Community: If I ran FC's marketing/community
(A little leeway on this please, mods, it is mostly an out of game suggestion but it has in game implications in terms of player satisfaction and experience)
Funcom makes terrific and innovative mmo's. Part of the addiction I have to their games is that they aren't afraid to try something new. In Anarchy Online it was the one world, instancing, and deep skill system. In Age Of Conan the incredible graphics, combat system and ' healers fight' concept. In The Secret World it is, at the very least, no levels and the deck skill system.
Where I feel they drastically need to improve is in the marketing and community section.
That isn't meant to be a slight or to knock the people that do work in those departments. I do not know the inner workings of Funcom or their various departments. I do not know what kind of budget they have or the limits set on them. This is just from my viewpoint as a customer and someone with a bit of customer relations experience in MMO's. These are my ideas of what I think Funcom should do and what I generally expect from a company. It is based in part on volunteering for mmo's and 10+ years of playing.
One of the reoccurring things I used to see in Anarchy Online (AO) and still see almost daily in Age of Conan (AOC) is the request for tools that are commonplace in all other mmos. These are items that must be hosted by Funcom and not left to users to discover on their own. Among them are:
Character look up / guild look up. (AO has a very basic and outdated one - AOC has none)
Items look up. (none for either game)
Spell/ability look up (none for either game)
Feat/perk/AA planner. (none for either game)
Nano implant planner (AO specific - none available)
I can't help but wonder how much traffic is lost due to not having these basic and core items available hosted on the game's website. In my opinion customers should never be directed to another company's page for basic services. Would you send them to another company for purchases?
Hosting these basic tools tells your customers that you care for them and you are encouraging them to stay.
Funcom, obviously, has the best access to the information needed to make these tools that are standard in almost all other mmos.
Anecdotal but relevant - I have returned to games after getting nostalgic because I looked up my characters and missed them. Am I alone in this? Maybe - but I doubt it.
They should also have constant and ongoing contests for various prizes, either Funcom points or vanity items and titles in game. There are amazingly talented players in the community just looking for the next level platform to show off what they can do. Running the occasional one on Facebook isn't good enough - if you run it there, run it on your own page to keep players coming back that may not use Facebook.
Advanced items but should be reasonable to do:
Phone apps (android/iphone):
Character / guild lookup
Feat planner
Chat client - I am aware of the user made ones but user security number one rule is not to give out login information. A company made chat client would be more secure. Please note: I am not saying the use made chat clients are up to anything they shouldn't be.
Two benefits to these. One - again shows another level of care for the users. Two - keeps the company and product on their mind. Even away from their computers they are actively thinking about the games and perhaps showing their friends.
These would be fairly easy to maintain since the planner and chat information changes relatively little and character look up would just tie to the database.
Consider setting up a free version, ad based, or one time donation. Make it purchasable via Funcom points.
Wish list items:
A store where I can buy real life items. Some examples: pewter key chains, earrings, pendants for various factions, character classes, etc. Who wouldn't want an Omni-Tek logo to wear (besides clanners, but who cares about them.)? Or a dark templar symbol? Illuminati pendant? I am considering taking some of these ideas to one of the several pewter craft companies around me and asking for quotes on lots of each.
T-Shirts are another obvious choice.
Stuffed leet anyone? I looked in to this a few years ago and found the cost would be, roughly, 15,000$ for 5000 professionally made leet dolls, plus a one time fee for design if needed. I seriously considered offering to pay for it if FC would front the store and handle the transactions with me receiving only the money I put in to each unit, they keep the rest. That's how much this lack of community building bothers me and their missed opportunities
In addition to all this Funcom should consider better ad placement for all of their games – perhaps when Anarchy Online gets it's engine update they will. I have no idea what goes on behind their office doors. They should also consider a log in poll once a week or every couple weeks asking a simple question or two about gameplay and direction. I would also like to see them note what is a player implemented suggestion in patch notes – not by player name, just the fact that they saw the suggestion, liked it, and put it in.
Funcom needs to improve on how they handle the community, I think very few would argue this. I hope these suggestions are looked at and taken seriously.
-Boom
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Originally Posted by Traderjill
