PAX East 2012: I’m Going Going, Back Back
It’s that time of year again for gamers to invade Boston. PAX East kicks off Friday April 6th and runs through Sunday April 8th at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. It brings together some of the most passionate video game enthusiasts to interact with some of the most influential game developers in the industry.
Similar to previous years, after I build my agenda, I like to share it with you so you can see for yourselves the parallels between enterprise community management and community management Read more 
PAX East Recap
I can sum up this experience in 7 words; passionate nerd-fest with a side of awesomeness. The anticipation of getting inside, the energy levels on the exhibit floor, the excitement of the latest thing, the video games obviously and the people watching makes me want to attend year after year.
The Sessions
I was able to attend a handful of sessions, but I’d like to focus on two that made the biggest impression on me; “Online Gaming Communities and ‘Real Life’ Relationships” and “What the Heck is a Community Manager”
The goal of the “Online Gaming Communities and “Real Life” Relationships session was to discuss the communities we all have created and support, and how they impact real life relationships for gamers of all types. Basically, the relationships we form online, translate into tangible relationships offline by means of casual acquaintances, friendships or as far as marriage in the case of Morgan Romine (Frag Dolls Manager & PhD Candidate, Ubisoft) and her husband whom she met on Xbox LIVE. It turned into a very personal discussion and it was apparent just how affected the panelists were from their online interactions. Hamza Aziz (Community Director, Destructoid) went as far to say that “Online communities saved my life.”
Trolling is a product of online anonymity.
Online communities are social support systems.
What offline relationships have you formed as a direct result of online interactions?
The goal of the “What the Heck is a Community Manager” session was really to address what he or she does and why there is a growing number of community management positions at publishers and development studios. This was especially interesting. The attendee turnout was phenomenal. The panelists mostly spoke about their career paths, all of which were different. And each touched upon how they manage their respective communities.
There’s no direct path to becoming a community manager. Use the skills you have, network and be passionate.
Moderation of an online community is like giving a colonoscopy…you’re always in there looking for something wrong.
What words of advice would you give an aspiring community manager?
The Exhibit Hall
Ok, here’s the fun stuff. Armed with my iPhone and a Flip Cam, I set out to capture the essence of the event. Enjoy!
The Demand for Community Managers in Gaming Conferences
The PAX East 2011 festival kicks off in Boston, MA this Friday March 11 and runs through Sunday March, 13th. Normally held at the Hynes Convention Center, it now has a new venue, The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
PAX East is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers. It’s called a festival because in addition to dedicated tournaments and free-play areas, there are concerts, panel discussions, and an exhibitor hall filled with booths displaying the latest from top game publishers and developers.
You’re probably thinking, “That’s all well and good Dan, but why should I f#^@*+g care?” Good question. And I’ll explain as long as you refrain from further use of such profanity.
As I illustrated before in my Community Managers of the Gaming Industry post, there are quite a few parallels and overlap between enterprise community managers like me and my gaming counterparts. The festival schedule further confirms just how similar we are.
Just take a look at these track sessions and their respective abstracts:
Online Gaming Communities and “Real Life” Relationships – Are you are a member of one or more online gaming website communities? Perhaps the friendships and relationships you formed online have made their way into your everyday “real life”. You are certainly not alone. We will discuss the communities we have created and support, and how they impact real life relationships for gamers of all types.
What the Heck is a Community Manager? – What the heck is a community manager? What does he or she do? Why are there a growing number of community management positions at publishers and development studios? We’ll talk to the industry’s leading group of community managers about their jobs, how they got where they are, how they actually “manage” the “community,” and how they influence the games their studios make and the people who play them.
How Your Favorite Game Companies Use Facebook – Like this. Like that. Facebook has taken the world by storm and has become a crucial platform for community managers and companies to help keep in touch with and grow their online communities. With the constant evolution of social media and Facebook in particular, you may not know some of the cool things happening on your favorite game studio’s Facebook page. Join Collin Moore (Community Management Vet) as he moderates a discussion with community managers from across the game industry (Insomniac Games, Playfish/EA, Harmonix, and Robot Entertainment), about the importance of Facebook to game companies, and how pressing the “LIKE” button is just the beginning.
A Reverse Q&A with the Harmonix Community Team – The Harmonix Community Team spends a good part of their day answering questions about Rock Band and Dance Central on forums, in emails and on camera… but what happens when the tables are turned and they’re given free reign to question a captive audience in a PAX panel? Part focus group and part interrogation, this panel turns the traditional notion of a Q&A on its head, giving community members the opportunity to answer questions submitted by developers. You may be wonder: “What kind of questions will be asked?” and “Do attendees answer individually or as a collective?” and “Will this be a disaster?” Continue to wonder, because the Harmonix folks aren’t dishing out any answers, only questions.
Community: Some Assembly Required and Batteries Definitely Not Included – Building a community around games takes work and may be a little rough around the edges — just like this session! But stick with it and you’ll find yourself in the middle of one of the most fun and most vocal communities around. Come discuss how to build a following, how to find your own voice, success stories, what Xbox LIVE is doing to build community, and how you can try to work with the “big guys”, with Xbox LIVE Community Manager Eric “DMZilla” Doty. There is no instruction booklet for Community, but there are plenty of ways to start your journey. Possibility of PowerPoint and FREE stuff.
The Road to Becoming a Community Manager – Based on the great feedback we received after this panel at PAX Prime, we’ve decided to do it again! East-Coast Style. You hear us on podcasts, see us in videos, read our blogs on websites, retweet us, argue with us on forums, and give us high fives at PAX. But have you ever wondered how we became community managers? From games journalism to forum moderation to public policy and QA, every road is different. Find out the random history of some of your favorite game studio community managers, and hear their advice on what skills and knowledge you’ll need to become one of gaming’s next-generation of community managers.
Game Marketing & Community Management Roundtable – Role-specific roundtables will consist of top game artists, designers, community managers, and marketing professionals. Each roundtable will be structured into four sections focusing on roles/responsibilities, personal history, career paths, and hot topics/issues.
I will be in attendance and will be sitting in on as many of these sessions as I can. Are you attending PAX East this year? Connect with me for a meetup. If not, is there anything you want me to check out for you? I plan on following up with a post-festival blog post and can share everything my brain was able to absorb.
Community Managers of the Gaming Industry
The online community manager’s role as we know it only recently exploded as a sought after career within the past 5 years. Little do people know that online community managers have been around since I had my Atari 2600. Why am I mentioning a 30 year old home video game console? Well, because gamers have been forming communities to share cheats, tips and codes since the introduction of Pong.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Sam Houston, the community manager at Playfish EA in San Francisco. Sam was nice enough to carve out some time from his busy schedule (His baby, Monopoly Millionaires, launched this past week, check it out!) to chat with me on the differences and similarities of community managers within the gaming industry and their corporate/enterprise counterparts.
Dan: First off, do you refer to yourself as a community manager?
Sam: It really depends on the company. At Playfish, my official title is “Online Content Manager.” It straddles many disciplines; marketing, content management, community management, project management. One thing it doesn’t cover is moderation and enforcing community guidelines. Those functions are left up to the Community Admin that oversees the forums.
Dan: Hmmm, that sounds very familiar [The Many Hats of Community Managers].
Dan: Do you have a nickname for community managers like me? White-collar? Suit? Enterpriser? Corps? I promise I won’t be offended if there is one.
Sam: No, not to my knowledge. I belong to quite a few gaming communities and there’s no mention or reference to any such nickname.
Dan: Bummer. If I was gaming community manager, I’d definitely make one up.
Dan: Have gaming community managers ever made the leap to the enterprise? Or vice versa? Is this frowned upon? How do you get your foot in the door?
Sam: I can’t speak for all, but I started on the fan side of things. I started my own website. Soon after, a game developer ended up contacting me and asked if they could host my site. I ended up working for them and have been on this side of community management ever since. I would suspect that most start the same way. Compensation is structured very differently. You don’t become a gaming community manager for the big bucks. These are super passionate people. They’re in it for the pure love of the industry.
Dan: What are your primary responsibilities as an online content manager?
Sam: Email campaigns, copy-writing, bug tracking and resolution, feature requests management.
Dan: Hmmm, that also sounds familiar [The Many Hats of Community Managers].
Dan: What’s the most difficult part of being an online content manager?
Sam: Keeping my finger on the pulse of the community. Always being aware of what’s going on. I’m so busy; there are not enough hours in a day.
Dan: What sort of analytics do you care about?
Sam: Daily Active Users count, or DAU. It’s all about getting members to come back and play again.
Dan: Ah, sort of sounds like our Active Participants metric
Dan: Lastly, anything else we should know about the gaming world and its community managers?
Sam: It’s continually evolving. Even though the role is nothing new, we’re still trying to figure it out; especially now with social gaming on social sites, mobile apps and in-app purchases. There’s always a new challenge.
Have you ever wondered about your counterpart in the gaming industry? Were you surprised by some of Sam’s responses? While you mull it over, check out Monopoly Millionaires on Facebook. I’m off to build some hotels…
