The Game is Rigged: Pros and Cons of an Industry

[Math Mathonwy]

As a person who reads scientific publications for a living, that was some really difficult stuff to follow. The stream of consciousness style combined with the extreme length and somewhat complex ideas laid out in a jumble... I dunno, man.

As for the community - the forums cried out for an Alp cuddle for the longest time. Certain people were opposed, certain other people thought it was a good idea. Wyrd made their decision and cuddled the Alps. The forums cried for a Dreamer cuddle for the longest time. The same people were opposed (change is always scary), certain other people thought it was a good idea. Wyrd made their decision and cuddled the Dreamer.

There's a lot of similar situations. All in all, I can think of very few situations where a sizable amount of people voiced their concerns but those voices remained unheard. There are always the champions of status quo who are eager to rise up to defend the current way of things, but Wyrd themselves are very reactive.

In other words, to say that Wyrd doesn't listen is utterly crazy. They do listen and they do react, when enough people voice their concerns. Wyrd won't probably do exactly as the forumites ask, but rather make their own decisions, which is awesome. They aren't all that quick - in some cases I certainly think that they should act a bit more quickly (Stitched VP -thingy, for example) - but most of the time that is a good thing, since see-sawing on the rules is something to be avoided (see Levi in the early days).

So yeah, I voice my concerns when I feel the need and I probably have something of a reputation for negativity, but I'm very happy with how Wyrd conduct themselves. I have been along from the start and the whole picture is IMO very pretty when it comes to Wyrd listening to feedback.

[ThePandaDirector]

I read the first few comments before bed and did indeed facepalm, but more than that I went to bed kicking myself for looking like a fool =[

Last night I had a realistic nightmare about graduation and woke quite disheartened and anxious about what had transpired in this thread =[

And preceded to have a "£uck yeah!" moment =D

Pandalove forever

You heard it here first, Eric's finally accepted the inevitable. I can only send out my sincerest condolences to Casey and advise that she too accept the panda love =]

Unfortunately y'all off the mark by a mile. Looks like that imaginary job isn't in any danger

But I want to apologise if any of you interpreted that post as anything offensive, or were offended by the difficulty to interpret it. Now if you would like to understand then I will do my best to make it clearer, if not skip to the rather catchy song at the end =]

Questions and Answers

Wyrd is good, Wyrd is bad, Wyrd is Rome, Wyrd is the anti-Christ

Remember this?

By the way....the little blurb in your sig..........I failed.

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

In a sense it is that Wyrd is not good, Wyrd is not bad, they're both and so much more. Same with the community. Same with everyone and everything (except the rat, he's just filthy). But as far as a business goes there is only those who pay you and those who don't. So it helps if the customer generalises you as something instead of nothing, as that at least means you can go on to win them over to your side.

to say you are not gonna talk about an emotional stand-point yet to then talk about loving the hobby is counter-intuitive

I'm sure you're aware that I knew someone would point this out, so why would I then state it I wonder? If anything because it's true, I love you guys (again, not the bleeding rat, yuck! =P) But as I have told Eric when I gave Wyrd some very harsh criticism (spoiler: it got fixed ), you will never see me get angry at you (or them). If Wyrd does something bad, I get to hold onto my money awhile longer, that's it. If the community ever disgusts me to my very core, you just get less wall of texts =] My "love" is not volatile, it is not a force of nature that I can blame for my misplaced anger. Note I said "misplaced", because my view has always been that anger itself is a resource and dealing it on others is all too often a waste. I can't stop you from getting angry and I can't deny that you love Wyrd and each other, but when I see a thread full of bickering (ironically you all seem to be able to keep up with those convoluted messes) I don't see good and bad people, I see people that are both, but I also see misplaced anger over an issue that is insignificant to me and the industry I love.

They [are] such different entities that they cannot really be compared to any meaningful conclusion.

They occupy two different places on the industry spectrum, you would agree? My comparison is not Wyrd/GW, but the analogue gaming industry to other entertainment industries (big picture and all that). When I state that GW is "both a pillar and anchor" I mean just that. They support the industry by being its financial and cultural core, but the manner with which they have formed how the industry as a whole is perceived - as not being a social norm - they anchor it. Linking back to my point with drgaz, GW is both a pillar and an anchor, together with both the positive and negative connotations of each. When a pillar collapses something falls (many would agree the collapse of GW would be a disaster), but if you cut off an anchor you can move again (there's a lot to suggest the industry would be better off if GW wasn't its only publicist). So my true comparison of Wyrd/GW is just that Wyrd can, in future, occupy roughly the same place on the spectrum as GW, but without the contradictory role GW currently fills. The main point in my thread (other than the happy ending) was what issues the industry as a whole face, and how Wyrd's place in the spectrum (along with the strength of its community) indicates its (our) potential for fixing them.

Thirdly there is no way on earth a company and it's customers are comparable to a democracy

The industry is though. We elect companies with our wallet and they provide us with the functions we cannot fulfil ourselves. The more a company is in touch with its "voters" the more it will reflect their opinions. The main criticism of most democracies is that there is not enough transparency, and things are communicated badly. While a company is different in that it arguably has far more rights than an elected official, surely the "symbiotic link" between customer and business would be stronger with clear communication and interaction between the two. In that sense GW is a benevolent tyrant =P

A lesson in communication with Professor Panda *mumblemumble*

Ok now I'm going to attempt, potentially, the impossible; explain behavioural economics in a detailed but accessible format. Just to point out, I've not even started my Masters yet, this is all coming from a couple of books, some conversations and Wikipedia. Sadly I don't have any gamer friends where I'm at, just people who like to debate heavy topics

For now forget about Malifaux, forget about Wyrd, and only loosely think of miniature gaming as a whole. The benefit of this subject is that there is tons of research that has been done on it, just not in relation to our industry.

The Short Version

*deep breath*

Communication is complex. I cannot tell you how you will interpret what I say. But the more I understand you and the tools I use to communicate with, the more power I have to manipulate your process of interpretation and achieve my desired outcome (the "right" interpretation).

If you have no experience of analogue gaming, I am equally powerless to stop you from interpreting it as "silly toy soldiers". But again, the more I understand you and the tools available to myself to communicate with, the more power I have to change that outcome to you thinking Marcus could kick Hulk's ass.

Behavioural economics is the study of that process, and the endeavour to understand the process, factors and tools that ultimately lead to the increased/decreased chance of achieving a desired goal (non-gamers becoming gamers).

Like I stated in the first post, this isn't about any one game or company, but an industry. A revolution is coming. Rise.

The Less Short Version

So what follows is a rough breakdown of some key factors in the process of communicating an idea and determining how it is interpreted.

I understand many of you won't read this, and less will understand it, but I never PM this stuff to poor Eric or Justin because I love debate and it is only right that those who wish to be a part of it have the opportunity to have their voice heard (democracy in action baby).

Mental shortcuts = Heuristics

Reason and Example: 'Most people maintain a minimum level of interest in public affairs, and therefore employ simplifying shortcuts to arrive at political judgments. Common examples include referring to the complex military and intelligence activities by NATO forces in the Middle East simply as “the war on terror,” a reversal of a specific policy or position as a “flip-flop,” and the homogenization of any type of broad government assistance program as “socialism.”'

The simple way of interpreting that is to accept that we all use general terms without considering the full context of those words. The less you are interested in something the more general the terms become.

So we can agree that these two statements are from two different people:

1) "I don't play with toy soldiers anymore mate, they got nothing on my Alienware X51, with Intel Core i3-2120 Processor - 3.30GHz, 3MB L3 Cache, 2C - and 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 graphics card."

2) "I've decided to sell off my Malifaux crews - Lilith, Ramos and 'Tina - as well as some of my Warmahordes stuff and save up for a gaming console."

The key phrases are "toy soldiers" and "gaming console", two crude examples of a mental shortcut.

When I refer to Malifaux rules I use general terms; when many of you refer to rules, you refer to specific terms. This happens in every field, but there is a way to influence which terms we use.

Mental filters = Frames

Example: 'If a friend rapidly closes and opens an eye, we will respond very differently depending on whether we attribute this to a purely "physical" frame (s/he blinked) or to a social frame (s/he winked).'

Referring to the previous two statements, if Poster 1 had a post count of 3 and Poster 2 had a post count of 5261 then we would quite likely frame them differently regarding the perceived experience of the posters; newb and veteran.

But that is all thinking very small.

Reason: 'Framing is so effective because it is a heuristic, or mental shortcut that may not always yield desired results; and is seen as a 'rule of thumb'. According to Susan T. Fiske and Shelley E. Taylor, human beings are by nature “cognitive misers”, meaning they prefer to do as little thinking as possible. Frames provide people a quick and easy way to process information. Hence, people will use the previously mentioned mental filters (a series of which is called a schema) to make sense of incoming messages. This gives the sender and framer of the information enormous power to use these schemas to influence how the receivers will interpret the message'

To frame that block of text in a way you might understand, I will refer to a game like Malifaux. The more I understand the rules, understand probability, understand everything involved, the more power I have to influence the outcome of the game (I believe Calmdown said something similar). If communication is the game then the frames are a component of its rules, and the more aware and experienced you are, the more control you have to determine the end outcome. However, in both cases there is randomisation/probability and so we can only try and limit those effects.

It all comes down to the choice of words:

Example: 'Recent popularization of the term "escalation" to describe an increase in American troop-levels in Iraq. This implies that the United States has deliberately increased the scope of conflict in a provocative manner. It also implies that U.S. strategy entails a long-term military presence in Iraq, whereas "surge" framing implies a powerful but brief, transitory increase in intensity'

A simple choice in words can change the whole meaning of a statement. This actually applies more to those who refer to things in general terms because the influence is mostly subconscious. It's also a matter of what is at stake. If Wyrd's current customers interpret their communication of a price increase in a negative way then that won't have much impact, maybe lose a few customers for awhile, but if a non-gamer interprets the communication of the company's more general image/advertising then that's another person who won't be playing with any companies' "toy soldiers".

Example: '[In] the build-up to the Gulf War the conservatives were successful in making the debate whether to attack sooner or later, with no mention of the possibility of not attacking. Since the media picked up on this and also framed the debate in this fashion, the conservatives won.'

And the goal of my research is not to simply make Malifaux more balanced or make Wyrd as rich as GW (though I'm sure they'd thank me for it), but to take control of the outcome of the industry's communication with non-gamers. To do that I need to understand the mechanics of the "rules" and how to manipulate the odds in my (our) favour.

Example: '[Some researchers] exposed participants to a news story that presented the Ku Klux Klan's plan to hold a rally. Participants in one condition read a news story that framed the issue in terms of public safety concerns while participants in the other condition read a news storied that framed the issue in terms of free speech considerations. Participants exposed to the public safety condition considered public safety applicable for deciding whether the Klan should be allowed to hold a rally and, as expected, expressed lower tolerance of the Klan's right to hold a rally. Participants exposed to the free speech condition, however, considered free speech applicable for deciding whether the Klan should be allowed to hold a rally and, as expected, expressed greater tolerance of the Klan's right to hold a rally.'

And that beautifully refers me back to my point with dgraz. You can have two different points of information, both true and both applicable, but by simply highlighting one over the other, you get a completely different response. Perhaps the reason this is so complex is because it demands that you 'hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function' So when I say the industry has an issue, I simply mean that it is highlighting the wrong points of information, or at least using the wrong frames to communicate them =]

Conclusion (for now...)

So to wrap things up before I author a novel, as inaccessible and inapplicable as this specific discussion is to most of you, the general dialogue is far simpler and rewarding for all. When you write your next post take a moment to view it in someone else's shoes and think how it could be viewed differently. But also spare a thought for how you would like others (including Wyrd) to communicate with you. The whole "treat others like you would like to be treated" =] And next time you think to post a long wall of text about something, not only question if you're using the right form of transport, but if you're even going the right way =P

At the end of the day

Finally for those who didn't understand the first post and are even more confused after this one, then this song is for you. And what is its big and convoluted message?

Just enjoy the show =]

PS: If you know the film that song comes from you may just know more about this topic than you realise

Edited July 8, 2012 by ThePandaDirector

[Gruesome]

As a person who reads scientific publications for a living, that was some really difficult stuff to follow. The stream of consciousness style combined with the extreme length and somewhat complex ideas laid out in a jumble... I dunno, man.

As for the community - the forums cried out for an Alp cuddle for the longest time. Certain people were opposed, certain other people thought it was a good idea. Wyrd made their decision and cuddled the Alps. The forums cried for a Dreamer cuddle for the longest time. The same people were opposed (change is always scary), certain other people thought it was a good idea. Wyrd made their decision and cuddled the Dreamer.

There's a lot of similar situations. All in all, I can think of very few situations where a sizable amount of people voiced their concerns but those voices remained unheard. There are always the champions of status quo who are eager to rise up to defend the current way of things, but Wyrd themselves are very reactive.

In other words, to say that Wyrd doesn't listen is utterly crazy. They do listen and they do react, when enough people voice their concerns. Wyrd won't probably do exactly as the forumites ask, but rather make their own decisions, which is awesome. They aren't all that quick - in some cases I certainly think that they should act a bit more quickly (Stitched VP -thingy, for example) - but most of the time that is a good thing, since see-sawing on the rules is something to be avoided (see Levi in the early days).

So yeah, I voice my concerns when I feel the need and I probably have something of a reputation for negativity, but I'm very happy with how Wyrd conduct themselves. I have been along from the start and the whole picture is IMO very pretty when it comes to Wyrd listening to feedback.

Show your work!

---------- Post added at 12:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:09 PM ----------

In my area people hit problems and went back to 40k,

Out of the frying pan electric blanket and into the fire?

[dgraz]

No wonder why I didn't get it....I failed the sig.

[ThePandaDirector]

No wonder why I didn't get it....I failed the sig.

Many would argue so did I

[morella]

Panda, I have read many of your other posts in other areas of the forum and it is obvious you are a class act who genuinely cares about the community. My boyfriend is also a writer and your style is similar to his, so I followed you for a large part, though I can see where others are coming from as it takes some getting used to. Don't be disheartened by the critiques. And congratulations on your graduation and your birthday.

[bashamer]

hrm...

Well there are 2 conflicting ideas here (both are based on the wisdom of crowds tough);

1. creating a better functioning democracy so that we can create a more concise directions of where the game needs tweaking. Doing this on forums is hard, and the first people who actually have tried w/ some success was the MK2 field test in war machine / hordes.

One of the large preconditions towards processing this feedback is the ability to either normalize the source or increase the quantity of sources so that volume normalizes it. This data does not exist nor the feedback; Data that could assist this would be a rating system for players and a record of games played. This may bot be as in-feasible as you might consider.

A second example is studio mcVey; They processed the feedback by attaching a monetary involvement to the feedback. We want to publish this; all who say "aye" chip in a $100. This is actually akin to the direction of the american political system; you give money to a PAC that has a narrow focus, and that PAC then influences politicians to convince them to support it. Sure it doesn't sound as nice as saying everyone's* vote counts equally; as you'd have to say everyone's dollar counts equally; but amazingly easy to implement.

2. the concept of creative destruction.

Wyrd probably does not like this one:) but companies are not democracies and companies do not have to survive for our hobby to survive. If Wyrd $$$$$$$$s up they die, and will be replaced by the next one; sure it seems harsh, but if you start digging under the roots of the flourishing Wyrd you'd likely find a few corpses; hell you might even have known some of them.

But in the end Wyrd likely wants to survive; and likely wants their games to flourish so they can do that. So the incentives are with Wyrd to act according to our wishes.

*it is amazing how many people in the US are ineligible to vote. Sadly that is not a statistic that is easy to access by country.

Also for $$$$$$$$s sake, executive summary & conclusion. If you want an idea to stick tell people 3 times. tell them you are going to tell them, tell them in detail, tell them what you told them. In business the first page gets read, the last page gets sometimes read, the rest gets read if you get sued and are forced to read it.

Edited July 8, 2012 by bashamer

[morella]

See, I thought the whole point was that it is not about democracy at all. It is about the fundamental tension between producers and consumers. At the extremes, a company will either listen to its customers too much (or not at all), and since you can't make everyone happy all the time, the result will be an inferior product to at least some of the people. This is amplified in the gaming community, as we are generally not passive consumers, often quite the opposite.

And it is this passion which keeps us (and our money) here, but at the same time it can seem like it is tearing the community apart.

Meanwhile, the producers are balancing between listening to the community to respond to consumer demand, while simultaneously ignoring the noise, because you can't make everybody happy and trying to will likely guarantee a poor outcome for both producer and consumer.

To the Wyrd folks - I just want to say I've seen bad customer interaction from all levels of the gaming industry, and then I've seen worse, but you guys have always impressed me with the ways in which you try to enact this balancing act, and I applaud you for sticking to your vision while attempting to be responsive and engaged with the community, because that takes guts. And I hope you choose to never have stockholders to appease as well.

[ThePandaDirector]

I guess it's worth noting that I probably would never has posted this as a blog or PM, because whether the reponse is negative/positive I enjoy the opportunity to have a great discussion with as many or few people who have something to say. So I'm not offended by anything anyone has said, I wouldn't have it any other way =]

@bashamer: You're very much right, if Wyrd don't exist in 10 years time, the industry will not suffer any severe setbacks. The whole reason I am posting this here and not over at Privateer Press (who have far superior resources and marketing) is because I have (somewhat objectively) selected Wyrd as the champions of the industry. There are others too, but I think Wyrd have the right model and attitude to extend the boundaries of the industry.

And the core of the issue is: what is holding this industry back?

My answer: It is not regarded as a social norm and fails to prove otherwise. Communication is the key to changing that.

At the end of the day I am surprised how many people just accept that the miniature industry is small. There's no doubt it is, but does it have to be? Just because it is not an established social norm, or mainstream, doesn't mean it never will be.

Look at comic books. There are grown men out there who would have bullied and belittled someone for being a comic book geek. Cue Hollywood and now those same people are arguing over who is the best Avenger. By taking the creative IP of the comic books and combining them with the action blockbuster genre, the image of an industry was transformed. Geek chique left the train station and left miniature gaming behind. Same story with digital gaming, all it took was Nintendo to potentially misrepresent its current audience (perceived as anti-social insomniacs) as smiling, attractive families taking part in "family activities" with their favourite brand of "family console", and as if by magic it was a self-fulfilling prophecy =]

But I can promise you that it is inevitable that in the future this industry will have its time. Hipsters will call you mainstream for playing Warhammer, veterans will complain there aren't enough 'hardcore' games and chances are the most successful companies will face the same issues with customer satisfaction and scandal as those before them. The reason I want to be involved in this industry is because I like to think big and I hope that I can do my part to ensure that this industry learns from the mistakes of its competetion during its inevitable transition into mainstream entertainment. In my opinion Wyrd will be at the front of the queue.

Are any of you as excited as I am?

[morella]

But I can promise you that it is inevitable that in the future this industry will have its time. Hipsters will call you mainstream for playing Warhammer, veterans will complain there aren't enough 'hardcore' games and chances are the most successful companies will face the same issues with customer satisfaction and scandal as those before them.

It's not already like this?

I appreciate your enthusiasm, though I don't necessarily share it. I am happy it isn't so mainstream yet, but then I have always been anti-pop. I do wish all the good gaming companies the best of luck, but I think even if it does eventually trend big, it won't be sustained for very long, simply because of the investment of time and care involved in this hobby is more than many would be willing to give - indeed, that is (in my opinion) the largest reason why it will remain a niche market (like so many other worthy endeavors that are popular for a moment, and then revert to a stable, if small, consumer base). But if it did occur, then there may be a few who would learn about the hobby and stick around after the next big thing took hold, which is always a good thing.

[Justin]

As a person who reads scientific publications for a living, that was some really difficult stuff to follow. The stream of consciousness style combined with the extreme length and somewhat complex ideas laid out in a jumble... I dunno, man.

As for the community - the forums cried out for an Alp nerf for the longest time. Certain people were opposed, certain other people thought it was a good idea. Wyrd made their decision and nerfed the Alps. The forums cried for a Dreamer nerf for the longest time. The same people were opposed (change is always scary), certain other people thought it was a good idea. Wyrd made their decision and nerfed the Dreamer.

There's a lot of similar situations. All in all, I can think of very few situations where a sizable amount of people voiced their concerns but those voices remained unheard. There are always the champions of status quo who are eager to rise up to defend the current way of things, but Wyrd themselves are very reactive.

In other words, to say that Wyrd doesn't listen is utterly crazy. They do listen and they do react, when enough people voice their concerns. Wyrd won't probably do exactly as the forumites ask, but rather make their own decisions, which is awesome. They aren't all that quick - in some cases I certainly think that they should act a bit more quickly (Stitched VP -thingy, for example) - but most of the time that is a good thing, since see-sawing on the rules is something to be avoided (see Levi in the early days).

So yeah, I voice my concerns when I feel the need and I probably have something of a reputation for negativity, but I'm very happy with how Wyrd conduct themselves. I have been along from the start and the whole picture is IMO very pretty when it comes to Wyrd listening to feedback.

This was an awesome post, thank you.

[ThePandaDirector]

I appreciate your enthusiasm, though I don't necessarily share it. I am happy it isn't so mainstream yet, but then I have always been anti-pop. I do wish all the good gaming companies the best of luck, but I think even if it does eventually trend big, it won't be sustained for very long, simply because of the investment of time and care involved in this hobby is more than many would be willing to give - indeed, that is (in my opinion) the largest reason why it will remain a niche market (like so many other worthy endeavors that are popular for a moment, and then revert to a stable, if small, consumer base). But if it did occur, then there may be a few who would learn about the hobby and stick around after the next big thing took hold, which is always a good thing.

Congratulations on the first post to hit the nail on at least what the right topic is =P

I'm hardly mainstream myself; I listen to blues, watch Korean films and play with little toy soldiers =]

But you do raise a point that is what makes this whole industry so freaking fascinating for me; delayed gratification. In a digital age where we are more reliant on instant gratification than ever, while ironcially being (arguably) disconnected from the real world because of the communicative potential of the internet, the miniature industry is the champion of delayed gratification. So at the end of the day that is what you need to sell, and I believe that the next generation will eventually realise that there is merit in delayed gratification (am I right ladies?) When that revelation becomes a social norm, then we will see this industry take its rightful place in the public conscious.

[dgraz]

Hey! I actually understand the delayed gratification part! It's one of the things I harp on with the younger generation....that they don't understand it.

[ThePandaDirector]

Hey! I actually understand the delayed gratification part! It's one of the things I harp on with the younger generation....that they don't understand it.

You must be quite the lover

But yeah that's what it sorta comes down to. Justin stated (in the other thread I linked to I believe) that Wyrd's competition isn't GW or any other company, but Skyrim and The Avengers and anything that isn't a miniature game. That is also true. The part that people don't understand in my discussion is how I propose to change the current status of this industry and delayed gratification as a whole. Easy peasy, Belle's are teasy =D

[dgraz]

You must be quite the lover

Understanding and application are two very different things. *shock*

[morella]

I believe that the next generation will eventually realise that there is merit in delayed gratification (am I right ladies?) When that revelation becomes a social norm, then we will see this industry take its rightful place in the public conscious.

I envy your youthful optimism.

This reminds me when the collectible miniatures games first started coming out several years ago, and I thought - Why would anyone want them already painted?

[ThePandaDirector]

Understanding and application are two very different things. *shock*

Well... *looks at dgraz's avatar* well at least you're in touch with your... pony side =]

Anyway, I can already feel a change in the forum's atmosphere. Eric is showing us he's not some mysterious tyrant (though the avatar suggests otherwise) and people are on the verge of a bloody and violent My Little Pony debate. As my lecturer is oft to say "Magic" =]

[EricJ]

It is definitely in our best interest to react to the voice of the community, and we do our best, but being rather smaller than you probably expect it takes some time to line up the manpower sometimes.

What I think some people don't get is that it is not in our interest to react to a single voice in our community, no matter how loud and often that voice repeats itself. We also see of course that often that voice gets echoed through others in that persons local community and used as support for the idea, where really it is often just the result of a single group-think. We try to be responsible and balance loud voices against quieter voices, and do not react immediately to individual complaints, or complaints from an individual location. We did at first, and it was not smart. And no matter how much the loud voices feel they're "experts" on the subject, the fact is, if the majority of players think a change is a mistake, that's means the change is a mistake. So the bottom line is it takes time to gauge what players feel, and in fact, when the same source repeats themselves louder, and more often, it makes it HARDER for us to responsibly address the issue because it is harder to find the volume of un-bias feedback we're looking for to do the correct thing.

Figured I'd let you know that we do actually have a method to our madness, whether you agree with it or not.

---------- Post added at 02:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:56 PM ----------

Well... *looks at dgraz's avatar* well at least you're in touch with your... pony side =]

Anyway, I can already feel a change in the forum's atmosphere. Eric is showing us he's not some mysterious tyrant (though the avatar suggests otherwise) and people are on the verge of a bloody and violent My Little Pony debate. As my lecturer is oft to say "Magic" =]

I like that you noticed my little moment of ironic fun

[morella]

I think a lot of people realized this Eric, but like you said, it all just got so loud. For my part, I'd rather wait for good changes than suffer through hasty ones.

[Joel]

I think a lot of people realized this Eric, but like you said, it all just got so loud. For my part, I'd rather wait for good changes than suffer through hasty ones.

Hear, hear!

[ThePandaDirector]

@Eric: So... you're saying I should make my posts longer, more frequent and use nothing but CAPS LOCK? Noted =]

I get your point and its good business sense. As stated before I have my criticisms of both Wyrd and the community, and group-think is the self harming side of a double edged sword. We all know that this industry relies on word of mouth to grow and a lot of contemporary marketing research is saying that the friend network is the new market setting. So while getting people to connect and become a community, using the power of friendship (ahem) to get your customers to sell your game to their friends, is a pillar of business growth, group-think entitlement is its anchor =]

I mean just look at that Kony 2012 campaign. I had a friend who had a close female friend post up a ton of Kony 2012 stuff on her Facebook page (profile pic, all that jazz). My friend did his research and voiced some concern over its credability on his Facebook page. Shortly after posting it he found that she had deleted all the Kony stuff on her page. He realsied he was her influential friend as far as current affairs goes. It's already pretty obvious that the success of Kony 2012 was due to its thematic framing (abstract event) connected to the Occupy movement and Twitter led rebellions in the Middle East, but because it was so sensationalist and vague the friend network turned and the sheep went the other way.

In other words you can't win people over with haste and hype, might as well build a sand castle with a sive. Wyrd are right to take the path they have chosen, even if they could use a little more hype =P

And referring back to my introspective mess of a first post. The quotes were from the Wire and add a thematic context to each "chapter". The one for business was:

'Once you in it, you in it, and if it's a lie, then we fight on that lie, but we gotta fight.'

I love that line, and it refers to Bush/Cheney in Iraq. It also refers to a business that takes a strong stance on something and won't change its mind for risk of looking like Mitt Romney (a flip-flopper). Wyrd aren't afraid to say "we won't fight for a lie, but we'll take our time to find the truth". I respect them for that.

[morella]

Totally off topic, but The Wire is perhaps the best TV show ever. I knew I recognized those quotes but couldn't place them.

[Justin]

Totally off topic, but The Wire is perhaps the best TV show ever. I knew I recognized those quotes but couldn't place them.

Agreed. I really love the moment when the towers go down and everybody is celebrating it, and then you see the dust cloud spread out and settle over the city.

[ThePandaDirector]

Totally on topic, but The Wire is undoubtedly the best TV show ever.

Fixed.

I can just imagine it:

Wyrd Meeting

Eric: Until then, Mr. Gibbs, we're going to handle this $hit like businessmen, sell the $hit, make the profit and later for that gamer bull$hit. [Justin raises his hand.] Yeah.

Justin: Do the chair know we gonna look like some punk a$$ bitche$ out there?

Eric: Motherfuu...

Eric and Nathan alone

Nathan [to Eric]: Yeah, I ain't no suit wearing businessman like you, I'm just a gamer I suppose. And I want my table corners.

Edited July 8, 2012 by ThePandaDirector

[Justin]

Fixed.

I can just imagine it:

Wyrd Meeting

Eric: Until then, Mr. Gibbs, we're going to handle this $hit like businessmen, sell the $hit, make the profit and later for that gamer bull$hit. [Justin raises his hand.] Yeah.

Justin: Do the chair know we gonna look like some punk a$$ bitche$ out there?

Eric: Motherfuu...

Eric and Nathan alone

Nathan [to Eric]: Yeah, I ain't no suit wearing businessman like you, I'm just a gamer I suppose. And I want my table corners.

So that makes me...Brodey?

Awesome.