Wh... wha.... what happened to the community?? :'(

[Bananadine]

My description of the distinction between these groups was sloppy--let's say, there's activity focused on the game, stuff that couldn't happen the same way if it were a different game. And there's activity focused on the people who play the game, which could happen in any forum. The former is essential and rare, and the latter is commonplace, and it is bad to fight for the integrity of the latter at the expense of the former.

It's certainly not true that, in order to survive, every multiplayer game must lean on a "community" that's capable of standing on its own without the game. The world is big, and there are other ways.

One could claim that the only practical way for this particular game to survive is to be associated with a fairly open community--one that's open enough to statistically guarantee that standard-type forum fights will sometimes occur. Maybe that's true.

But I'm not saying there shouldn't be fights. I mean, if there were a friendly genie listening, then I'd definitely say that, and the genie would stop the fights. But you, reader, are just a single person, not a genie, and not a community. So I'm suggesting that when you are in a position to decide whether to get into a big ol' argument about the rules of a forum or about who has or hasn't displayed proper respect to whom, you would do well to consider how easy it is to find arguments like that, and how hard it is to find the other nice stuff that the forum is supposed to be about. And after saying that I think I have to shut up about the matter, because I really am here to play games. Chat on, those who must chat!

[13lackGu4rd]

Originally Posted by Bananadine

It's certainly not true that, in order to survive, every multiplayer game must lean on a "community" that's capable of standing on its own without the game. The world is big, and there are other ways.

this remains to be your biggest mistake, which shows a lack of understanding on MP(multiplayer) games and their market. generally any new game is good(well, unless the game is just bad, but we're talking about the good games here...) however not all games last more than the normal life shelf of computer games(2-3 years max). in fact, most games just die off a year or 2 after their release. the big differentiating factor is the community.

games with good communities can last for almost forever. take a look at Starcraft for example. the game was released in 1998(or 1999 if you insist on the world release) yet it's still being played today(2010 mind you)! oh and it's actually played professionally too, mainly in South Korea, as in people actually work at playing(as well as coaching, team managers, etc) Starcraft! now, after 12 years Starcraft2 is finally coming out, but if it wasn't than the original Starcraft would probably still be played for quite a few more years.

now, what makes Starcraft so great? well, it's a classic RTS game, top game of the year, a game that redefined the genre, etc, but you can say most of these things on the first C&C as well. however nobody plays the original C&C nowadays, heck there has been so many expansions and copies of C&C that I already lost count... Starcraft on the other hand never changed(just received the Brood Wars expansion), yet is still being played more than ever before, and much more than C&C ever was. the big secret is the Starcraft(or well, Blizzard too I guess) community! these are the people that keep the game alive and kicking, despite being so old and without any new content. just go to YouTube and search for Starcraft, you'll find a ton of games with Korean commentators as well as English commentators and even a few in other languages. you'll see a ton of games, be it professional tournaments, private leagues, private games, etc. without these fellows, who have been around for quite some time now, Starcraft would have never lasted for 12 years.

this, my friend, is the power of community!