The Drive to Success

[Anume]

Going along with this, I really think one of the thing that frustrates any number of players is the difficulty of getting a Quest Class. And seeing as how Malchaeius and Eshaine are two of the most active IMMs, and are both in charge of all the qraces/qclasses, it can only be chalked up to their standards which, in this case, may need to be lowered. Not everyone can play a vampire as well as Despiser.

It's not so much that but more that we need to watch someone actually do something, be it rp or pk. If we manage to catch someone with an application in and watch them poke at scarecrows for two hours that won't really convince us to approve his app. Then there is of course the difficulty to actually catch them in the first place. Plus there is a limited nr of qraces for each class.

As to your personal grudge, I've explained to you before, if you want to start up that discussion again, please do so on prayer.

[Malchaeius]

Some good stuff, but I still think we are leaning towards "retention" and not advertisement/recruitment. Raargant had a wildly popular thread that leaned more towards retention. I am certain that there are innovative ways to advertise this place that we are not thinking about - and that is what I am asking your help to do. We have had threads for ideas for retention, and the staff reads them, but now I want a thread focused on advertisement/recruitment.

[goldbond]

the basis of recruitment and advertising begins at the new website. cant *wait* to see it roll out. something like mali's homepage a few months back would be ideal and fresh. but whatever it ends up being, will be a vast improvement. and adding something like icor's comics as both an intro (just a couple frames in a flashplayer) and more under a Story link would be phenomenal. really, really indicative of more than a game.

we tried blasting our way through TMS rankings, and succeeded. but it didnt bring the numbers desired. it brought numbers, but like was pointed out, the pool of new MUDders is too small. i think if we blast our way through the rankings one more time after the website rolls out, we'll get more of that elusive new MUDder demographic.

getting players from other MUDs: risky. not that it definitely shouldnt be tried, but that would come with the risk of being a hostile MUD. even if it's done subtely and skillfully.

[goldbond]

also, i do think it's about numbers(quantity). talking about targetting only quality is akin to a 3rd world nation talking about aquiring a 21st century air force and navy while it's people are barely driving automobiles. it's not reality in the current time, probably for almost any MUD out there. even the best MUDs (of which we are one) arent going to just cast a net to snare "quality" players, because those potential new players arent out there to add significant population to this MUD. you snare Quantity, and many of the sub-Quality will become Quality anyway. people have already pointed that out in the past. trying to get numbers should be the plan.

[Malchaeius]

Thank you Goldbond for bringing this thread back on track.

[Malchaeius]

An idea for advertising that is quite old is selling FL themed shirts (or just MUD themed shirts in general to widen it out) and accessories using websites like cafepress. We would then use any money from the profits to perhaps pay for a month or two for an advertising banner. This idea is, however, predicated on the fact that people would buy shirts.

[spiegel06]

wearing T-shirts

[spiegel06]

Come on you beat me to the punch by one minute...that sucks:p

[Quigt]

Advertisement is crucial. I am sure we can all think of some creative ways to get the name of the MUD out there using vehicles that have not quite been done. One method for advertisement that I do not think we have seen is Youtube. Maybe make a video of some sort.

Though ironic, I think it would be a good idea if some of the more artistically-inclined FL'ers drew up an animation. Stuff that usually gets you to go watch movies should go into it. Basically, a big long fight scene and the FL website at the end. It'd be nice if a final product got put on Newgrounds, Youtube, or both. I'm sure that's a lot of work, but you'll get out what you put into it.

[Grosek_]

This might sound stupid... but why aren't we on wikipedia, and have the definition of aabahran or forsakenland be liinked from the definition of muds? you can editi wikipedia pages.. so why not put a plug in there?

[Iusedtobesomebody]

I would buy a FL t-shirt.

My wife would hate it, buy I'd buy it anyways.

[goldbond]

wiki edits was a good idea, but i think if you edit the page it only lasts a day, or less. maybe there's a way to get a permanent link under "Related Links" at the end of the article on MUDs.

also, MUDs are due for a revival... of sorts. every now and then, a revulsion towards graphic driven games appears and usually it's just a minor blip but might be mentioned in a PC magazine or something. if someone had a line into the world of working geeks that would be a goldmine. trying to find an cost cheap outlet into some media that speaks to geeks would be great.

[Malchaeius]

Trolling forums of other MUDs is bad form. I do not support it.

However, trolling a forum of D&D afficianados or fans of roleplaying games does not strike me as poor behavior. For example, I would not be very happy if someone advertised AR on this forum, nor would I support any of our playerbase advertising this game on their forum. I would not be upset if someone advertised here for another game they were playing - MMarmy as a recent example.

[a-guitarist]

I've always felt that the Linux Demo is a great one to aim at. They're always looking for Games to play... and most people on Linux seem to be of the "old school" mind set. Even the TinTin client runs through terminal.

So, I'll continue pimping us out on Linux forums.

Also, maybe just keeping up to date on what other MUDs are doing. Not so that we may copy them... but find out what other MUDs have run into as problems. Maybe Archaea (or whatever it is) has found some problems that we haven't encountered yet? Also, if a MUD has a mass exodus due to shut down or what not, it wouldn't hurt to find out where the others are going.

If they're going to TMS or TMC to find new MUDs and are talking about it on forums, you know then that it's time to step up a grassroots campaign and start advertising on Message Boards throughout the gaming community. So, if you know a large group are leaving MUD of Total 1337 because they aren't allowed to play Paladins that can be turned to Evil, you might set up a few posts on a forum talking about how "Hell, anything is possible in FL. We had a Bard get turned into a Demon (a quest class for evils, bards are good/neutral only) and then change the course of the game! And, don't get me started on that Necromancer who turned to the path of purity to kick ***..." you might grab some attention that would other wise go unnoticed.

A big thing, though, that I don't agree with is a ton of flashy graphics. Sure, it'd be cool as hell to see a massive fight scene on the webpage or youtube. But... then you're kind of falsely advertising. When I was looking for a few games to play (browser based) I would check out the webpages that advertised them. Some sounded great, looked great, had great "graphics" and layouts ... but when I went to the game it was a total bait and switch. I did not stay very long.

Good advertisements are phenomenal, we'll all agree on that. But, the advertisement has to reflect the game. If I saw an FL video with tons of fireballs and dead things and arms flying... then saw a bunch of text in game... I'd go "WTFmate?! Kthnxbi!1"

But, if I saw a video with Icor's art... and some other things of that nature, it would impress me massively more and I wouldn't think, "Oh, this game is all graphics and death!" Even if you say "We are a text based game" people will ignore that upon seeing the massively rendered graphics of death and sex! (I put sex in because it sells, not because it's about FL.)

a-g

[Celerity]

Alright...like everyone has been saying--to get new players here you have to give them something, not just promise it. It means we have to get that website up ASAP (when?) and start steamrolling big changes to the game. What those changes could be, that is up to the imms...we all have lots of ideas for that. skills/removing stock areas/quests/stupid flashy things (ranging from roshambo to armies in scale). More features, more things to do, more players.

It is really just about what features we have and how we show them off. I think it is a lot better in general to improve the features (which has the dual benefit of retention) rather than concentrate on just showing them off. Good original features tend to show themselves off. But...good original features take a lot of staff work.

Mudmagic forums is also a good place (mostly for malch himself) to recruit.

As for players recruiting new players...the options really are post on forums, tell friends, review, and vote. Literature...well go and google 'anime fan fiction' and read some of it..see how long YOU stay interested.

Most anything else takes money..featured listings, banners, ads in general..

[Grosek_]

I just seems alot of the same old ideas are being recycled in this thread, and the new ones are being shut down.

[Malicious]

For the Love...

I just started playing about three weeks ago. I used to play Avendar a LONG time ago and the reason I left was because of severe changes. You spend so much time learning a mud (20k plus rooms and an extensive class/guild/combat/damage system = a LONG time) + significant changes made + Bad grades in school = Give up the mud. Now that I'm pre-med and things are much easier (:eek: ), I came looking for a new mud. And I don't mean new as in ghey and

"revamped". FL, being ROM, was close enough to Avendar (basic combat/skills/spells code) that I looked into it. Regardless I sought it out on Mudconnect. The hardest thing is creating a whole world with an independent story, and expecting people to seek it out. Most kids just wanna stick to their Wheel of Time, Star Wars, or Dragon Ball Z Muds because they're not completely foreign to them. That's ok though cause those players wouldn't really last long here anyway. I guess what I'm saying that if you're looking at a way to boost Player Base, voting a bunch on MudConnect and websites alike is not the way to do it IMO. I'm gonna side with Gross on this one.

My two Cents.

Edit: Oh and FYI: Everyone here has been super nice and helpful. Even IC so many people have helped me get to know areas, basic equipment, ect. That paired with personal exploration does make for a fun environment. You still get the random (superficially unexplained and mindless) pk, but hey, that happens in most MUDS. IMMs can't really put a restriction on that so if your friends won't suck it up and learn how to pk better, then they won't last long here either.

[tassinvegeta]

I hope not to go too off topic this time. So thinking back to when I was a newbie I remember the best advertisement ideas probably lie in the other players here. I alone know that I could probably draw 2-4 players back to fl when they hear of some of the popular changes already mentioned go into effect, the player who got me into this game told me stories of some of the influential heroes that were already here at the time, stories of the things the different classes could do intrigued me and drew me in. He in turn was also brought to this game through a small group of other high school friends.

Probably some additional advertisement ideas that kept my interest in learning this mud strong, was the option (on our old website) to watch a short flash movie with cool music of the wars going on in Aabahran between the different cabals and why they fought. I vaguely remember others not liking it but I thought it was a great idea. Also perhaps more emphases and details on the hall of fame players would be nice too. I believed it was shining example and motivator for the up and comer or someone just dropping by to get a quick understanding of what they can expect or hope to achieve. I can see these as examples working as both retention and advertisement projects.

[Grosek_]

I hope not to go too off topic this time. So thinking back to when I was a newbie I remember the best advertisement ideas probably lie in the other players here. I alone know that I could probably draw 2-4 players back to fl when they hear of some of the popular changes already mentioned go into effect, the player who got me into this game told me stories of some of the influential heroes that were already here at the time, stories of the things the different classes could do intrigued me and drew me in. He in turn was also brought to this game through a small group of other high school friends.

Probably some additional advertisement ideas that kept my interest in learning this mud strong, was the option (on our old website) to watch a short flash movie with cool music of the wars going on in Aabahran between the different cabals and why they fought. I vaguely remember others not liking it but I thought it was a great idea. Also perhaps more emphases and details on the hall of fame players would be nice too. I believed it was shining example and motivator for the up and comer or someone just dropping by to get a quick understanding of what they can expect or hope to achieve. I can see these as examples working as both retention and advertisement projects.

Very solid points, but if effort is like money... whereas there is a limited amount of it to go around, I would probably spend my drawing new players. Old ones are nice, except... ones that leave have a tenancy to leave repeatedly (such as myself, my cousin Savnt, Grannyman, and many more I don't want to mention for fear they would find it insulting). At least with the new guys, we might hit the lottery and find a Deykari or Talimee. The ones that can't PK immediately but stay anyways and eventually hand us our rear ends.

[a-guitarist]

http://gaming.gwos.org/doku.php/games:web This site gets a TON of press for linux gaming. It's aimed mostly at Ubuntu and other Debian releases. But, look at their web based games list.... what do you see? MUDs. I figure, if the staff wants in on this they should send them an email.

I would have just taken the liberity, but I'm not going to over step my bounds. If they'd like me to send the email and tell them about FL, I'd be happy to. The guys who run this site are great people, nice, and fair.

a-g

[thedraconianpoet]

Certainly hope that happens. I'm losing interest almost every time I log on because it's always just this small little group of people logged on, same faces, and same antics. Quite honestly, it makes logging on unenjoyable at times, especially when the same thing happens both times you log in.

Guess I'm taking another week off from FL. Maybe there'll be some character rotation, but right now it's the same old song as it's been since I've hit 50, and yeah.. not interested. pbase certainly seems to have dwindled considerably since even the last time I played. :-\

[Mali]

Hey TDP, sup man.

[thedraconianpoet]

Not much. Just doing the whole growing up and living life thing. Certainly a bit different then when I used to do this and all I had to worry about was school. Don't have the same time to dedicate, especially when I need to be up to work my 7am to 6pm shift fixing servers and people... haha.

[Aulian]

Hey tdp...

Lol fully thought that said SEWERS and people for a second.. I was like... WTF does that man do?

[Imoutgoodbye]

Well, for the DnD forums, hosted at wizards of the coast, we could try again.

BUT...I tried this, and I must admit, I tend to ramble. Someone who can grab their attention, tie it in with DnD (**** you, fourth edition!), and explain what has to be explained in less than two paragraphs, while keeping it exciting, will be the most effective.

God, I'm so tired. I wish I had more time on my hands and more sleep and....good luck, FL. I wish I could do more than what I am to help. But that's hush hush for now.

Hate to be a stick in the mud, but ya'll are ranked 19th.......:S