The Case for Content In-Depth

[teflor the ranger]

The Case for Content In-Depth

This article is a work in progress, I will be adding and editing from your comments and remarks.

Internet games today do not exist in the vacuum they once enjoyed. These games must now continually compete with thousands of other well-developed games of every genre imaginable both free-to-play and pay-to-play - all easily accessible to any user. The key to a game’s success is a simple to define path that is difficult to implement, especially to those unfamiliar with the business-world rules that apply to a fully free to play game.
The first and most important point for any game developer to be aware of is that any live, multi-user game exists in a cycle. The vast majority of players will lose interest, get older, or simply move on to other things in their lives or on the internet. New players must be continually recruited for there to be any players after a period of time. For each player, there is a common cycle that can be explained simply and will resemble the below model.

Simplified Player/Game Relationship Model

Contact > Player Interest > Loss of Interest > Separation

The key to success is to lengthen and encourage the front half of the simplified player/game relationship model, while discouraging the back half.

Teflor’s Estimated TorilMUD SPGR Model

3 Players per Week > Up to Level 20 > From Level 20 On > 3.5 Players per Week

By my estimation, most new players only stay on the mud until they hit about level 20-25, and disappear forever shortly afterwards. Notice that we also lose an additional 0.5 players per week. This player every other week comes from the general pool of current existing players of TorilMUD. It is also my estimation that TorilMUD is in a declining phase where we are losing more players than we are gaining, which I am certain most of you would agree.
Applying the key to success to our model, we have the following steps: 1) we must ensure that more players must make contact with TorilMUD; 2) we must keep player interest high throughout the character development cycle; 3) we must retain players for a longer period of time; and 4) we must ensure that those who leave the game do so with a positive experience and belief that the game will continue to evolve and grow in their absence.

Step One

Recruitment and player attraction are beyond the scope of this particular article. I know many of you have your own opinions and suggestions on how to get more players initially interested in the game. These however, can be practiced on an individual basis.

Step Two & Three

Maintaining player interest is perhaps the most difficult step in the player/game relationship cycle. Players always need something to do, be it alone or in groups with other players. Should a player advance to level 20, and find that they don’t have very much to do, they move immediately into the Loss of Interest phase and become a loss to the mud, the community, and to the game. Lengthening the period of time players maintain interest in the game simply means more players online at any given time.
Say the average new player loses interest in a month. At 3 new players per week, by the time the first player loses interest, you will have attracted 12 players. Every week after that, you gain 3 new players, and lose 3 players. The total continual average number of players is 12 from there onwards.
Say the average new player now maintains interest in the game for a total of three months. The same 3 new players per week come to the game. By the time the first player loses interest, we have a total of 36 players, and the total continual average number of players is 36.
It’s much easier to build a community around 36 players than it is around 12. A community is essential to the success of online games as it provides something unique to other online games without having to develop or put the effort into producing highly unique content.

Step Four

Maintaining the image that the game will continue to evolve and grow in an old player’s absence is critical as a recruiting tool and for the reputation of the game’s staff. This is just simple, plain old customer service. When you jump from a sinking ship, you don’t tell your friends about how wonderful the experience was.

Maintaining Player Interest

At present, in the TorilMUD Statistics thread posted in the game development board, I’ve posted an analysis of the number of zones appropriate to character levels. In the second and third graphs, you can see that most of the zones that are focused to a character level are mainly written for 46+ level characters. What this means for characters that aren’t 46+ is that there is precious little content that is oriented towards their characters, with very little focus on providing characters level 1-45 with very much content at all. What content they do have isn’t even focused towards the capabilities of their characters, and those players are forced into a game hell where they’re seeking content geared towards them, but finding only general craptent instead.

Welcome to the Loss of Interest phase. When they separate from the mud, the end result is negative for both the player experience and for the game community.

Content In-Depth

What is content in-depth? Content In-Depth is a simple concept that can be explained best from the point-of-view of a potential player. It means that a player will always be able to find good content focused on a character in their particular situation at the time. It means that a 16th level character will find content geared specifically towards them, built for their enjoyment, and will help them advance in some way.

The game should be every bit as exciting and adventurous for a level 25 as it is for a level 50. Granted, the content at level 50 might be a little cooler, but a level 33 character should still be able to find something just as interesting to do.

Content In-Depth also breaks away from the idea of levels based content, but to offer content to all types of players that we can target. Content for mages, content geared towards dwarves, solo players, large groups, small groups, etc.

That sounds like an awfully large amount of work and effort, Teflor. No kidding. What do you think success means?

How does Content In-Depth Extend the Amount of Time a Player Remains Interested?

One would imagine that if a player could find content geared towards them, they might be able to maintain interest a little longer in the game at large. Finding interesting, compelling content at level 20 gives a player more hope that level 30 will offer them more interesting content as well. The same goes for a player finding content geared towards a solo player.

When players can find content specifically geared towards them, it will naturally take them longer to lose interest and move on.

[Botef]

1 Step Plan: Cut the red tape and make it easier, faster and more efficient for your player base to contribute content.

[teflor the ranger]

1 Step Plan: Cut the red tape and make it easier, faster and more efficient for your player base to contribute content.

Hmm. What red tape?

[Dalar]

Clearly WoW is a failure for not following this scheme.

[Lathander]

Man, I really dislike vague consultant-talk laden memos. How about specific examples?

[teflor the ranger]

Clearly WoW is a failure for not following this scheme.

Actually, WoW does follow this scheme. Most of the ideas I ripped off of their business model.

[teflor the ranger]

Man, I really dislike vague consultant-talk laden memos. How about specific examples?

A specific example of what, specifically?

[Lathander]

You wrote it, you pick it.

[teflor the ranger]

Well, seeing as how most new players seem to leave around the time they hit 20th level, one specific example may be implementing ways to access zones that are oriented towards 20th level characters. In the absence of those zones existing, they could be created, or old zones could have their mobs tweaked to accomodate players of that level.

[Teyaha]

putting portals or something to the level 20+ content in hometowns would be a good start. i realize this game is supposed to be hard, but it's keeping it niche

[flib]

hrmm, it leads to the idea of level oriented eq which we've never had here. I used to not like the idea but I can see how it could help in some ways.

Away from that, ya a hierarchy of zones would be suberb, WoW does that fairly well, they use the idea of level specified eq as well as have zones setup for each level notch. level 18 which takes a few days to get to tops, has a zone theres numerous mid 20's zones as well as numerous 30's 40's 50's 60's and last (atm at least) 70's zones. that idea of hierachy could be really sweet here.

But, I don't think it would help much at all if eq didn't have level restrictions set on them. So, I guess to a large extent I'm for that kind of thing aka level restricted eq + hierarchy of zones but I think it would take alot of work to get done, theyd have to change every piece of eq in the game. Not sure if people would be super happy about not having their level 20 be death stacked.

[teflor the ranger]

I was never a fan of level-restricted equipment. I don't see any thing wrong with a level 5 character finding extremely high level equipment and using it, both in game mechanics and thematically.

[teflor the ranger]

Another scheme that provides greater accessibility to content while maintaing the thematic experience (that's not portals to zones), would be things like caravans that travel from area to area that players can follow or travel with. Other things could be quest-style mobs that talk about how to get to places and what to do there.

[valnass]

Level-restricted equipment might be a nice idea, but lets say you restrict only up to level 20. Or that your badass gear cant get into scardale. As a new player here I see this rogue come into scardale with these daggers at level one and before I ( with eq starting out with or picked up from killing) make 3 levels he's/she's 20 and gone. How is it as a new player here can I meet people on this game if their only in the newbie area for a hour or so before their over stacked char is gone and running off to better things?

You ask why the new guy/gal is gone so fast? Think about when you guys/gals who have years of playing here, when you roll that new char take the time to run with and maybe help teach us new people some tricks as you level up the same way we have to. I know it must suck having a new person ask you how's why's and where's but it's the only way you keep people here is by helping them learn. Yes the NHC is nice and that Lilithelle is great. but come on she can only do so much.


Making everyone at the start of your char level with about the same gear in scardale might help some what. You elite players may have to use this newbie warrior to tank for your new rogue/cleric/mage beacuse you can't take the hits without your badass gear helping you out. And in doing so you might have just made a new friend and or helped a new guy/gal learn something that might keep them here.

In fact maybe you can make it so no matter you have to stay in this newbie area till level something or other with out that kickass eq so old players can meet the new players of this game.


Just my 2cents. Thanks

[teflor the ranger]

Level-restricted equipment might be a nice idea, but lets say you restrict only up to level 20. Or that your badass gear cant get into scardale. As a new player here I see this rogue come into scardale with these daggers at level one and before I ( with eq starting out with or picked up from killing) make 3 levels he's/she's 20 and gone. How is it as a new player here can I meet people on this game if their only in the newbie area for a hour or so before their over stacked char is gone and running off to better things?

You ask why the new guy/gal is gone so fast? Think about when you guys/gals who have years of playing here, when you roll that new char take the time to run with and maybe help teach us new people some tricks as you level up the same way we have to. I know it must suck having a new person ask you how's why's and where's but it's the only way you keep people here is by helping them learn. Yes the NHC is nice and that Lilithelle is great. but come on she can only do so much.


Making everyone at the start of your char level with about the same gear in scardale might help some what. You elite players may have to use this newbie warrior to tank for your new rogue/cleric/mage beacuse you can't take the hits without your badass gear helping you out. And in doing so you might have just made a new friend and or helped a new guy/gal learn something that might keep them here.

In fact maybe you can make it so no matter you have to stay in this newbie area till level something or other with out that kickass eq so old players can meet the new players of this game.


Just my 2cents. Thanks

Limiting equipment in Scardale makes perfect sense. It keeps a pristine area for low-level players and power-leveling mob hoarders out.

Excellent!

[Malvareth]

I visit these forums once in a while, every few months or so, to see if there's anything new. I thought I'd reply here with my opinion as well.

I played on Toril for a few months last year and quit, never looking back again. I knew this mud from before I did play on it, having had friends who played here and having tried it a few times without staying. When I finally did start to play for real, I stayed interested mainly by merit of the goal-seeking mentality, grinding if you will, that many games employ to keep players interested. Once I reached level 50 I almost immediately lost any motivation to continue playing. There was only zoning left to do, and with a playerbase as small as it was when I played, only a select few zones were ever really done with any regularity. If I did go to a zone, the odds of getting anything tangible out of it were small, and even if I did, it would be an upgrade so neglectible I wouldn't notice - while leveling I could play for a couple of hours and get a whole level, a substantial advancement; once I got to the zoning stage of the game, I could expect to play for days or weeks with little to no progress.

And I would have accepted that it if was fun. If zoning was entertaining, I wouldn't mind doing it for a few hours a day and only being rewarded in terms of equipment once a week or so. I played Everquest for a long time and lived with that kind of reward system, not minding one bit because playing the game and raiding was entertaining in itself. On Toril however, when I did go to a zone with a group, the following problems made it uninteresting to me:

- Noone took their time to turn the zone into an experience. Speedwalking everywhere, I never learned the layout of any of the zones I went to. We'd kill one mob, speedwalk 12 rooms to the next, kill it, and continue this until we'd taken down everything the group leader wanted. Everyone tried to get it over with as soon as at all possible, clearing a zone in half an hour if we could, I assume because the others had already done it a hundred times and weren't interested in anything other than the loot. What puzzled me was when people would lead a zone apparently for the sake of teaching others and giving back to the community, and they'd still do it in a manner that teaches very little to those following. I did Golem Forge six or seven times and still have absolutely no clue where anything is there because I was following a speedwalking leader each time; I could ask for directions afterwards if I wanted, but that's not the point - the point is that it wasn't an experience, it was a job to be done with as quickly as possible.

- Everything was run by triggers. I played a tank and it was basically required of me to have a rescue trigger which I copy-pasted off the forums. With this, my only job was to engage mobs and everything else would be automated. Other classes vary in their reliance on triggers but I remember that it wasn't an uncommon occurence to have members of the group not even present, apparently running a script that allowed them to fully function in the group without their attendance, or at least with as little of it as possible.

- Impatience. Like I mentioned above, there was no room for anything other than the fastest, most efficient way of getting it done. If I or anyone else took a bit too long or died due to a mistake, the attitude of the rest of the group would be less than favorable. This does not mix well with a playstyle that doesn't really teach the players anything. I stopped wanting to zone because it stressed me out.

Other factors that contributed to my loss of interest was the dwindling playerbase, the lack of low/mid-level groups and all those other things that have been discussed to death. I would have enjoyed the game immensely if I'd had company from levels 1 to 50 but more often than not I didn't, and I was able to get to 50 soloing most of the way only because I had equipment far better than what the game is designed for you to have at those levels. I tried to buy my equipment, tried to trade, but most of the time it would just be given to me. On one hand this takes away a lot of the experience, but on the other hand I'd have never passed level 30 without it and would have quit even sooner. I would happily have accepted level restrictions on equipment if any decent stuff actually came out of the zones that I'd be in during the middle levels, but usually there was nothing, obviously because the areas are designed with groups in mind and would have been more than possible with a group despite very little equipment.

In the end, I think one of the biggest shortcomings of this mud is that it isn't really fun, and the lack of players is not solely to blame. I found I had to spend as much time mindlessly spamming my skills to train them as I did leveling up, and on the rare occasions that I did find people to group with, I'd be grouping with impassive zMUD scripts and would be expected to do the same myself.

The content is fun but the playstyle that this mud has adopted isn't. The lack of players contributes greatly to this and not much can apparently be done about it, so I wish the developers would do more to change the game to fit the size of playerbase it has now. As I suggested one time, my options would have been improved so much if I'd been allowed to play two characters (at all times, not just on the odd weekend), and while some vehemently disagree with this suggestion, there's no denying the fact that the lack of players, and thus groups, is what deters most newbies and slowly pulls the mud toward its end.

[Thilindel]

*clap clap* Bravo! Bravo!!

[Todrael]

I agree with Malvareth, and would add that most of the issues he stated are cultural rather than technical. Sadly, technical solutions don't fix cultural problems.

[teflor the ranger]

This is precisely what content in-depth resolves, both on a technical and cultural standpoint.

The game experience will improve if there are more people in the game. The best way to get more people to be on the game is to lengthen the amount of time new players stay.

Did either of you actually read the thread? Because it seems like you are both commenting about the mud, rather than the topic.