Gods And Heroes: How Can I Get Involved?

Even though I am glad you asked I was going to tell you anyway. So even if you didn't ask, I'm still going to tell you! However, before I get too far along, let me explain to you the importance of being involved here. I am fortunate enough to have found a company to work for that ascribes to the same belief that I do, and that is that an MMO is only as solid as their community. When I started here, we were really the diamond in the rough. As each day goes by, the diamond becomes more and more refined. Thanks to the hardworking team behind Gods & Heroes and thanks to you guys, we're building the foundation to an awesome game. Your involvement here is key because it's the place where people look when they're interested in the game and it's where people go when they have problems. Even more importantly, you guys are the people we look to for feedback.

So how can you get involved?

The fact that you guys are participating so much on the message boards is awesome and now we want to give you the chance to expand that. As we get closer to launching, things are going to get really hectic around here and even though we've got the secret po... er, moderators, sometimes we get people who are out to simple spread ill-will. I hope by now you know that we read all of these messages and I personally do my best to answer your questions and reply to your emails. However, even now I can't get to everything or answer all the questions, and that's where we turn to you guys,

As we get closer to launch, my day is filled with so many tasks, some of which have a direct impact here-like my interviews with various development members-and others are a bit more subtle-like the story. So here's what I need from you guys, and this is where it starts. I need fan art, fan fiction, and character bios! I need whatever you want to send us! If this were a Foo Fighters song, it would be "This is a Call," and we'd be rockin' out.

We're building out the newsletter and the community site, and what you've seen is only a taste. Sure, we've got stuff to send out, but like I've said a hundred times prior, this is YOUR community! If you want this to be yours, then get your hands dirty! It might not seem like much right now, but trust me, like everything else we've been doing, this is the beginning of something MUCH more awesome. I've got some serious plans here, one of which is going to involve the content YOU send us.

People ask me how they can get featured in the Community Spotlight, and I just tell them, "be active." Of course the next question is always, "well how do I do that?" I like to tell people to be creative, be helpful, and be approachable! It's one thing to be upset about something that's going on and posting your issues about that topic, and it's entirely another to just rant unintelligibly. Believe me, we can tell the difference. We've all had moments where things just go wrong or when someone does something we don't agree with. It's cool to be upset, we all get there.

In all honesty, however, if we read a message board post that's just telling us how much we bite the big one, do you think we give credence to their opinion? The best (and most helpful to us) posts often are filled with passion, but they're controlled. They give examples, they don't just say, "d00d, j00 r lame!" Getting involved means that you help us fight this mentality. We can't stop it because we will always be the "authority figures."

You want to know a secret?

Of course you do.

When I started working here at Perpetual an incident cropped up on the board and I wasn't prepared to deal with it. I got extremely lucky because you guys were on top of it. You helped me realize the value of a strong community and you showed me that it was important for me to be open with you, honest, and to trust you. You guys have always had my back when things got a little rocky, and I can't even begin to tell you how much that rules. I mean, seriously, if it wasn't so annoying, I'd put "you guys rule" in all caps in a 100-point font size. Maybe I'd even bold it and make it red... I don't know, but that's how I feel.

By you getting involved like this, by you staying level-headed even when you think something is unfair or lame, and by you telling us what you think in a mature manner, we look at that and WANT to give more back to you in terms of the community. Look, I'm going to do my best regardless, but even the smallest return from you guys helps all of us do more for you in the long run.

So please, send us your stuff! You can email it DIRECTLY to me: community@perpetual.com

Please, get involved! Be productive here! And to everyone who's been doing that-which is almost all of you-Thank You. Thank you so very much.

Did I mention I was excited?

-Deo