Editor’s note: Toby’s a big fan of community interaction. You could probably guess that from his “Discussion Topic” posts. So it’s only natural that he’s decided to interview community managers. Even those that enjoy Mondays. -Jason
Welcome to the Bitmob Community Manager Interviews. I plan to interview community managers from around the industry, and I kick off the series with a conversation with 2K Games’ Elizabeth Tobey.
Toby Davis: One of the things that always gets me is how you come up with such great ideas for swag, like the BioShock posters, the Civilization Bust, and BioShock art book. How do these ideas come into being?
Elizabeth Tobey: I’m a huge fan of the games we make, and I play them all the time (another job perk), and that makes my job really easy when it comes to making cool stuff.
Ideas for swag happen naturally over the course of production. That’s how we thought up the artist series, the artbook, the Limited Edition poll…. Everyone on the team loves the games they work on and believe in making unique and quality stuff. Really, you just have to ask yourself “What do I want?” and generally, that’s what the fans want.
TD: Which piece of 2K swag do you like the most?
ET: Breaking the Mold: Developer’s Edition [of the BioShock artbook] is by far my favorite piece of swag to date. The project started pretty quietly — I thought our artbook deserved more love, and I was given the freedom to expand the book. It was a lot of work, but in the end, it paid off, and everyone’s really proud of the end product.
After that, I’d say the BioShock 2 Artist Series. I’m always trying to one-up myself with each new title, and working with the artists was a really great experience. And I think the pieces they produced are fantastic.
TD: Lately you’ve had a knack for stuff dealing with puzzles. What’s your stance on puzzles, and how you incorporate them in what you do?
ET: I don’t really have a stance on puzzles per se. I start every project for a game with a completely blank slate. Honestly, a lot of my ideas happen when I’m driving to and from work, in those quiet moments when your mind has a lot of space.
For BioShock 2, mystery, challenge, and puzzles made sense with the world and the story we were telling. They were born out of the game, so it didn’t feel like I was incorporating anything. They fit naturally.
TD: It’s important for community managers to take charge and be fluent in the latest trends in the gaming world. How do you find time to do all of that work, and does it ever get overwhelming?
ET: I know this sounds cheesy, but I love my job more than pretty much anything in the world. I can’t imagine a better company and group of people to work with — everyone believes in our games. I really love Mondays, and I think that’s why I don’t feel overwhelmed. I have so much freedom and creative control to make experiences I think our fans will enjoy, and that’s a really rare and special opportunity. So I feel challenged, yes, and busy, yes, but not overwhelmed, because I have the ability to do all this amazing stuff, and that makes every day ridiculously different and interesting.
As for when I find time to work, it’s easy when you love what you do, because you want to do it and it’s rewarding to see your projects come to fruition no matter how much time it may take.
TD:What’s your favorite fan-related item/letter/etc. that you’ve received since becoming 2K’s community manager?
ET: Oh, there are a lot, but one fan wins because he’s been around since I was hired, pretty much. Long story short, I called the posters on the 2K Forums “kids” once, and he gave me the nickname “Rapture Mom.” He’s a really great guy and awesome forum member — he even came to the BioShock launch party in 2007. He sends me Mother’s Day gifts every year. So I think he wins the best fan award.
TD: What are your thoughts about motion controls in games?
ET: Motion controls are really fun when done well, and I think a bunch of games have used them in interesting ways recently. The only thing that I don’t like is when I feel that a feature has been added because it’s new or trendy and it doesn’t add something to the game. That can be said about any game feature that doesn’t fit the experience, though, and isn’t limited to motion controls.
TD: What game are you currently playing or looking forward to, other than a 2K game?
ET: I just finished Batman: Arkham Asylum this weekend, and I had a blast with it. I’m a really huge comic fan, and Batman in particular is my favorite, so I really enjoyed that. Now, I’m holding out until the [Oct. 20] because I really want to play Borderlands co-op with my non-2K friends, and I think that’s going to be my game of choice for many weeks after that.