"Players like to feel listened to" ft. Community Manager Joshua Mathews

Today’s guest is Joshua Mathews, Marketing and Social Media Manager at Doborog.Josh has spent years in community and marketing roles across the indie games scene, working on projects ranging from Calvino Noir to Clone Drone in the Danger Zone and its VR successor Clone Drone in the Hyperdome. Before joining the industry, Josh built a following as a YouTuber spotlighting under-the-radar indie games — a passion that still fuels his work today. We chat about how his early experiences making trailers and talking with developers shaped his approach to community management, why empathy and gut instinct can be just as important as analytics, and how players often find unexpected meanings in games. Josh also shares insights on managing diverse communities across Discord, what to watch out for when your loudest fans don’t always represent the majority, and how he balances professional marketing work with his personal creative projects — from Warhammer storytelling to Vampire: The Masquerade cosplay. Games mentioned in this episode: Clone Drone in the Danger Zone Clone Drone in the Hyperdome Calvino Noir Still Wakes the Deep Battlefield 6 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Easy Delivery Co Find Joshua on: LinkedIn TikTok Instagram YouTube – Strange Adventures The Community Lounge is brought to you by Feature Upvote – Painlessly collect feedback from your players. More insights, less noise. Subscribe to the Community Lounge newsletter