Fan Boys and MMO's

[Venkman]

Fanbois are the fans companies love to have, but they have no impact on the game itself. They're managed like any resource for what they are: secondary advertising. They transcend from games to entire networks like Stratics.

Inviting them as testers doesn't matter. But inviting the wrong people for beta testing does. EQ2 is a wonderful example, the best I can think of. SOE wanted a casual MMOG, so they invited as their first testers all their Legends subscribers, the folks who loved EQ1 so much they paid $39.99 a month to play. Yep, that's the pulse of the maybe/inconsistently-10-hour-a-week crowd. But that's not the fault of the testers. That's just using a marketing program to invite the wrong people to deliver a vision.

On the other side are fanboi developers. Think about the people still designing games that they themselves want to play. Is that responsible to the company, and to stockholders, to design systems that were fun for you when you had the time to game that much? That's just not good business. Design for who you want to play the game, because that group's sensibilities and preferences always change.

If Spore's even half of what it promises,

That's all that needs to be said. Will Wright can inspire a lot more resources than many, but even the most derivative schlocky MMO shouldn't be given the time of day until it's actually a downloadable client within a focused beta. Now a "Game" that mixes the best bulletpoints of every dream anyone's ever had? I don't care what is promised nor how many articles get written about it. It starts to matter when people are using it. Nothing kills player created content like players.

[Azazel]

Here's a related question?  How many times have you gone fanboi over a release in development, and will you ever again?

Well, not fanboi enough togo onto official forums or anything, but I was following Fable loosely towards the end of it's dev cycle. And I bought the game. $ucker.

Ever again? Don't think so. I'm enough of a fan/player of Warhammer to be very interested in WAR, but their official boards are as filled with mutant fanboi freaks as every other game, so they're really too scary for me to bother positng on in the vain hope of getting a beta spot or some such.

[Soln]

FWIW, my first and only post to mmorpg.com was today when I questioned their awarding Africa with most Innovative game.  Seems to me over-hyping a title before it even has a beta or screenshots is how fanbois get conceived.  People keep jonesn' on the coming-soon info, but it still has to be credible. After launch, people then just keep feeding on rumour and innuendo to attack/defend the provider.  But definitely fanbois are a marketing tactic.

[Morat20]

That's all that needs to be said. Will Wright can inspire a lot more resources than many, but even the most derivative schlocky MMO shouldn't be given the time of day until it's actually a downloadable client within a focused beta. Now a "Game" that mixes the best bulletpoints of every dream anyone's ever had? I don't care what is promised nor how many articles get written about it. It starts to matter when people are using it. Nothing kills player created content like players.

I think I'm lucky in that I didn't even hear about Spore until about a month ago. :)  I'm going off the 2005 and 2006 E3 demos, and hoping that his reputation and experience hold through.

If it fails -- well, I can hope someone else can deliver on the idea. Or fuck, that he makes Spore 2 and gets it right. Sometimes it's the idea that's the driver. The dream. There's art in the making of games, and that's a big part of it.

[Margalis]

I think the valid point being made here is that fanboys so disrupt the flow of useful opinion and info back to the devs, and give them a warped view of their own game.

It's actually kind of strange when you think about it, the fact that there is any comminucation at all. MMORPGs are the only genre I can think of where there are official boards and things like that months or years before release.

[Sairon]

EDIT: Missread post 

[shiznitz]

I think the valid point being made here is that fanboys so disrupt the flow of useful opinion and info back to the devs, and give them a warped view of their own game.

It's actually kind of strange when you think about it, the fact that there is any comminucation at all. MMORPGs are the only genre I can think of where there are official boards and things like that months or years before release.

Official boards should limit posts to one a week/day/whateve per registered user. If a dev reponds to your post, then you get to reply.  This would cut back much of the noise at the cost of a "community" that forms way too early.

[Broughden]

Well Im just happy the thread is generating discussion and debate. Thats all an OP can hope for.

[Signe]

Well Im just happy the thread is generating discussion and debate. Thats all an OP can hope for.

Oh, just admit it.  You were hoping to meet girls and grow hair. 

[Surlyboi]

Brougden and I are F13.net fanbois and are going to ruin your boards!

You have ruined your own lands, you'll not ruin ours!

[Simond]

This thread is misplaced.  It belongs on the vnboards.

Nah, it belongs here. 

[Lantyssa]

It's actually kind of strange when you think about it, the fact that there is any comminucation at all. MMORPGs are the only genre I can think of where there are official boards and things like that months or years before release.

The Elder Scrolls boards.  Maybe the EgoSoft X/X2/X3 boards although I only visited to find patch info.  Besides franchises, I cannot think of other concrete examples.

[Venkman]

I think the valid point being made here is that fanboys so disrupt the flow of useful opinion and info back to the devs, and give them a warped view of their own game.

It's actually kind of strange when you think about it, the fact that there is any comminucation at all. MMORPGs are the only genre I can think of where there are official boards and things like that months or years before release.

I agree. Noise > Signal, QFE, first!, all that thing.

Fanbois have their place in the cosmic scheme of delivering a game, and some will provide useful feedback (particularly if they're a fanboi of a focused part of the game. Get enough fanbois of each area and a good dev can balance it all). It's up to the community managers to manage the feedback though. That's why they're there, masochists though they are :)

[Azazel]

It's actually kind of strange when you think about it, the fact that there is any comminucation at all. MMORPGs are the only genre I can think of where there are official boards and things like that months or years before release.

The Elder Scrolls boards.  Maybe the EgoSoft X/X2/X3 boards although I only visited to find patch info.  Besides franchises, I cannot think of other concrete examples.

UFO:Freedom Ridge (later renamed UFO:Aftermath) had one..

[Broughden]

Well Im just happy the thread is generating discussion and debate. Thats all an OP can hope for.

Oh, just admit it.  You were hoping to meet girls and grow hair. 

It was all a vain attempt to impress you!  :-D