As the title says I’m past the ‘wholly insignificant for anyone except, obviously, me’ point of 100 published posts here, and it’s as good a time as any to ask you what you’d like to see showing up here.
So far as you can probably tell the posts that have consumed most time and energy have been recaps of shows. I like doing these as they let me look back on what are inevitably insanity-fuelled weekends with more of a calm perspective… but there aren’t enough shows in a year to make them the sole topic of the blog.
Beyond that, I’ve done quite a few posts on the topic of the ‘Day Today’ (including those show ones, I suppose) which are intended to give something of an insight into my working day. Sometimes those can be a bit dull I guess, sometimes not so much. Part of the intention is to demystify things a bit. Naturally though, sometimes I have to be vague about what I’m talking about for confidentiality reasons… do you want more of this? (The posts, not the vagueness. Athough there will be more of that.)
Is there anything else you want to see?
I don’t particular want to rant too much about the state of the industry or similar – don’t think my opinions there are revelatory, although if there’s something I feel passionately about I’ll be sure to let you know. I do want to do more posts on the general subject of ‘breaking into the industry’ which is a subject near to my heart, and considering I’ve talked in public a few times on that, I feel bad I haven’t addressed it here too much.
Anyway. I’d like to hear your opinions. Drop them below if you don’t mind everyone seeing, or send me an email (rockjaw / at / ncsoft / dot / com with all the usual replacements). Oh and by the way, you don’t need to tell me to write whatever I like… I’m doing that already…

#1 by Shuttler at May 19th, 2008
Well, I like the blog as it is and always find it interesting. However. community always interests me as a subject and different peoples roles in it..Players, Community Mangers, Forums, Clan/Guild Members, Fansites, Bloggers, Podcasts.
There always seems to be an interesting dynamic and highs and lows with community so I’m always interested to see others thoughts on anything to do with this topic.
Just a thought.
#2 by Rockjaw at May 20th, 2008
Give me a little more to work with there, John…?
I can’t really talk about many of the specific dynamics of, say, the community team without potentially giving too much away. As people often surmise, when we have lows it usually involves either players or devs, and either one of those parties I don’t want to upset.
#3 by Shadowe at May 20th, 2008
What I’d like to see (as Rockjaw’s Unofficial Shill): Well, more of the same.
Okay, let me expand on that a bit.
I’m always interested in the ins and outs of what you get up to on a day-to-day basis, even the supposedly boring bits.
I strongly suspect that there’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ day for you, so the more insight we get into what goes in down there in Brighton, the easier it is to appreciate the work you do.
Now, one thing that always interests me on a personal level is opinions. We all know that you can’t give your personal opinions on the official NCSoft boards, and it would be unreasonable for us to ask you to give your personal opnions about things related to the games here, as you *do* have to toe the company line, but I think a lot of people (well, those of us that read your blog, anyway) would like to know what you think about things that are NOT related directly to your job – so more stuff about games you play in your free time (assuming you get any), what you think about them, good points, bad points, what turns you on (about the games), what turns you off (also about the games – some people have filthy minds), and if you recommend them.
Heck, thinking about it, getting your opinion on other things wouldn’t go amiss, either, but that’s a good place to start – something we all have in common (a love of games), and the chance to hear from someone ‘in the business’ and what they think.
#4 by Crimson_Archer at May 20th, 2008
I’m agreeing with Shadowe. I mostly read blogs and listen to podcasts to hear other peoples’ opinions. It’s like listening in to a great pub conversation; you might not agree with what that person is saying, but if it’s on a subject you enjoy talking and hearing about, then it doesn’t always matter. The same goes here.
I know that this isn’t exactly a personal blog, but hearing what you’ve been up to, what news interests you and what the opinion on news items are from within the NC Soft Europe offices is just as interesting! It’s important for us players to know that those who manage the community on behalf of both the publisher and the community are as enthusiastic as we are. News stories and short forum posts don’t always do that, but this allows a greater expression of that enthusiasm and that’s much more infectious for us!
#5 by Shuttler at May 21st, 2008
Ok…
an example of things that I find interesting regarding community.
hmmm let me see, ok well the power of a community always amazes me for example if you take GAX it seems that if one or two people like a game on there everyone Pre-orders it. If Gary and Ryan on the Massivley Online Gamer Podcast say a game is awful then everyone agrees even without playing it themselves.
Also I see suggestions on Forums for Tabula Rasa by players like the Boxing Ring for Friday Night Fights and the Devs love it so much they make the players one!
I just think community is a very powerful thing and wondered on your views on this, not specific to your job or Ncsoft ,but generally speaking.