The state of Beta Feedback

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lethal_papercut wrote:

Overall what I think what we have here is PR issue. Communication between the devs & the community is an essential but difficult tightrope to walk. We live in a world now where communication is instant & people have learned to seek instant gratification. As a result any downtime doesn't satiate people's need for instant results & they quickly become restless. Apparently people can't even take a shit nowadays without taking their smart phone to play angry birds or browse reddit. It surely is a sign of the times.

What does this mean for GGG? They have to walk this tightrope, any wibble wobble along the way will be scrutinised & almost instantly reflected upon by 000's of people, it will then either be used to bolster them up or to tear them down. I do not envy anyone who has to walk this rope but it is an inherent part of being a public business & essentially 'comes with the territory', particularly with the gaming industry.

The gaming industry, ontop of that the indie gaming industry! A fickle beast at the best of times, where games can be made or fail on the back of a youtube video, a reddit comment or just a silly tweet from a dev. PR in today's gaming world is literally a game of russian roulette & I'm sure for some it feels just like the rng games they are trying to code.

But...that is the world we live in, GGG can't shy away from it, just the same as any other company, they are & will be judged not only by their coding & vision but by their public relations as well. They have to succeed in all areas in order to have a successful game & they need to do all they can to make that happen. It's difficult as hell but that is the area they have chosen to work in.

I do not think I am the best person to offer tips on how to maintain a healthy PR relationship but I do think that some of the right ideas lie in this thread and many others in the forum. You don't need to read between the lines to hear that many people (many of them CB members) are crying out for attention. They have made the feedback threads, they feel they have explained as best they can what they feel is in the best interests of the game, now what they need is the gratification. Unfortunately for them it's apparent that GGG still has more to learn themselves about keeping healthy PR & for certain players their gratification needs have not yet been met.

While it may seem that people should just learn to wait & be patient, that is unfortunately not the world we live in & I would argue that it is GGG's place to realise this as it certainly does have a major effect on people's willingness to continue to play. GGG need to realise that PR is as much a part of the game that needs attention as fixing bugs, adding new content or publicity to new customers. So yes, I do feel that they could do a better job in that regard. That being said, this is their first venture & I am sure any one of them will tell you that they know a lot more now than they did a year ago.

Overall what I am trying to say is, to GGG, I think you guys could do with a professional 'Community Manager', someone who knows the industry & knows how to deal with people. They do exist & they are invaluable to a company like yours. Consider it a good investment to hire someone to look after the forums & work as a relations manager between the community & the devs. Our current mods do not cut the mustard.
To the players, legitimate complaints are legitimate complaints so keep letting GGG know what you think but while you are it also try to consider the reality of making a game & all that it entails. GGG are learning just like anyone else & while sometimes it may seem misguided or just flat out ignored I honestly feel they are doing the best they know & will continue to try to do better. Their game depends on it.