Developer Perspectives: MMO Underbelly: The Takeaway
MMORPG.com columnist Sanya Weathers wraps up her tenure here at MMORPG.com with this column reflecting on the ideas that she would like to leaves us with.
Column By Sanya Weathers on September 18, 2009
Years of doing for community for people who are not entirely sure what community is has taught me to end presentations with the things I want people to remember.
Actually, years of doing presentations has taught me to start with those points, so all the people who will get yanked out of the meeting to fix crashed servers or prima donna designers will still know what was really important. That rather raises the question “couldn’t your meetings be five minutes long?” And the answer is yes, but some of my former employers just loved meetings too much. Starting with my bullet points freed up the Blackberry thumbers and the doodlers to blow 55 minutes doing whatever they wanted, so it wasn’t a total waste.
But, and you are no doubt accustomed to this when it comes to my writing… I digress.
I have had a wonderful time writing these underbelly columns for MMORPG. You all are my favorite kind of reader – already very knowledgeable about MMOs, and curious to hear the nitty gritty details. But this is the end of the line for me for a while.
Many of you know that as much as I enjoy writing and reporting, my heart belongs to community management. And yet for family reasons I’m unable to relocate very far from the DC area. I’ve horribly missed working directly with players on a game that I could believe in, but I had to find a company willing (and ABLE, which was hard) to hire me as a remote employee.
By the time you read this, I will have been the Director of Community for a game called Quick Hit Football for a few weeks. It’s pretty much everything I wanted to do professionally. It’s a fun, addictive, casual, free to play, web-based MMO with no elves. (Don’t get me wrong – RPGs are still my favorite thing to play, but if I’m ever going to be able to go back to fantasy games professionally, I need a break.) I’ve been doing stuff for them for a few months now, and I’m crazy about the game, and more importantly, the team behind the game. So when they made me the offer to go exclusive and full time, I grabbed it.
But that means I’ve got to say goodbye to the full time column.
So, what am I hoping you all will remember?
Server stability is not an on/off thing, even though it is always the most important thing to a game company. The guys who run the servers are the hardest working people you’ve never heard of.
Customer service is performed by people like you, with 50% alcohol and tobacco. No one loves the game more, or does more for the players. Not just in CS, but in terms of proactive design, feature development, and more.
Making one of these games is currently more art than science, and it could use a little more science. The bulk of the content you experience in the game is produced by the most entry level employees. But if you want to be one of those employees, there are some basic things you should know.
Getting the game out the door sounds so simple, but it’s the part most games fail to do. You’ve got to test it, put good processes in place, sell it, and promote it while managing expectations. There are shortcuts when it comes to selling it, of course. And MMOs are in a niche where the consumers do as much if not more of the promotion than any of the employees.
A launched game is where the work really begins for community people, because it’s not a passive thing where fun is transmitted from the company to the customer. We’re all in it together, and ultimately, we’re on the same side.
And when it comes to MMOs, the meta-game of blathering on about the Big Issues is almost as much fun for some of us as the actual game. Everyone’s got an opinion, and the drama that lights up the boards and the chatrooms is better than any soap opera.
MMOs and the people who play them are my life. Thanks for letting me be part of yours with these columns.
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Thanks for all the good columns Sanya. It was a pleasure reading them and nodding my head in agreement with a fellow gamer.
Best of luck to you in all you do and i hope you say hi to us every now and then. :D
Good luck with the Quick Hit stuff, will miss your insights!
Its all good stuff... and yes, though we all disagree on all issues, big to small, we are all on the same side... the side that seeks fun.
You're a rockstar of the mmorpg.com community in my book, so please come back and gimme some more good reads from time to time!
Thanks for all of your insights. Its been entertaining and educational reading your columns. Best of luck with your new job.
I just got the internet back after a week break, the first thing i did was check to see if there was any new articles to read on here. Your column was one of the main reasons i kept coming back to visit after first discovering mmorpg.com. I hope you thoroughly enjoy your new position. I won't forget the passion your conveyed for mmo's and their communities, it has certainly inspired me.
Thanks for all the articles.
And good luck! :)
Sad day! Your columns were my favorite.
A new job... That explains a few things...
Congratulations, Sanya. You'll be missed!
Sorry to see you go, this has been my favorite column.
Good luck with the new job!
Thanks, I've enjoyed your columns.
Congratulations on the job!
We will miss ya, i liked your take on how things worked/should work.
All the Luck, Live long and...well you know the rest.
We are going to....I'm going to miss your humor.
THANK YOU
PS MMORPG
YOU MEST UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Leaving? :(
/wow freakout
Good luck with the new position...have to say it's a shame to see you go though...so much for the best-written and only consistently interesting column on this site ;)
It's too bad you're leaving. I think you've inspired some of the other writers to push it harder/better. I'll miss your work and hope that you can occasionally drop out a drive-by-column. Best of luck!
But but... I like your column!
Wish you all the best in your new(ish) job, have fun, and don't forget us :)
Take care and have fun! Was kind of surprised to realize I actually remembered a person's name who worked for a game I played, (DAoC), one day when I logged in here. Take it easy!
doh!
This suks!
They were the best columns on this board. Always a pleasurable and insightful read.
Going to miss your insightful columns Sanya. :(
Good luck with your new game and keep being who you are. Good times are ahead of you!
A double blow, leaving us and for a casual F2P game.
If I wish you success, chances are we won’t see you again and a F2P game is successful, so instead all the best. :)
Your columns on MMORPG were my favorite read, thank you for the insight you gave me into the industry.
I hope that you enjoy your new role!
Good luck, Sanya. Your thoughts on MMOs and their communities have always helped me think about it in a different way, and your ability to type full columns weekly helped me to procrastinate somewhat productively.
I enjoyed hearing about the various little bits and pieces behind the scenes of MMO production, and the past, oh, twenty weeks plus? have surely had benefits from your stay here.
'Tis always sad though when someone cool leaves... have fun earning full-time wages! I'll be there too, eventually!
i loved you column. wish you lots of health and good will, and have fun at your new job. o/
Thanks for all the hard work you put into your columns.
I hope your new job is all that you want it to be.
Thanks for giving the mmorpg community some perspective.
Cheers,
Evolon.
Sorry to see you go, your columns were this site's only claim to professional journalism.
Good luck.
Good luck, Sanya. I thoroughly enjoyed your articles and will definitely miss them.
The very best of luck with you Sanya! I hope everythng works out for you!
Thank you for your insight, your writing, and your humor. You will certainly be missed.
Best of luck with your new job!
Good luck with your new job!
You were one of the best writers on this site, and almost everything you gave us was well-thought, well-written, interesting, and informative. I am sure you will excel no matter where you go. It will be a shame not to be reading any more underbelly from you, however. Cheers.
I have to agree with many of the posters here. Your column is one of the reasons I visited the site so often. Really enjoy your wit and insight. Good Luck with the new community. I may have to check it out.
Every time I see your caricature with its braids flung off to one side it would put a smile on my face...I knew I was about to read an intelligent, humorous, well written column. It will be sad not seeing that toon anymore.
Good luck in your new job. Hopefully sometime in the not so distant future you can stop by again and let the community know how things are going. Until than, take care.
Sorry to see you go, Sanya. Your columns were tremendously insightful and always entertaining -- they will be sorely missed. Good luck in your future endeavors!
It was s big pleasure to read your articles here (the best articles on mmorpg.com). Good luck at your new job and hope to see your writings again one day!
Like losing an old friend, after those many years with Mythic/DAOC, good luck on your future endeavours, and do try to get back into the mainstream games again one day.
Bummer, I never got to challenge you to the jello-wrestling death match. Probably would'a let you win too.... probably.
'sigh' so long n' thanks for all the 'bewbs' ... er.. articles.
Darin it, enjoyed the articles....good luck with the new game/job...best of wishes on it...
Congratulations on the full time position - you'll be missed! I owe a lot to you, and hope you'll keep in touch.
Good luck with your new job!
I couldn't say anything new, just repeat the people above: I'll miss your column, and want to wish good luck for your new job.
I have followed you haphazardly since a certain 'post heard 'round the net' appeared, care of Tweety, on some forums set up for my EQ1 server.... a post that hit home for me as an ex-Guide. Thanks for the many, many posts here and elsewhere that kept me entertained and/or informed. Thanks for loving this community as much as you do. I know we'll see you around.
Best of luck Sanya, and enjoy your new job!
Best of luck at your new job and your articles will be missed. Maybe someday you'll return. They all do you know. ^_^
The Underbelly articles, to me, are probably the best reason to visit this site. It's always easy as players and customers to complain; once we've seen the tough side of actually working on games, it's hard not to somewhat sympathize with folks on the other side. Working in IT, I already did. It's been nice to see regular people starting to think more about what it's like for the folks on the other side of their screens, though.
I feel sure there will be many other insightful MMO articles by Sanya Weathers in the future, and I look forward to reading them.
The end of your articles is a huge gigantic megabummer for me; they were easily the most interesting articles on this site! This is a tremendous loss for mmorpg.com, but it sounds like a great opportunity for you. Congratulations and good luck!
Hate to see you go, but am glad you found something that works for you.
I have really enjoyed your articles here, made me nostalgic of all those years of grab bags.
Good luck and best wishes in your endeavors.
wolffin
Thank you for your wit and insight. You will forever missed. Good luck and Godspeed.