Forums » Suggestions
Player Recruitment By Players (two interesting ideas)
So by what the devs said recently the 16 hour trial system led to less people joining the game due to getting bored in 16 hours but perhaps there is a way to combat this problem.
I was looking at other games and they offer "buddy keys" that give longer trial periods then initially offered. With these buddy keys, they will likely target a more pointed demographic of people who are more likely to subscribe to the game already. (Why is this? Well people who recruit other people to VO tend to like the game and tell people who they think will also like the game).
This buddy key could offer 12-16 hour trials (I think 12 would be the best idea due to current low content levels) Not only would this help generate more recruits without the need of the devs (to free them up for things like content development) it also would generate good publicity on places like mmorpg.com where people would suddenly want to try out the game with the extra time alotments.
Ok Idea #2: Affiliate Referals
Basically each member who joins an affiliate program for Vendetta Online would have a special link that they could advertise with. With each person they recruit to the game they could earn lets say 3$ per referal that inturn subscribes for a month. Guild however pockets the rest of the 6.99.
Not only will this generate revenue for Guild but it will also give people a reason to refer people as well as buy up advertising space on other websites. This could improve the games reach substantially.
These two programs could help take the recruitment/ game population problems right off the devs hands allowing them to focus more on content and less on recruitment drives. With more people subscribing = more money for Guild = more devs = better game = more people subscribing = more money for guild = more devs.. etc etc.
Well whatcha think?!
I was looking at other games and they offer "buddy keys" that give longer trial periods then initially offered. With these buddy keys, they will likely target a more pointed demographic of people who are more likely to subscribe to the game already. (Why is this? Well people who recruit other people to VO tend to like the game and tell people who they think will also like the game).
This buddy key could offer 12-16 hour trials (I think 12 would be the best idea due to current low content levels) Not only would this help generate more recruits without the need of the devs (to free them up for things like content development) it also would generate good publicity on places like mmorpg.com where people would suddenly want to try out the game with the extra time alotments.
Ok Idea #2: Affiliate Referals
Basically each member who joins an affiliate program for Vendetta Online would have a special link that they could advertise with. With each person they recruit to the game they could earn lets say 3$ per referal that inturn subscribes for a month. Guild however pockets the rest of the 6.99.
Not only will this generate revenue for Guild but it will also give people a reason to refer people as well as buy up advertising space on other websites. This could improve the games reach substantially.
These two programs could help take the recruitment/ game population problems right off the devs hands allowing them to focus more on content and less on recruitment drives. With more people subscribing = more money for Guild = more devs = better game = more people subscribing = more money for guild = more devs.. etc etc.
Well whatcha think?!
bump...
Good ideas, assuming the devs want a strong influx of players right now.
bump...
Hi, thanks, they're all good ideas. In fact, we've used some of them before, and will again. We have a "key" based promo going up in December, with a major gaming site. We also did this with the retail game, game pre-orders, and various other promos along the way.
Various "Buddy" key things have been kicked around since before we launched the game, including making special promo keys for people to use to invite their friends, and so on. The issue of creating a system that would monetarily pay out on referrals, however, is a bit scary, as someone could easily exploit the system with a lot of bad credit cards, and then we would be left only with massive debt (since we would be billed $25 each for the chargeback occurrences as well as losing the rest of the $6.99 "funds").
Still, the basic idea of buddy keys, family keys, gift keys and so on is something we are going to pursue.
Various "Buddy" key things have been kicked around since before we launched the game, including making special promo keys for people to use to invite their friends, and so on. The issue of creating a system that would monetarily pay out on referrals, however, is a bit scary, as someone could easily exploit the system with a lot of bad credit cards, and then we would be left only with massive debt (since we would be billed $25 each for the chargeback occurrences as well as losing the rest of the $6.99 "funds").
Still, the basic idea of buddy keys, family keys, gift keys and so on is something we are going to pursue.
incarnate, just make the monetary reward of referring check out against the player's subscription. Then even if they were to spam bad credit cards, once the fraud was discovered, you could take the sub out and they'd only get a couple of free days. Plus, it doesn't cost you anything. (And having players save a bit of cash per referral would be cool, even if it was like 25c)
Yeah, we had that idea too :). I think there are some other posts from me about that, on here.
I think the free game time would be a good addition and great incentive to recruit people. Something has to be done to increase the population.
Well let me be entirely honest, this might not sit well with some of you.
What yuutuu is suggesting isn't a bad idea, on the other hand I really do prefer the way it is now, BUT the way it is now, suffers from some issues.
As we all know, content. Atm there isn't nearly enough content in the game. PVP is fun, but the PVP demographic is much smaller than PVE generally, once again though, VO shines in this area, because regardless, pvp and pve is in many ways crossing paths, which is a plus in my book.
But the serious lack of a main storyline is not helping. Yesterday I was in IRC talking with some folks trying to get an idea of what could be done from the PCC side of things, after some discussion I left to write up a design doc. Maybe what I'm doing will work, maybe it will flop, but I'mma try because imo it's a step in the right direction.
You kids don't realize how fortunate you are to have an avenue to contribute to an MMO. I have been involved with Open Source communities for about 8-10 years now, and have "Given" a lot of stuff and code away for free. It's my nature to try to make something that people would like... Hell, my own game is free, and that took 2 YEARS to make). When Inc came out and said how small Guild Software truly is, that's when I really started wanting to support them, I am a huge proponent of small business (considering my 9-5 is one).
To be honest the entire idea of a PCC is not new to Open Source supporters, but to other people it's a whole new world, and to be honest I think that GS should play it up to their advantage. PCC in interviews is always mentioned as an aside and never quite as a large part of the game.
Another huge aspect of it is the fact that there is built in voice chat. That is a huge feature! It may not seem like it, but in an mmo it is a godsend for most players coming from other games.
These are things that really should be getting played up to in the advantages column. I'm not saying you need to fall off the deep end singing their praises, but they deserve much more than a cursory mention.
One thing that needs to happen very badly though, is interfaces for the /whatever commands. Having to use /whatever for a command is a huge negative to new players (including myself). I am very well aware that they can be bound to a key, but little seemingly inconsequential things like the targetless plugin all of a sudden make things 50x better. In particular, an interface for groups... good lord that is needed.
Another thought I had was; Why don't you add an option in the installer to download and install the most commonly used player made plugins? This way it is still kept separate and not packaged with VO while supplying the player with things that he needs from the get go.
What yuutuu is suggesting isn't a bad idea, on the other hand I really do prefer the way it is now, BUT the way it is now, suffers from some issues.
As we all know, content. Atm there isn't nearly enough content in the game. PVP is fun, but the PVP demographic is much smaller than PVE generally, once again though, VO shines in this area, because regardless, pvp and pve is in many ways crossing paths, which is a plus in my book.
But the serious lack of a main storyline is not helping. Yesterday I was in IRC talking with some folks trying to get an idea of what could be done from the PCC side of things, after some discussion I left to write up a design doc. Maybe what I'm doing will work, maybe it will flop, but I'mma try because imo it's a step in the right direction.
You kids don't realize how fortunate you are to have an avenue to contribute to an MMO. I have been involved with Open Source communities for about 8-10 years now, and have "Given" a lot of stuff and code away for free. It's my nature to try to make something that people would like... Hell, my own game is free, and that took 2 YEARS to make). When Inc came out and said how small Guild Software truly is, that's when I really started wanting to support them, I am a huge proponent of small business (considering my 9-5 is one).
To be honest the entire idea of a PCC is not new to Open Source supporters, but to other people it's a whole new world, and to be honest I think that GS should play it up to their advantage. PCC in interviews is always mentioned as an aside and never quite as a large part of the game.
Another huge aspect of it is the fact that there is built in voice chat. That is a huge feature! It may not seem like it, but in an mmo it is a godsend for most players coming from other games.
These are things that really should be getting played up to in the advantages column. I'm not saying you need to fall off the deep end singing their praises, but they deserve much more than a cursory mention.
One thing that needs to happen very badly though, is interfaces for the /whatever commands. Having to use /whatever for a command is a huge negative to new players (including myself). I am very well aware that they can be bound to a key, but little seemingly inconsequential things like the targetless plugin all of a sudden make things 50x better. In particular, an interface for groups... good lord that is needed.
Another thought I had was; Why don't you add an option in the installer to download and install the most commonly used player made plugins? This way it is still kept separate and not packaged with VO while supplying the player with things that he needs from the get go.
Forboding_Angel:
The PCC has a basic design document for creating missions which includes ideas for storylines based on the backstory. The problem is that, as you know, creating content is a time-consuming and non-trival activity and there have been only a few mission trees released which are based on any kind of narrative. Since joining the PCC, I've been roughing out several possible storylines, some with an open-ended nature such that additional missions could be added to the tree at a later date. It has been slow going as I learn how to use the Mission Editor at the same time and simultaneously discover what my limitations are in terms of how I can present a story but it is doable.
However, from what I have observed, up until recently VO hasn't needed much of an on-going storyline beyond the official backstory: The character-driven aspects of the game were subsumed in the deathmatch (SpaceQuake) aspects of PvP balancing up to the point where the only consequential character choice a player makes, which nation to join when creating a character, rapidly becomes inconsequential. Everyone can basically do anything (though not necessarily at the same time) buy anything, equip anything after a few months of steady playing.
Nevertheless, I believe that this is changing now with two major announced changes to VO; a more robust Faction system and a dynamic economy. From my rough understanding of these changes, these will provide more opportunities for character-driven PvP (your "crossing paths"). Also, Deneb going Grey suggest the Itani/Serco war may be heating up soon. I believe Inc mentioned somewhere something about "career paths" which likewise leads me to believe that there will be more opportunities for creating distinct characters with unique characteristics in the near future.
If what you are suggesting is that there isn't much of a storyline within which a player can create a character, I would agree. But I would also point out that what is really needed are three distinct national storylines, not just one. In any case, due to the nature of VO, stories/plots will have to be presented to players as missions which remain voluntary for the player: we just need to infuse those missions with more choice and narrative to create a more immersive environment in which characters can flourish.
EDIT: Err, way off topic. Sorry, I'll stop.
The PCC has a basic design document for creating missions which includes ideas for storylines based on the backstory. The problem is that, as you know, creating content is a time-consuming and non-trival activity and there have been only a few mission trees released which are based on any kind of narrative. Since joining the PCC, I've been roughing out several possible storylines, some with an open-ended nature such that additional missions could be added to the tree at a later date. It has been slow going as I learn how to use the Mission Editor at the same time and simultaneously discover what my limitations are in terms of how I can present a story but it is doable.
However, from what I have observed, up until recently VO hasn't needed much of an on-going storyline beyond the official backstory: The character-driven aspects of the game were subsumed in the deathmatch (SpaceQuake) aspects of PvP balancing up to the point where the only consequential character choice a player makes, which nation to join when creating a character, rapidly becomes inconsequential. Everyone can basically do anything (though not necessarily at the same time) buy anything, equip anything after a few months of steady playing.
Nevertheless, I believe that this is changing now with two major announced changes to VO; a more robust Faction system and a dynamic economy. From my rough understanding of these changes, these will provide more opportunities for character-driven PvP (your "crossing paths"). Also, Deneb going Grey suggest the Itani/Serco war may be heating up soon. I believe Inc mentioned somewhere something about "career paths" which likewise leads me to believe that there will be more opportunities for creating distinct characters with unique characteristics in the near future.
If what you are suggesting is that there isn't much of a storyline within which a player can create a character, I would agree. But I would also point out that what is really needed are three distinct national storylines, not just one. In any case, due to the nature of VO, stories/plots will have to be presented to players as missions which remain voluntary for the player: we just need to infuse those missions with more choice and narrative to create a more immersive environment in which characters can flourish.
EDIT: Err, way off topic. Sorry, I'll stop.