There are plenty of articles out there about how to set up servers (like this one), so we’ll skip straight to the main point — community building.
Gaming Community 101
First, let’s define what a community actually is. An online community is a group of people connected by a shared goal, interest, or purpose, and communicating with each other.
You can find long lists of online community types. At the same time, in my view, all communities can be divided into groups based on why people join them — because of the topic or because of other people.
So, where do gaming communities fall in? I believe that gaming communities are communities of interest with a strong emphasis on bond-based attachment. That means nearly everything you as a community manager do to develop the community should be aimed at building shared identity and creating shared experience. Shared identity develops through fostering a sense of belonging to the group. Shared experience develops through shared events.
Let’s dive into the details.
Shared Experience
Shared experience is the collective events that a group goes through together. These events should include emotionally charged moments: victories, defeats, discoveries, crises, and triumphs. Such events create an emotional connection to the game.
It’s important to note that shared experience isn’t just about “successfully beating a level”, it’s when that completion becomes a topic of discussion within the community. As a result, even if your game doesn’t support multiplayer, the experience becomes shared as soon as it gets a reaction from other players in the community.
Key aspects of creating shared experience:
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Collective discussion of gameplay experiences
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Meta-discussions about the game, characters, lore, etc.
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Synchronous social events both in the community and in the game
Shared Identity
Shared identity is how players see themselves as a group. Identity is built through telling stories about the group itself.
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Stories about the group start with defining the community’s values and goals.
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Next come the rules of how players should interact with each other in the community, what’s allowed, what’s not, and so on.
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Over the life of the community, we write stories about members whose actions demonstrate the behaviors we want to encourage.
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We also write stories about important community milestones and individual player achievements.
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Interviews with top players play a big role in forming a shared identity as well.
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So does documenting battles, best play sessions, fan art, and memes tied to the game and the community.
On top of that, identity can be reinforced by small details like custom emojis, unique channel names, community slang, and more.
Why Does This Matter?
Shared identity and shared experience go hand in hand. Working on them turns your Discord server from a simple chat system into a real community. When your players have shared experience and identity, they’ll stick with the game because of the emotional connection to the product, the community, and other players. The most engaged players often become “advocates”. They start to promote the game themselves and defend it in discussions on external platforms.
From a business perspective, this means lower marketing costs, higher LTV, and a more resilient player base. Investing in experience and identity is investing in the long-term loyalty of your players.
A Quick Note on Bond-Based Communities
The whole idea of bond-based attachment is built on the fact that people form attachments to other people in the community. So the more opportunities you create for players to connect with each other, the more active and larger your gaming community will grow.
If you need help with creating an action plan for your community that really changes things for the better we will be glad to help you!