How to create a positive online game developer community

1. CREACIÓN DE UNA COMUNIDAD EN LÍNEA
POSITIVA:
Los valores, la promoción, y participación

2. CREATING A POSITIVE ONLINE COMMUNITY:
Values, Advocacy, and Engagement

3. RYAN
ARNDT
Global Community
Manager for the
International Game
Developers’ Association
(IGDA)
@certainlysocial
#igdacm

4. RYAN
ARNDT
Administrador de la
Comunidad Mundial
Associacion Internacional
de Desarrolladores
Videojuegos
@certainlysocial
#igdacm

5. WHAT IS THE IGDA?
The world’s largest professional association for people who
develop video games.
Over 40 Special Interest Groups
Over 100 Chapters around the world
(YAY IGDA Colombia!)
Education, Jobs, and Content for
Video Game Developers Worldwide.

6. MY STORY
- Teacher (Social studies/English as a
Second Language)
+ Game Audio Designer (15 games,
casual/mobile)
+ Social Media Manager (Game
industry conferences/events) =
Community Manager

7. WHAT I DO
Support IGDA Chapters, Special Interest Groups to
dream big and help support their success.
Promote the Organization
Offer outside perspective to chapters/SIGs
Provide social media support to IGDA volunteers on
IGDA related matters
Bring the voice of the community to the IGDA Board
of Directors and Executive Branch

8. WHAT I DO
Promote and maintain
http://facebook.com/IGDA.org
http://twitter.com/IGDA
http://youtube.com/theIGDA
http://igda.org
Content Creation
Audio, video, writing, social media

9. WHAT I DO
Listening (reading) - 60%
Helping - 20%
Active Leadership - 20%

10. EXAMPLE VIDEO
CHAPTER SUPPORT
OVER SOCIAL MEDIA/
PROMOTION OF THE
ORGANIZATION

12. HOW IS COMMUNITY
MAINTAINED?

13. A POSITIVE
COMMUNITY
CANNOT
GROW
WITHOUT
SUPPORT

14. SAD COMMUNITY :*(
A COMMUNITY
DOES NOT
AUTOMATICALLY
MAINTAIN
ITSELF

15. SO HOW IS
IT DONE??

16. FOUNDATIONS FOR
BUILDING A POSITIVE
COMMUNITY

17. VALUES
Inclusion
Engagement
Empowerment
Humour and Creativity

18. INCLUSION

19. Inclusion
“WELCOME THEM”

20. BE WHERE THEY ARE
Make it easy to find the Community/Welcoming
Team in multiple places online, not just main website.
Create content that is welcoming and friendly

21. HELP THEM TO JOIN IN
Encourage people to ask themselves “How can I get
involved?”
If a conversation starts on one social network, don’t
start by automatically telling them to contact you
elsewhere, as this may lose them.

22. ENGAGEMENT

23. Engagement
“ S TA RT A C O N V E R S AT I O N ”

24. Welcome with a hug!
@IGDA OR
@ C E RTA I N LY S O C I A L
T W I T T E R H A S H TA G
#IGDACM

25. HOW TO KEEP PEOPLE
ENGAGED

26. ENGAGEMENT TIPS
Support the flow of ideas between people
Community news/Current events
Contests/Crowdsourced Content
Inspiring questions
Casual/fun questions

27. COMMUNITY NEWS/
CURRENT EVENTS

28. HTTP://IGDA.ORG/GAMEJOBS

29. CROWDSOURCED
CONTENT & CONTESTS

30. ENTRIES: “AT THE SUMMIT”

31. Contest - Winner
C A N B E C R E AT I V E !

32. BAD CONTEST :(

33. INSPIRING QUESTIONS
Encourage respectful reflection about the industry
Keeps tone of the community forward-thinking
Help people to understand that they have the power
to change the world.

34. INSPIRING

35. CASUAL/LIGHT
casual/fun questions give higher engagement
help the community not take itself too seriously/get
to self-involved
balancing casual with serious - I try to reflect what
life actually is.

36. CASUAL/LIGHT

37. EMPOWERMENT

38. Empowerment
“ S U P P O RT A N D C E L E B R AT E
SUCCESS”

39. HOW TO SUPPORT :
THINK BIG TOGETHER
Find out a person’s BIG ideas and help them to
achieve where possible.
“What is something you are doing right now that you
are proud of?”
“What would you love to be doing?”

40. THINK BIG TOGETHER
“What is something you are finding to be a
challenge?”
Open-ended question: Where do you need support?/
How can I help you to succeed?
Support a person’s ability to innovate and surprise
you

41. BUT

42. none of this matters unless everyone
FOLLOWS
THROUGH
O N W H AT
WA S
DISCUSSED

43. THINGS THAT I WORK
TO ACTIVELY SUPPORT
Respect
Honesty
Transparency
Friendliness
Discussion/interaction

44. THINGS I ACTIVELY DO
NOT SUPPORT
Bias/hate speech Formation of groups
towards a group of who want to exclude
people. others.
Banning without a Consistent rudeness
warning/reason
Exclusion of certain
users

45. HUMOUR AND
CREATIVITY

46. Humour and Creativity
“ B E C R E AT I V E A N D H AV E F U N ! ”

47. HUMOUR/CREATIVITY
game developers are creative people by nature
encourages thinking in new ways
avoid sarcasm, but instead use humour that targets
no particular person or group, but is simply fun.
Sarcasm is easily confused online, especially when
the audience is from many language backgrounds.
can help deal with sensitive issues in the
community

48. SENSITIVE ISSUE
EXAMPLE
FUKUSHIMA GAME JAM

49. FUKUSHIMA GAME JAM
“Fukushima faces great difficulties in its future. Not only
are the scars from the earthquake and tsunami deep and
fresh, but the effects of the nuclear disaster will be long
felt as well,” an IGDA Japan statement read. “Game
developers will tour the area and build a game together
with students from the Tohoku area. They will create a
game in only 30 hours, testing their creativity, talent,
and abilities.”

50. FUKUSHIMA GAME JAM
The theme for the event is "Fun
Overcomes Difficulty," and organisers
said: "We're going to show the world
that we are going to make it through, by
showing our enthusiasm and energy."

51. Fukushima Game Jam
V I D E O O F S U P P O RT

53. SUMMARY:
FOUNDATIONS FOR
BUILDING A POSITIVE
COMMUNITY

54. VALUES
Inclusion - welcome new people and ideas
Engagement - encourage participation
Empowerment - support success
Humour and Creativity - do it all with a fun, full and
balanced life in mind.

55. QUESTIONS?
¿PREGUNTAS?
RYAN@IGDA.ORG
@IGDA/@CERTAINLYSOCIAL
HTTP://FACEBOOK.COM/RYAN80E
HTTP://FACEBOOK.COM/IGDA.ORG