Care in the Community

15 Comments

Tens of millions of people throw themselves headfirst into massively multiplayer online worlds, their rules unbreakable and rulers unseen.

Setting out in search of the people pulling the strings of some of the more popular MMOs leads us to NCsoft's Brighton offices, where they're willing to divulge the secrets of their string-pulling ways. Keeping online societies sweet is no simple task, and the key to maintaining a happy community, according to NCsoft's team of happy community co-ordinators, is simple: just keep in touch.

"When we were at Memorabilia, the movie and gaming convention, in Birmingham last November," begins Martin Kerstein, community team lead on Guild Wars, "there was one player from City of Heroes who baked shortbread villains and heroes for the team. It's always very funny when you first meet players, as we only know them by their nick. There was this one PvP player who was always very outspoken, so at this convention in Germany I asked 'Which one of you is this guy?' It turned out to be this really nice, sweet kid," laughs Martin, "every mother's dream!"

Community management is an aspect of MMOs than many people don't consider, and just one of the things your lamented monthly subscription fees pay for. If you've got a problem with the game you're paying to play, there'll be somebody there to help you out. This isn't just about developers showing face at BlizzCon either; interaction with the community filters right the way down through to forums, in-game events, and even player meets.

"In Cologne we had a City of Heroes player meet where about 50 people turned up," reminisces Jörg Koonen, German City of Heroes community co-ordinator. "It started at 7pm and went on until about 4am. We went to a restaurant, and then we went to a metal club," he chuckles. "We had a lot of fun. Whatever we do, it's all about building relationships with our community."

"Early last year we did a Guild Wars player meet here in Brighton," adds Alex Weekes, English City of Heroes community team lead. "We had players coming from Italy, Scandinavia, all over the UK, Germany and France - 50-odd people turned up. We invited a member of staff from ArenaNet, the developer of Guild Wars, and ended up eating a full English breakfast with some players in an all-night café at two in the morning."

HELP I'VE FALLEN
MMO players pulling all-nighters might not be the strangest thing you've come across, but occasionally odd things do happen in-game. In these moments, when your loot starts back-talking you or your group falls into the sky, GMs from the game's customer support team wade into the game world with their godlike powers, and the ability to cure your problems.

The job is not all about divine intervention though, having authoritative status in an MMO allows you to do other things too. "It's not always about having the tools to solve problems," explains Kerstein, "but also about having the tools to run small-scale events in-game, for the players."

"In City of Heroes we've run emote contests," adds Koonen, with disarming enthusiasm, "with people pairing up to play Rock Paper Scissors against each other. The community team was there to referee and watch over the event. Then we also have PvP events organised by us, with cups, medals and titles for the winners to distinguish these players from the rest."

One rogue EVE Online developer allegedly used his powers to generate in-game cash for his corporation, a high-profile case that seriously damaged relations between that game and its community, what's to say that a City of Heroes GM couldn't rule a game of Rock Paper Scissors in his favour? Loic Claveau, community team lead for the upcoming, CryEngine-powered MMO, Aion, steps in to provide an answer.

"There are safeguards in place to stop abuses of power," he explains. "If, for example, I logged into City of Heroes and gave 10 million to a friend, or simply generated that much currency - it would be flagged, customer support would see that. I would be fired on the spot!"

Says Kerstein, "When we're hiring at NCsoft, we always look very carefully at who we're hiring. We all play one another's games here, so if one of us were to do something stupid it would be obvious. We're as much players as we are community managers. If I'm playing a game and somebody's fooling around with it, I'm annoyed."

"That, and we generally don't run around with our GM characters," laughs Koonen, "I levelled my villain like everybody else, it took a long time and I played at very odd hours, but I play like everybody else."

DRAWING INSPIRATION
Love it or hate it, fan-made art and fiction is a sign of a healthy community claims Jen Bolton, community manager. From MS Paint doodles to sprawling deviantART galleries and manuscripts, each piece of work is a labour of love inspired by the game.

"One of my favourite things is seeing how players of our games create stuff," explains Bolton, "how they make art and create fiction. We see an awful lot of this high-quality work. We had a contest to design a weapon for Guild Wars and there were loads of loads of entries. Some were absolutely beautiful.

"With Tabula Rasa there are a lot of roleplayers," she continues. "They really love the military themes and that inspires them to write some wonderful fiction. I just find it exciting that the players of our games can be so creative and passionate, and want to share that with us."

Writing fan fiction is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to getting fun out of online games. Turning up to conventions dressed as your in-game persona is all the rage among the more eccentric players.

"In Leipzig 2006," explains Weekes, "we had a whole bunch of Guild Wars players turn up in costume to a PvP world championship, which was fun. Some City of Heroes players turned up as their in-game hero characters - some that were definitely makeshift, and some that were almost professional. There was a Guild Wars ritualist, dressed all in black..."... "With her boyfriend dressed as a monk," interrupts Koonen.

"Yes, with her boyfriend dressed as a monk," adds Weekes, "their costumes were great, inexpensive but well made."

MMOMANCE
And then there are the few lucky heroes, or villains, who decide to tie the knot in Tyria, before doing a /kiss emote and /dancing the night away.

"I've been invited to at least three or four in-game marriages," ponders Kerstein. "I'd get a message on the forum saying 'Hey, we'd like you to come to our online wedding!'"

"We see people who've met in-game and then gotten married in real life too," adds Koonen. "I met one couple a few weeks ago who obviously liked me so much that they asked me to be their, I dunno what you call it, the person who brings them together and gives them this blessing. Which was quite strange... But hey, I'm a roleplayer, so if they wanna have an in-game wedding, they've got my blessing!"

Weddings aren't the only real-life events to have made the jump to MMOs either. With communities this tight-knit, the death of a fellow player rarely goes unnoticed. It's sad, but heart-warming to see the occasion marked online.

"There was one in Guild Wars," begins Weekes. "The community had become aware that a player had passed away in a car crash. This guy was one of the more creative players too, always posting up Guild Wars-related art on the forum. The community kept his art alive."

"I've seen a few occasions where players will gather just to talk about a person who's died," adds Koonen, "or just to sit peacefully and mourn, before moving on."

"It wasn't a funeral," adds Kerstein, "but among the Guild Wars alpha testers - the guys who test the game in the background - there was one girl who was really sick and had to have a couple of operations. When she finally recovered, she came back and said that the support her fellow players gave her, people she'd probably never even met in real life, helped her to pull through. So we see stuff like that as well, it's just amazing."

"I know it comes up all the time," explains Kerstein, "but there's that tendency to think of MMO players as people with no social skills, that they're isolated and have no real-life contacts: that's bollocks. These people have social lives, although not all of them of course," he laughs, "As I said MMO players are a diverse group, but most players have real lives too. Through the game, players often make real-life friends, I mean, I've become friends with people all across Europe. We shouldn't forget that MMOs have this huge social aspect, it's not like everybody playing is a nerd sitting in a cellar, never seeing the light of day."

Koonen agrees. "Yeah, the people who meet in-game and then get married, that's a tiny percentage of what's going on. There are people who meet each other, like each other, go to rock gigs, go to clubs, do real life stuff. Then go back into the game and just level, or PvP, or do whatever they like."

"Times are changing," adds Kerstein. "MMOs are becoming a way of relaxing, like TV and cinema. It's just another social tool, and many people don't understand it."

"And when these people meet up," laughs Koonen, "it's funny how the conversation always starts off about City of Heroes or whatever, but then quickly turns into general talk about all sorts of things. The game is just this medium that's brought them together."

And then you involve alcohol, and end up at some metal club at four in the morning...

Steve Hogarty