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What to do with complaints โจ Community Dev Newsletter #25
Published about 1 month agoย โขย 6 min read
Community Dev Newsletter ๐ค
HELLO.
I am writing this newsletter in a sleepy haze due to post-GDC and April Fools shenanigans, but The Demands of Contentโข wait for no one!!! SO LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO.
๐ป๐ป I'm just a GIRL expected to do WORK that I SIGNED UP FOR ๐ป๐ป
This month's newsletter dives into:
My strategy for figuring out what someone is complaining about
A feedback activity
26 interesting community related links and job posts
Whine whine whine
Let's talk about figuring out what someone is REALLY complaining about. This isn't how to respond to a complaint (we'll get to that in another newsletter) but what to do with that complaint. Or at least, how I'd do it! Live your own best complaint-ridden life.
Here are the things I try to do:
Determine whether it's a bug, request, or poor experience. The goal of a complaint can vary depending on its contents. A bug requires a fix, a request needs a feature, and a poor experience with your game (or even team member!) could involve both. At the end of the day, a complaint points to a core need not being met. Not every complaint needs to equate to an action item, but it helps to know what you're dealing with!
Remove emotion. I first try to remove/skim over any emotional language in the compaint and from my own gut reaction. Even if I'm tempted to roll my eyes and write it off as a misguided player, they have taken the time to write for a reason. Is there a kernel of truth to what is written? What is the actual thing they're complaining about? And if the complaint is something we've addressed before, is this happening because we simply haven't shared the solution in an easily acccessible way?
Add emotion. Next I put the emotion back into the greater context of the complaint. I avoid getting riled up here and instead bucket it into a broader emotion bucket like "angry", "sad", "disappointed", "confused". Not only does this help me figure out how to diffuse the situation if I choose to respond, but also provides me with better context on why something is an issue and how much trust we need to gain back.
Determine whether it should be responded to, and how. Do I require more information from them? Can I provide some sort of empathy or help? Is it too far gone in terms of emotion or not respectful, and thus should be ignored? Done well you can turn a complainer into a fan, but that'll be a topic for another newsletter.
Consider what information the team needs. Something I ask my team is what they look for when it comes to a complaint. What information helps them? How do they want it reported? How do I communicate severity to them? You might find the team member you're reporting to doesn't take complaints you escalate to them seriously. If you find yourself in this scenario, it's even more important to figure out what kind of information connects with them. Community management is more than just talking to players after all! It's also talking to the dev team and communicating in ways that are meaningful to them.
Sometimes people just want to yell at clouds though.
Depending on the kind of studio you're in, you may even be asked what recommendations you'd make moving forward to help tackle the issues. (E.g. "How many players are experiencing this issue? What do you think would help them?") These kinds of decisions are often made with key stakeholders on the team, and your context helps guide them.
We'll get into sentiment reporting in another newsletter, but hope this helps! It's all based on how I tackle these kinds of things, but you may have another way that makes sense to you.
Community Activity ๐
Every month we do a new skill testing exercise or discussion question together.
The question:
I want to like this but it's so stupid. There's no logic to how the combat works, all that matters is how high your stats are. Even if you have all your stats in strength, if someone with high agility comes in, you're defeated. There's also no real way to tell what combo you're supposed to do, people just smash whatever they want and hope it works until their stats are high enough. It's like playing Street Fighter with 14 toddlers who don't understand how the game works. It's so boring, and they barely have customization options for your character.
โ Based purely off of the above comment, what would you recommend as the top fix for the next update from this list, and why? - Button remapping. - New cosmetics.
- Rebalance the game to make agility less powerful.
- Tooltip on how to play the game.
- Better matchmaking.
This answer can very likely have more than one "best" answer, depending on your reasoning! Feel free to email me back with your answer - I always respond to them. My answer will be in the next newsletter!
Last week's activity:
Rewrite this mini dev log to better credit the development team. For bonus points, explain why you thought this did or didn't miss the mark. โ โโHi players! It's me, your favorite community manager Name McNameFace! I hunted down all the news for you from the dev team and I can't wait to dive into it. First, our programmer Taylor fixed that ladder bug that was bothering soooo many of you after I poked them a ton about it haha. Next, you know that new hot dog cosmetic you've been begging me to add? Wellll the team didn't want to add it. Sorry, don't hate me! We also got a new office, you can see it over on the studio account (or check my personal Instagram for some more behind the scenes!)
Whew! Let's see if we can help Name McNameFace a little here. โ โโHi players! Here's the latest from the dev team - let's jump straight into it.
Ladder bug fix: Cheers to our programmer Taylor for raising us to new heights (haha get it?)
Cosmetics: We appreciate how understanding you all have been about the hotdog cosmetic not being part of the game. We're working on some other fun items that we hope you love though!
New office: Check out our studio account for an inside look at our renovated studio! It even has a coffee machine so we can develop the game twice as fast.
Thanks for reading, players. See you in the next dev log. - Name McNameFace
Just as Dylan pointed out in the previous newsletter, we want to elevate the team, not just ourselves. The link to the personal Instagram in official company communications might not be something the team is too pleased about, nor blaming them for the hot dog cosmetic not getting in the game. The line about needing to poke the programmer Taylor about a fix for the ladder bug can also be seen as a slight jab!
Community Chatter ๐ฌ
Here are the interesting and helpful things I've seen this past month.
General News
According to YouTube employees -- don'tdelete videos unless you have a good reason to or else you cut the connection with the audience that watched it?!
TikTok engagement is down for all brands according to reportsโ
According to a survey, 76.8% of Gen Z respondents used YouTube and 49.9% used TikTok for long form video
Success through shenanigans with community management.
Hi, I'm Victoria! Join my Community Dev Newsletter for insight into games marketing, social, and community management. Get actionable tips, a skill testing question, and a roundup of resources straight to your inbox every month.
