Over the past couple years we have seen tremendous growth from EA Sports’ Madden Franchise. Some people like to attribute this growing quality to the inclusion of what EA Sports is calling Game Changers from the EA Gaming Community. A few days ago NoobTubeTV covered some of the biggest issues between non-Game Changers and the Game Changers on an interactive level through forums, Twitter, etc.
After scouring message-boards/forums, news and fan sites (many of which are owned by Game Changers) it is evident that they care deeply about the product they have all but devoted their lives to playing. It is impressive to see many of these sites talk about the intricacies and details that are either present or missing from some titles. These dedicated gamers eventually gained such a large audience or member-base that their opinions were held in high regard by EA.
When they first made their trips down to EA to visit the studio and get a first glimpse of the game they were pretty limited in what they got to see. It was all but a finished game and they got to give some feedback but anything else was off the table until at least the next year.
This year, the Game Changers got a few chances to visit EA Sports and watch as the game made it through Alpha and Beta stages. They also got to give input and suggestions. In the process of these visits they aren’t allowed to divulge any information that EA doesn’t give them permission to express to the public.
This puts Game Changers into a de-facto position of power. For many of them, it is something they take with humility. For others, it seems to be going to their heads and it is starting to leave a sour taste in the minds of many community members. The issue at hand is that many of these valued members of the community are given a ‘a longer leash’ and sometimes no leash at all (especially on their own personal sites). You will find that some (a minority really) of the ‘premier’ community leaders (aka Game Changers) choose to take things personally and/or respond to commoners in a rather snarky fashion that would often equate to a warning or ban from forums. This is a problem that was really bound to happen as it isn’t dissimilar from people voted into political offices of power. They are given power and then they exploit it with little or no recourse to the people they are supposedly representing.
It is important for all of our readers to remember a few things when it comes to taking an active role in the games and game communities in which you are involved. Below are some pointers for how to better represent yourself and your views when taking an active role in forums.
- Be Polite and Professional – many sites have TOS (Terms of Service) that spell out how you should act and which types of interaction and comments are allowed.
- When In Doubt, DON’T PRESS SEND – If you value your membership in a forum/community and you get angry or annoyed with a fellow member or even the game in general you need to think before you submit some sort of choice words.
- Choose Your Words Carefully – It is vital that a member doesn’t call anyone out or put them on blast by pointing fingers. This is often how digital fights of words begin and you better bet on community leaders getting the benefit of the doubt over a common user such as yourself.
- Don’t Be A Troll – If your mission is to go and instigate other members of the community, you might as well refrain from registering from the site to begin with… but who are we kidding?… You are probably getting ready to submit a rude comment here on NoobTubeTV. The real problem you will find is that by doing that (on here, at least) your comment will be approved and then it will be responded to in a polite and professional manner – therefore making you look foolish. Again… don’t be a troll.
NoobTubeTV 