Interview with Cindy Bowens

What exactly are the duties of a Community Manager? What is a typical day like for you?

I think this varies from company to company. And I think it also depends on the stage of development of the game. Here at Sigil, it is my job to oversee the development of the community that is forming around our upcoming game.

For the past year, I have been working with the MMOG sites to get to know them and prepare to work with them as they publish sites for our game. I am their main point of contact for questions, comments, requests and disbursement of available information. I coordinate with them for interviews, visits and anything else they might need from us.

I also spend some of my time communicating with MMOG players. Through chats, emails and our message board, I have gotten to know many of the people that are anticipating our first title. We have gotten a lot of great feedback from our community and it is our plan to see that the atmosphere we enjoy now continues throughout the launch of our title.

As for a typical day, I usually start by popping into the Sigil IRC chat room, saying hi and seeing what is happening there. Once I am online, I usually have a number of instant messages and such to which I need to respond. Then I wade through my emails and start responding to them.

The rest of a typical day can include anything from welcoming a visitor from the media or the community to working on features for the website. And, of course, monitoring our Forums. Once we launch our game, I will also be working on events for our community.

What is the most fun you have had yet while working for Sigil?

It would have to be meeting so many great people. I have the opportunity to meet MMOG players, representatives of fan sites, members of the media, developers from other companies... the list of interesting people I get to interact with on a regular basis is very long and remarkable. Additionally, I have the opportunity to work with some of the best people in this industry!

Second to that would have to be the thrill of watching Sigil's game come together. I was not around for the development phase of EverQuest. So as a gamer, I have found it fascinating to hear these guys talk about development of the game, see the artists create what has been discussed and then finally see finished portions. I can't wait to play this game!

What do you find most discouraging about your role as CM for Sigil?

It has to be that I constantly have to keep saying "Soon." We are very excited about what we are doing here and we are anxious to talk about it! It gets as frustrating for me as it does for all of you that I can't tell you all the details that you want to hear.

It's kind of like knowing what someone is giving your friend for her birthday and knowing she is going to love it. You want to tell her what a great gift it is, but you don't want to spoil the surprise ahead of time.

What traveling have you done in the past (or plan to do soon) as community manager for Sigil...I.E. conventions, marketing trips, meetings etc.?

This past year has been light on traveling for me, since we are still in development. I went to E3 and to the Kohnke Communications' Games PR Conference in San Francisco. Both trips were great, in that I got to meet so many fun people in this industry. I am sure there will be a lot more traveling in the future, as we begin to plan events for our community.

How do you predict Online Gaming will change as it becomes more popular and more women begin to take active roles in Communities?

I think that the more women become involved in online gaming, the more these games will enter the mainstream. I say this simply because women tend to have some influence over the pastimes of their husbands and boyfriends. I think that the more we see wives and girlfriends joining their guys in game, the more understanding and acceptance there will be for this medium.

Many women tend to see gaming as a passive and mindless pastime. When they are introduced to MMOGs, they are often surprised to find that these games are very socially active and this does tend to appeal to a lot of women. I recently read a great article on a guild site (Phank) that illustrated this beautifully.

It's interesting to note that studies show that women are more likely not only to be involved in a guild but they also tend to take on more roles of leadership (see research conducted by Nick Yee). The reason for this is not stated. But I would guess the influence of more women in MMOG's would tend to bring in more socialization within the games.

I'm curious as to what role you see academic research and theory playing in the decision-making of the people like yourself - involved in the communities and interactions of gamers. Do you (or anyone else you know who is involved with the gaming community professionally, for that matter) pay much attention to journal articles that touch on the meeting of technology and human interaction? Or do the lessons of academia pale in comparison to hands-on experience?

Actually, this is an area of great interest to me. I met with a researcher from Harvard last year to talk about it. He was very interested in hearing more about how online communities work and the communication that they promote among groups and individuals. It was a fascinating discussion!

I personally read all I can find about online communication, in lots of different fields. I think the power of online communities is something we are just beginning to recognize and understand, not just in the game industry but throughout the general population.

Some games close their boards once the flaming/trolling reaches a point where legitimate game discussion is drown out by noise. Given that boards can be a great player-to-designer communication tool that fosters community and respect, what can be done to stop boards from degenerating into noise?

Right now, we could not be happier with our Forums. They have turned into a great place for exchanging ideas and a lot of intelligent discussion. But you are right... game boards do tend to become dwelling places for flamers and trollers.

So the challenge lies in how to keep communication open and enjoy the interaction with the players without allowing the board to become a place that no mature, intelligent gamer wants to visit. Do you let things get out of control? Or do you spend your budget hiring half a dozen people or more to do nothing but monitor your boards?

Or... what if instead of hosting a board on which you have to spend resources to keep it under control, you branch out into the community and become involved with the boards that are already established? We have been getting to know many of the site owners that plan to provide information on our game. Many of them already have established and well-run forums that they already moderate and maintain.

We think it makes more sense to spend our money and efforts making a great game. We plan to work closely with community sites to coordinate our efforts. They are very open to allowing us to post on their forums and we are committed to working with them to offer regular and frequent posts by our team. I think it will be beneficial for all of us!

Most people know you from your outstanding work on the Fan Faires for EverQuest. Do you anticipate that Sigil's new game will have similar events?

Absolutely! That was something Brad and I discussed when he hired me at SGO. We plan to do a lot of great events and I am really looking forward to doing that again.

The Fan Faires grew out of my belief that people will take the opportunity to meet their online gaming friends face to face. And I don't believe that has changed.

What did you like most about overseeing the EverQuest Fan Faires? What did you dislike about them?

The best part was always meeting so many great people. I have had the opportunity to make friends with people from all over the world! And each Fan Faire was really like one big party. They were some of the most fun times I have ever enjoyed.

I also always enjoyed watching other people meet for the first time. It is a very odd experience to have spent countless hours over the course of several years with someone online and then meet them face to face for the first time. I always loved just standing back and watching when people would recognize each other, hesitate for a second trying to decide if they should shake hands or what... and then just shrug and finally give this person they have never seen before a huge bear hug! It is very unique to meet someone for the first time... and realize you already know this person very well. I loved watching people experience that.

Aside from the thousand things that go wrong behind the scenes and the headaches that go with any kind of huge event, the only thing I really hated about the Fan Faires was that I rarely had time to have fun with all the people I met there. There was always so much for me to do! I can't even count how many times I have had to turn down invitations from wonderful people to do really fun things because I just didn't have the time during the event.

Someone has to be in charge, after all! ;)

Where did the name Abigale Seashadow come from?

It was the name of my character when I was a guide on The Rathe. Abigale is simply a name I always liked. Seashadow was a name I saw in a movie.

Apparently there are a number of other Abigales out there. I get asked all the time if I played her on other servers. But she was only my guide avatar.

There is a lot of talk about Sigil being a third generation MMOG. Do you have any special plans to make the SGO community a "third generation community"? In other words, what new and interesting ideas do you have in mind for the community?

Well, I think the fact that we have started to help our community evolve and grow at this early stage is pretty significant. We have tried to establish an atmosphere that is conducive to some great two-way communication between our team and the future players of our game.

I think most importantly, as a third generation game, we recognize the importance of the community. We have all learned a lot about how communities grow and what they need from us.

As we develop this game, I have often heard Brad say things like, "We want to throw out what we did wrong and keep and build on what we did right." I think that can also be applied to Community Relations. I have been working in this field for 5 years now and have had a lot of opportunity to see other people's mistakes (and, ok, I made one or two of my own) and to also to see what works. My hope is to build on the good things and not make the same mistakes of the past. I think that has to be the greatest benefit of being "third generation."

How much do you find yourself editing the things you say (via email, IRC room, message board, phone) as you say them? Ever type out a line and hover your finger above the enter key for a few seconds? That is, how do you juggle the things "Cindy" wants to say with the things the "Sigil Community Manager" wants to say?

I struggle with this constantly! A Community Manager is basically the link between the players and the game company. I spend a lot of time getting to know people in our community. I very often become friends with the people I am talking with and begin to chat like old pals. So I always have to remember that I must watch what I say. And I always have to remember to watch out for all of you that keep trying to pry the info out of me!

What valuable information would you share with someone thinking about pursuing a PR career for a gaming company?

Get to know people in the industry. And let them get to know you... post on Message Boards, run your own site, offer feedback to game companies through whatever means they offer. Volunteer to help where you can and get to know as many people as you can.

And play lots of games! Know what you are talking about when it comes to games and the people that play them.