Community Manager Yvonne has been responsible for MMORPGs like Last Chaos at gamigo for 7 years. She tells us about her work. How much influence does the feedback from German players have on the MMORPG?
The German company gamigo manages the European version of several MMORPGs from Asia such as Aura Kingdom, Last Chaos, Echo of Soul or Fiesta Online. We held an interview with a community manager from gamigo to gain insight into her work.
Yvonne primarily manages the MMORPG Last Chaos. The game was released in South Korea in 2006. It has been playable in Europe since 2008.
Hello Yvonne, you have been a Community Manager for MMOs and MMORPGs for 7 years. What has been the most memorable experience with a player over the years?
Oh, that was a few years ago on the server. I wanted to start a little chat with the players when one of them asked who I was. I was still relatively new in the job, and it must be said that the CMs in the game wear a special outfit and thus visually stand out a bit.
I explained to the player that I was the Community Manager and just wanted to chat a little to see what the atmosphere was like and to actively gather feedback.
The player could hardly believe that the CM was personally present on the server and that one could actually write to him/her. He immediately informed his guild and friends, so that within minutes many players appeared.
Fiesta Online: 10th Anniversary Event
At first, I felt a little overwhelmed since I was still quite new in the job, but after a few shock seconds, I felt completely at ease. He was so impressed by something that was completely normal to me.
One of the main tasks of a Community Manager is to communicate with the players. It was nice to see that we can receive so much positive feedback from one aspect of our work.
It is hopeless to explain to my mother what I actually do
If someone asks you, who is not from the industry, how do you explain your job to them?
That’s not so easy. I have tried several times with my mother, but she is not from the gaming industry, so the endeavor is hopeless.
Overall, one can say that I deal with caring for the players of the respective community. So event planning and execution, creating and posting announcements, entertaining and maintaining our social media channels, managing our volunteers, and communication between company and community are among the core tasks.
This is how you become a Community Manager
I can imagine that there are many career changers among Community Managers. How was it for you? How did you become aware of the job and what qualifications were important to get the job?
I am also a career changer. I have a completely different education and came to this job almost through my hobby. I came to Last Chaos through a friend back then and started playing online.
At some point, I ran into a GameMaster, whom I of course interrogated out of curiosity at first. Shortly after, I applied as well and wanted to help voluntarily alongside my job and family. This gave me good insight into the gaming industry and all the work that comes with a game.
Eventually, a Community Manager for Last Chaos was actively sought, and I simply applied. I thought I might as well give it a try. And it worked.
If you have an affinity for games, like to communicate verbally and in writing, and are also creative, eager to learn, and willing to learn, you have a solid basic toolset for a CM.
Do Community Managers gossip about players?
Do you actually talk among colleagues during lunch about what you’ve experienced with players, gossip a little or praise them?
Not just during lunch breaks. We have regular meetings in Community Management where we exchange ideas. Experiences are shared, problems discussed, and occasionally we also swap funny anecdotes.
You manage Fiesta Online, a game that has been around for several years. How has the community of the game changed over the years?
You should ask the responsible CM for Fiesta. I do not actively manage it, but I have learned in the last 7 years at gamigo that a lot changes in an online game over such a long period.
The community grows with you, and the expectations of the team and the game increase. It’s like in any relationship or friendship. The longer it lasts, the more effort must be made to maintain it. But you know each other quite well, you can estimate both the CM and the community on how they will react to new patches, features, or criticism.
What difficulties arise with an MMO that has been around for 10 years?
It’s hard to surprise the community. They have experienced a lot and seen everything. Therefore, you have to think up a lot or take completely new paths to excite them.
So, with Last Chaos, the “weekly challenges” were created, or Fiesta Online Puzzles during maintenance. The development of new content also becomes more difficult over time, as the game already has many things, and you do not want to bring a rehash of something old.
How does your work differ with an older game compared to a new one?
With a new game, the game draws attention by itself. It’s new, it’s exciting, you want to jump in and play. The Community Management accompanies and entertains, and is there for questions, but you do not get so many. In older games, Community Management is more demanded.
The inquiries increase, you get many improvement requests or also questions about when the game will be closed. You have to face many more uncomfortable questions.
I remember the first cast patch in Last Chaos, which caused real uprisings. In the end, we (the players and the team) managed to find a compromise for this sensitive topic. Those are real challenges for everyone involved.
How much influence do German players have on Asia MMORPGs?
When you say you receive many uncomfortable questions and requests for improvement. To what extent can you, as Community Managers, pass on the inquiries of German players to the developers? They sit in South Korea, right? Players probably feel that as “foreigners” it’s hard to be heard.
We pass on the feedback, the questions, the criticism, and everything we receive from the community to our product manager. The product manager is in charge of communication with the developer. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. We want to enjoy the game for a long time. That’s also in the interest of the developers – yet they are the ones who ultimately decide what happens with the product and where the development of the game goes.
It can happen that a player wishes for something that looks great at first glance, but that interferes with the mechanics of another feature or disturbs a game element that has been deliberately and for good reason designed that way by the developers. Then there can also be a negative response.
Echo of Soul
Every MMORPG attracts different players
Do you feel that the different games also attract different player types? Is the atmosphere different from game to game?
Absolutely. One chooses a game that suits them. For instance, a Last Chaos player might find Twin Saga too colorful, or a Shaiya player might not feel at home in Fiesta Online, etc. The atmosphere is not the same everywhere.
Every community has its peculiarities, which makes the job of the Community Manager exciting and varied. Regum Online, for example, has a much rougher tone among each other than Fiesta Online, due to the realm vs realm mechanics. That’s why we offer a large portfolio. So every gamer can find their game.
Gamigo, or previously Aeria Games, have had to endure harsh criticism for the cash shop orientation of the games. How do you deal with such criticism when it arises in forums?
Aeria Games now belongs to gamigo group, but they still keep the same name.
Dealing with criticism is a very challenging area in our job. I personally like to engage with players and try to follow the path of open and good communication. That’s not always straightforward.
Occasionally, you also have to cut off a discussion when it becomes unobjective and personal.
Where do you draw the line with criticism? When do you terminate a conversation?
It must be constructive and contain substance. That’s easier said than done. For example, you can’t do much with: “Just fix the bugs!” Yes, we all wish for bug-free games, but how realistic is that?
Especially with online role-playing games that have been running for several years, or in the case of Fiesta Online and Last Chaos, over a decade, some issues simply come with the territory. For me, it is therefore important to know which error we should deal with first, as it bothers you a lot or even hinders your gameplay?
I cut off a conversation when we come to no conclusion or it becomes insulting. If we spin in circles for several minutes or I simply do not get answers that I need to understand the criticism after multiple inquiries.
Fiesta Online
Do you also think about your own future as an MMO gets older? Do you look out for new games you can manage?
Yes and no. On one hand, the job isn’t bound to a game. You are a Community Manager for gamigo, not for Fiesta or Shaiya. On the other hand, you can become attached to your community, know the game, and personally do not want it to be shut down.
However, new games are always looked at. You must keep an eye on the competition.
