billdoor wrote:

Panderp. wrote: I know. I've been a GS. It's not hard to open yim, message a GM who's on and link them a few threads that need to be locked. Easiest task a GS can do   Unless you are a Shaiya GS. Unless things have changed significantly since I gave up my tags, the Shaiya GSes are still required to send in a GM request form rather than contacting GMs directly through YIM. Only severe issues allow them to circumvent that rule - like the servers melting (actual quote). These request forms are handled whenever a GM has the time to look them up. Given that the GMs have a quota of tickets to process per day (I assume this quota is calculated based on the total ticket load), you are a fortunate GS indeed to have your request processed in a timely manner, as Superman0X and others have made it quite clear that tickets are priority #1. I will continue to maintain the following point: As long as the GMs that are supposed to be GS managers are not given this as their primary task, even before tickets, the GS program will continue to suck. Bigtime.

There are differences in each team of course. It seems shaiya and early EE GSs had a rigorous training session and rulebook. DWO? Nothing of the sort. All I was told was to help out and keep doing what I already was.

Sucks that you guys can't contact GMs.... for us even former GSs are able to reach GMs through YIM and they reply lol. This just makes the fact that nothing gets done of our forum even worse.

And depending on what game, GSs access to special things will also be different. This varies from nothing special to getting custom gears to show off and even access to the test server.

I guess regardless of the type of program, GSs should be doing what they are doing. The fact that half the team isn't even around is not the right way to run the program.

Many respondents in this thread review the Game Sage program from a community point of view only. Even though the program is a community service, this does not have to correspond completely with the initial mindset behind the program from a publisher (AGE) point of view.

From my perspective:

AGE focuses on publishing games with the intend to make them profitable as soon as possible, for as long as they can manage. AGE as a publisher often has a limited control on the mechanisms in the game-code, so they accept shortcomings/bugs/unbalance if getting them repaired would be too costly. Instead they focus on binding a community. They know that a vibrant community is by far the best glue for attaching players to their games. The games itself just need to provide enough entertainment/competition to keep players occupied. Competition can be induced by keeping upgrades rare. They only need to control the inflow of items (and inflow from their item mall) into their games in order to achieve this, and they appoint PMs to keep a tight watch on content as this will supply their income.

The GMs are mainly there to keep a bit of control, handle issues and make sure that the rules are followed. Any cost reduction helps making their games profitable. A GS program directly takes away on hours spent by a GM (regardless of a GS manager who needs to run it). But most of all: a GS program is an excellent stimulation for community bonding. They hold events, promote interaction etc. For AGE it's mostly a tool for publishing addictive games that can help attaching players for a longer period of time.

They've set rules (some rules on top of the rules for the general community), and try to make sure they stick with these rules. GSes remain volunteers though, and GMs should not expect to become millionaires either, so mishaps are likely expected and calculated on by the AGE staff. The function of the program has an emotional context, with the purpose to keep the community "happy". Of course there will be preferences in the selection criteria, and this will not be perceived as "fair" by some. It is not in the best interest of AGE to give all applicants a "fair" and "even" chance. They just want to seek volunteers who can help providing their emotional charge into their community in a stable ways. The entire concept breaths bias/choice, as they want to promote a type of players they view as ideal for their community.

It is a mistake to assume that AGE tries to create a fair and equal team that represents the most active part of their gaming community, they WANT to use the program to steer the community into a direction of their preference.

PS. I agree with billdoor that it is a bigger concern that AGE is neglecting their own GS program for some games. It means that AGE is not committed to invest a lot of resources in maintaining their community (and often means the game is no longer blooming).