GW Open Up To The Community For Age Of Sigmar FAQ
March 22, 2016 by brennon
Games Workshop have taken Age of Sigmar to Facebook, which is a bold step in of itself, but there seems to be some real community engagement going on there. With that in mind they've also opened up the floor to questions from the community so they can build a new FAQ on the game rules...
They are going to be taking questions from the comments over on Facebook and then dropping them on the laps of the rules chaps at Games Workshop HQ to sort out. I think this sounds like a great idea and it certainly shows that at this moment in time GW are interested in what the players of the game have to say.
Do you have any questions for the team?
"They are going to be taking questions from the comments over on Facebook and then dropping them on the laps of the rules chaps at Games Workshop HQ to sort out..."
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They’re also doing it on the 40K FB page as well. That they have FB pages for AoS and 40K is in itself noteworthy.
Oh hey look at that, they’re doing what they should never have stopped doing…
Oh look, GW is getting with times. Bravo!
GW are asking players for their questions to compile a list of Frequently asked questions?
The fact that this is newsworthy (and it is) is concerning in itself!
I guess people just don’t want to cut GW a break. They are trying to engage more. They are going to more conventions (Salute for instance) and now they have started up facebook pages for their two big franchises. I applaud them. I’m not a GW fan boy and perhaps they should have been doing these things for a while. Put with the changes at the top it appears that they are also trying to make changes in how they interact with the community. Though I’m sure no matter what they do some out there will never be happy.
Asking for this kind of information can only be a good thing for GW – but the fact that this is news shows just how much they have strayed from the company that most of us started the hobby with. The jury is still out on whether this will be a long-term benefit for the community though, rather than just GWs bottom-line, which is the reason the more cynical members of this site aren’t necessarily embracing the news.
I think it is safe to say that every company that interacts with the community has the bottom-line in mind. It doesn’t matter if it is GW, Mantic or Infinity. The interaction with the community is with the idea that you create brand loyalty and thus more models are sold. I really doubt any company would put the effort into community interactions if there wasn’t some potential for a boost in profits. It is what it is.
I find myself reluctant to praise them for doing something so basic, but at the same time I don’t want to criticise just because they weren’t doing it sooner. So I’m treating it like a child who’s just learned how to go to the toilet themselves. On the one hand it’s great they’re doing it, on the other hand it’s something they should be doing and is something that literally billions of other people have done before them.
You have an absolute gift with words, my friend. Hilarious, and spot on.
I would love to be a fly on the wall when they read those responses. With an open invitation, there’s bound to be some hilarious questions. I’m certain that stuff like, “Why is the game so crap?” will end up in there more than once.
Of course, the bottom-line is the focus for most companies. But, if you look at the engagement with most companies, the community interaction also serves to develop the games they produced as well as make them more money. Mantic’s Rules Committee, Tor Gaming’s Relics 2.0 beta, Pulp Monsters Weekly character Spotlights, etc. are all examples of companies using social media to benefit the community. GW asking for FAQ questions is great. But I’ll reserve judgement as to how great until they either start producing FAQs again, or using the knowledge they gain to improve their games, rather than just looking… Read more »
Well, right now they’re still in the hole from the many years of poor policy on things like this. If they keep it up this time, then we eventually can stop feeling shocked that they’re on social media and/or making faqs for their games. I agree, it was nice to see Forge World and Games Workshop have a booth at Gencon the past two years- although I didn’t care for their booth at all last year- it was just a small display and two red shirts pitching Age of Sigmar to everyone who walks by- with no demo, and no… Read more »
GW used to have a very strong FB presence but after GW attempted to sue a single-mother for using the word “space marine” on her novel title (who was raising money for veterans) many had stern words for GW so GW promptly shut down their FB presence.
Had any other company done this it likely would not be considered news worthy. It is out of character for GW so drawing comment. The comment being that this is a correct but belated move. If you spend years not engaging with your customers its only fair they call you on it and you take your lumps until you earn back their respect.
I’m just wondering how long the pages will last until GW close them down in a sulk. Again.
What next a guestbook on gw.com? All in all this has been a pretty unprecedented 12 months for GW in terms of turning the boat around and not doing what was expected! Personally i would love for them to start a designers blog, with (heavily) moderated comments, im sure there would be considerable interest in the decision making process (or not) that went into given rules, or even just tactica coming from the horses mouth so to speak, As i have said many many many times the loud and vocal bunch who rage about anything gw does are irrelevant, in… Read more »
Well, you got me thinking- when were the good old days of GW? Here are some highlight eras that come to mind: -2004- Immediately before the 4th ed of 40k came out- Andy Chambers held what was basically an open beta for their new close combat rules. Also, as the rules were revised, it was very clear that they reflected the feedback they were receiving. Unfortunately, shortly after that, Chambers left the company, and GW got rid of its forums. -1997-2006 Jervis Johnson single-handedly went about supporting Blood Bowl with his newsletters (clearly based on feedback and continued experiences in… Read more »
Back in the 90s they used send members of the creative team out to talk to fans and get feedback on what they were doing.
Fair play to them. A step in the right direction even if it is a long time coming.
Do we get to ask them why they’ve been making such crappy models the last few years, and are no longer competitive with other companies? Doubtful. I think it will be very fluffy, and entirely skirt the issues everyone has with their models and prices.
I could be wrong; might be fair play, but time will tell whether it’s that, or more smoke and mirrors.
I’d imagine they’re going to keep it to fluff and rule-based questions for the moment. Nothing too inflammatory.
unless suffcient amounts of people stop buying the prices will only go up, it works for apple, and has always worked for GW, its not like they have ever been cheap, although i do feel sorry oz, nz and canada they do get the sharp end of GW’s pricing
@nakchak this has been my argument all along. Well said. If people continue to buy bad models, we will never see better ones.
Funny. I haven’t given anyone a minus for expressing their opinion… and odd that no one will stand up and explain why I deserve one 🙁
Because some people must believe that GW can’t produce bad models? :/
The only trouble everyone’s opinion will be different of what they think a good or bad model is
Why not head over and ask?
https://www.facebook.com/Games-Workshop-300575293853/
I think not. I’m already a pariah for stating the obvious 🙂
It is well passed time that GW changed its stance on community engagement, and any steps that serve to end its isolation from the community are to be applauded (even if they are long overdue). I just hope that the relationship between the community and the company is not so poisoned that any such olive branch is simply rejected out of hand. Nothing will put an end to this outreach faster than a deluge of sarcastic and hostile comments posing as questions from people with an axe to grind against the company. Here’s hoping that we as war gamers are… Read more »
Nothing hostile about the question @vetruviangeek. I think it’s a legitimate one. There are people out there making models in their garage that are of better quality and for a fraction of the price. May I direct your attention to the recently released $200 dragon sock puppet. I just don’t believe they’ll engage with the community on anything more than a superficial level, answering the “Can my dragon do this?” questions. Don’t worry; I won’t rock the boat. I have no intention of engaging GW in any forum until their product and prices improve (I still have many of their… Read more »
What makes me think my comment was addressed specifically toward you, @cpauls1? I was under the impression that you hadn’t had anything to do with GW for some time now, and so were unlikely to be impressed either way by a move like this on GW’s part. I was speaking of the kind of people who might go out of their way to torpedo any attempt at rapprochement between the community and GW, whereas you strike me as someone who just doesn’t care what GW does anymore. I don’t conflate slightly sarky apathy with active malice. It is not as… Read more »
‘Makes me think’ should be ‘makes you think’ in my last post. My ungainly digits (and apparent inability to discern between simple phrases – I shouldn’t post after midnight) strike again!
quote why they’ve been making such crappy models the last few years, and are no longer competitive with other companies? The tone is completely hostile but perfectly in keeping with nearly every post you create when talking about GW. I’ll not say that every model that GW has been released in the last few years, but to suggest all have been crappy? That’s a completely subjective opinion that is tainted by your hard-on for complaining about GW’s models. Non-competitive? You must have a fairly strange definition of the phrase. I don’t know what kind of answer you are expecting either… Read more »
@fleetey It’s a shame you didn’t read my post before launching a personal attack. As I said, I still have many older, wonderful kits to work on, and in fact, my last three projects have been from GW. If you ever stopped in on @unclejimmy ‘s weekend thread you’d see that. I got a Razorback for Christmas, and had no idea what to do with it. So I bought a second, and turned them into a useable near future AT det by knocking off the woodstove stacks and turning the weapons station into a cherry picker, like a TUA vehicle.… Read more »
stop calling legitimate criticism and justified anger – and fear that GW will go under due to its mistakes – stop calling all of that “sarcasm” and “axes to grind”.
You should be far more humble given GW’s last financial reports. Every single person you called a “hater” and “whiner” is within their rights to turn around and say “I TOLD YOU SO”.
never too late 🙂 Well done GW!
The fact that a company having a FB page is newsworthy in 2016 is hilarious
Donald Trump probably has one as well. 🙂
Next thing we know GW will try doing some Market Research, after that they may even try a sale!
They have done sales in the past…
The lead to white metal weekend was a glorious thing, 2/3rd off marked price in order to become legally compliant with EU hazardous materials laws, or when a new shop used to open…
lol GW changed to white metal in about 1998.
It was earlier than that.
And they stopped doing the sales a LONG time ago 😉
good things are afoot?
I think this is a good thing. I mean, I used to be on warseer and gave out a lot. I know people feel that they have been burned by GW before. Maybe they have. However, as grown men we need to stop giving out about them. I mean, even if they take a step in the right direction someone gives out. I mean, its like people are treating GW like an ex who broke it off with them and keeps giving out stink about them, even though they are secretly trying to get back together with them. Nut up… Read more »
Seems another minus sweep has just infected the thread. A qualification can’t be far behind.
It’s always the same with GW or Mantic threads. That ugly dragon had them flying all over the place 😀
Nothing gets the thumbs up and down like a GW thread. Here’s a plus to try and even out the scores.
Asking questions from us?!
Did hell freeze over?
My toes do feel cold @manpug