A workshop I ran through Pixelles in Montreal, this talk is designed to help game developers with no training in communications or community prepare for an industry that is putting them in the limelight as creators.

1. Discussing Your Craft Online
Astrid Rosemarin
@astridrosemarin

2. My name is Astrid.
I work at

3. Communications.
Community.
Marketing.

4. Strategies for talking
about your work with
strangers.
On the internet.

5. Why is this
important?
Two reasons:
1. Learning.
&
1. Networking.

6. What we’ll cover today
● Social platforms
● Discussing your craft vs your job
● Engagement (or not)
● Note about ‘on the clock’ / ‘off the clock’
● Clarifications with your employer

7. Facebook & Twitter
FACEBOOK
● Your own feed (sharing news, personal
topics)
● Event invitations (networking)
● Groups (devs, discipline / interest)
● Privacy settings
TWITTER
● Free for all
● * Except for locked profiles
We dive further
into this...

8. Let’s talk about Twitter
Tweets are...
● Tiny snippets, context can be lost when individually shared
● Easily found by perhaps an unintended audience
● Interpreted differently
● Able to escalate quickly
There are outside pressures…
● Influencers looking for game information
● Players who lack experience in game development
● Employers

9. Discussing ‘craft’ vs ‘job’
It is the difference between talking about extrapolated ideas instead of the specific
events that inspired said ideas.
It is talking about trends you have seen or experienced over the course of your
career instead of individually naming and shaming.
It is discussing the lessons learned and hot tips rather than the issues that the
lessons had to be learned from.
It is reframing the topics to ensure the barrier of entry - of understanding - is as low
as possible.
It is always including context.

10. On ‘naming and shaming’
What are you trying to accomplish?
You may have better options:
● Taking your story to the press
● Appealing to the CNESST (provincial labour board)
● Game Workers Unite Montreal
● ‘Backchannel’ discussions with trusted colleagues

11. To Engage or not engage… that is the question.
This is your choice!
Decide how forthcoming and patent you want to be.
… but players / influencers are tweeting at me:
● Talk to your studio’s community team, and have them reply from the official
channels. They can remove you from the thread.
● Tell them nicely to engage with the official channel(s).
● Ignore them, not every tweet warrants a response.
… but I want to talk to our players:
● Establish boundaries and expectations with your studio.

12. REMEMBER
● Twitter feels conversational, but there are no response timers.
● There is no obligation to continue a discussion.
● Notifications can be turned off.

13. If community engagement is not
in your actual job description
you are never ‘on
the clock.’

14. To confirm with
your studio
Indie & AAA
● Employment agreement
● Studio resources and policies

15. Employment Agreement
Confirm these in writing:
● Is interacting with the community part of your role?
● What about during studio marketing and launch campaigns?
● Would these be required on your personal social account(s) or as a ‘take-over’
of the official channel(s)?
● Are there different expectations for ‘owned’ channels (forums, etc.)?
● Is there an anti-harassment component?
○ If yes, is this for internal harassment only, or does it include player harassment?
● Are in-person events and/ or travel expected of you?

16. Studio resources
Confirm if these are available to you:
● Can you get media training?
● Can you get community engagement training?
● How to redirect players to ‘support.’
● Is there a response team and/ or process for handling harassment situations or
hate campaigns?
● Who can vet and feedback on social media posts or presentations you are
working on?
● Who is responsible for handling complaints, reviews, disciplinary action?
○ Are there multiple options, in case of conflict with a direct manager?

17. Studio policies
Confirm these in writing:
● That you have a personal social media presence and intend to continue to use
it.
● That your profile is public (not locked down), and you may share company
news and/ or assets as they are released.
● Will they be monitored by the studio, and if yes by whom?
● Are you allowed to discuss non-confidential topics raised within the studio?
○ Are there any restrictions here?
● Are there language restrictions related to agreement / disagreement with
players and influencers online?
● When you choose to disengage, does the studio prefer how this is managed?
● Are there policies and processes for dealing with harassment from players on
official channels and/ or not official channels?

18. A Final Note
Engaging with your players and influencers can be an incredibly rewarding
endeavour.
It is a matter of being conscientious that they are not developers, and assumptions
or shorthand may not be understood.
Clear explanations and some patience with them can go a long way!
BUT
Safety first, and absolutely expect your studio to have your back.

19. kthanks!