In the live stream of the Sandpark MMO ArcheAge, which is currently in the next open beta, the delicate question suddenly arose as to how far Community Manager Evan Berman is willing to go for ArcheAge.
During an information-packed Twitch livestream about Closed Beta, Open Beta, and the future of the game (we will report in detail tomorrow), the conversation also turned to what is probably the most feared topic among PR people. At least among those who promote a product in the gaming sector: “Hot Pepper Gaming.”
This is a popular YouTube format where representatives of a game or unfortunate journalists must highlight the strengths of a game or criticize it after eating ultra-hot chili peppers or other foods dipped in one of these treacherous sauces with a six-figure Scoville rating. The catch: Only images of the game are shown when they talk about the game and do not rant about the chili that then takes over their entire consciousness. The appearance lasts only as long as they can manage without the neutralizing milk. And they must refuse all “reliefs” offered to them. This form of “competitive eating” is common in certain parts of the USA and is not without a certain sadism.
While the Product Manager of ArcheAge waved off at the mere mention of “Hot Pepper Gaming” and ducked out of the picture, it seems to affect Evan Berman. He is the Community Manager at ArcheAge and oversees the forum and social media there. As “Scapes,” he is the voice of Trion Worlds to the community. Berman seems to have already accepted his fate. The special honor of presenting ArcheAge at Hot Pepper Gaming will likely fall to him. Every day, according to Berman, he passes by a store that sells ultra-hot chilies and thinks, “So this is what awaits me in my future.”
His only hope is that the packed schedule of ArcheAge leaves no room for this painful promotional appointment. The schedule includes another Closed Beta until Wednesday, for which over a million invitations were sent out (as mentioned in the stream). After that, something special is planned to be announced at PAX Prime in Seattle, and then it could almost be time for the open beta, unless another closed beta event is planned beforehand. The Trion employees did not comment on this during the stream.
To give you an insight into this PR torture, we have picked a video of how Stephan Frost, one of the leading minds behind WildStar, tortures himself through an episode of “Hot Pepper Gaming” for his MMO.
