Committee Meeting, Discord Call, 24/7/19

18:00 – Meeting Start

Discord Changes

Committee proposed question of “nuking” the old Discord server instead of creating a new one?

• Ben in favour of this idea.

Ben suggested that we redo the Discord by starting off with channels that we do need instead of pruning the channels that we don’t use.

Ben suggested that we have a few channels dedicated to certain games, similar to the current Discord server structure

Brent raised a point stating that if the Discord is members only, how would non-members be able to interact with on the Discord server.

Ben suggested having approximately 3 channels that would be visible to non-members.

Katie suggested a read-only channel where non-members can message people in a “waiting room” system if they need help.

Brent stated that we might not need specific roles on the Discord server if everyone will be placed into separate communities.

Katie suggested having an introductions channel, stating that it would be useful for assigning roles.

• Ben responded stating that this could be done in the #waiting-room channel.

Decided that the #introductions channel would be comprised of Freshers being introduced to other Freshers.

Brent suggested having a #looking-for-game channel that would be used for people to find others that want to play multiplayer games together.

• This channel would be open to the public, i.e non-members, such as Freshers and current members.

The current list of channels that we would have in the re-done Discord server include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(Channel names aren’t final and structure may be subject to changes if deemed necessary by the Committee)

Community System

Kieran stated that we need to know who’s actually in a community and make it official.

Kieran suggested that we have the Community Cast podcast bi-weekly, inviting members of the Committee and other LUGES community leaders.

• The purpose of this would be mainly for publicising communities.

Kieran stated that we would need a microphone and streaming equipment or, as an alternative to streaming, the Community Cast cast would need the ability to record their audio and would need someone available to gather these files, sync them up and upload them.

Kieran suggested that the pilot episode be done on results day, the 15th of August.

Kieran stated that the podcast would feature 3-4 people per episode.

The following Committee members have volunteered to do the podcast on results day:

• Mo
• Kieran
• Katie
• Ben

Themed Socials

Kieran stated that themed socials are easier to do but it is also important not to force people into participating with the theme if they don’t want to.

Weekly socials will most likely still be in County Bar.

Possible themes include Destiny updates (as suggested by Ryan), League updates, etc.

Ben stated that we can reduce the size of the themed area if necessary based on interest.

Streaming

It was suggested that Smash Weeklies could be streamed.

• Ben expressed his fondness for the idea of community streams.

Kieran stated that he is against giving out the stream key to communities.

Brent stated that we should have launch events for games that come out throughout the year.

Kieran pointed out that we already have a capture card so streaming shouldn’t be too difficult.

Incentives for joining LUGES

Currently, there aren’t any incentives for joining the Society, apart from having the ability to vote during meetings.

Possible incentives for becoming a member of the society include:

• The ability to see certain Discord channels that would be locked off to non-members.
  • Brent suggested that this could be done by having private channels with a role that no one would be able to see.
• A custom hoodie with the member’s community on the back (suggested by Kieran and Ben).

LUGES Laptop

Budget for the laptop, according to Josh, is approximately “£1,159.14 – (~£200 to £300)“.

Would need a laptop mainly for streaming

• Specifications for such a laptop would be:
  • i7 compatible, or an above-average i5
  • 8-16 GB of RAM
  • A recent GPU, such as a GTX 1050 or better

Social Media and Engagement

Katie confirmed that we currently have two events booked for Freshers Week:

• Sunday 29th Sep – Furness
• Thursday 3rd Oct – Fylde w/ Senet

Katie stated that, during LANs, we should inquire as to what games people like to play so we can set them up with people with similar interests so that they will be able to bond with these people or have time-slots for different games as Josh suggested.

Kieran suggested that we go back to having a weekly quiz at the County Social.

Agreed that we need to interact with the Freshers more.

Katie suggested the idea of a Game of the Week, where we talk to various members and pick a game that the members would like to see a focus on.

Katie suggested that we ask people what they enjoy playing after the weekly quizzes.

Katie and Ben suggested the idea of having mini-tournaments and one-off events, such as launch events.

Considered doing more one-off events with other societies such as:

• PokéSoc
• PULSAR

Decided that Minecraft and co-op games would be the best games do prioritise during LANs, as they are good for member retention.

Katie suggested that only members should be allowed in at LANs and socials.

Brent stated that the grace period for buying membership would be from the beginning of Freshers Week to the first LAN after Freshers’ LAN.

• This would be approximately three weeks.

Katie suggested that to encourage people to buy membership, we should explain what membership allows for and what the membership fees would be spent on.

Agreed to try and keep better track of the people with and without membership.

Ryan suggested making the main room during LANs be for members only.

Kieran expressed his strong opposition of allowing people that aren’t members of the Society into LANs.

Katie suggested giving people that are on an Esports team a limited membership that only allows them to attend LANs.

Noted that the Esports teams may potentially half if we forced every player on all the teams to pay for membership.

Josh suggested giving the Esports teams leisure events such as bowling trips and meals.

James suggested that all events should be initially created on Facebook and should then be advertised on the other main social media platforms; Discord, Twitter and Instagram.

James proposed having a system where users can react to messages on Discord to be notified when something is posted in that channel.

James raised a point stating that we don’t really use our Twitter account as much as we could be.

• Kieran responded by suggesting that we could tweet updates about events and socials as they go on.

James suggested posting stories on Instagram, as previously suggested by Mo.

• James suggested that these would be highlights of certain moments in games.

Ben expressed his concern with using audio from a public place.

• It was suggested that the community stream highlights would be posted as promotional pieces for the Society.

James suggested having socials dedicated to story-based games. Examples include:

• Until Dawn
• Telltale games
  • The Walking Dead
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
• Oxenfree

Ben stated that story games are often not very engaging.

• James responded by stating that these socials would not be very frequent.

James suggested the following games for County Socials:

• Gentlemen!
• A Quick Death
• Party Panic
• SkyScrappers
• Floppy Heroes

Ben asked if James had played any of the aforementioned games.

• James replied that he had not played any of the games.

Mo suggested that seeing as the subreddit can’t be deleted that it should be used.

• Decided that we can ignore the subreddit.

Freshers’ Week Plans

The following Committee members have stated that they would be available during Freshers’ Week:

• Ben
• James
• Ryan
• Josh (possibly)

Decided to have another meeting after room bookings and/or at some time during Freshers’ Week.

Need to ask Pendle for a room booking for a Freshers event.

Community Games

Potential games for the Freshers to play over the summer break include:

• Jackbox
• Minecraft
• Tabletop Simulator

The confirmed times, dates and games for the community games are:

• Minecraft Hunger Games – Saturday, 17th August, 4:30 pm
• Minecraft Hunger Games – Saturday, 14th September, 4:30 pm

AOB

• Decided to poll the entire society on whether they would prefer the new esports logo to be based on the concept of ‘Lancaster Bombers’ or ‘Lancaster Lions’.

20:50 – Meeting End

Additional Notes

18:59 – Noah left the Discord call.
19:00 – Noah rejoined the Discord call, no reason for absence given.

19:04 – Katie left the Discord call.
19:05 – Katie rejoined the Discord call, left the call then rejoined again, stated that she had accidentally set her computer to airplane mode.

19:49 – Katie left the Discord call, stated that it was time for her tea.

19:56 – Karen joined the Discord call.