Are MMO communities growing beyond the game?

by Shawn Schuster Apr 3rd 2008 at 4:30PM

Filed under: Real life, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry

The whole concept of community within an MMO is constantly being redefined and improved upon, but in a recent article, we take a glimpse into the jobs of a few community liaisons for NCSoft Europe. They talk mainly about some of the exciting experiences they've had during their time with NCSoft. Most of these involve real-world events such as fan meet-ups and contests thrown by the community managers. Martin Kerstein, community team lead on Guild Wars relays a story of a player who brought shortbread villains and heroes for the CoX team during an event. Community manager Jen Bolton describes her appreciation for the high-quality fan art and fan fiction they see from players on a regular basis.

A main point of this article addresses the fact that MMO players aren't always those you think of, locked away in their parents' basements, turning transparent from the lack of sunlight. A growing number of people who come to these events are outgoing socialites dressed as Boba Fett or a blood elf, just there for a good time with like-minded people. Just as any event should be.

Tags: city-of-heroes, city-of-villains, community, events, guild-wars, ncsoft, real-life, real-world