THERE’S NO “I” IN COMMUNITY... ER...
Mighty Beckers, g’day!
Figured out our update schedule yet? Take a look back at our last few posts… That’s right -- for the foreseeable future, we plan to check in at least three times a month, right around the 9th, 19th, and 29th. These updates will take many forms, but basically, expect a mix similar to our Kickstarter campaign: news and info blurbs (like this one), fan art roundups, concept art breakdowns, podcasts, documentary videos from 2 Player Productions, etc. -- all that good stuff!
Of course, we’ll also be checking a lot more often on Twitter, our Facebook page, and especially the forums, which brings us to our next bit of news: Who the heck is going to handle all this community interaction? (Hey, don’t look at us -- we’re busy making a game here!) :)
For the answer, we’re proud to introduce our first-ever community manager here at Comcept...better yet, let’s have her introduce herself!
Mighty Beckers! It’s a true pleasure to “meet” you -- thank you for embracing me as your new Community Overlord! Now, kneel before me, lesser Mighty Nos.! MUAHAHAHA!
...Just kidding. :) My name's Dina Abou Karam, and actually, it’s the other way around: I’m here to serve you! Think of me as a giant ear, ready to listen to all your suggestions, requests and anything else you feel like sharing!
...Except I'll also be managing and participating in the forums, so I guess think of me as a giant ear with a mouth… Also eyes for looking at fan art and... Er, you know what? Let's start over:
Hi, my name’s Dina! Like most of you, I've grown up on video games and have an undying passion for this magical medium. I am a Zelda fanatic, a Tim Schafer lover (figuratively speaking), and an unrepentant Final Fantasy 8 hardliner. (No, that’s not a troll!) ;) Also, to clear up any forum confusion: Mega Man X is best Mega Man!
After hopping around the globe a little, I finally left the motherland behind (Lebanon, if you were wondering) and settled in Japan, where I now work at Comcept. I'm an artist by trade, which is all the more reason I’m so excited to be a part of this exceptionally creative community! So expect to start seeing a lot of me on the forums, official Facebook page, Twitter account, these updates, etc. -- basically, anywhere and everywhere Mighty No. 9! (`_´)ゞ
So yes, think of Dina as one of you -- because she was / is! (Mighty No. 1046, to be exact!)
Some fanart Dina made during our KS campaign -- not bad, eh?!
Also, Dina won’t be alone: the fine folks at 8-4, Ltd. will still be helping out here and there with update content and advising on community matters, plus we’ll be appointing our first two forum moderators from the community ASAP: Alraz (Mighty No. 5032) and Joseph Barone (Mighty No. 12434)! Their support for both Mighty No. 9 and their fellow Beckers has been unwavering, right from the start -- please join us in thanking and congratulating them!
CALL VOTE PART 2
OK, so that’s enough about “who” -- let’s get back to “what,” as in “what is going on with the second Call vote?!” This week we’re getting Mighty Nos. and passwords to the last few Beckers whose emails bounced, but after that, we should be ready to go -- the plan is for the vote to begin on 12.19 (the URL will be posted in a backer-only update and on the forums), and run until 12.29, when the votes will be tallied and the final winning design for Mighty No. 9’s heroine will be announced!
Until then, backers can join the discussion on what kind of role Call might play in the game, or share the design for your own unique Mighty No. robot, or trade stories of how you first heard of Mighty No. 9, or any of a few hundred other awesome threads going on now in our (slightly newer and slightly improved) forums!
Cya there!
-Mark (Mighty No. 84), Dina (Mighty No. 1046), and the Mighty No. 9 Team
Figured out our update schedule yet? Take a look back at our last few posts… That’s right -- for the foreseeable future, we plan to check in at least three times a month, right around the 9th, 19th, and 29th. These updates will take many forms, but basically, expect a mix similar to our Kickstarter campaign: news and info blurbs (like this one), fan art roundups, concept art breakdowns, podcasts, documentary videos from 2 Player Productions, etc. -- all that good stuff!
Of course, we’ll also be checking a lot more often on Twitter, our Facebook page, and especially the forums, which brings us to our next bit of news: Who the heck is going to handle all this community interaction? (Hey, don’t look at us -- we’re busy making a game here!) :)
For the answer, we’re proud to introduce our first-ever community manager here at Comcept...better yet, let’s have her introduce herself!
Mighty Beckers! It’s a true pleasure to “meet” you -- thank you for embracing me as your new Community Overlord! Now, kneel before me, lesser Mighty Nos.! MUAHAHAHA!
...Just kidding. :) My name's Dina Abou Karam, and actually, it’s the other way around: I’m here to serve you! Think of me as a giant ear, ready to listen to all your suggestions, requests and anything else you feel like sharing!
...Except I'll also be managing and participating in the forums, so I guess think of me as a giant ear with a mouth… Also eyes for looking at fan art and... Er, you know what? Let's start over:
Hi, my name’s Dina! Like most of you, I've grown up on video games and have an undying passion for this magical medium. I am a Zelda fanatic, a Tim Schafer lover (figuratively speaking), and an unrepentant Final Fantasy 8 hardliner. (No, that’s not a troll!) ;) Also, to clear up any forum confusion: Mega Man X is best Mega Man!
After hopping around the globe a little, I finally left the motherland behind (Lebanon, if you were wondering) and settled in Japan, where I now work at Comcept. I'm an artist by trade, which is all the more reason I’m so excited to be a part of this exceptionally creative community! So expect to start seeing a lot of me on the forums, official Facebook page, Twitter account, these updates, etc. -- basically, anywhere and everywhere Mighty No. 9! (`_´)ゞ
So yes, think of Dina as one of you -- because she was / is! (Mighty No. 1046, to be exact!)

Some fanart Dina made during our KS campaign -- not bad, eh?!
Also, Dina won’t be alone: the fine folks at 8-4, Ltd. will still be helping out here and there with update content and advising on community matters, plus we’ll be appointing our first two forum moderators from the community ASAP: Alraz (Mighty No. 5032) and Joseph Barone (Mighty No. 12434)! Their support for both Mighty No. 9 and their fellow Beckers has been unwavering, right from the start -- please join us in thanking and congratulating them!
CALL VOTE PART 2
OK, so that’s enough about “who” -- let’s get back to “what,” as in “what is going on with the second Call vote?!” This week we’re getting Mighty Nos. and passwords to the last few Beckers whose emails bounced, but after that, we should be ready to go -- the plan is for the vote to begin on 12.19 (the URL will be posted in a backer-only update and on the forums), and run until 12.29, when the votes will be tallied and the final winning design for Mighty No. 9’s heroine will be announced!
Until then, backers can join the discussion on what kind of role Call might play in the game, or share the design for your own unique Mighty No. robot, or trade stories of how you first heard of Mighty No. 9, or any of a few hundred other awesome threads going on now in our (slightly newer and slightly improved) forums!
Cya there!
-Mark (Mighty No. 84), Dina (Mighty No. 1046), and the Mighty No. 9 Team
Comments
Hello!
Permalink Mighty No. 36834 RavenAX Fri, 2014-01-17 01:59.
People lets not freak out here
Permalink Mighty No. 39796 SonicX796 Thu, 2014-01-02 09:31.
Agreed -- but it was
Permalink Mighty No. 62776 モロトヴ Sun, 2014-01-05 11:49.
Dangerous Sector: Veterans Suggested
Permalink Mighty No. 12019 A.V.A.R.I.C.E. Thu, 2013-12-26 12:33.
Hello, Dina. We've just met, as I haven't been on these forums actively.
I see your image, while the pieces go together, the image is certainly a heavy deviation from the style that is being used. Though, a female representation of Beck, it is not. It's simply curly hair sneaking out of his helmet, a drastic change to the weight of lines and colors, a different pose. and pouty lips...
From my patrol of these forums, and the information provided by the community and my own digging, I am.. nonplussed... When I first got my NES, it wasn't that red clad mustache wearing plumber, it was Mega Man that gave me hours of entertainment. From the first, to the eighth, to Rockman and Forte, to 9 & 10, The original X to X8, to The zero series, Battle Network, and ZX Series. I've read about the process to make the games, I participated in the 1992 "Design your own robot master" contest in Nintendo power. Keiji's style of art has had a meteoric impact on my artistic process. All of this, to give you an idea of what the kind of people who are invested, emotionally and financially, in this game.
My fellow Numbers have strong faith in the Inafking's judgement, and those of his close peers. I will continue to hope. Study hard, Prototype Dina. Go back to the year 200X and walk the path of the Blue Bomber from his origins, and you might find the passion we show for this game.
I have read and heard of agendas, I will not go into this "Debacle" they are calling it. We all can set this aside... Just remember, do not.. I cannot stress this enough.. do not lose sight of what this game was dreamed by Inafune. If you push it over some boundry due to your beliefs, that unravels the hopes of the Mighty Numbers of our ranks, you will live on in infamy. You will not be forgotten.
-MISSION START-
It's awesome that your giving
Permalink Mighty No. 3175 TrekkingSpiral Sat, 2013-12-28 12:15.
Art: vaguely related
Permalink Mighty No. 12019 A.V.A.R.I.C.E. Sat, 2013-12-28 15:19.
Trekkingpsiral, 3175,
I understand that it's fanart, though I felt I should mention it, being part of her introduction, and a representation of her feelings towards the project. I'm not a professional artist, I have no publications, just what I've done with my free time. Though, I've spent hours studying art of all kinds (and I'm sure Dina has too, considering her line quality and polish on the image itself), and one thing that always grabs me by the lugnuts is conflicting styles.
For example, Smash Bros. Brawl: Solid snake, Ganondorf, Zelda, Captain Falcon, all very realistic. These bouncing about with the cartoony likes of Kirby, Sonic, and Wario; subtracts from cohesive imagry. Another good example would be if the crayon drawn trees of Yoshi's Island used in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. You wouldn't be able to take the drama seriously, so it kills the unity of it's image.
As for giving Dina a chance? Why shouldn't we? She had to have some manner of merit to even be considered. I sincerely doubt she pandered, or blackmailed her way in. Besides, look who's in charge. The Inafking got dis.
ugh. As in...pftftft
Permalink Mighty No. 50008 Ghost_Train Wed, 2013-12-25 17:14.
Hopefully the whole mess gets cleared up soon so fans can go back to being excited about the project.
re: Mighty No. 50008
Permalink Mighty No. 28245 Muska Thu, 2013-12-26 15:48.
Well.. at least she is right
Permalink Mighty No. 70804 Marduk Wed, 2013-12-25 03:49.
Usually the tendency amongst
Permalink Mighty No. 3815 Fausto Thu, 2013-12-26 23:20.
So I respect the fans as I want to be respected on my tastes.
This is like a big band of brothers. We just like Megaman.
re: Well.. at least she is right
Permalink Mighty No. 28245 Muska Thu, 2013-12-26 15:58.
I like nr. 6 better...please
Permalink Mighty No. 64264 Mighty Number: Courage Thu, 2013-12-26 01:01.
My Thoughts
Permalink Mighty No. 15220 XTrigger82 Tue, 2013-12-24 10:05.
P.S. Let us name our Beck like in The Legend of Zelda or old Castlevania games. I already call him Rock in my heart anyways ;)
Completely agreeded. Female
Permalink Mighty No. 3815 Fausto Thu, 2013-12-26 23:23.
But let's just let Mega--er Mighty No.9 be M9 and end of story.
I hope everything turns out fine, too.
Re:My Thoughts
Permalink Mighty No. 28245 Muska Tue, 2013-12-24 18:57.
Sigh
Permalink Mighty No. 44387 Patchouli Mon, 2013-12-23 15:17.
If Dina is to redeem herself in the eyes of the community, she would have to fight tooth and nail to bridge the gap between the dev team and the fans. We all own a piece of this project in some form and all deserve as much a voice in it as anyone else. To openly understand what it is the backers truly want in game and relaying that as concisely as possible as well as the inverse of relaying messages from the team be they updates, changes, etc.
fill me in
Permalink Mighty No. 28245 Muska Mon, 2013-12-23 08:38.
Well, if you got some time on
Permalink Mighty No. 62776 モロトヴ Mon, 2013-12-23 12:48.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXDSfUJBCj0
Stop linking this garbage
Permalink Mighty No. 71442 Nona Sat, 2013-12-28 10:45.
Uh
Permalink Mighty No. 51419 BBCAT Wed, 2014-01-15 09:55.
because she really DID get hired because her boyfriend/several of her friends are on the development team--that much has been laid out on the table.
sure, no slurs is good. but generally everyone is pissed off over this for pretty valid reasons from what ive seen. i for one love to see strong female leads, but am of the persuasion that a megaman successor should only make sense thematically to be male. its just a matter of nostalgia, not sexism.
@Mighty No. 51419 BBCAT
Permalink Mighty No. 5928 Rocker Tue, 2014-01-28 06:08.
@Mighty No. 51419 BBCAT
Jesus Christ, I can't believe you're getting antsy over the perceived gender of a ROBOT.
Also, who cares if she had friends help her get the job? Much of Hollywood and the game industry operates in exactly that way. And as long as she can draw and does what she is supposed to then what the hell should you or the rest of the community care? Not to mention it hardly affects the game which is still being directed and designed by Keiji Ina-freaking-fune!
...
Permalink Mighty No. 28245 Muska Mon, 2013-12-23 19:14.
Dina
Permalink Mighty No. 62776 モロトヴ Sun, 2013-12-22 15:38.
This whole mess is starting to get distressing; why is a person who has no love or experience with Mega Man start infusing this project, which the fans funded, with distracting imagery and nonsensical directions?
I would love to know how much of an impact this "community manager" has on the character design -- without even going back to the whole gender debacle, it's disheartening to see someone with such poor understanding of the appeal Japanese design has -- and is to be expected -- from us longtime Mega Man fans.
Please, Dina, prove us that you're in fact a ear and take a listen to us -- because it is rather distressing to see this dream project all of us backers had to get tangled in such a mess within a couple of months.
モロトヴ
Miss you Mark.
Permalink Mighty No. 38790 Xelgadis Sat, 2013-12-21 17:41.
Thoughts
Permalink Mighty No. 10419 Mattstadon Sat, 2013-12-21 03:16.
So, I just found out about this thing called the "Mighty No9 Controversy". Sadly it does look like people have had time to build up many overreactions to this but to be fair this does deserve some kind of reaction.
With all the facts about the twitter thing and the agenda Dina seems to have in her personal life coupled with how she got the job etc. something fishy does seem to be brewing at some small level in some small part of the project (even if it's just in one person's head). Weather or not that agenda or idea comes to pass is of course going to have to wait to be seen. It's also highly unlikely that the major changes suggested would ever occur because Beck and the majority of the game are already in place and certainly would not be transformed by one community director with some kind of feminist angle or idea about what should or shouldn't be a problem for the game and it's gameplay.
Ok, so, She did post some feminist tweets in the past but that was her personal life and it's doubtful that anything related to that ideal would appear in the final game, but of course she never really played Mega Man in the first place according to those tweets and spoke of insane things that really don't reflect the views of anyone who knows and loves the Blue Bomber and it's theme directly to the community in a formal update. I can see why people got upset. It felt like the thing they swore they had a great influence on was being threatened by a non fan who slipped into that field of influence unnoticed by anyone who should know better.
Imagine you hire someone to manage your tuxedo party for your tuxedo business and they show up in board shorts and a Hawaiian t-shirt and start telling people they ought to consider changing everything to fit their ideals etc. These tuxedo fans who donated their money, time, and childhoods to support the tuxedo franchise they love and have loved for many years would probably lynch that person. As we see here that is exactly what happened.
On the issue of Beck being made into a female character... Well, Beck isn't even technically a gender anyway. Beck is a robot made in the likeness that of a man and of course the same could be said about Call being made in the likeness of a woman. In the end if we want to break it down as far as it seems to have already been broken we should at least recognize this fact and maybe then we'll realize just how far things have been over blown.
The only thing I have to say about it in the end is this. If the community manager that is supposed to be the bridge between the U.S. and Japanese communities is hated by the majority of that community then perhaps this person is not right for the job. Maybe it wasn't meant to happen this way and Dina really thought she would be accepted in the end. That's fair enough but people didn't agree with her in the end. People then dug deep to find out why they don't like this community manager and they found some pretty decent evidence to prove they might not have a true fan managing the community! Much higher ranking positions have been lost in vastly more important jobs for extremely less when the community voiced their opinions. If the people have spoken then maybe it's time to re-hire?
These are just my thoughts and most likely will not be read by anyone! So, thanks for reading if you did. I'm still excited for the Mighty No9. I'm still glad I backed and was a part of this amazing project. All my best wishes and highest regards to those involved! Time to go vote on the Call design! See we still have great influence in this project! We are the Backers! (or the Beckers if you prefer) So, lets just continue to grow together!
//Mattstadon
I completely agree with your
Permalink Mighty No. 64264 Mighty Number: Courage Sat, 2013-12-21 07:58.
come on people...
Permalink Mighty No. 23369 Ryusei Fri, 2013-12-20 12:56.
First thing I see is people criticizing the new community manager...ok, it seems like she did something to piss everyone off, so I flipped through the comments...annnd I don't understand why you feel that way...
-so what if her drawing isn't the best? can you draw better?
-why do people think she has a feminist agenda just because she drew herself as Beck? are you going to go to a cosplay convention and tell every lady who dresses up as a robot that she's a feminist?
-who cares how she got her job? why not try to be encouraging so she can be the best community manager that she can be in order to benefit the community?
-why does she need to have played all the megaman games anyway? its not a megaman forum...you wanna play megaman? boot up any of them from your collection.
my gosh, this place is so damn -NEGATIVE-, if this is what the community is going to deteriorate into then I wish they just close this down. Obviously, they won't close it down so I'm just going to have no part of this and wait for my game and goodies to arrive in the mail...actually, I'm not sure if I even want a game that received input from all you negative jerks.
You're free to disagree with me all you want, because I probably didn't get all the facts straight from not wanting to waste my life reading each comment.
To Dina,
Congratulations on receiving this position. I'm sorry that your initial experience was not as good as it could have been. I apologize on behalf of the community for being so inconsiderate. It would seem like you have a tough road ahead of you but I encourage you to do your best and prove all of the trolls wrong. Very best of luck to you and a big thank you in advance for all the work you're putting into this community.
Ryusei of Toronto
Re: Come on people...
Permalink Mighty No. 35279 Sat, 2013-12-21 06:38.
I suggest you watch that video to get the bigger picture. The recap starts around three minutes and ten seconds in.
Stop linking this garbage
Permalink Mighty No. 71442 Nona Sat, 2013-12-28 10:45.
I don't understand
Permalink Mighty No. 10546 DRAGOONZERO Sat, 2013-12-21 12:05.
I most certainly am not, I
Permalink Mighty No. 5928 Rocker Tue, 2014-01-28 06:11.
Dina
Permalink Mighty No. 64264 Mighty Number: Courage Sat, 2013-12-21 01:50.
Hello there I am Mighty Number 64264, but you may call me Courage. I can completely understand your comment, and please don't just percieve me as a troll. However here you can find a link to video that will explain exactly why so many people, me included, dislike her. I hope that it does in now way offend you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXDSfUJBCj0
Stop linking this garbage
Permalink Mighty No. 71442 Nona Sat, 2013-12-28 10:45.
That video
Permalink Mighty No. 10546 DRAGOONZERO Sat, 2013-12-21 12:01.
Good point. I was reading
Permalink Mighty No. 3815 Fausto Thu, 2013-12-26 23:44.
Not surprising considering
Permalink Mighty No. 14392 Fri, 2013-12-20 21:17.
Well Said
Permalink Mighty No. 10546 DRAGOONZERO Fri, 2013-12-20 14:10.
Well said
Permalink Mighty No. 10546 DRAGOONZERO Fri, 2013-12-20 14:08.
Whoa
Permalink Mighty No. 12038 Nenets Fri, 2013-12-20 12:22.
There's no new update today D:
Permalink Mighty No. 40574 axen Fri, 2013-12-20 11:37.
I normally find that playing
Permalink Mighty No. 64264 Mighty Number: Courage Sat, 2013-12-21 08:45.
Sigh
Permalink Mighty No. 67550 Fri, 2013-12-20 06:44.
Why are people sick of Capcom? They still make good games. The issue there is in the horrible management and the disconnect with their long time fans. I hope this doesn't happen here.
I really want this kickstarter to be successful. If a high profile game like Mighty No. 9 fails people will become cynical and it may be the end of game funding in this way. We do remember Ouya and the problems with Broken Age.
As a worried backer I really hope this issue will be addressed by the team in the near future.
The Might Median
Permalink Mighty No. 19760 Shamus The Knight Fri, 2013-12-20 04:07.
Either way, welcome to the team! (I am a Zelda fanatic, too.)
Too late, she removed a bunch
Permalink Mighty No. 64264 Mighty Number: Courage Sat, 2013-12-21 08:37.
totally agree
Permalink Mighty No. 43562 Sanj Fri, 2013-12-20 04:44.
+1 for the idea to find and promote interesting conversations within the community. That's precisely what a community manager should be all about.
Ugly
Permalink Mighty No. 18497 mrvai Fri, 2013-12-20 03:37.
Meh
Permalink Mighty No. 19260 Dollbot Thu, 2013-12-19 22:04.
She was never in the director
Permalink Mighty No. 5928 Rocker Tue, 2014-01-28 06:14.
General Concerns
Permalink Mighty No. 46594 Jay W. Jester Thu, 2013-12-19 17:26.
I know that Inafune still leads this and the team as a whole are not simply going to be made rotten and manipulated by one person, problem is, Dina is community manager. Isn't that position stating she is managing us all, not only managing but representing us? So one person suddenly becomes the representation of an entire community? Now I am fairly certain that the rest of the Mighty No. 9 team are reading these and it is not just Dina, which is the only reason why I'm not going to throw into full panic over the outcome of Mighty No. 9, however I do not feel comfortable as it stands with Dina in her position, the community can't all be happy with every decision that is made and that's fair, but that's a large elephant being put on a small boat and so far nothing has been said or done to reeinstate confidence to many of us.
'Manager' is the wrong word.
Permalink Mighty No. 43562 Sanj Fri, 2013-12-20 04:53.
She doesn't have more influence than we do. She gives her opinions the way we give our opinions. One might be worried that she's going to be more interested in representing herself, rather than representing the diverse collective we're sure to turn out to be. But frankly, The Legends 3 devroom, as well as the MMN kickstarter were littered with surveys. And as long as we have those surveys, Dina can't do too bad of a job.
Dina hello and keep this in mind.
Permalink Mighty No. 51639 M Thu, 2013-12-19 15:05.
I love the Megaman franchise to death and ask as the community this, please leave emotion out what feedback you give back to the development team. Also consider playing one of these games to experience what we experienced when we were younger and what makes us love the Megaman franchise as much as we do today, as well as to what makes us want to support this project more than ever.
No
Permalink Mighty No. 35279 Sat, 2013-12-21 07:00.
As actors hired to play part in an established universe(in TV or movies) are required to get to know that universe and it's feeling first, either by marathoning it or studying important plots within it, I demand that she does too. It should be difficult for her, like it was for us when we first tried to master a MM game. She should play for hours on end until she gets that music stuck in her brain, until she understands that feeling of hope, heroism, desperacy and groovyness that the community wants and needs to have in Mighty no. 9.
Until she does, she does not represent the fans.
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