Finding new players

[Zathrus]

While I'm on a bit of a posting jag, I figured I'd raise the question that I'd put up in another thread that's a bit buried in the guilds forum.

Today we are in an age where the text-based RPG is obsolete in this graphics-based world. We are fighting a loosing battle, or so it would seem. I remember a day when this place was teeming with activity of hundreds of players at once. When I left about 5 years ago, the attrition was horrible. I'd like to say that it's improved, but judging by the looks of things, all that's left is the die-hard old guard that is too stubborn to give up.

Don't take that as me saying this is all just a waste of time. It's been lobbied about for years and years that we need to do something to improve the userbase. To bring new blood into this game. When was the last time we had a wild RP session in the guilds forum? Or people writing just for the sake of writing. This game brought out so much creativity in a time when I had hardly realized that I had any.

There has to be something that we can do. There's enough of us of that 'old guard' still left here. Perhaps we can find bygone players and bring them back. Perhaps there's an answer in today's multitude of social media networks. I really have no idea because I know nothing of these things.

All I do know, is that I love this game. I've always loved it, even in the times that I was away from it. People grow up and move on, and some are dearly departed. I know you guys love it too, otherwise you wouldn't still be here. What can we do? Can we at least have some ideas? Think about it, there has to be something. I'd do just about anything to bring even double the players we currently have into the game, and forgive me for saying...that's not too many.

Any of the admins, do you have anything up your sleeves? Members? FORMER members? I'm going to do what I can, little as that may be. But really, I'm wondering if there's anything we can do as a community to help with this cause. I hope I'm not talking into a vacuum, but I would understand if I am. Thanks for listening to my ramble.

[Leif]

You're not talking into a vacuum, just ... a large sparsely populated cavern :p And as an aside to your other thread, I think that the two issues are rather entwined. I too, remember comments being a place I could barely keep up with.

I've seen this issue banged around again and again, as I'm sure you have. Truth be told there's not usually a shortage of opinion, just a shortage of ideas/motivation/follow through. There's always much debate about how to attract new players, and then keep them.

Perhaps some more specific questions first? I'm not a business or marketing mind in any way, shape or form but it seems like breaking down the task into specific steps might make it more manageable to develop discussion. Its a huge topic and challenge to take on in one lump.

• What is it about this game we are looking to market or what game aspect do we feel will have the most appeal?
• What is it about this community we are looking to market or what community aspect do we feel will have the most appeal?
• What is the target group we are looking to reach? Age? Sex? Language? Interests?
• Where do current target groups currently exist and how could we reach them most effectively?
• What keeps those of us 'old guard" returning or still participating? How do we engage and integrate players in these aspects (game -and- community)?

[Kaz]

This thread comes up every now and again, in the end nobody really follows through on any of the things that get suggested over and over. I do what I can, but in the end I am only one person, I unfortunately don't have time to do everything.

The current player-base is a mixture of newer players who have not registered on the boards, players who used to play monarchy (rather than canon) that have found us again, and players who've been around (on and off) since we moved here from evernight. Of the active players, I no longer think that players who have been here since we moved from evernight are the majority. The crowd still here, is actually very different to the crowd who were around when Decae finally closed evernight.

Game-wise, we've have 50 new accounts register for the game in the last couple of months, which is actually a reasonably high conversion from the new visitors and much higher than the registration rate on the boards. However the conversion rate to actual players is extremely low. This was the case back at evernight too, we don't actually have an issue getting visitors or sign-ups. Especially considering that we have zero advertising budget. Our issue is - and has always been - how we convert those visitors to players that stick around.

I tried to boost roleplay a while ago, hence the large new part of the forums dedicated to roleplay, the affiliation links and the advertising forums. We didn't really gain any new roleplayers, and those players who were doing some roleplay seem to have dwindled down again. The main feedback issue I received when I had someone do a review of the site from the point of view of a new roleplayer, was confusion and not really knowing where to begin.

The artwork in the gallery section of the forum is not a selection of pictures that I've gone hunting for online, and stolen for our purposes. Everything in those main galleries is 100% original artwork, done by commission for Monarchy. By miniatures company is essentially investing a lot into the process (rather than paying me a wage), in the hope that in addition to improving the user experience, the artwork will be useful as concepts for miniatures, and playing cards etc for a tabletop version of the game.

Currently my primary plan is to continue investing money in artwork until we have artwork for the different troop types, the various gods and each of the make activities on the war, scum and sorc screen. This process has been going on for a while and we are getting closer to having original artwork for each of the 50 different troop types and the 15 god/profits/mortals.

I'd like to also get custom artwork done for the 60 different buildings, but simply do not have the budget as it currently stands. Basically the plan is make the game look better and hopefully we can improve the retention rate. I'm also working on recoding the game a piece at a time, at the moment it's not easy to reskin or use the engine in other ways (i.e. smartphone and facebook apps), but we're getting there slowly.

I'm doing what I can, but the best way to actually get new players is (and has always been) existing players helping out, by going to other places, building a repore with members of another site (rather than just blanket advertising), and talking people into coming to play. I do this where I can, but I only have so much time.

[Vilena]

Go tell all the ones who migrated to WoW during our down-times to come back and play and bring their friends.

As for text-based in today's graphic world - I think it safe to say during any one of our "heydeys" (and there have been many, I see more coming) all the many people playing the game actually spent way WAY more time on the boards talking to eachother about the game or just hangin out on the barcaloungers or in the tikihuts than we did actually using turns.

Maybe because we all had the time to spend back then? or because IRC was SO COOL!! (lol)

[Zathrus]

Tikihuts. Thanks, now I want to go on vacation...and most of this summer has been one long medical leave related vacation x.x Should have come along sooner, since June I've only worked 6 weeks, and I won't be back to work finally for another 3 weeks or so. Camping out on the couch for months is NOT nearly as fun as it sounds.

My WoW days are LONG past, and I never knew anyone there from here, personally.

And yeah, IRC was the shit back then. That and ICQ group warchats. Man, I miss those.

[Reylan Talonspyre]

I for one would love to figure out how to develop an app for this game. Something that inputted information directly from the app into the current system and vice versa. Kind of like how the ESPN Fantasy Football App works.

Not a replacement, but an Android capable supplement. Honestly, I have a ton of respect for Kaz's work here. I once looked into programming an app. I gave up after realizing they were speaking a language written by the ancients and encrypted by the Nazis.

[Kaz]

Rey,

Currently the code-base has a lot of HTML prints embedded into the core logic of the code. This makes Apps essentially impossible.

I am gradually working my way through the game screen by screen, changing things so that the bits that used to be printed as soon as they were established, get stored into a print array instead. THEN, the script will output all the HTML at the end once everything is done. Essentially the process is moving us towards a point where the code is separated from the HTML. We are already separated in some screens, which is why I've been able to change them (e.g. Township, Training and Offer), but we have a LOT of screens.

This is the basic reason why when I changed the layout of the game, it was more like a change in the look of the 'container', but all the screens stayed looking the same as they always have. ONCE the code and HTML are separate, I can do several things, one of which being sending an JSON response to clicking a button with kingdom data and output info, instead of the full HTML game page. This would mean we can enable bits of AJAX functionality, and would also make writing custom apps possible. Essentially the game would become an API, although access would be based on closed sessions.

I personally think that having a Monarchy App for free in various mobile phone app stores would be a GREAT way of boosting the playerbase, but as it currently stands it's not possible until I finish my sort of 'recode', which will take as long as it takes. I really can't give an ETA for this particular development.

[Reylan Talonspyre]

Kaz, I am just glad you can speak ancient-Nazi. On the side though, I am going to figure out how to make an app, someday. Hopefully before I die.

[Sturm]

I personally think that having a Monarchy App for free in various mobile phone app stores would be a GREAT way of boosting the playerbase, but as it currently stands it's not possible until I finish my sort of 'recode', which will take as long as it takes. I really can't give an ETA for this particular development.

Demmit..I will not get a smart phone and you can't tease me with your app.

[Carlos Danger]

Well I know you have your own thing going but if you ever need help Kaz let me know. While my work stuff has mostly been focused on Microsoft web stuff, I have done some php and MySQL stuff and my new job has me working on custom php so I will be working on it a bit more. If not I am starting to play with apps for the different devices so if I can help when you do that let me know. Anything that will help the game.