Episode Description
Today's guest is Faye V, Community Lead Advisor at Chaos Manufacturing, returning for part two of our conversation.
If you haven't heard part one, we recommend starting there. It covers Faye's unusual path into games through a psychology degree and years as a professional circus performer, and how both shape her approach to community management today.
In this second half, Faye makes the case for open development, arguing that showing players how a game is built creates the kind of trust that lets a team survive inevitable troubles like unpopular patches or a delayed launch. She introduces her "chasm of empathy" metaphor for the gap between developers and players, and why hiring a community lead early, not six months before launch, is what builds the rickety bridge across it.
We also get into the business case for investing in a community team, Faye's tips for first-time community managers, and how she believes community management skills are best learned through mentorship.
Games mentioned in this episode:
- World of Warcraft: https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/
- Final Fantasy XIV: https://store.steampowered.com/app/39210/FINAL_FANTASY_XIV_Online/
- Lord of the Rings Online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/212500/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_Online/
- EverQuest: https://store.steampowered.com/app/205710/EverQuest/
- Asheron's Call: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asheron%27s_Call
- Ghost (Fantastic Pixel Castle, unreleased): https://fantasticpixelcastle.com/
Find Faye on:
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fayevis/
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/acobi.bsky.social
- Twitter: https://x.com/ac0bi
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