Nicole Thompson talked at the GDC Online in Austin and Kris Graft at Gamasutra has made an article about that :) Here I have added comments what I think about her statements!
For Nicole Thompson, executive producer for Disney's kid-friendly virtual world Club Penguin, the importance of fostering an online game’s community cannot be stressed enough.
Saraapril: I agree BUT WHY do you want to foster us to be Elite Soldiers? System Defender EPF Reviewed by Saraapril!
“There are so many different kinds of communities," she said at GDC Online in Austin, TX on Thursday. "What we’re going to be talking about today is online communities, but a lot of the same [traits] of a [real-world] community have to do with an online community,” she said. “We’re all here, we’re a community.”
Disney’s Club Penguin recently announced that it has 150 million registered users. Maintaining that audience comes down to understanding the needs of the community. To Thompson, a “community” is a group of people with shared values, interests and beliefs – not a group of customers.
“A community is not a customer,” she stressed. “They are customers but we can’t keep that in mind. [If we do] it will muddy the waters and probably… lead to bad choices.”
Saraapril: That sounds Good so will this mean that you will REMOVE all the Sneaky ads and False marketing inside Club Penguin Online? Just ONE Example: Club Penguin False Puffle Advertising and BUGS!
Thompson said people want to feel comfortable to be themselves -- to be authentic -- and a community should facilitate that feeling. “If you’re here at GDC, you want to be fully who you are … you want to be with people who feel the same way and want to be themselves.” If that’s not provided, “You can’t be in a community," she said.
Thompson ran down high-level needs of a community: “People want to connect, they want to participate in events that are happening [and] people want to have fun. … People want to have impact and influence on their world. … We have to provide a venue that will let people impact or change the world in some way.”
Saraapril: I agree PLEASE let Club Penguin go back to always be PEACEFUL, Positive and FUN a Place to learn and meet Penguins and get Friends from all over the World :) HAPPY Peace Party :) FUN with Friends :)
Those running online worlds must think of the needs of their community. For Club Penguin, an online world for children, safety is a top concern. But a community's needs will be different for everyone.
Saraapril: I agree and I like that Penguins can choose between Standard safe chat and Ultimate safe chat (How to create a Penguin) and that you remind us to think twice before we save our Password on a computer ) Club Penguin Safety Message ANIMATED :)
And online developers can’t simply say that they want to be community-focused – they have to put their money where their mouth is, Thompson said. Half of the staff for Club Penguin is community support. “You cannot support a community if you do not commit the resources to do that,” she said.
Saraapril: The Club Penguin Support are often very nice and I’m sure they do their best BUT they need to improve A LOT! Here are two examples in my experience why! Sadly there are Many MORE examples like these: Unlock Club Penguin items Online FAILED! What to do? and White Puffle IcePrincess back BUT…Club Penguin BUG has proved themselves Incompetent!
Fostering a strong community also involves being truthful, Thompson said. Keeping your promises to the community is important. “If we say we are going to launch an event every month, or every week, or say to the kids we’re going to respond to something, we deliver,” she said.
Saraapril: Do you? What happened to the Annual Penguin Play Awards? And what about the Extreme amount of BUGS in Club Penguin? Many of them are just ignored and some have been around for YEARS without being fixed! In this Post Billybob talks about the Annual Penguin Awards that we didn't get this year! How you’ll Celebrating Penguins Play Awards and your best Party - Reviewed bye You :) Sadly we neither got an explanation why the Annual Party where missing…Another annual event that just disappeared without any explanation where the Penguin Tales Contest!
An online world naturally means that connecting with the game’s developers and with other players is crucial. “We are always looking at ways to facilitate that two-way conversation,” said Thompson. “… We try to create ‘collision’ -- places or tools to bring people together.” She added, “It’s not only connecting with each other, but connecting it to us."
Online game developers need to go where the community leads them as well. Being online, there are many other places where player will congregate outside of the virtual world, such as YouTube and blogs. And these places of congregation can always change and evolve, as “where people go changes,” said Thompson.
To Thompson, letting people know that they have the ability to impact the community is “the biggest thing.” She said, “What we have in the online world -- which is a great, terrific thing -- is that people can impact the world ... so we listen and respond to their needs.”
Saraapril: I like that statement and mostly I LOVE to Play Club Penguin :) Please Let’s us have FUN TOGETHER and make Club Penguin Online Game a place to create better understanding for different cultures and WORLD PEACE :)
And Thank-You so MUCH for the Coins for Changes and the Earth Day these Parties are both FUN and Important :)
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