drafting interivew questions, email communications, phone conversations
 * Planning for PAX 2008 - brainstorming fun activities, starting on logistical planning, meetings, email communication
 * Editing articles and other written materials for the Guild Wars website - multiple iterations and edits to make sure it's good to publish on the internet

Soon, I Shall Have New Clothes - 02 May 2008
Spent some more time leveling up my newbie Mesmer today and chatting (via Whisper) to players whilst I quested. A player I was chatting to was kind enough to donate some crafting materials towards acquiring my Pre-Searing Collector Armor. I'm on my way! Trying to decide what Secondary Profession to take. Considering Monk. Any opinions?

'Playing' at Work - 01 May 2008
I spent a couple of hours in Pre-Searing Ascalon City (Europe, English District 1) today, chatting to players and doing quests. I'm going to do quests, level the character up, and leave Pre-Searing the usual way because I think it would be a little odd to see a Level 3 Mesmer running about in starter armor. Once this character gets out of Pre-Searing, perhaps I'll jump all over the map and do quests randomly. Maybe I'll get her a decent set of clothes soon enough.

As Requested: More Detail - 24 April 2008
Someone on Guild Wars Guru responded semi-seriously to an off-the-cuff remark I made in response to another forum poster. Apparently people are interested in what community managers do, besides read forums. So, this is what I'm working on this week, and following that are some everyday sort of duties. This isn't an exhaustive list, but it will give you a general idea of what I do Monday - Friday, between the hours of 09:00 and 18:00. I expect there will be some additions and/or changes as time passes and when new demands require it.

This Week:


 * Reviewing resumes for the next Community Management position at ArenaNet. Yes, we're hiring another Community Manager. If you're interested in applying, check out the job advert. I've also been responding to questions about the position from some interested professional contacts.
 * Researching contact management systems to manage public-facing email addresses so that the global community team can coordinate effectively.
 * Editing an article for posting on the Guild Wars web site.
 * Planning for PAX 2008. I'm brainstorming what sort of events that ArenaNet will have at the convention.
 * Working with IT to get email addresses correctly configured so I'm getting everything I need to.
 * Learning to use some new organizational technology that we have recently deployed to help us manage work across continents. This is specifically with regard to working the European teams in web, marketing, and community.

Regular Stuff:


 * Reading the forums and taking notes on issues and suggestions.
 * Keeping up-to-date on gaming news and information, specifically the online gaming industry.
 * Reading and digesting loads of email messages that come my way. I get cc-ed on a lot of messages so that I'm informed of what is going on in various departments.
 * Replying to a host of emails sent to the fansite@ and community@ email addresses.
 * Regular communication, via email and messenger, with the rest of the community team about game issues.
 * Meetings. I typically have at least four regularly scheduled meetings per week, though this may increase. More meetings will typically get scheduled as issues arise. The scheduled meetings are generally an hour long. There are also a ton of ad hoc meetings, which happen when folks just stop by my desk or if they ask me to drop by their offices. For example, someone from QA may stop by to let me know about a big bug they are working on, or I may be asked by one of the designers to stop by and give my input about something they are considering.

I hope that gives you all a bit more insight into what my day is like. If you want more of this or if it's too much information, let me know.

I Has Icon! - 23 April 2008
A big thank you to AT for creating a little metroid icon for me to use as my signature here on the wiki. Woo hoo! Check it out:

Week Two in Review - 19 April 2008
It was another incredibly busy week, with the European Guild Wars community team, as well as other folks from NCsoft Europe, in town. We had a series of very productive meetings, during which we started to build the framework of our community approach, including determining some basic processes.

I was not able to read the forums as much as I wanted to, having been tied up in meetings for practically the entire week. You think being a Community Manager is only about reading forums? Nope! Think again! :-) I hope people don't think I was ignoring them.

Playing Rock Band with the rest of the community team was one of the highlights of the week. Julien is absolutely killer with the drums.

Another highlight of the week was that those at the office with one monitor got a second monitor. Woo hoo!

Learning How to Wiki - 17 April 2008
I'm trying to learn how to edit wikis. Holy carps, this is complicated. :-(
 * Keep it up ;) Dinsy 06:43, 12 May 2010 (UTC)