TTH:
Cindy, I know this is a hard topic, but it’s something that
is on the minds of many in the gaming community lately. I'm
sure you've seen the many interviews and articles over the
‘net about the purchase of Sigil Games Online by Sony Online
Entertainment. Is there anything that you feel you could add to the
discussion?
style="font-weight: bold;">Cindy: Well, I left
Sigil over a year ago, so obviously I can't really address any of the
events that have happened since my departure. It was really difficult
to see problems arising in the community that I had worked so hard to
build. I had a long term plan for developing the community in Beta and
after launch.
From
what I could tell, most of that was scrapped, and it's been frustrating
to hear affiliate site operators complain that promises made to them
were broken. I was the one that made most of those promises to them.
Even though I wasn't there to make sure those promises were kept, it
really bothers me that my word was broken.
However,
that goes with the job. Things like this tend to happen when you are
the public voice for a company. Sometimes, the things you promise on
the company’s behalf are not under your control. But it's
always tough to watch when it happens, at least for me.
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Cindy speaking at one of the Fanguards.
TTH:
Did you see, or were you at all affected by the alleged mismanagement
at Sigil before you left?
style="font-weight: bold;">Cindy: Well, I think
my biggest issue – when I was working with Sigil –
was with my word being broken, as I mentioned before. I had a long term
plan and had built relationships with all of the affiliated sites, but
things could not work the way they were supposed to once trust was
broken.
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">When I would promise
screenshots, interviews or information and then those things would end
up showing up somewhere else the foundation of the community began to
crumble. From what I read on a number of sites, that trend continued
after I left. Again, I can't address what happened within the company
after I left. But what I saw happen to the community from the outside
was disheartening.
TTH:
There are many allegations that go back before you left the company,
mostly about mismanaging the project in vital ways. What was your take
on it?
style="font-weight: bold;">Cindy: I would have
to agree that from what I saw mismanagement was something that was
occurring. This and the lack of leadership led to very low morale, to
say the least. I can imagine that if things continued to get worse
after I left, the project would have indeed been impacted.
It's
all very sad and disturbing. I am very sad for my friends that
sacrificed so much and now have nothing to show for it. I hope they all
find other homes soon.
TTH:
Is there anything that you'd like to say to the Vanguard community to
help them understand the current situation and move forward?
style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Cindy
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">: This is really no different
than when you find out your favorite movie star or singer gets caught
doing something unacceptable. People feel disillusioned and upset when
that happens. If we like the artist, most of us will remain fans and
still patronize him or her, we just view them a little differently. It
will be interesting to see where Vanguard goes under this new
leadership.
TTH Do you think this experience has affected your desires to work for a single game again, or is your decision to start your own project just a matter of timing?
style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Cindy style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">: I don't think I have been turned off to ever working for a single project again. If a project really caught my interest, I might do it again. But right now, this seems to be the path that is opening for me and the timing seems just right.
TTH:
One of the big complaints in the gaming community in general is that
the "official forums" of most games become cesspools of flames and
trolls. It is surprising to watch the players of Vanguard holler that
the affiliate site forums weren't enough for them, and now SOE has
opened forums for the game.
You started out at SOE taking the original boards of EQ
– which were prone to flames and trolls – and
restructuring them. What are your feelings about this trend and what
advice can you offer to players and community managers alike in how to
make a more “flame resistant” community?
style="font-weight: bold;">Cindy: First, let me
give credit where credit is due. I actually started at SOE the day they
reopened the old boards and tied a player’s account to his or
her posting privileges. As crazy as it sounds, before that, anyone
could make an anonymous account and post anything. However, it was
Gordon Wrinn (Abashi) that did most of the restructuring. I was just
there to help.
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The community lost trust in the Vanguard dev team when
their trust was broken.
We
then found that two things made a big difference. One was tying a
player's posting privileges to his or her account, as previously
mentioned. The second is to be very clear and very rigid about your
rules. For example, if you don't allow profanity, don't allow it ever,
from anyone under any circumstances. Suspend and/or ban when rules are
ignored or consistently broken. Structure like this is important in
communicating and organizing any large group of people.
TTH:
Do you think players can take a stand in this and make a different type
of official community? If so, what advice would you give them?
style="font-weight: bold;">Cindy: Player run
communities are often stronger than any others. When I oversaw the Fan
Faires, the fan site operators would often get a bigger reception then
than anyone else from the company. As far as advice on starting a
community, it's a matter of getting information, resources, and people
together and promoting your site. But it does take a certain type of
personality to really excel at this type of thing. I'm not sure that
part is something I can teach. *winks*
TTH:
After a bit of a break you seem to be quickly ramping back up to the
tempo that you had before your illness. Do you have any last words for
our readers?
style="font-weight: bold;">Cindy: I am happy to
be back and working again. Over the years, I have gotten to know some
wonderful people in the industry and in the MMOG community. It's been
great fun getting caught up with folks again! And I am really looking
forward to seeing where this next fork in the road takes me. *smiles*
TTH:
Thanks again, Cindy! I hope you'll stop in again and let us know how
things are going with all your projects!
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