Some MMO studios have decided as part of their efforts to foster understanding with the community to implement player councils. These councils, which are made up of regular players who may or may not be elected by their fellow gamers, serve as representatives for their communities and provide personal feedback to developers that may or may not shape the future of the game.
My question to you today is, are these councils useful or pointless?
I’ve always felt that player councils are not the best ideas. At worst, they’re merely empty gestures by studios and a reason for devs to ignore most of the players (since they’re being “represented.”). At best, it gives a large amount of influence into the hands of a few. I’m also not fond of the NDAs and secretive meetings that happens between the devs and the councils.
What do you think? Do player councils help MMOs? Or is this just high school class government all over again?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
