Behind the Scenes with Torsten Haase at the EA Community Lounge
2015-08-08
Electronic Arts
Shortly before the community lounge opened its doors to a flurry of activity, we were able to sit down with Torsten Haase from the EA Community Lounge at gamescom to ask him a few questions!
First of all, what exactly is the community lounge?
The community lounge gives the most active and involved fans of our games the opportunity to have a look at upcoming highlights far away from the hustle and bustle of the convention, and of course also gives them the chance to try the games out in-depth.
How do I get invited to the community lounge? What do I have to do?
Above all, you need to really love our games and get involved in any way possible! It could be taking care of a forum you're often in, putting up a website for mods, tips or tricks, or being actively involved in our social channels, or also vlogs, "Let's play” videos, custom content — anything that goes the extra mile. It differs from game to game.
What else can visitors expect other than the test rigs for games?
EA fans can speak to the developers of the games in person in the community lounge. We have organized special presentations involving producers on all titles. At these events, the games developers will be speaking to the fans and answering their questions directly. Depending on the stage the game is currently at, their feedback may even directly influence their development!
And of course, it's a great place to meet up. You meet people you know and strike up conversations. It's kind of like a class reunion!
The community lounge seems to grow larger each year. How has visitor feedback been so far?
Feedback has been really good so far. It is really something special to be able to test the games in peace and quiet, speak to other fans, and post your initial impressions on your blog. It's been really popular. Of course, we try to give as many fans access to the lounge as possible every year, and expect a new record this year: Over 2,500 guests!
And your favorite EA title this year?
That's a really hard one. There're lots of highlights for me this year. But as a Star Wars fan, I'm definitely really excited about Battlefront, although Need For Speed really pulls out all the stops too!
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