At the beginning of this year we sat down and took stock of all things AEG – the company’s products, its player community, its events and much more. We talked a lot about how we could be a better company and what, now that we have significant growth into new games, are the most important things we could do to be the best we can possibly be. The top item for us was the community that has grown around our games. We realized t
hat, while engrossed in making these great gaming products, we hadn’t really addressed our responsibilities to our community regarding an enjoyable and respectful game play environment.
We also talked a LOT about FUN. When it comes down to it, FUN is why we chose to make games for a living. A big part of FUN is, of course, the people you play and interact with. AEG has been luckier than most companies in this regard. In twenty years, we’ve had few major issues and have avoided a lot of the “land mines” the internet often lays for people and communities who interact remotely and sometimes anonymously. AEG generally, and the Legend of the Five Rings community in particular, has a reputation for being the most loyal but, more importantly, the most friendly community of players and game representatives.
Well, while we have been luckier than many companies and communities, there are still occasional problems. It struck us that when such problems do arise, we don’t have a Code at which we can point, so that players, staff, and volunteers have something to guide them. We don’t have something that says, “If you are part of the AEG community, then you can expect certain things in the way you are treated, and likewise there are certain expectations regarding how you treat others, and this document lists those things for you.” Accordingly, we’ve worked out a Code of Conduct for our gaming community. We feel it puts into words those things that the vast majority of our community already accepts as the way to be treated, and to treat others.
Today, we are pleased to post the Code of Conduct and adopt it as our guidelines for the future.
Now, let’s go play some games!