I sit at the top of my studio. I am sure a few of the rest of you do. But most of the players may never get the chance to sit in that chair. Sure, many will found a studio, they may get a few players to join, but in the end most will have to join an established, well funded studio, if they are competitive and want a chance in the big leagues. Our studio sits just on the edge moving between 10-15, twice breaking into the top 10. We have been in this position as long as I have been a member, almost 10 months. If nothing else we are consistent.
But that's not what I am here to discuss. I am here to talk about the task that is the worse part of being a boss. Sure we share studio fight selection, and diamond spending with the producers, but task I dread the most is when I have to kick someone out of the studio.
We have been lucky in a way. We have only had 2 players jump ship to join stronger studios. That also means that we lose most of our players to attrition. I understand, I have been that player, that person that doesn't get the chance to log on the first day. The second day is the attitude that 2 days won't be the end of the world. By the end of the week, you feel like, well maybe I didn't like the game as much as I thought I did. You turn around, you find another game and you move on. And there is nothing wrong with that. I play games for enjoyment, and a sense of accomplishment. When I am not getting that I find something else.
But that leaves the studio boss in a lurch. Back to that low loss of player rate. I mentioned before that our studio has only loss two players to other studios. We engender loyalty in our studio. Players join us and they stick with us. I have probably removed close to 30-40 members since I became boss in June. Some of them have been easy. The first 15, clearing space for a studio merger was a no brainer. But it took me nearly another month to remove the studios founder and first boss and I agonized over the decision. And then 2 days ago I had to remove one of our top 3 powerful players who was a member before I joined.
That brings me to the crux of this topic. The boss has to think about the other 29 people that are trying to reach a goal. They have to balance the needs of each player, their comfort in the studio, their satisfaction with the studios "brand" and the goals of the studio as a whole. I know I question each time - has RL caught up with the player, will they come back?? Will they be upset with me when they return?
But a well performing studio is about active players, not about keeping dead avatars around and the player with the pruning shears has the hardest task of all.
Thanks for listening. Let me know what you think. If you like it, I might continue writing on similar topics.