Out of the corner of your eye

Peripheral Vision, which is vision that occurs outside the very center of gaze is a prime example of “Game” Forums or Sites. This is not a derogatory statement but simply an observation on my part.

There are an abundance of “Communities” that are dedicated to a game or MMO's in general, that can house the most obnoxious persona's that surf the 3 dub's (WWW).

Pick a game, pick a community and watch the “Battle of the Boards”. Not all communities harbor the insane, pro-zac smoking, retina fried, flotsam and jetsam that happens to wash up on the shore, but even those quiet “Mr Rogers Neighborhood” communities along with the “Back Alley” type serve the greater good.

The pure gold that I find in any community and I mean ANY, is the unlimited resources that the gaming industry has at their fingertips. If I was in control of a major gaming company the first thing I would do is hire, full time, to do nothing else, than to read and monitor every gaming forum as possible. Every week a full report would be submitted concerning the “State of the Gamer”.

Everywhere you look there a “State of the Game” posts and announcements. These are important and are needed. They come in several flavors, Devs explaining whats going on, where we want to be, etc, etc. Community sites reiterating to those gamers that play, but are clueless whats going on in their favorite playground. True story coming --> A player in Vanguard, never has the Chat Windows active and has played since launch did not have a clue about SOE/Sigil current events. These people need a “State of the Game” address.

11 years with MMO entertainment I have always believed the game companies were locked on to that “center gaze”, and all of a sudden, at times, something came flying at them from the corner of their eye and smacked them in the head. I would imagine hindsight was revelation to things they might have seen from the Gaming community but was lost in their straight forward gaze.

The mass of gamers that camp various Gaming sites, regardless of the Barroom or granny's house atmosphere have a role. An important calling for the present and future of all games.

Listen up gaming companies, keep your eyes on the prize and fixed on your goal, but listen to your public, we will let you know if something is going to smack you upside your head.