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[yodonome]

Hi guys. I'd like to ask your opinion about customer support. Do you think that a good CS is necessary for all games?

I know there are pros and cons to both sides. Some prefer in-house because of trust and budget issues, while other companies prefer outsourcing because it's time and cost efficient.

Any thoughts on this?

[FamousAspect]

IMO building a long term relationship with players is key to a modern game's success. Some form of customer support is key to keeping your players engaged and happy, and making sure that if you are updating your game you are building the game your players want and not the one you think they want.

I am a huge advocate of having a community manager that is part of the game development team. Someone who embodies the voice of your playerbase. On a big team, this may be a dedicated person. On a smaller scale, that probably means every team member taking turns answering emails, hoping in on the forums and reaching out to people. Customer service can and should be a lot more than refunds and fixes for things that go wrong in the game's database.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i think it's essential for any *commercial* game, yes. if people pay for a game they expect and deserve support. for freeware games however, support is optional

[yodonome]

IMO building a long term relationship with players is key to a modern game's success. Some form of customer support is key to keeping your players engaged and happy

If I get it correctly, it doesn't really matter how the gamedevs do customer support as long as they do a decent job at it. (like maybe solve the problem in the fastest way possible?)

I am a huge advocate of having a community manager that is part of the game development team.

I agree. They are the most knowledgeable when it comes to the game & thus the best people to answer questions. Compared to outsourced teams that need to escalate problems all the time, gamedevs can provide solutions immediately.

for freeware games however, support is optional

Why do you say so? How about free games in the app store/google play?

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

free mobiles games often aren't actually free, but try to trick you into spending money on them. if there's any sort of money transfer at all, even if it's "free to play", support is required. for freeware however, support is optional, because people didn't pay anything for it so why should you be required to serve them? it's a nice thing to do, but not mandatory

[Muz]

Heh, just make a forum and trick your customers into doing customer support.

Of course, having someone do it full time like refunds, shipping, etc is absolutely essential. I don't know anyone who you could outsource it to.

[yodonome]

Heh, just make a forum and trick your customers into doing customer support.

Lol. That's a clever way of doing support. I think most gamers are already doing that without realizing it.

free mobiles games often aren't actually free, but try to trick you into spending money on them. if there's any sort of money transfer at all, even if it's "free to play", support is required. for freeware however, support is optional, because people didn't pay anything for it so why should you be required to serve them? it's a nice thing to do, but not mandatory

Ah, you mean the freemium games, right? I see your point. Considering that I spend on in-app purchases for those games, I expect to receive support when I need it. But freeware games... I don't think I've played much of those. CS may not be mandatory but I'd at least expect a FAQ just in case I encounter a problem.

[Xienen]

CS may not be mandatory but I'd at least expect a FAQ just in case I encounter a problem.

And what better way to do an FAQ for a freeware game than to throw up a forum and respond to people until the players start responding for you(it always happens eventually).

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

haha, how the heck are you on tigsource if you don't play many freeware games. this site is a community that covers largely freeware games on the frontpage, and about 90% of the games the community members make are freeware

[Hijinkz]

Here's what I've experienced when dealing with customer service issues for games I managed communities for-

A lot of people don't expect a human to be at the other end of an email/contact form. Depending on the platform, most problems can be easily solved too. It takes so little effort to delight a player so it makes it easy to build a happy community of players. It all comes down to what kind of reputation do you want to earn? Truthfully, not responding to players isn't going to be the end of the world and it does eat up time into development, so it may not make sense for you. The bar is set pretty low in a lot of cases, so it's entirely a personal call.

To the poster who said starting a forum for players to support each other - that is actually awesome if you have the type of players who naturally love to help.