Video games and their communities are constantly evolving. The way players engage with games, both through their communities and their development processes, is as unpredictable as it is powerful. In a field where consumer trust is so critical, it’s essential to have the tools to effectively communicate with your audience.. Balancing your communications with transparency and modesty can be a powerful tool to build empathy among your community for the content you’re creating. 

Developer diaries can be extremely effective at pulling back the curtains on a game’s development and giving credit to the people behind the product, not just the public figureheads. We’ve seen the power of video content time and again at RAID Studios. Our Creative Team has years of collective experience working on innovative and exciting projects, delivering new experiences in new formats. And yet, we’ve found ourselves time and again coming back to Developer Diaries as one of the most effective methods of communicating the passion, creativity, and drive of development teams.

Recently, we’ve worked with the team at Jagex to deliver a series of Developer Diaries for RuneScape. These video pieces have spanned multiple content releases, and relied on a close and effective collaboration with Jagex’s internal creative team. While their video team worked to record footage with designers, developers, writers, and artists on-site at Jagex HQ, our team was hard at work editing, refining, and packaging the content. Through all of this, both teams have worked together to maintain the standard and the creative direction of previous RuneScape video content.

## The Edit

Every organization has a slightly different content pipeline, which creates a unique fingerprint - or look and feel - for their content. That means familiarising ourselves with the various cameras and lighting environments we can expect from them. It means ensuring that we’re comfortable with the LUTs, Color Grades, and various audio processing techniques used by the video team. All of this is essential to ensuring a consistent aesthetic - once the footage is shot under the same conditions as previous content, we should be able to match it to the established style.

The first step once we receive content is always the rough cut. Our creatives tend to find that this is the most fun part of every project - breaking down the raw videos delivered into their component parts, and assembling them into a narrative that establishes the essence of the piece. While we usually work to a script, finding the best takes, balancing the airtime for the guests, and blocking out the framing of each shot to match body language helps direct the narrative. All of these facets are essential to constructing the video’s core - even down to decisions as simple as whether to keep a shot wide, or cut to a closer shot of the speaker. Once we’ve found the core of the video, everything else comes down to fine tuning.

Contextualisation becomes essential at this stage, and this is where we usually begin to employ gameplay capture, and elements such as key art and sketches. Not only this it help support the script, it’s also a great way to retain the attention of the viewer. Our team typically handles all gameplay capture in-house, and we enjoy the flexibility of being able to capture on the fly, but we have also worked with internal teams at Jagex when content isn’t yet at a stage where we can be given access to it.

Finally, we tend to add a light touch of B-Roll - this can help to humanise the speakers and foster a connection with the viewer. It also adds a subtle bit of visual flair that helps to break up the patterns of interview footage and gameplay. It’s a subtle addition, but minor differentiation is a great tool to help keep an edit from feeling stale.

### The Music

No video is complete without appropriate music - it sets pacing, and audibly guides the viewer through the various chapters of the video. It’s also a tool to subtly elicit whatever emotions we want the viewer to associate with the content and themes of the video. Where possible, we use bespoke music to reinforce key themes, match video pacing, and enhance the overall experience of the video.

### Animation

Key art is a powerful tool for visual storytelling - it’s present across the entire promotional campaign for a content beat, and it tends to captivate the audience more than most other types of content. We like to tie this key-art in with our videos by adding animation to key art pieces where possible. This can be as simple as adding particle effects, panning to reveal a character, animating in the text title - adding a bit of flair to the key art is the final touch that caps off a great promotional video.

![Requiem for a Dragon Animated Key Art](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/Requiem_For_A_Dragon_1920x1080_Anim_01_optimized_cf9e6b34cb.gif)


* * *

 

At RAID, we understand that developer diaries are a key tool for communication with players. Humanising a product team and celebrating their incredible work, all while building excitement for an upcoming release - it’s a dream combo for any studio. 

Supporting clients like Jagex to facilitate the creation of these video pieces is a key part of our strategy to unlock their teams - allowing them to focus on what they do best, while helping them put their best foot forward with their community. Whether we’re freeing up bandwidth for an existing creative team, or creating these video pieces entirely from scratch, they’re one of the most important parts of our creative toolkit.

### Examples of our Developer Diaries
                                         
Requiem for a Dragon:
                                         
https://youtu.be/VSzBZVJwxwI

The Blooming Burrow:
                                             
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AGnl71AY1M

Christmas Village 
                                        
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y1m83vVOuo
 

Graphic Designer

Creative Team Lead

Community Manager

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medium_RS3_Devdiary_1920_Banner.jpg

small_RS3_Devdiary_1920_Banner.jpg

thumbnail_RS3_Devdiary_1920_Banner.jpg

RS3_Devdiary_1920_Banner.jpg

At RAID, we know the importance of engaging content. Our creative team produce art, designs, and products that surpass expectations while always maintaining a thorough understanding of our clients’ brand and values.

The creative team works closely with the community management and social teams to deliver meaningful content that resonates with your community to boost engagement. No matter the ask placed upon our team, they will always produce the highest quality products for with great assets comes great responsibility.

Show off your brand in the best light

Creative Services

Empowering teams to communicate with their players through video

Developer Diaries: A RuneScape 3 Study

<p>Video games and their communities are constantly evolving. The way players engage with games, both through their communities and their development processes, is as unpredictable as it is powerful. In a field where consumer trust is so critical, it’s essential to have the tools to effectively communicate with your audience.. Balancing your communications with transparency and modesty can be a powerful tool to build empathy among your community for the content you’re creating.</p>
<p>Developer diaries can be extremely effective at pulling back the curtains on a game’s development and giving credit to the people behind the product, not just the public figureheads. We’ve seen the power of video content time and again at RAID Studios. Our Creative Team has years of collective experience working on innovative and exciting projects, delivering new experiences in new formats. And yet, we’ve found ourselves time and again coming back to Developer Diaries as one of the most effective methods of communicating the passion, creativity, and drive of development teams.</p>
<p>Recently, we’ve worked with the team at Jagex to deliver a series of Developer Diaries for RuneScape. These video pieces have spanned multiple content releases, and relied on a close and effective collaboration with Jagex’s internal creative team. While their video team worked to record footage with designers, developers, writers, and artists on-site at Jagex HQ, our team was hard at work editing, refining, and packaging the content. Through all of this, both teams have worked together to maintain the standard and the creative direction of previous RuneScape video content.</p>
<h2>The Edit</h2>
<p>Every organization has a slightly different content pipeline, which creates a unique fingerprint - or look and feel - for their content. That means familiarising ourselves with the various cameras and lighting environments we can expect from them. It means ensuring that we’re comfortable with the LUTs, Color Grades, and various audio processing techniques used by the video team. All of this is essential to ensuring a consistent aesthetic - once the footage is shot under the same conditions as previous content, we should be able to match it to the established style.</p>
<p>The first step once we receive content is always the rough cut. Our creatives tend to find that this is the most fun part of every project - breaking down the raw videos delivered into their component parts, and assembling them into a narrative that establishes the essence of the piece. While we usually work to a script, finding the best takes, balancing the airtime for the guests, and blocking out the framing of each shot to match body language helps direct the narrative. All of these facets are essential to constructing the video’s core - even down to decisions as simple as whether to keep a shot wide, or cut to a closer shot of the speaker. Once we’ve found the core of the video, everything else comes down to fine tuning.</p>
<p>Contextualisation becomes essential at this stage, and this is where we usually begin to employ gameplay capture, and elements such as key art and sketches. Not only this it help support the script, it’s also a great way to retain the attention of the viewer. Our team typically handles all gameplay capture in-house, and we enjoy the flexibility of being able to capture on the fly, but we have also worked with internal teams at Jagex when content isn’t yet at a stage where we can be given access to it.</p>
<p>Finally, we tend to add a light touch of B-Roll - this can help to humanise the speakers and foster a connection with the viewer. It also adds a subtle bit of visual flair that helps to break up the patterns of interview footage and gameplay. It’s a subtle addition, but minor differentiation is a great tool to help keep an edit from feeling stale.</p>
<h3>The Music</h3>
<p>No video is complete without appropriate music - it sets pacing, and audibly guides the viewer through the various chapters of the video. It’s also a tool to subtly elicit whatever emotions we want the viewer to associate with the content and themes of the video. Where possible, we use bespoke music to reinforce key themes, match video pacing, and enhance the overall experience of the video.</p>
<h3>Animation</h3>
<p>Key art is a powerful tool for visual storytelling - it’s present across the entire promotional campaign for a content beat, and it tends to captivate the audience more than most other types of content. We like to tie this key-art in with our videos by adding animation to key art pieces where possible. This can be as simple as adding particle effects, panning to reveal a character, animating in the text title - adding a bit of flair to the key art is the final touch that caps off a great promotional video.</p>
<img src="https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/Requiem_For_A_Dragon_1920x1080_Anim_01_optimized_cf9e6b34cb.gif" alt="Requiem for a Dragon Animated Key Art" width="800" height="450" aspectRatio="800 / 450">
<hr>
<p>At RAID, we understand that developer diaries are a key tool for communication with players. Humanising a product team and celebrating their incredible work, all while building excitement for an upcoming release - it’s a dream combo for any studio.</p>
<p>Supporting clients like Jagex to facilitate the creation of these video pieces is a key part of our strategy to unlock their teams - allowing them to focus on what they do best, while helping them put their best foot forward with their community. Whether we’re freeing up bandwidth for an existing creative team, or creating these video pieces entirely from scratch, they’re one of the most important parts of our creative toolkit.</p>
<h3>Examples of our Developer Diaries</h3>
<p>Requiem for a Dragon:</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VSzBZVJwxwI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>The Blooming Burrow:</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0AGnl71AY1M" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Christmas Village</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5y1m83vVOuo" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>

In August, we were tasked with coming up with ways to hype up the latest raid that was being released into the game. One idea that we came up with was a “Choose Your Own Adventure”, which would be posted on social media to get players inspired and excited for the raid. To achieve this, we had to develop a themed story connected to the raid and make it short enough to meet Twitter’s character limit while still being a compelling story.

The intention behind this was to engage players, who would be allowed to vote on what path they wanted to take in the story while also getting them in the mood for content centred around the same theme. Players were already excited about this raid, which had been on the horizon for several months, but we wanted to raise that excitement and draw in those who might not have been as invested in the lore and plot behind the raid. In writing a short story like this, we would do precisely that and hopefully reach even more players to encourage them to participate in the content.

After discussing the basics with my colleagues, I took over this project myself. For this, I worked out a plot that wasn’t too long and could be written in a condensed form to fit on Twitter without taking multiple threads and posts while not being so long that it risked losing attention or boring players. For me, this was a fascinating project to have the opportunity to do, as I am an avid writer and enjoy any chance to utilise those abilities.

This took several hours to plan out, and I went through various versions. Originally I had wanted to include imagery related to each section to make it even more enticing and eye-catching, but to maintain some surprise for the raid, we decided against this. I also wanted to expand and make branching paths to several different storylines, but in the end, I decided to have a somewhat linear plot with a few branching sections. This was so that I could focus on the quality of the writing since we had a limited time to get it ready and enough time to post it on social media.

Once I had a basic idea of what I wanted, it was time to start writing. This involved a lot of planning, and I used both Miro and Confluence to work through all of this. Using Miro’s sticky notes and arrows, I devised a clear and concise way of showing what each choice would lead to, with a few different paths that would make sense with the options. Each choice got its unique continuation; for example, when the readers were prompted to vote on what weapon they wanted, the winning choice would be addressed in the next post before carrying on with the story.

![Miro Board showing plan for OSRS Choose your own Adventure](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRSMIRO_8c3261063f.png)

As I mentioned, the Twitter character limit was a big concern for us, as we didn’t want to make a large thread each day, which risked losing the players’ attention. To avoid this, I utilised Twitter, writing each section of the story in the text box on the website and deleting and altering what I was writing to fit.

After the story was created, we posted one part every day, including a poll for the viewers to vote on. Once the survey ended, we would post the next part following their choice.

![Old School RuneScape Tweets ](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/ssosrs_e38e3475c3.png)

This lasted for eight days, finishing two days before the raid was officially released, and gained a lot of positive attention from the player base who followed the account. While the numbers slightly declined as time passed, we saw votes on the initial posts reaching over 5.7k. It was received well, with players enjoying the story and the ability to vote on what they wanted to do.

![Melisma reaction tweet saying these lil posts have been my favorite part of the ToA hype](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/tweetss_5ec7904e34.png)

Creating a Scripted Adventure using Twitter Threads and Polls

Old School RuneScape: Choose Your Own Adventure

A lot of  my job consists of making reports. These reports are usually based on gathering player feedback regarding changes to the game and are written in a way that can be used for future use. To make these reports more practical and less about putting generic information on a page, I helped to revamp how this information is gathered and displayed.

While the older reports were helpful to an extent, we wanted them to be as valuable as possible and make them less cluttered and repetitive. To do this, I needed to change the layout of the reports. By changing them, I could convey the feedback gathered from players in more detail, allowing others to find the specific information they wanted rather than going through the entire report.

By liaising with the client, I got more information on precisely what the report was used for and what kind of information they wanted to gain from it. By working with them, I gained access to Player XP, a system that gathers sentiment from across different social media platforms and turns them into helpful information. This meant that I could include this information in the report, which showed a base level of sentiment.

Using Player XP, I could convey in the report how players were reacting across social media and let the client know if the changes made to the game were being received in a positive or negative light. It also picked up on the most frequent words, giving insight into what of these changes players were most focused on and how they felt about it.

![Sample PlayerXP graph showing sentiment comparison of two games](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/playerxpgraph_2d346e6b37.jpg)

As well as using Player XP, I worked to change how the information was displayed in the report. Using Confluence for the report document, on top of using tables to gather feedback specific to either certain platforms or the feedback topic, I created sections, such as the “Content Overview”, that summarise the whole reason for the report. Another area, “Key Takeaways”, - is why specific topics gained more attention than others and what we could learn from them.

![List of sections in the Feedback report](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/lornaosrs_630ae1acc2.png)

This would work in conjunction with other sections that summarise what’s written in greater detail further down in the report, meaning those who don’t have enough time to go over the entire piece and want information on a tiny detail can find it much easier.

These changes have been a massive help to our information-gathering and overall reporting abilities, giving much more detail than we had been able to provide before. It has saved the client and us a lot of time in the long run. Because of this, we can assist with more in-depth information gathering and provide a range of levels regarding our reports, from game update feedback to gleaning what players anticipate or would like in future.

Working on a New Sentiment Reporting System

Revamping a Reporting System to quantify impact

Old School RuneScape's (OSRS) weekly live stream is vital to their weekly engagement with the OSRS community. It serves as a method for members of Jagex employees (known as J-Mods) to come on stream and answer questions that are gathered by the community. These "Questions and Answers" streams can be specifically topic-focused, such as a big content update or broader questions and answers from all game parts. It's a fantastic vehicle for engagement because of its fluid and adaptable nature, simply by what the roles of the guests (J-Mods) do; some may work on game design and others on art.

However, this format has its limitations. While it is great for engaging users and allowing live interaction with devs, it isn't easy to retroactively get key information from the stream. Suppose users cannot view the stream live. They may miss out on exciting details not conveyed in the video's timestamps. Additionally, the video format is less friendly for non-native English speakers or users with an auditory impairment without localised subtitles.

At RAID, we aim to level up what our partners can do for their community. We want to enable them to provide the best possible product, and with that in mind, we reviewed the OSRS live streams and worked on solutions to some of the problems users faced with the product.

![A list of problems and solutions from the OSRS live stream and how RAID would fix it with a blog.](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Live_Stream_Blog_Problem_Solution_4b9a0971f9.png)

The result of these investigations was to start producing the "Live Stream Summary Blog" each week. This blog is a near-verbatim transcript, broken down into sections, that allows users to interact with the livestream in their way, at their own pace.

The final version of the summary blog results from many different processes, including transcription, video and image production, and conversion to HTML.

We use AI transcription to create the first draft of the document, resulting in a roughly 95% accurate transcription. Our team then follows up with a manual review to ensure game-specific terms are rendered correctly and eliminate any remaining filler words.

Once we complete our final checks, the transcription is sent to the stream guests from the livestream for sign-off. This step also allows the stream guests to request changes or provide additional context or clarity to their comments.

Before we upload it to the OSRS Website, the final step is to convert the transcript to HTML. We use a custom Apps Script, a subset of Javascript, developed here at RAID Studios to facilitate this. This script ensures that the HTML produced adheres to the OSRS brand guidelines.

Below is an example of how a question in the Livestream Summary Blog will appear to users upon completion:
![An example of the Q&A's final format in HTML](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/HTML_Q_and_A_Example_1_112915b597.png)

In tandem with the transcription, we produce static and video assets for social media to promote the week's blog following the transcription. Here is an example of a clip created to accompany a Q&A Stream which focused on in-game lore:
                                                                                                     
[Mod Ed from OSRS answering questions on stream.](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/vod_clip_alt_d05521fe0b.mp4)

Clips like the one above allow us to show players what happens throughout the weekly livestream. The different kinds of topics discussed and the benefits of watching live, as these clips will sometimes only offer a short segment of the overall answer. This player may then tune in next week to watch live and give their opinions on the discussed topic via social media.

The result is a fully transcribed stream accessible and convenient to current, lapsed, and prospective players via the OSRS Website.

This then functions as additional content that can be posted by the OSRS Community Management team throughout social media for players to consume and interact with, giving opinions and engaging in discussions with other members of the community.

Community reaction to the blog format has been positive. Players see the benefits and are grateful to the Community Management team for going that extra mile.

Positive Sentiment from Blog Postings:
![There is a list of comments showing Old School RuneScape players thanking the community management team for the new blog.](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Reddit_Comments_Blog_372c53eeb8.png)

We formed a process to efficiently produce a weekly Q&A blog

Creating a Livestream Q&A Blog for a Global Community 

### Overview
One of our clients is RuneScape 3. The game has been around for a long time, but the community sentiment isn't always positive. As a game, sometimes it is known for the more toxic community members. We worked on (and continue to work on) a long-term strategy to rebuild confidence and highlight all the positive in the community. 

### Purpose

Because RuneScape has been around for such a long time, there is a very large community centered around the game.

This RuneScape community is built upon layers and layers of different groups with different focuses and desires when it comes to the game. It isn't only the game that brings them together. 

However, since each group wants something different from the game, it has resulted in a lot of ups and downs in player sentiment when changes to the status quo in the game are made. Upon joining the team there had been a bit of a rift formed from some decisions made the previous year around how the official Discord functioned, and this rift needed to be resolved.

### Execution

As part of my role, we have spent time rebuilding confidence in the Jagex Community team through frequent direct discussions with the community leaders / supporting community projects and events such as highlighting and supporting the fantastic Art Fight put together by the RuneScape Art Community.

![A board of wanted posters, highlighting the Art Fight in 2022 between the different teams.](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Rune_Scape_Art_Fight2022_bfe5e32f28.png)

Another example is the [community resource](https://secure.runescape.com/m=news/meet-the-communities#universal) I put together for new players joining RuneScape. It highlights just some of the groups that make RuneScape all the more interesting.

RuneScape has evolved to be more than just a game for a lot of players. It is about the communities of players who share other common interests besides only RuneScape itself. It is about the artists, the fashion lovers, the writing community, and more.          
                                            
![An image of different leaders in the various RS3 communities standing together.](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Bringing_RS_3_Communities_Together_b7f98f89b8.png)
                                                                                              
### Outcome
                                                                                   
These would just be some of the more direct examples but we have also highlighted community events via our social platforms and in our weekly news posts. This process of highlighting and building more bridges into our player communities is a continuous process. But we've already begun to see players respond positively, and the confidence in the game is being restored.

RuneScape has a ton of unique communities to tap into and spotlight

Building Bridges into the Community

### Overview
Jagex is a highly community-focused game company, and Old School RuneScape J-Mods do weekly Twitch livestreams to maximize being in touch with the community.  As their partner, we support them in these livestreams.

### Strategy
In order to maximize player power, we include them into the livestream processes. We position them at the very core of the livestreams, increase interactivity and engagement.

### Execution

**Determining the Livestream Topics from Player-Driven Suggestions**
![Planning_OSRS_Streams.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Planning_OSRS_Streams_c5abb61f34.png)

In order to determine the weekly livestream’s topic, we take a player-focused approach. We do social listening and gather player feedback to identify what type of livestreams players want to see. 

**Increasing Interactivity for the Livestreams: Letting Players Determine the Livestream Topic via [Twitter Poll](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1590401644583604224)**
![OSRS_Community_Engagement_Poll_Livestream.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Community_Engagement_Poll_Livestream_fd081bebe3.png)

![OSRS_Socials_Twitter_Livestream_Example_1.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Socials_Twitter_Livestream_Example_1_15258dc48c.png)

Aside from determining the general concept of the livestream through player suggestions, we dig deeper and give players the power to choose the specific content they want to see in the livestream.

For example, if players mention that they want to see J-Mods playing minigames, we let them determine which specific minigame they want to see by using Twitter polls. And then [the J-Mods play the most-voted minigame at the livestream](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1590704354713284610).

**Creating a 'Best Moments' Highlight Reel for Livestreams**

We [repurposed this valuable livestream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTiryrbYRVg&ab_channel=OldSchoolRuneScape) content to create engagement on socials and for players who missed the livestream. Since livestreams are long, we create a short and social media-friendly version. We identify the best moments of the livestream that the chat reacted well and [combine them into a short and fun Highlight Reel](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1586432743621251073). 

[Highlighting the best moments from Jagex Mods from Fresh Start Worlds](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/OSRS_Highlight_JMOD_Moments_8136b09dac.mp4)
                                         
                                         
Another important benefit of these meme-able fun reels is that they help humanize Jagex in the eyes of players and make players empathize with them.

**Addressing Player Questions During the Livestream**

![OSRS_Livestream_Answering_questions.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Livestream_Answering_questions_be383239de.png)
Whether about the new game update or suggestions for the future of the game, us players have many questions to ask the delevopers and the design team. Livestreams, where many J-Mods are available, are a great opportunity to address these player questions. Therefore, we assist the J-Mods in making the best of these broadcasts by collecting questions prior to and during the livestreams.

*Collecting Questions Beforehand:*

We keep an eye on socials and PlayerXP to detect questions and issues players have to be addressed when the livestream is on.

*Collecting Questions from the Chat During the Livestream:*

When the livestream starts, we also keep an eye on Twitch chat to collect the most asked questions, so that the players will feel heard and won’t feel ignored.  J-Mods answer these questions right there and then, in real-time.

**Engaging with Real-time Drop Parties**

[Most Wholesome J-Mod Moments from the Fresh Start Worlds Playthrough](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/tinywow_Most_Wholesome_J_Mod_Moments_from_the_Fresh_Start_Worlds_Playthrough_11434598_d9cfd1fd9e.mp4)


Us players love a drop party! And they work great to create hype and engagement during livestreams!

![OSRS_Drop_Party_Tweet.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Drop_Party_Tweet_1aaccc3b26.png)

We [announce on socials at which World and what time the drop party](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1583052346803703808) will take place and let players know beforehand. Later on, the drop party takes places during the livestream and they all appear on the stream with their in-game characters.

How we support RuneScape's Weekly Livestreams

Improving Old School RuneScape Livestreams

### Overview
The Holiday season at the end of the year is a fun time to create themed-content. This is especially true for Melvor Idle! Over the past couple of years, we’ve released a few social campaigns / content pieces, including: The 23 Days of Melvor (2021), and End of Year Spotify Wrapped Playlists for Melvor characters. 



**The 23 Days of Melvor**
   * This campaign was planned in order to celebrate Melvor Idle’s v1.0 launch. This community-focused initiative included an advent calendar video graphic for each day of the campaign. 
* Each day highlighted a different skill in Melvor (e.g. Woodcutting, Fishing), and players were encouraged to leave their top tip (or meme) related to the skill on a Reddit thread.
* All the communications hinted at a final surprise to be announced on December 24.

 **End of Year Spotify Wrapped Playlists for Melvor Idle Characters**
* This campaign was inspired by the Spotify Wrapped campaign released each year.
* While brainstorming with the developer, we imagined what the Spotify Wrapped would look like for some of our characters, like The Herald, Bane and Terran. 

### Purpose
By the time December rolls around, everyone is ready for a bit of cheer before the new year. Through these holiday-themed campaigns or graphics, we’re able to tap into the festive spirit around the Internet, while exemplifying the entertaining brand of Melvor Idle. 

**The 23 Days of Melvor**
* A further purpose of this campaign was to encourage knowledge sharing across the community. Because Melvor had just launched v1.0, there were a lot of new incoming players. This initiative helped these new players catch up. 

![This graphic announced the 23 Days of Melvor contest, with the holiday logo on a snowy background.](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/23_Days_of_Melvor_Announcement_Graphic_5a6e72f80a.png)


**End of Year Spotify Wrapped Playlists for Melvor Idle Characters**
* Compared to last year, there was less bandwidth from the developer to create a Holiday event (as we had just released a major expansion). 
* However, one of the key parts of the Melvor community is based around humour. We wanted to try to make the community laugh with something unexpected.


### Execution

**The 23 Days of Melvor**
* A Reddit thread was scheduled to post every morning. Afterwards, accompanying social posts pushed the thread across Melvor’s channels. 
* Each day, the Melvor Idle community managers would review the posts and select a winner. This winner would also receive a custom role in the Discord, to be known as the ‘Woodcutting Skill Master,’ or the ‘Thieving Skill Master.’
* This all led up to a surprise Christmas Event being announced by Malcs (the developer of Melvor Idle). It was chaotic and exactly on brand with Melvor.

[This was the first video to announce the 23 Days of Melvor contest, showing an advent calendar.](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/Day_1_23_Days_of_Melvor_b488a31bc0.mp4)

[This was the 14th video, showing an advent calendar and the 14th day opening up for Thieving.](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/Day_14_23_Days_of_Melvor_426a8e3db5.mp4)

 
**End of Year Spotify Wrapped Playlists for Melvor Idle Characters**
* We chose the main bosses from Melvor Idle, including Bane, Terran, Ragnar, Glacia, and Ahrenia. Of course, we couldn’t forget the star of the latest expansion: The Herald.
* We included at least one holiday song, while the rest were miscellaneous puns or jokes. 

![Spotify Wrapped Holiday Playlist spoof for The Herald from Melvor Idle](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Herald_2022_Spotify_Wrapped_38cb3c08ec.png)
![Spotify Wrapped Holiday Playlist spoof for Bane from Melvor Idle](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Bane_2022_Spotify_Wrapped_1b21ee2bab.png)


### Outcome

**The 23 Days of Melvor**
* Over 467 entries over the 23 day event. 
* 23 living threads with top tips (and memes) relating to the skills for players to refer back to later. 
* “I’ve been waiting for this day to get tips!” or “I could actually use this. Thanks in advance!” summarised the sentiment of the new players in the community.

**End of Year Spotify Wrapped Playlists for Melvor Idle Characters**
* We created 6 graphics in alternating red and green layouts to share on Twitter and Facebook, as well as 9x16 versions to share on Instagram stories. 
* One of the favourites was Glacia, because of the abundance of water-ice based puns. 

![A spoof on Spotify Wrapped Playlists, but make it holidays and with Glacia. ](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/2022_Spotify_Wrapped_Playlist_Glacia_Spoof_93e89120b6.png)

**Bonus content: a little snowglobe on a fireplace we created for December 2022**
[A snowglobe with holiday Chio, which zooms out to show a fireplace and a sign saying Happy Holidays.](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/Melvor_Happy_Holiday_Snowglobe_da502cc2ce.mp4)


The tradition of creating fun, holiday-themed content for Melvor Idle

Melvor Idle Holiday Social Campaigns

Purple Catblob Mascot in a medieval armour costume

catblob moderator.png

Online communities come in different shapes and sizes but are vital in connecting your studio, or game, to your players. This call of putting players first unites the smallest independent developer with the largest international studio.

Gamers are a passionate group, and no-one understands gamers like gamers. Thankfully, our dedicated community managers are some of the best! Supported by teammates with years of experience working in industry-leading companies such as Riot Games and Blizzard Entertainment, they’ve got you covered, whether you need support right from the strategy stage or want to level up and supercharge your in-house team.

Working with our partner Vela Games, RAID was tasked with producing a short gameplay tutorial video to introduce players to the various concepts and gameplay elements involved in a round of their new title, Evercore Heroes.

Evercore Heroes is a brand new competitive PVE experience, with four teams of four players using a wide roster of heroes to compete for victory. As such, Evercore Heroes may be a complex game for new players, especially those without previous MOBA experience. Keeping this in mind, I set out to create a short, succinct gameplay trailer featuring all the main elements of Evercore Heroes necessary for a new player to pick up the game and immediately start having fun.

A few key considerations were decided on from the outset for this gameplay guide: The video should be roughly 2-3 minutes long, long enough to cover all the key points related to the gameplay while not being overwhelming for a new player; In-game footage should be used as much as possible to showcase gameplay elements such as sabotaging your opponents, completing objectives, and tackling the final boss; We can't ensure the video will be watched with audio, so it must be viewable and easily understood with no sound.

Once all the deliverables and timelines were discussed and agreed upon, I set out to plan my exploration of the Evercore Heroes style guide. This is vital to any creative project to ensure a consistent look and feel across all media. Vela Games were a pleasure to work alongside, as always, as we were provided with game access and information on how best to capture clean gameplay feeds in their development build of the game (A surprisingly tricky task!)

With internal game capture sessions organized alongside my colleagues, the main bulk of the work would be completed by myself in Adobe After Effects. A plethora of bespoke motion graphics was made to complement the Evercore Heroes style guide, from UI elements to transition effects to help a viewer navigate through the gameplay tutorial. Throughout the project, maintaining clarity of information was of utmost importance, as the video should be ultimately informative. Coupled with a short runtime and fast-paced gameplay, it was a challenge to present all the necessary information clearly yet concisely.

The video flow consisted of moving from the Evercore Heroes client to the in-game lobby and finally to live gameplay and action. This mirrors the process a player will follow as they log in and start playing their first matches in the game. More complex elements such as hero selection, itemization, and the metagame were briefly touched upon to spark the player's interest while not being a focus of the video to keep runtime short.

After iterating and working closely alongside Vela Games throughout the whole creative process, I'm pleased to say that the gameplay tutorial was a resounding success and helped immensely with Vela's closed alpha testing sessions.

We're all really excited to see where Evercore Heroes heads in the future!
![Evercore Heroes Animated Logo](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/ECHLOGO_2de8034a56.gif)

Creating a Gameplay Guide Video for Vela Games

Introducing Players to Evercore Heroes

One of the best ways to interact with your community is through social media. Here at RAID we help our partners provide engaging and suitable creative content to populate their social platforms. Working on creative content for RAID can range from different projects to different games each day.

### OSRS and This Means Warp meme content

Our creative team takes their craft very seriously, but it is important to always understand your target audience when creating social media content. With many of our partners, humour is an excellent way to engage the community.

![Old School RuneScape Meme Tweet](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/osrs1_9562a6c67b.png)

Part of our job involves keeping up with current social trends and funny content that has shareability. The RAID team regularly has ideation sessions to encourage creative ideas and content that can be useful for our clients’ socials.

![This Means Warp Meme Tweet](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/tmw1_5b2ac7a1e1.png)

We aim to utilise game content while making memes for our clients, this ensures that the community on social media will see in-game content shown in funny trends.
![This Means Warp Christmas Meme Tweet](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/tmw2_7a04edf727.png)

### OSRS livestream vod clips and thumbnails

We work with our friends over at Old School RuneScape to help create their Livestream thumbnails and clips. This creative project involves watching the livestream and selecting a short clip based on the topic the stream is about. Once the clip is selected it is brought into the editing software: Adobe Premiere Pro. Using the masking tool the person speaking in the clip and the work they are discussing is masked out and fitted to the video size. Additional assets are added around the clips such as the logo, characters, a moving background etc. The clip is then rendered and exported. Once the clip is complete we send it over to the team at OSRS to post on their social channels.

![Old School RuneScape Livestream Clip Tweet](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/osrs2_4483c51331.png)

Once the OSRS livestream ends, the creative team at RAID makes a thumbnail for the video and it is then posted on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/OldSchoolRuneScape/videos). The process of creating an OSRS thumbnail starts with selecting images of the speakers in the livestream. These images are then brought into the editing software: Adobe Photoshop. Each person is masked out of the image and placed on a background. Titles and additional assets are added to the image.
                                                                                                                            
![Old School RuneScape YouTube Thumbnails](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/osrs3_8abaeea1c8.png)

The Social Media Content Creation Process

TikToks, Memes, and Livestreams

Nobody understands Gamers like Gamers

Community Development Strategy

Competitor Analysis & Industry Trends

Live Q&A Streams

Tone & Culture Development

Influencer Management & Identification

Frontline Support & Escalation

Feedback & Sentiment Analysis Reporting

Create a dialogue with your core audience

Community Management

To continue supporting and pushing the boundaries of esports in Ireland, our long-time partner Red Bull contacted us to discuss designing the first state-of-the-art Gaming Hub in a third-level institute. In collaboration with SETU Waterford, where the Gaming Hub would be built, I was incredibly excited at the opportunity to design a space for gamers and esports players attending the university and to create something that would be a catalyst for the recognition of esports here in Ireland.

From the outset, there was a very clear goal in mind, with considerations from both Red Bull and SETU. The Gaming Hub must be able to facilitate at least 10+ simultaneous high-spec gaming PC stations, which can be used for practice, training, and hosting local events between 2 teams of 5 players at a time. While an esports-centric space, the Gaming Hub must also be accessible to all gaming-inclined university students.

After an on-site visit to assess the space and gather some photos, I worked closely with SETU faculty and Red Bull to ensure the initial design plans would satisfy these goals and adhere to the style guides for both Red Bull Gaming Hubs and SETU's strict university brand guidelines.

Given my experience with similar projects, early in the planning stage, it was decided that building this design inside a VR space would not only allow both SETU and Red Bull to get a clear representation of how the Gaming Hub would look once construction was completed but also serve as an immersive showcase piece in the future to potentially host online which would allow potential students to experience the Gaming Hub at home.

With the power of Unreal Engine 5 and equipped with a Meta Quest 2 VR headset, I quickly got the initial room built to scale and began blocking out the various spaces fit for purpose.

Working collaboratively with my fellow creative Dan here at RAID, we designed a variety of bespoke assets, from PC gaming stations to couches, seating, studio equipment and more. While the VR space was an excellent visualization tool, it also meant I could provide to-scale renders of the Gaming Hub mid-design phase for both SETU and Red Bull's consideration.

After many iterations, we finally arrived at a design and layout that satisfied SETU and Red Bull. Construction of Gaming Hub was handled by the team at Native Events, with the space being powered by industry-leading equipment from various Red Bull partners.

This was an incredible project to complete from start to finish, and it's always an amazing opportunity to help push esports in Ireland forward!

Designing a State of the Art Gaming Hub for Esports in Ireland

Creating a Gaming Hub for Esports

Here at RAID, we always aim to encourage our partners to level up what they can do for their community. We want to enable them to provide the best possible product, whether creative, social, community etc.

![Evercore Heroes Character Art](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Vela_Thankyou_01_0009_Layer_1_780220c298.png)

Nothing brings us more joy than to help our clients deliver fantastic news to their community, like when our friends over at Vela Games wanted to thank the community for their continued support and simultaneously welcome them to the next chapter of their journey. Sending this message was a great way to engage and relay information.

![Vela Games Travis/Volibar](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Vela_Thankyou_01_0006_Layer_4_6be692ffa8.png)

Our creative team got to work on this project from the ground up with the team over at Vela. We initially reviewed the brief and devised an action plan for the shoot day. Once everything was set in place, our group landed at the Vela offices in Dublin with their Blackmagic Ursa camera and plenty of lights and audio equipment for an entire shoot day.

![Vela Games Erwin](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Vela_Thankyou_01_0008_Layer_2_146ca8800d.png)

Getting to work on a project from the ground up is where Raid flourishes. We get a sense of what our clients (friends) want from the project so that we can take everything we shoot and learn on the day away and bring it together in the most cohesive video we can.

![Evercore Heroes Character: Beko](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Vela_Thankyou_01_0002_Layer_8_8cd27a5624.png)

Our team then brings all that footage together in our top-of-the-range editing suite, where we cut, grade and master the video to a level that enthrals our client's communities and has the most positive impact.

[Vela Games Welcome Video](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/Vela_ECH_Welcome_HD_ca48fe94de.mp4)

Our team also has prolific experience animating across different genres, so they bring that expertise to bear when the art is needed.

![Evercore Heroes Character Art](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Vela_Thankyou_01_0003_Layer_7_adf5aaf82a.png)

Do you want to be in front of a camera? Do you want your community to put a face to the name? Why don’t you get in touch, and we can work together on your next video project?

[Vela Games Welcome Video](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/Vela_Projevt_V_Thankyou_FINAL_HD_small_4ff55d5c7d.mp4)

Creating a Video to Welcome and Thank the Evercore Heroes Community

Helping Vela Games welcome (and thank) their Community!

One of the best ways to keep your community up to date with the latest developments of your production is through a developer diary. Here at Raid, we are more than capable of helping you bring that extra flare to your videos to have the optimum impact on your community.

![Simon Laserna Lead Game Designer](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Raven_Bound_examples_0002_Layer_5_c0fbc6b336.png)

When our friends over at Systemic Reaction tasked us to create a developer diary, we jumped at the opportunity to flex our creative muscles. Another team organised capturing the footage, audio, and game capture, which was packaged and delivered to us. Our creative team then went through the captured footage, and we could then take this collection and assemble the video you see before you.

![What we learned from the last beta](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Raven_Bound_examples_0004_Layer_3_3784b49a68.png)

Our creative team takes their craft very seriously but is not afraid to have fun with the edit and grade, pushing the envelope to different scopes to allow the client to have different perspectives until they’re happy with the product.

[Example of grading](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/Grade_example_01_dbc4b1f147.mp4)

Accentuating the video with graphics, in keeping with your brand, is the final visual cherry on top to help communicate key points to the community. At RAID, we want to help our partners level up what they can do for their community.

![Ravenbound hanges we have made](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Raven_Bound_examples_0003_Layer_4_4ce7ef053e.png)

Last but certainly not least, the team collated and balanced all the audio elements of the video. They cleaned up the dialogue, mixed in sound fx and layered in the background music to tie it together.

![Improved combat ](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Raven_Bound_examples_0000_Layer_7_4086a7c180.png)

And here we have it, one Developer Diary to help engage with their community, each stage carefully tailored to the feedback received from Systemic Reaction, before the final master and delivery for their platform on Youtube.

[Ravenbound developer diary video](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/Ravenbound_Dev_Diary_v03_HD_small_5b5281110c.mp4)

We’re always excited to work on projects like these. If you have one in mind, why don’t you get in touch? It could be the best thing you do today.

Creating a Developer Diary Video for Ravenbound

Ravenbound Developer Diary Video

Purple Catblob Mascot painting a picture of itself

catblob creative.png

Art Direction & Branding Services

Visual & Graphic Design

2D/3D Cinematics & Trailers

Social Content

Full-Service Video Production

Live Broadcast & On-Screen Talent

Design Innovation & Emerging Trends

### Overview

One of our clients was preparing a new game mode release called Fresh Start Worlds. As the name implies, it was a game mode where everything was reset. To prepare for the launch, our client asked us to design a social media campaign to 'reactivate' past players. We chose to use nostalgia and player stories to accomplish this.

### Purpose

Our client knew there was a large number of players who no longer played their game. They also realised this new game mode, which focused on everyone starting over, was the perfect scenario to target and reactivate these former players. From our experience, many RuneScape players are looking for even the slightest reason to dive back into the game.

### Execution

Using nostalgia as a driving factor for players to return was a vital marketing tool. We developed a social media campaign to reach past players. We aimed to remind players of the good old days and their favourite memories from playing RuneScape.

Part of this campaign came in the form of Benjo, our in-game journalist that travelled the populated areas of the game. He would find players and talk to them about their experience playing RuneScape. He aimed to gather player stories and make players think back to the game's early days.

It wouldn't have been as effective if we asked players to tell us their stories on Twitter or another platform. By going in-game to gather these stories, we also had the benefit of seeing the replies in-game (i.e. the recognisable RuneScape yellow).

### Outcome

![A screenshot of a Runescape player telling us about a nostalgic moment. ](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Runescape_Fresh_Start_World_2_1dc3b16421.png)
![Players from Old School Runescape share a memory that means a lot to them.](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Runescape_Fresh_Start_World_4_2bb5b3c9b1.png)
![A player from Old School Runescape telling us about a nostalgic moment.](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Runescape_Fresh_Start_World_3_6e7038e347.png)

Players reacted positively to being asked and were more than happy to share their answers. This led to a successful social media campaign filled with genuine and authentic responses from players. Who hasn't cried over a video game?

When the client launched the marketing for the new game mode, we successfully activated a network of players to respond to the messaging and to return to the game via these nostalgic callbacks.

Devising a 13 week campaign to launch a new game mode

Nostalgia as a Driving Factor for Returning Players

Organising your marketing activities and planning for 12 months involves extensive research, ideation and analysis. Here at RAID, we can take on this project and help develop your marketing activities. For many of our clients, we create a 12-month marketing plan bringing their game through the early development stages to launch and beyond. This includes working to build the client’s activity and engagement levels on social media platforms and considering marketing campaigns involving content creators and celebrities.

The initial stage involves analysis and overview of current marketing activities. A competitive analysis is conducted during this stage to situate the game compared to other competitors in the market. Some clients' social media activity levels are deficient across all platforms; therefore, community engagement is also shallow. Considering their main competitors and their online presence, we can help them understand what they need to do to stay competitive in the market.

![alexander-shatov-mr4JG4SYOF8-unsplash.jpg](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/alexander_shatov_mr4_JG_4_SYOF_8_unsplash_5f763d2f7f.jpg)

Research and recommendations are presented to ensure the client has the most valuable information about their product. This includes reviewing where their target audience is active and how to reach them on social platforms. Recommendations on current marketing activities are advised to the client so they understand the following steps to revamp their socials.

![jason-goodman-vbxyFxlgpjM-unsplash.jpg](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/jason_goodman_vbxy_Fxlgpj_M_unsplash_22efb35df1.jpg)

The ideation stage involves brainstorming and creating potential marketing campaigns suited to the individual client. Ideation meetings are organised with the RAID team to source creative ideas for different stages of the marketing plan.

![ideation ideas on sticky notes](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/brands_people_Ax8_IA_8_G_Aj_Vg_unsplash_e5e3cfa7c2.jpg)

A vital aspect of a marketing plan is understanding the story the client wants to tell their audience through marketing. Creating a planned approach to delivering this message is essential for brand consistency. A timeline plan is developed to help determine milestones over the 12 months. We ensure the team is on the same page by pinpointing the key beats, activities, needs, and goals at each stage.

![an open diary displaying a calendar  ](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/eric_rothermel_Fo_KO_4_Dp_Xam_Q_unsplash_ed291929d9.jpg)

At RAID, we aim to understand clients' wants and provide help. We’re always excited to work on projects like these and encourage our clients to achieve their marketing goals.

Creating a development to launch marketing plan

Developing a 12 Month Marketing Plan

### Overview

One of our clients, RuneScape 3, was planning for an upcoming launch of their latest boss fight. To assist with this, we developed a Twitter takeover with their new boss, Zamorak.

### Purpose

As part of their build-up to the launch of the Zamorak, Lord of Chaos boss fight, our client wanted to build hype for players. RAID was responsible for developing several content beats to keep players interested leading up to the release.

Our favourite beat we worked on involved the upcoming Final Boss, Zamorak, taking over [the official RuneScape Twitter account](https://twitter.com/RuneScape/status/1540396029077602309).

![The first tweet from Zamorak, ](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Zamorak_Takeover_Announcement_Tweet_a08d24f10c.png)

### Execution

The duration of the campaign was short, and it lasted around 2-3 hours on socials. We kept the time frame short and created a sense of urgency and social currency for those involved. The fear of missing out on interacting before the takeover ended drove more engagement from players.

During this time slot, we impersonated Zamorak on Twitter and Discord while engaging with players and RuneScape developers with polls, jokes, memes and challenges. The content was a mixture of pre-planned ideas and real-time responses to players based on their comments/messages.

To keep a consistent tone, we had the Lead Game Developer (Tim Fletcher) take part and guide the overall tone for how the character would respond in various situations.

Here are some great examples of engagement:

![Zamorak Takeover Engagement Example on Twitter](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Zamorak_Takeover_Engagement_Example_1_22f62027b9.png)
![Twitter Zamorak Takeover Engagement Example](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Zamorak_Takeover_Engagement_Example_2_580492c16c.png)
![Zamorak Takeover Engagement Examples for Twitter](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Zamorak_Takeover_Engagement_Example_3_a6f7d77fb3.png)
![Twitter Zamorak Takeover Engagement Examples](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Zamorak_Takeover_Engagement_Example_4_2cdbad5ec1.png)
![Zamorak engaging with Red Bull on Twitter.](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/andy6_d319c33770.png)

#### Outcome

Overall the campaign was received well by the intended audience of core players. The key to success was collaborating with the Lead Game Developer to ensure the players' tone and voice were consistent. Also, it was essential to have a content log ready to post to keep a stream of content and engagement opportunities for players. Honestly, we had a lot of fun doing it!

RuneScape 3 Zamorak Twitter Takeover

Planning the Zamorak Twitter Takeover

### Overview
Jagex is a highly player-centric game company that designs and updates all game mechanics and contents according to player feedback. Old School RuneScape is one of their core games and we’ve been helping the Old School team build a close relationship with their community. One of the ways we assist them with is creating a consistent and constant Social Media Content Calendar.

### Objective
As the Old School RuneScape team’s Community Management partner, our objective is to help them engage their community, and serve as a liason between the developers and players to make the game the best it can be. 

### Strategy
When creating a Content Calendar, it all comes down to ‘adding value to the players’ for us (who are passionate gamers as well).  And to do that, we practice social listening, understand players' passion points and pain points, address those insights and provide engagement.

### Execution

#### New Game Mode Launches
**Quest Speedrunning Game Mode**
    ![OSRS_Quest_Speedrunning_Content.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Quest_Speedrunning_Content_12cb4cbdbf.png)
We promoted [the new Quest Speedrunning Fashionscape](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1590781686354165762) by using memes that are an inseparable part of the OSRS community’s culture.
                                                      
 ![OSRS_Quest_Speedrunning_Announcement.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Quest_Speedrunning_Announcement_f416039edb.png)
To engage players and keep them hyped up, [we ran a Speedrun Marathon contest](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1592911267983142912) where players who know the quests best and complete them fastest were rewarded.

![OSRS_Quest_Speedrunning_Winners.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Quest_Speedrunning_Winners_d577df85ec.png)
![OSRS_Quest_Speedrun_Alice_Gif.gif](https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/raid-cdn/OSRS_Quest_Speedrun_Alice_Gif_009af32f12.gif)
*[Anyone else remember being 13 and running home from school to play?](https://www.instagram.com/p/ClLyjKasyd7/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D)*
                                                                       
 We tapped into player insights and used nostalgia which the OSRS players love: We associated speedrunning quests with speedrunning home to play OSRS! As a result, the community even kept mentioning who the new Social Media Managers are, saying that they’ve been loving the socials!

![OSRS_Player_Feedback.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Player_Feedback_1fd36a5641.png)
 
**Fresh Start Worlds**

![gfmeme_final.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/gfmeme_final_1192595e38.png)

When Fresh Start Worlds - the new game expansion - was released, we explained its appeal and purpose through the language of players, by being relevant to them.

![A drake meme for Fresh Start Worlds](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/FSW_Drake_Meme_1f26ff5dc1.png)

When Fresh Start Worlds - the new game expansion - was released, we explained its appeal and purpose through the language of players, by being relevant to them.

**Crack the Clue 3**

![OSRS_Hobbit_Spoof.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Hobbit_Spoof_fd12d89142.png)

We announced and promoted [Crack the Clue 3 clue-seeker minigame](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1575869674474115076) through references that our community enjoys and relates.

#### Special Days

![OSRS World Animal Day Tweet](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_World_Animal_Day_Tweet_ce2f15b47f.png)

To create conversation with our players on socials, we make use of [relevant World Calendar Days](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1577326078066040832) by associating them with in-game content.                 
        

![OSRS_Holiday_Twitter_Content.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Holiday_Twitter_Content_333f949dfe.png)

Other than memes, another inseparable part of OSRS community’s culture is humor. So for the New Year, we correlated the festive spirit with the game by [making use of puns and humor](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1607348916814585856).


#### Community-Driven Socials
![OSRS eat your greens meme twitter post](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Eat_Your_Greens_Poison_Dynamite_da15e7eba2.png)

To make players feel heard, [we identify community-driven jokes](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1571076594613235713) with social listening and use them at our socials.
![Drake_Explosion_Broccoli_Meme.jpg](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Drake_Explosion_Broccoli_Meme_11afd786ea.jpg)
Here is a meme we made based on the fact that players were calling the Poison Dynamite ‘Broccoli.’

![OSRS_UGC_Example_Twitter.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_UGC_Example_Twitter_ddc764193c.png)

To make players feel seen, we keep an eye on User Generated Content and [appreciate their creations on our socials](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1609550316281761793).

![FSW_Community_Playlists.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/FSW_Community_Playlists_78cdd25ced.png)

Another way we make players feel seen is identifying influencer and player-generated videos on Youtube and [promoting them as a playlist](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1593197335797895169).

![Surreal_vid_recognised_by_OSRS_comment.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Surreal_vid_recognised_by_OSRS_comment_f850cf121d.png)

#### Real-time Socials

![Real Time Socials - First 99s in Fresh Start Worlds](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/FSW_Real_Time_Socials_4ee415e06d.png)

The release of Fresh Start Worlds meant there was going to be many ‘World First’ in-game achievements by players. We used this as an opportunity to crown players' hard-earned efforts by sharing them [on our socials in real-time](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1586659282526806016).

![OSRS_Player_Spotlight_Example_1.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Player_Spotlight_Example_1_364e5e8d2a.png)
![firstquests3twitter.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/firstquests3twitter_e796fb3719.png)

#### Conversation Starters
![OSRS_Engaging_Content_Twitter.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Engaging_Content_Twitter_b4accc60a9.png)

One of the ways we add value to players with our socials is providing avenues for them to express their shared love and [connect with each other](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1591415792540622848).

#### Game Update Socials and Teasers

![OSRS_Socials_Twitter_Example_1.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Socials_Twitter_Example_1_3ddb826403.png)
OSRS has game updates every week, and a few days before the game update, [we create teaser socials giving some clues](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1597308734501711872) about what’s coming, to create hype and excitement.

![OSRS_Mobile_rework.png](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Mobile_rework_3263500027.png)

For [weekly game update announcements](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1601676005785055234), we highlight the most [appealing new features](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1597906032592052225) in the image and copy, [then direct players](https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1575061536498143232) to the newspost where every tweak is written in detail. We also ask for feedback and opinions from players, so that the game will be co-created together with them and shaped into what the community wants.

![OSRS_Game_Update.jfif](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Game_Update_cece457089.jfif)

![OSRS Game Update Example](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/OSRS_Game_Update_Example_2_f7275f3c7f.png)



A dive into some of the content we create for Old School RuneScape

Collaborating on the OSRS Content Calendar

### Overview
Every year, one of our clients BITKRAFT has an annual conference, known as the BITKRAFT Summit, for their portfolio companies, investors, and team. In 2022, it was BITKRAFT’s first conference in a long time, and RAID was in charge of providing the social coverage for the two-day event in NYC.

![BITKRAFT Summit 2022 in NYC 1](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/BITKRAFT_Summit_2022_in_NYC_1_56ea135ed5.jpg)

### Purpose 
The purpose of the social coverage was to drive excitement for the Summit and to highlight the thought leadership from BITKRAFT’s portfolio companies, through pre-hype, live event, and post-event messaging.

The trick was: this is a closed, invite-only event. The purpose was not to market the event in order to sell tickets. Rather, our goal was to spotlight all the various technologies and thought-provoking conversations brought forward by BITKRAFT’s portfolio companies and their panel presentations.
### Execution 
![BITKRAFT Summit 2022 in NYC 2](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/BITKRAFT_Summit_2022_in_NYC_2_20fb56e1d8.jpg)


The BITKRAFT Summit spanned two days in sunny NYC, featuring panels including topics such as The Metaverse, Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI), and Digital Identity in a Synthetic Reality. At the same time, there was a secondary stage where portfolio companies were presenting their latest news, releases, and fielded questions from the audience. 

Throughout the day, our team took pictures, wrote down quotes, and approved the tweets with the necessary stakeholders. We operated in the background so our client could focus on running the event. 
### Outcome
Through extensive planning beforehand and a well-made spreadsheet, almost 40+ threads went live throughout the Summit, sharing key takeaways from the panels and linking to similar thought leadership. 

![A twitter thread about a panel called Crypto and Constructive Skepticism](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/BITKRAFT_blog_2_faaaf269dc.PNG)


Our panel threads, such as this one conversation entitled ‘Crypto and Constructive Criticism,’ (which earned an 11.2% ER.)

![A twitter thread about a portfolio company called 555 comics](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/BITKRAFT_blog_1_e4499217f2.PNG)


Our other threads highlighted portfolio companies, like this one on 555 Comics (which earned an 8.3% ER). 

![A crowd shot from the BITKRAFT Summit](https://raid-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/BITKRAFT_Summit_2022_in_NYC_3_faa359ae52.jpg)


One of BITKRAFT’s social goals included to pass 10,000 followers on Twitter. 

Through the organic pre-hype and live-posting during the event alone (12 Sept. - 22. Sept, BITKRAFT’s Twitter:
* Passed 10,000 followers 
* Increased impressions by 1,900% 
* Increased engagements by 2,400% 
* Increased post link clicks by 1,100% 




RAID provided social coverage for this two-day event in NYC

BITKRAFT Summit 2022 Social Coverage

Purple Catblob Mascot in a twitter logo costume

catblob twitter.png

“If it’s not on social media, did it even really happen?”

It doesn’t matter if you’re a small independent developer or an international studio; social media is an essential piece of your business marketing strategy. Social platforms help you connect with your community, increase brand awareness, improve traffic, and boost engagement.

Building and maintaining a social media presence can be time-consuming so let us take the pressure off. Social trends can change from day to day, and our social team always stay on top of their game ready to pounce on the latest trends and make sure to reap the benefits for your business.

Get your game in front of the right eyes

Social media profile setup

Content creation

Customised social media strategy

Content management across various social media platforms

Social Support & Engagement

Social media ad campaigns

Social media audits

Reporting & Insights

Social Media

catblob business.png

It’s often overlooked, but every great team needs someone in support roles.

At RAID, we know the importance of supporting players through their customer journey. Our player support teams work closely with our community management and social media management teams to keep player satisfaction and loyalty at an all-time high. Like all of our teams, our player support agents are gamers, and there is no one that better understands the unique needs of a gamer than a gamer.

We can design, create, and deliver a best-in-slot player support solution that ensures your players always receive the kind of support they will have come to expect from your games. And we mean always, the world is 24/7, and unlike many of our competitors, so is the RAID player support team.

In addition to our player support packages, we also offer a range of 24/7 moderation services that can help make sure your community can engage in a safe and fun environment across all your social and community channels at all times.

Solve issues for your players in a flash

Fully Integrated Ticketing System

Omnichannel Support

Help Centre and Knowledge Management Systems

Automated Answering via Machine Learning

SLA management

Reporting and Analytics

24/7 Moderation

24/7 Escalation of Urgent Issues

Fully Scalable Coverage and Service

Player Support

Purple Catblob Mascot with 3 smaller catblobs carrying controllers

catblob playtesters.png

Focus groups are among the most influential and popular market research methods available and, in recent years, have become increasingly popular with developers and publishers. Gamers know what they want out of the games they play. This type of focused testing provides the opportunity to test your games on knowledgeable and discerning users representing your core target demographic.

Not only does this provide critical feedback in advance of release; it gives you a first-hand opportunity to determine how the audience will respond to your game’s various elements. It is an invaluable insight into your players’ thought processes and how they react to your game not just as a creative endeavour but as an interactive, dynamic product.

Our testing team brings a fresh outlook to each game they test, their years of experience, allowing them to focus on the key factors they know to be most important to gamers. Their attention to detail ensures your game receives the valued feedback it needs to hone it to perfection.

Keep your development on the right track

Online focus groups

In-person play testing

Event management for in person sessions

Demographic and cohort analysis

Playtesting & Feedback

Purple Catblob Mascot at a gaming pc wearing a headset

catblob pc.png

Sometimes you need a solution and nothing on the market quite fits the bill, but you can’t spare the development time from your own team to create it. Our expert Fullstack Web Developers and Systems Architects can help create the solutions you need to equip your team with the perfect tools, all while allowing your internal development teams to stay focused on the task at hand.

Our experts have years of experience in web technology, spanning from the old reliables like WordPress and PHP to the newest tools like Jamstack. We’ve deployed and managed large-scale web and infrastructure projects, and created advanced custom Discord bots to help streamline player support and feedback.