[MUD-Dev] Jessica Mulligan's Column "Biting the Hand" Now at Skotos

[Derek Licciardi]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alex Kay
> Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2001 8:41 AM
> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Jessica Mulligan's Column "Biting the Hand" Now
> at Skotos

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Christopher Allen" <ChristopherA at skotos.net>
> To: <mud-dev at kanga.nu>
> Cc: "Shannon Appelcline" <ShannonA at skotos.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2001 6:57 AM
> Subject: [MUD-Dev] Jessica Mulligan's Column "Biting the Hand"
> Now at Skotos

>> We are quite pleased to announce that mud-dev member Jessica
>> Mulligan's regular column "Biting the Hand" will now available
>> bi-weekly in the Skotos Tech articles section
>> http://www.skotos.net/articles/bth.html .  > Her newest entry "Mass
>> Hysteria" is available now:

> The problems related in the current article ("Mass Hysteria") are
> being experienced across the (online) IT industry. These are very
> frustrating times in the biz...

As frustrating as the times have been, I believe that there is a new
day dawning within the IT industry over the next year.  With the
failures of the major dot.coms and the learning experiences the
investors went through, you can bet that someone with an online
proposal today, is going to be expected to display that it has the
customer service end covered.  One of the silver linings that I expect
to see come out of the recession that we are headed into in the US, is
that Internet customer service will rise.  It wasn't in the plan
before and investors do not like to get burnt twice.  Will everyone
give better CS, not likely, but as the article states, the oneis that
can do it, will give the industry a black eye.  I think the investment
market, the developer market, and the consumer market is ripe for this
kind of effort.  The one that succeeds will go down in the game
industry as significant as the coming of Wolfenstien 3D was to the 3D
game market.

That being said, I think I disagree with her notion that the
publishers are in the best position to do something about it.  I think
the publishers have the highest amount of resistance to change to make
something like that happen.  Startup game companies are more eager to
see it done 'right', less eager to do it to make up for a loss on
their previous Quake XVIII clone.(because they didn't have one) The
successfull game in this case will come from a game programmer that
has an acute understanding for investment and business.  The resulting
company will be a little bit of everything and will have the proper
leadership in place to execute something that only a true visionary or
a frustrated programmer can see.

It will take a significantly higher level of leadership within a game
company to effectively make this happen.  Publishers typically can not
provide this.  In the US, national telephone companies spend more
money on new customers than they do retaining old customers.(who have
given them revenue vs the nothing they have earned from a new
customer) In the US, Retail outlets traditionally pay the employees on
the front line, that service their cherished customers, the least
amount of money in the company.(usually just above minimum wage) Its
no wonder that as a whole customer service has never caught on.
There's barely an executive in the country who takes customer service
seriously and shows it with his/her checkbook.  For customer service
to happen in the immature games industry, in a fledgling mass-market
genre, in a business scenario already rife with risk and uncertainty,
it is going to take the next Richard Garriot to accomplish the
ultimate goal of the complete online game.  Given the right investment
people near the right developers with the right game and the right
business plan it might get off the ground.  Who knows it could even
make it to production and we could all get a chance to play it.  Lets
revisit the topic in a year or more and see if we might have seen the
light at the end of this tunnel.

Derek Licciardi

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