The official BioWare forums closed on 26 August, the company has announced. The closure will not be total, but almost: will only be active sections of Star Wars: The Old Republic and some «private forums’ that can be «used in the future to collect opinions about betas or other special projects».
“As there is much information that you may want to save”, they explain, until October 25 forums will be available, although it is no longer possible to write new messages; After that date, they will definitely disappear.
Study ensures that the decision has been hard, but they justified it by explaining that, although “before our forums were the only way in which we could speak with you directly”, today, «with the growth of social networks and culture geek there have never been so many ways to connect with you»:
We can now travel the world meeting you face to face at events such as PAX, the Comic Con in San Diego and even in our own backyard. We can share stories with you on the go, giving you a look behind the scenes on websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
“A change”, continued, “you have created your own communities on sites such as Tumblr and Reddit. You have created comprehensive wikis, and countless examples of fantastic art, fiction, and cosplay».
This ubiquity of BioWare fan has a dangerous point, according to the study: «With so many great things available, our developers are often spending more time on other sites and less on our own forums», recognized. “And this did him no favours to the players and fans who came to these forums to talk with us.”
The truth is that, hache or be, facilitate a type of communication is different which occurs in social networks. Twitter or Facebook encourage more brief interaction with the edge of the impersonality: when one has nothing to say (most of the time!), rather than shut up and leave space for conversation are used to give an I like, a heart, a star, or what is third; the misunderstanding and the tremendous reaction are the order on Twitter because it is very difficult to say anything in 140 characters, especially if four or five people, consuming our space for expression with their names are involved in a conversation.
BioWare games are especially appropriate for the forums, its complex plot lines and its coral deals, amen of the variety of results which can have a game, and the meanings that each one can be extracted from these different combinations. This type of conversations are presented with a different sort, and have the possibility of being dense in a very particular way to the Forum.
Is not to say that forums are not broths for more hilly fanaticism or outbreaks of bad baba less appetizing (reaction to the recent bans of Overwatch on Blizzard forums is a recent sample of many given to major or minor scale every week), but I understand those who consider that the BioWare Forums were a meeting point ideal for fans to their games. Nor think that is, as are, the last closing of this type that see in the coming months. Times are changing.
