these are a few ideas i had for bringing more people into BR. let me preface this by saying that i don't really have a problem with the current level of activity (it makes the mud personal and cozy) but if we did want an influx of new players here are some things we could try:
1. Run an "advertising" campaign that would mention mud night and bill the mud as having simple mechanics and being easy to pick up with a small time investment. I think those points would make us stand out from how other muds describe themselves, as well as making us attractive to both new mudders and old mudders looking for a home. We might mention the clean look BR has, too.
This would involve updating our profiles on TMS and TMC.
Adding profiles on mudbytes.net and mudgamers.com.
Posting threads in the advertising forum of TMS, TMC, and mudbytes.
Posting player reviews to TMC and mudgamers.com.
2. Disseminate mud clients with BR connection info pre-loaded. The first step to mudding is to download a client. If there's already a mud in the connection list of your client (maybe with a little note about BR), curiosity is going to dictate that you at least check it out. This once had me playing in some completely stock mud with no players for several weeks.
The problem is actually disseminating the clients, of course. Uploading them to filehosting sites that get indexed by google (like filefront, etc.) is a start. Ideally we'd have our own site that describes each mud client and lists pros and cons. Getting it on the first page of a google search for mud client is the tough part.
3. Pool our player resources with a "sister" mud. This one is a little drastic, but it's still worth considering. If we find a mud with a similar situation (large but inactive playerbase) and get them to institute a mud night of their own, we can visit their mud night in exchange for them visiting us on Mondays. Of course we'd make no guarantees about the rest of the week and wouldn't expect any from them.
anyway, i'd appreciate any feedback. i can help if we decide that we want to try any of this.
expanding the playerbase
Okay, let me first say that I agree with number 1, I don't know what number 2 really is, and I disagree with number 3.
First with number 1. I think it would be a great idea to update the profiles on the websites such as TMC and TMS. I'm sure we have a lot more pages on the web advertising the MUD that we don't even know about.
For number 2, like I said, I don't really understand this because I'm not really computer savvy.
Now to number 3, I think it would be too much trouble to have a "sister" MUD that we can try out and do MUD night in. To be able to do that, we/they would have to understand the mechanics, rules, and gameplay just to be able to do that; too much trouble, IMO.
To really get the game going again, I believe what we really need is an active coder that can make some serious changes to the game. In addition to that, we have to update the areas and the world map overall; some of the areas in the game are just horrible.
- Diren
First with number 1. I think it would be a great idea to update the profiles on the websites such as TMC and TMS. I'm sure we have a lot more pages on the web advertising the MUD that we don't even know about.
For number 2, like I said, I don't really understand this because I'm not really computer savvy.
Now to number 3, I think it would be too much trouble to have a "sister" MUD that we can try out and do MUD night in. To be able to do that, we/they would have to understand the mechanics, rules, and gameplay just to be able to do that; too much trouble, IMO.
To really get the game going again, I believe what we really need is an active coder that can make some serious changes to the game. In addition to that, we have to update the areas and the world map overall; some of the areas in the game are just horrible.
- Diren
Let's see if I can clarify #2. At some point, you downloaded Zmud from zuggsoft's website. Zmud has a "connect" dialog box that stores BR's connection info (IP and port) as well as your login info. (You had to type all of that in at some point.) Now the last time you downloaded Zmud, you probably did it specifically to connect to BR. But imagine for a second that you're a newbie who hadn't decided on a mud yet. You go to the connect dialog, and there's already connection info there for a mud. Smart money says that you'll probably check that mud out at some point. Even a veteran mudder will probably get curious at some point, or maybe his mud of choice will go down briefly and he'll decide to have a look.
Obviously, we're not going to convince Zuggsoft to package our connection info with Zmud. But we can put all the freeware / shareware clients on the internet in various places, with our info pre-loaded. Directing people to the packages is the hardest part and would probably be a long term project. It wouldn't be too difficult for some of the more obscure clients, though. We could probably quickly become one of the main sources for people searching for, say, "genius mud client."
Anyway, I got another idea today: Craigslist. Craigslist is full of lonely people--just check your local "missed connections" page--and a lot of them are computer literate and like medieval fantasy. If we did a (painstaking) nationwide ad campaign in the activities sections inviting people to mud night, we would probably get inundated with people. We'd have explain how muds work, but as long as we framed it as a free social activity and stressed how easy it is to pick up, we'd get a good response. I'm sure a lot of people would come just to see what gaming was like at the dawn of the internet.
) I'm not sure how much it would affect our recruitment, though, because
1) I think the primary decision to stick with a mud is made fairly early--before the newb is exposed to the new coding or area building, barring deep changes to the game mechanics or a BR academy re-work.
2) I don't think too many people actually shop around for muds based on features. They try a few and settle down in the one that feels good. At least, that's how I did it.
Of course, I'm all for improving the code, the areas and the world map itself. But I think there's enough game here to sustain a significant playerbase.
Obviously, we're not going to convince Zuggsoft to package our connection info with Zmud. But we can put all the freeware / shareware clients on the internet in various places, with our info pre-loaded. Directing people to the packages is the hardest part and would probably be a long term project. It wouldn't be too difficult for some of the more obscure clients, though. We could probably quickly become one of the main sources for people searching for, say, "genius mud client."
Anyway, I got another idea today: Craigslist. Craigslist is full of lonely people--just check your local "missed connections" page--and a lot of them are computer literate and like medieval fantasy. If we did a (painstaking) nationwide ad campaign in the activities sections inviting people to mud night, we would probably get inundated with people. We'd have explain how muds work, but as long as we framed it as a free social activity and stressed how easy it is to pick up, we'd get a good response. I'm sure a lot of people would come just to see what gaming was like at the dawn of the internet.
I do like the idea of replacing the bad areas and messing with the code. There are certainly benefits that the current players would reap. (And I'd like those benefits.To really get the game going again, I believe what we really need is an active coder that can make some serious changes to the game. In addition to that, we have to update the areas and the world map overall; some of the areas in the game are just horrible.
) I'm not sure how much it would affect our recruitment, though, because 1) I think the primary decision to stick with a mud is made fairly early--before the newb is exposed to the new coding or area building, barring deep changes to the game mechanics or a BR academy re-work.
2) I don't think too many people actually shop around for muds based on features. They try a few and settle down in the one that feels good. At least, that's how I did it.
Of course, I'm all for improving the code, the areas and the world map itself. But I think there's enough game here to sustain a significant playerbase.
To (re)comment on Relo's point, area changes and active coding isn't really so much about attracting new blood, or even making a first impression. It's about sustaining the community that already exists, making it thrive further. Yes, we've got a large, mostly inactive player base. They'll come back and potentially stick around, or build a new hero if fun things are going on - witness Brodgar's success with t-games. If there's a new area going in every month or so, those pops of activity turn into consistent players online. Consistent players online creates a more welcoming atmosphere for new people stopping in, and gives us a better chance that they'll stay for a while, thus driving the cycle further. MUDs that stagnate have a tendency to see gradual but steady declines in their player bases as the existing players move on to other things that keep their interest better than socializing or killing Xor for the 70th time.
-EB
Your local know-it-all.
Your local know-it-all.