Forced to eat whatever Blizzard feeds us?

#0 - Feb. 21, 2007, 10:21 p.m.

You know, I was just reading some posts and I came across a few people who fed the OP the line - "You pay Blizzard a monthly fee and you get what they give you" - or something along those lines.

To a certain extent, I agree with that statement. We ARE playing Blizzard's game, and in essence we are only paying this fee to gain access to the game.

However, one must also reverse the situation. Since I'm paying Blizzard a fee, why don't they take my suggestions and comments seriously? There is no permanent hold on my paying for WoW, and I'm sure many of you will use that statement to attack me by saying "If you don't like it then quit." Fair enough.

I think Blizzard has done a great job for the most part with WoW. It's success speaks for itself. One thing I can't help but wonder is why our monthly fee doesn't entitle us to any constructive input into what WE want to see in the game WE pay to play? I know that 'blue' has posted many times that they do take our suggestions to heart, but to this day I can't think of anything moderately substantial a player has suggested being brought in or out of the game. Not that I expect Blizzard to sit there waiting for people to say, for example, "NERF DRUIDS!" then take the servers down for a promp nerfbatting. I do, however, think that there was been MANY excellent suggestions that would benefit the WoW community as a whole.

Given, there is a suggestion forum, but do any of you really think the Dev's read that stuff and take it to heart? I highly doubt it.

/discuss.
/flame me - I thrive on your online epeen.

Tseric

#11 - Feb. 21, 2007, 10:41 p.m.

Q u o t e:
why don't they take my suggestions and comments seriously?

How do you know we don't? More on this later...

Q u o t e:
One thing I can't help but wonder is why our monthly fee doesn't entitle us to any constructive input into what WE want to see in the game WE pay to play?

Your monthly fee is associated with your game account, not with your forum posting account. The forums are a free service provided by Blizzard so that there is a venue for constructive feedback. This is the venue that is applicable across the board for everyone's feedback, as other methods are less viable.

You doubt that we read the forums and incorporate ideas because you want tangible evidence of such a transaction being made. This runs counter to our considerations that providing clear and express acknowledgement of suggestions opens us up to a host of potential legal action from players. It has happened before, which is why the legal bindings are in place.

After that, you simply get into the argument of who speaks for the majority of the community.

In the end, the developers will always have 'final cut', so to speak, as any suggestion can have a number of considerations which a player or players are not taking into account, such as development cost/time, scheduling concerns, philosophical congruency, programming requirements, etc.

To close, a single example of forum feedback implementation would be the dressing room feature. So, yes, suggestions are considered and implemented, but there is no one-to-one transmission of idea into game and no one will get a receipt or email acknowledging any one specific contribution.

Tseric

#25 - Feb. 21, 2007, 11 p.m.

Q u o t e:

False, you need to pay the subscription in order to post. It is thus not free and is part of the monthly fee.

If I remove your posting privleges, you can still play the game. The posting account is additional and outside of your service contract with the game. It is offered with the account, so that only players of the game have access to this free service.

Tseric

#32 - Feb. 21, 2007, 11:06 p.m.

Q u o t e:
I wish they'd listen to us more as well.

But what are you basing this claim on? Gut feeling? Comparision with other games or companies? Game press reviews and editorials?

The fact that it is not a transparent matter is what will always obscure how far we go to take into account as broad a player perspective as we can. Not to mention that implementing an idea can take months, which extends beyond many folks ideas of how the development cycle works. Most folks seem to carry the expectation that if they post a suggestion on the boards, it'll be in the game next week.

Tseric

#47 - Feb. 21, 2007, 11:18 p.m.

Q u o t e:

But what are you basing this claim on? Gut feeling? Comparision with other players or players of other games? Game player blogs?

As I said, it is what seems to occur. I'm basing it off of experience. When I say "Cut Citrines are on the list to be implemented and will come in a future patch" and each day the thread gets bumped with "Is there an update?" it can convey that impression rather clearly.

Tseric

#99 - Feb. 21, 2007, 11:54 p.m.

Buddhist monks have a particular practice of making sand paintings. Using a variety of colors, they apply this sand on a broad surface in small lines to create intricate designs to cover the whole surface, which is rather large in itself. The painting of these surfaces can take days of steady application of thin lines of sand.

Upon completion, the monks wipe their hands through the intricate design, destroying in a moment what took days to accomplish. This invokes the notion of impermanence.

Impermanence speaks to the ever-changing state of the world and the futility of claiming ownership of any one part, as it too will change. The desire of ownership causes pain when the world changes as it naturally does, but your perception does not. Your relationship to an object dictates your attitude and you do not see the world for what it truly is.

Tseric

#182 - Feb. 22, 2007, 1:23 a.m.

Ok, let's redirect this circular argument a bit.

Let us treat it as a given that the forums are 'paid for through subscription fees'.

What is the change of state between that and the free forum service as stated? How are the two different states of 'free' and 'not-free' tangibly distinct?

Let's think beyond the semantic argument here to actual application. What's the difference?

Tseric

#184 - Feb. 22, 2007, 1:26 a.m.

Q u o t e:

It's all about the sense of entitlement.

You say it's free because you don't want people to think they are entitled to it.

If people believe it is part of the service, they absolutely feel entitled to it.

Pretty easy Tseric.

Yes, well when I say it, people accuse me of being condescending. ;)

Tseric

#189 - Feb. 22, 2007, 1:30 a.m.

Q u o t e:

Oh and don't get me wrong, from a business perspective I absolutely understand..

as a customer, however, once you know the game.. the cat's out of the bag so to speak.

:-P

Even aside from the business perspective or legal considerations, this is a crux of community management. Trying to get people to treat each other as equals; as gamers. Not as customers or clients or employees. That sort of relationship has a tangible effect on feedback and how someone approaches the game and the company that makes it.