A general musing on my part but something of an open letter to JC etc
From time to time we get player surveys which give the player base an outlet but it’s pretty limited in its scope. We also sometimes get updates from the development side which are more announcements than anything. I was wondering whether the development team had ever entertained the idea of a players council.
It’s form could be one of several approaches but the purpose would be for developers to tap directly into a small representative group of players for some real two way communication about the state of the game.
Forums like this by its nature tend to focus on what isn’t working and therefore is somewhat limited. It’s also clear that there is little interaction from the creative team which I think hurts both the players who do not feel listened to but also results in missed opportunities for the developers to really understand what people are looking for. It’s not a case of give us free mythics weekly, it’s more nuanced than that.
I recognize it’s (thopter?) pie in the sky but the idea of a periodic meet up of devs and players to have a constructive two way dialogue I think would go a long way to helping all parties out.
Other companies do this in other areas (for instance sports teams engaging with season ticket holders to both get feedback and better share their vision) and with the recent round of players quitting or on the verge of leaving or generally becoming disillusioned with the game think it would be beneficial. We know that resources are limited also but having insight into what players value should be of interest and a public forum is a difficult place to engage in (due to its public nature).
Overall, I really enjoy the game, there’s a ton to like and we are the ones who will both put money into the game and bring others in as well. We are a significant resource for those who want to make money and think we share the same overall goals.