In Warframe , the community manager Rebecca Ford is also the voice of the AI Lotus. This helps in everyday life.

Gameindustry.biz conducted a long interview with Rebecca Ford. She explains how challenging and diverse the job of a community manager is today. Fans of a game like Warframe no longer only want to receive information. They also want a “spectacle” around it: such as a live stream from the developers that entertains the player base.

A shitstorm should not hinder the creativity of the developers

On the other hand, it is difficult to tell the developers what the community is currently thinking and feeling. Especially when one of the “pitchfork” moments is approaching, when the community threatens to destroy everything because they are dissatisfied with a developer decision.

It does not help the developers to pass this pressure directly onto them and stress them out, because then they tend to question everything, believes Ford. Therefore, it is the job of the community manager to put such moments into context: “People are upset, but they have been here for 4 years. So not everything can have gone wrong. If we were as terrible as they say we are, we would never have come this far.”

You have to deal with player feedback, filter and sort it, but you must not let it hinder creativity in the office.

You have to make it clear that Warframe belongs to the developers and they want to realize their visions. On the other hand, you must never lose respect for the players who have their own expectations.

The community manager also voices the AI Lotus

Rebecca Ford has a special advantage at Warframe. As the game came together at a difficult time for the studio, they saved on voice actors back then. So Ford took on the role of the intelligence “Lotus”, a Cortana-like figure that guides players. She is also called “Space Mom”.

According to Ford, she is respected as a community manager and enjoys a presumption of competence.

The players knew that Ford understands the game because she was an important part of Warframe. She was there in every mission at all times. This gave Ford a presumption of competence that has grown over time. As advice for other developers, Ford suggests: Not all community managers have to be voice actors, but they need to build a bridge of trust with the players. This must succeed for games-as-a-service.

Mein MMO says: It is interesting to study Warframe to understand what exactly this underdog does better than many others to be such a success. Good community management is obviously extremely important for such “surprise successes”. Here are parallels to ARK: Survival Evolved. Studio Wildcard has also emphasized how important it is to have top people here.

Also, the new Warframe Octavia has a beautiful voice:

Warframe: Octavia is coming – action spectacle celebrates with anthem