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Games communities are more important than ever before.
Laura Harper (Partner, Lewis Silkin) chaired the
How to build and retain the Ultimate Games Community
panel, with expert panellists James
Gallagher (Head of Community Management, Keywords
Studios), Davey Robson (Senior Influencer
Marketing Manager, Kepler Interactive), John
Cotterill (In-house counsel, Sumo Group) and our own
Rupam Davé (Partner, Lewis Silkin) who
together examined the building blocks that form enduring games
communities, touching on the power of leading with clearly
articulated values and the steps studios can take to earn
authenticity. It was a session full of valuable take-aways as the
speakers discussed how effective engagement of games communities is
evolving in a changing market.

The panel shared their views on a number of key issues including
what they thought the core elements were to building a sustainable
community and the role player feedback plays in shaping and
evolving the same; as well as addressing some of the most common
challenges or negative behaviors that threaten a positive community
environment. Here are some of the valuable insights from the
day:

Community as a discipline

The most successful games communities are not accidents; they
are designed, nurtured and resourced with the same intent as the
game itself. A strong community is an extension of the studio’s
identity, and the studios that excel treat community as a
discipline in its own right – not just a pre-launch asset.
James emphasised that fans recognise and love when a studio puts
effort into its communities: “it’s about how you show
up.” John also noted the importance of community leaders
and ambassadors to the health of a gaming community.

Defining the ‘A’ word

What is authenticity and how is it built? Davey highlighted that
in gaming communities, authenticity comes from finding the values
of the game IP rather than the values of the brand. The panel
discussed how a game’s values are far more important to
communities than the reach of the game – especially in the
world of content creators – and more often than not, having a
‘corporate’ map of those values is beneficial from an
alignment perspective.

Player feedback

The panel discussed how in-game features and external platforms
can be effectively leveraged to strengthen community bonds. James
spoke about the power of early access and co-creation –
despite the challenges that might be posted due to initial bugs.
Rupam touched on the importance of understanding players’
motivations for playing a game, highlighting modding as a key
community subset of where this understanding is core to nurturing a
community. Is it immersion that players are looking for, for
example? The opportunity to extend the world of the game, and to
spend more time in that world, is sought-after amongst players.

Everything in moderation, including moderation

The discussion later turned to the need for moderation policies
to strike a balance between freedom of expression and online
safety. Rupam noted that “the worst thing to do is to have
a policy done on the fly… it is better for both studios and
players to have a rulebook in place and stick by it”.

What does the future look like?

The panel closed out with some horizon scanning, touching on the
increasing importance of community, the industry-wide push towards
proportionate compliance with the Online Safety Act, together with
new Consumer and Data Protection legislation, the impact on
community and the international shift towards a safer online world
(with some outliers) – as well as the rise in transmedia
opportunities for game IP.

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