Good read Having just heard some tard actually say in game, 'woah, was that a chick talking?' I lol'd at this one 'Loot and items have caused more Internet and Guild Drama than anything on earth, save possibly a girl talking on Ventrilo.'
Girls talking on Vent cause no drama. 'Tards going "Whoa, was that a chick talking?" are responsible and should be ganked. Guilds free from them are deservedly lucky.
[Begin Sarcasm]
Girls don't use the internet unless theres a webcam involved....its a physical impossibility.
They also don't play them thar vidya gaymes, mmorpg = most men online role play girls...even in ventrillo.
The only video game girls can play are message board games like gaia, considering they are born with a lack of thumbs and motor skills.
[End Sarcasm]
[Begin sexist GM rant]
I had a 13 year old tank GM who brought his "angels" with him on all raids
A female Belf priest/female Belf mage/ male tauren hunter (played by female)
Guess who got the best treatment? The two belves, cause they weren't a male char.
This was during BC, kind of a monopoly...go to another game and theres no lowbies
"On the other hand, a good to great QA department can ensure a game runs smoothly and, if it's not a joy to play, at least it functions well (after all, fun is not their problem)."
The "after all, fun is not their problem" is not true. At least that is what I can tell from my almost four years in QA. We had several tests to make sure that missions come with a good relation of content, time, difficulty and excitement. That the campaign progress wasn't too bumpy, tutorials did their jobs in a reasonable and entertaining manner and tons of other things that are not listed under: "hunt bugs!"
There are many mechanisms that should be triggered in a great QA. "Noob-Playtesting" as I call it, for example. Get people from the road to test the game, which in the best case haven't played computer games at all. If you monitor their actions very closely you can find a lot of things no one has ever considered to be stupid and that can be done better, more simple, more intuitive, more fun and so on...
But yeah, that all counts for great QA work and way too often it is like the author of that summary has written. The QA finds itself in the situation that Producing and Management haven't had planned time for QA at all... .it still happens!
My school actually has a diploma course dealing directly with creative design in games, especially in relation to lore and quests. I makes me really wish that I went into that course instead of science, but the problem with my country is that the career pathways for local game developers is extremely small, and I would have a terrible time finding a job if I graduated from that course. If I do want to go into gaming, I would probably have to work in either South Korea or the United States.
Though to be honest, now that I think of it, South Korea would be a good option. At least there I can improve on the current quest and lore mechanics and hey, I can do translations as well.
That being said, the lore and quest team is probably my favourite out of all the developers. If there is one thing that actually keeps me playing the game, it's the lore and quests provided. Have a good lore and quest development team and that game would automatically jump to the top of my favourites list. It's also the area I want to work in if I do manage to get into game development, since I'm complete crap when it comes to programming and graphics design.
Great article and I think you nailed the key positions I was thinking of. It was actually a nice surprise to see "The Web Guys" in there as well, as I used to be the team lead for a web firm that built large community hubs for Sierra, Activision, and Konami. So often the community and product sites were afterthoughts, with very little collaboration between the marketing departments (no idea why). We made the best of what we got though, relaying as much information as we could to the gamers and trying to understand their needs and issues surrounding the game (and then trying to communicate that back to the publishers).
It's nice to see this changing more and more for the better today, with some companies hiring their own community managers and even creating their own game specific community fan sites. I think it's becoming more and more critically important because the website is an important part of the overall game experience (both prior to launch and post launch). In effect, you have the opportunity to create a strong relationship with your customers. Don't waste that opportunity.
Comments
Girls talking on Vent cause no drama. 'Tards going "Whoa, was that a chick talking?" are responsible and should be ganked. Guilds free from them are deservedly lucky.
[Begin Sarcasm]
Girls don't use the internet unless theres a webcam involved....its a physical impossibility.
They also don't play them thar vidya gaymes, mmorpg = most men online role play girls...even in ventrillo.
The only video game girls can play are message board games like gaia, considering they are born with a lack of thumbs and motor skills.
[End Sarcasm]
[Begin sexist GM rant]
I had a 13 year old tank GM who brought his "angels" with him on all raids
A female Belf priest/female Belf mage/ male tauren hunter (played by female)
Guess who got the best treatment? The two belves, cause they weren't a male char.
This was during BC, kind of a monopoly...go to another game and theres no lowbies
[end rant]
I could play a game with subpar graphics if the sound were good. It would make up for it that much.
I consider myself a visual learner too, but I still cannot stand a game with bad sound.
--------------------------------------
"On the other hand, a good to great QA department can ensure a game runs smoothly and, if it's not a joy to play, at least it functions well (after all, fun is not their problem)."
The "after all, fun is not their problem" is not true. At least that is what I can tell from my almost four years in QA. We had several tests to make sure that missions come with a good relation of content, time, difficulty and excitement. That the campaign progress wasn't too bumpy, tutorials did their jobs in a reasonable and entertaining manner and tons of other things that are not listed under: "hunt bugs!"
There are many mechanisms that should be triggered in a great QA. "Noob-Playtesting" as I call it, for example. Get people from the road to test the game, which in the best case haven't played computer games at all. If you monitor their actions very closely you can find a lot of things no one has ever considered to be stupid and that can be done better, more simple, more intuitive, more fun and so on...
But yeah, that all counts for great QA work and way too often it is like the author of that summary has written. The QA finds itself in the situation that Producing and Management haven't had planned time for QA at all... .it still happens!
God praise the QA!
My school actually has a diploma course dealing directly with creative design in games, especially in relation to lore and quests. I makes me really wish that I went into that course instead of science, but the problem with my country is that the career pathways for local game developers is extremely small, and I would have a terrible time finding a job if I graduated from that course. If I do want to go into gaming, I would probably have to work in either South Korea or the United States.
Though to be honest, now that I think of it, South Korea would be a good option. At least there I can improve on the current quest and lore mechanics and hey, I can do translations as well.
That being said, the lore and quest team is probably my favourite out of all the developers. If there is one thing that actually keeps me playing the game, it's the lore and quests provided. Have a good lore and quest development team and that game would automatically jump to the top of my favourites list. It's also the area I want to work in if I do manage to get into game development, since I'm complete crap when it comes to programming and graphics design.
Main characters:
Jinn Gone Quiet (Guild Wars)
Princess Pudding (Guild Wars)
Great article and I think you nailed the key positions I was thinking of. It was actually a nice surprise to see "The Web Guys" in there as well, as I used to be the team lead for a web firm that built large community hubs for Sierra, Activision, and Konami. So often the community and product sites were afterthoughts, with very little collaboration between the marketing departments (no idea why). We made the best of what we got though, relaying as much information as we could to the gamers and trying to understand their needs and issues surrounding the game (and then trying to communicate that back to the publishers).
It's nice to see this changing more and more for the better today, with some companies hiring their own community managers and even creating their own game specific community fan sites. I think it's becoming more and more critically important because the website is an important part of the overall game experience (both prior to launch and post launch). In effect, you have the opportunity to create a strong relationship with your customers. Don't waste that opportunity.