PlaneShift
Gameplay => General Discussion => Topic started by: Donari Tyndale on April 12, 2015, 07:13:16 am
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So I played around with google trends a bit. Here's what it has in store for PS. Feel free to discuss and enhance my analysis.
The overall interest in PS looks like this
(http://i.imgur.com/x94P74q.png)
Easy enough, PS was at its peak back in '07, however, it has largely fallen into oblivion with now interest less than 1% than what it was at the peak. Now, let's break this down a bit.
Here's what the geographical interest distribution looks like:
(http://i.imgur.com/4BVBuPZ.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/vZDYQRt.png)
Interestingly, this suggests that interest in PS is somewhat localized, probably due to local communities (like the German community).
Another factor we can look at is statistics for individual countries.
Here's what the UK/Germany/France's statistics look like (I took Germany's par example, but the others are the same)
(http://i.imgur.com/84HnVin.png)
Of interest here is the essential drop to zero at the end of '09.
The next pattern includes Canada/Brazil/Italy/Spain
(http://i.imgur.com/7vU5Skj.png)
A series of peaks, nothing else.
And lastly, we got the US
(http://i.imgur.com/7BLWuMY.png)
Note the sharp drop to zero at the end of last year.
So what does this all mean? Well, for me, it indicates PlaneShift gets around by word of mouth and local communities as the geographical distribution is highly localized (twice as many people talking searching for it in Montreal than in LA). Note the trend for mainland Europe. Clearly, PS had an active interest (=community) in Germany, France and the UK until the end of 2009 (when the server was offline), which killed the interest in the local community.
In countries such as Brazil/Italy and Spain, PS never even gained a big foothold and raises an eyebrow or two a few times, but was quickly forgotten.
And in the US, PS is now as unpopular as ever before.
I wonder, does PS do any active PR? Clearly, we need to raise interest in PS, as this isn't just due to people not liking the game, but rather people not googling the game. We need to make the world aware of this game once more.
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Is this based on Google searches? It's worth noting that a lot of search results for PlaneShift bring up discussions of Magic: The Gathering instead.
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It's only the MMORPG in consideration in these statistics.
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I've been seeing tons of newer players online lately, and it's only a matter of time before the numbers start to go up! :D
But it would be cool if he had some sort of promotional event for PS. I bet if we focused just one week on publicity, we'd immediately begin seeing results.
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So I played around with google trends a bit. Here's what it has in store for PS. Feel free to discuss and enhance my analysis.
Do you really have that much time to waste ?
If so why don't you join PS team and contribute instead ?
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Do you really have that much time to waste ?
If so why don't you join PS team and contribute instead ?
If you think trying to understand why PS lacks players is wasted time, perhaps we should just make a game no one can play and consider PS a piece of static art? Also, quit your derailing.
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I wonder what drove so many players to ps in the first place.
I only found it because I was looking for a somewhat rare type of game (at the time) a free 3d mmorpg that ran on linux. At the time there weren't too many other options.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIST_OF_FREE_MMORPGS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIST_OF_FREE_MMORPGS)? :D
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I noticed that recently. No, this was some other site that specifically listed Linux games. My point though, is that I found it only because I was looking for something that wouldn't have had much competition.
Another angle on this: A sudden influx of noobs could ruin the existing culture for those who play now and enjoy it. For those who didn't play years ago, imagine the plaza being filled with hundreds of people who have no idea about what is currently happening in the game and far more interested in figuring out where to find a dragon to kill, or in taking selfies than in blending in.
As far as testing goes, is it easier to test the game with a small player base or with a huge, resource sucking player base?
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Another angle on this: A sudden influx of noobs could ruin the existing culture for those who play now and enjoy it. For those who didn't play years ago, imagine the plaza being filled with hundreds of people who have no idea about what is currently happening in the game and far more interested in figuring out where to find a dragon to kill, or in taking selfies than in blending in.
Rigwyn has a point. While I wasn't here to experience what PS was like a few years ago, it will need to be publicized focusing on an RP-oriented crowd if we're to keep our current culture and community. For now, I'm perfectly happy with the numbers we have, and the small community-driven world. I mean, it would be nice to up the amount of players, but if it comes at a large enough sacrifice to Planeshift culture, then I'd rather stop to think of another publicity plan.
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While I see Rigwyn's point, I do not believe this is too much of a problem.
Experience shows that most players who do not care about RP or the community, but only about grinding and killing, do not stay very long.
And as has been pointed out quite correctly, some of them may still discover their interest for RP.
So let's try to make newbies welcome, let's try to make them join the community and RP, and let's ignore those who are hopeless. I had such a case only this week, a youngling who was only interested in killing. Most newbies show at least some interest in RP and the community.
Bigger numbers of new players will IMHO mean bigger numbers of "good and valuable" players, and maybe also bigger numbers of Devs, so let's think of how to improve our PR. I have an idea or two myself, and hopefully will very soon have the time to work on them.
Greetings, Gonger.
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I wonder what drove so many players to ps in the first place.
I was looking for a) roleplay and b) an MMO my computer could handle. PlaneShift was the only game that seemed to focus on roleplay - it's a lot harder to find the RPers in other games.
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The number one thing that makes this game unique, where no others comes close, no others even exist really, is the role play community, that is why I chose this game and have come back to it. Sadly it is lopped in with MMORPG's (why RP was ever added to MMO for most games makes no sense) that it cannot compete with and does not have to, this game should boast being the only online MMORPG, that is actually RP. and cater to that clientele, market it that way...but actually do marketing and publicity.
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Candy - thanks for giving us a visual view of PS players. Good comments folks... interesting.
RE: PR and Outreach
About a year ago Siteya, Roled made a call for public relations writers for PS to join me in beginning an outreach campaign in social media especially focused on trying to make PS known to other role playing types : d*d boardgamer groups for example, (in various countries), LARPs newsletters and fan sites, actors, storytellers and writers of all sorts but especially fantasy novel fans, rp bloggers, collaborative storytellers, etc.
Four of us started working on drafts for a twitter campaign, a FB and other social media campaign, Pinerest, instagram, etc...and other such calendared releases to correspond to new releases in PS and updates on role plays going on [sound bite versions of some of the reports of GM and player sponsored rps and rp events.] Unfortunately each of our small group had rl interference at the time but the project I still think is viable.
So shall we try again? Who would like to work on such a project of researching potentially aligned interest communities, compiling email and listservs for such aligned communities of interest, writing short punchy and intoxicating press releases announcing what's going on, and starting up the twitter campaign again? To coordinate we will need some guidelines, and as in any real pr campaign, special attention should be paid to grammar, readability, and focus on mission- in other words, proofreaders before things are released officially. At least I think that's important.
Any interest?
I like what the GMs have initiated in FB for the events, thanks Iridia, Zunna, et al for those posts. And of course any of us could post invitations to our own social networks. This would be a great place for a concerted effort by Guild leaders and active members to recruit new players in general to the game.
Discuss?
RR
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Just a quick note: Don't just focus on people who already consider themselves roleplayers. I found PS while looking for free alternatives for WoW after the trial period. I never had even heard of RP at that point. :P
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Srsly, Rigwyn and Demagul? :D Our culture is threatened by immigrants? Hmmm.....sound familiar :D Perhaps we should not whine so much and instead try integration of newcomers into the existing culture (Just like in RL, lol). Back in the days, whenever I encountered a newbie, I took some time to explain things to him, what OOC/IC means etc. So is there a reason we can't just do that?
Also, I have to agree with Siteya. We are a true mmoRPg.
Roled, that sounds like a great idea. Social networking surely makes things a lot easier.
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Srsly, Rigwyn and Demagul? :D Our culture is threatened by immigrants? Hmmm.....sound familiar :D Perhaps we should not whine so much and instead try integration of newcomers into the existing culture (Just like in RL, lol). Back in the days, whenever I encountered a newbie, I took some time to explain things to him, what OOC/IC means etc. So is there a reason we can't just do that?
Also, I have to agree with Siteya. We are a true mmoRPg.
Roled, that sounds like a great idea. Social networking surely makes things a lot easier.
What? No, I never said that the culture was threatened by immigrants. I was just saying that we should mainly publicize in places that an RP crowd would see. If we get overwhelmed by non-RPers, it's always a possibility to un-merge the RP and non-RP servers. I just hope PS isn't publicized as a standard MMORPG, because people have certain expectations for an exact structure for how the game works. If we advertise saying "Hey look at this awesome MMORPG", this will probably happen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A6Z5-deOuc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A6Z5-deOuc) (this video makes me so mad)
Believe me, I want people more players as much as anyone else. We'd probably have more success if we focus on advertising towards RP-loving crowd though, which would both give us more active players, and preserve PS culture.
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....advertising towards RP-loving crowd....
Well, you miss out on those that haven't discovered what RP really is that way. Back in the days, that would have excluded me, and probably most of us.
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I'm not saying that we shouldn't advertise towards other groups too. I just think we'd have more success by advertising it in other ways than as an MMORPG. People have different expectations towards those.
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You're right. We should make the difference clear to people. Also, Roled, can you share the details of what you have in mind?
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The game needs to be polished a bit more before people will take interest.
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The game is superior to what it was back in '07
What about using facebook or something to get the word around? Are there reasons why you wouldn't link to it on your wall? ( Don't shoot me, I don't fb. I value my privacy )
Frankly, its too bad we can't just come out with a new release that has all new art work, quests and maps. Require all new characters and start over 500 years later in some other region of yliakum that has been spoken about, but has not yet been implemented. Hydlaa through bd could always be ressurected later on if desired.
I know, that's a huge deal and is not going to *just* happen, but that's probably the route a large company would take if they had a stale product.
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merch. we need merch
planeshift: the movie
planeshift: the novel
planeshift: the colouring book
planeshift: the breakfast cereal
planeshift: the lunchbox
planeshift: the flamethrower <-- the kids love that one.
planeshift: the doll "a universe is not enough"
planeshift: the mmporg ... oh wait we have that one. let's get started on the rest.
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"Troll the AFK" ... I wonder who that might be. :p
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years ago there was a promo poster contest thing but i dont remember how that went over...maybe someone could design some posters or cards and if someone goes to a convention type thing pass em out
I do like that gms have been advertising events on fb and every once in a while i see the venalan or the PS twitter post sharable updates but not very often.
P.S. where is my trading card??
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Haha Demagul, now I want a Siteya card, defense bonus, shoots flowers out of her arse and a sense of peace over comes you :P
Roled-I am very much in support of a marketing strategy for getting this game out there as a unique RP experience, count me in for bigger help this fall, otherwise, keep me posted as to what we can do on a less involved level, like follow posts, threads, or do posts threads, making a media list is a great start...and have a pr kit/materials available.
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Another angle on this: A sudden influx of noobs could ruin the existing culture for those who play now and enjoy it. For those who didn't play years ago, imagine the plaza being filled with hundreds of people who have no idea about what is currently happening in the game and far more interested in figuring out where to find a dragon to kill, or in taking selfies than in blending in.
I do not agree with this. I came later too, yet I think my main char is quite well integrated meanwhile.
I think PlaneShift can easily use some more players who stay. Thats the issue *who stay* for a longer time.
It doesn´t need to be as big as other MMORPGs, but being unwelcoming and judgemental to new players is not something that I consider being helpful.
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Is there any chance that the orientation has any correlation to the decline in numbers, at least from a standpoint of new players? Admittedly its been a while since I ran through it but back then it would have caused me to move along... Just a thought. How friendly is the experience for the new player that signs on for the first time? Is it inviting and pique interest or is it cold and deterring? The orientation at the time would have caused me to sign off and delete (even though I understand and agree with its purpose).
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Is there any chance that the orientation has any correlation to the decline in numbers, at least from a standpoint of new players? Admittedly its been a while since I ran through it but back then it would have caused me to move along... Just a thought. How friendly is the experience for the new player that signs on for the first time? Is it inviting and pique interest or is it cold and deterring? The orientation at the time would have caused me to sign off and delete (even though I understand and agree with its purpose).
if for orientation you mean the tutorial area it's been recently reworked to make it more nice and user friendly. We also collected feedbacks and they seemed to be positive so far. Of course we're glad to hear for new ideas to improve. Also the quest chains have been polished in order to let the player know where to go next.
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I was not in any way trying to criticize the tutorial (which is what I meant by orientation), I remember when it was implemented and the reason behind it. But I would also say it was about that time I noticed player base was on the decline. You can only hope to retain any number of players/users for so long. There is always going to be turn over to deal with. I was just curious how people are being welcomed when they first log in is all. Its good to hear it has been reworked, for the better I'm sure. Is it welcoming and intriguing enough to make people want to complete it and enter into the Dome? Just a thought.
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The nice thing is you can leave at any point in the tutorial and even return to it if you chose to.
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The nice thing is you can leave at any point in the tutorial and even return to it if you chose to.
That means everyone can go to the tutorial and help out newbies ;)
Also, if you would like to help newbies in another way but don't feel like hanging out in the tutorial, become an advisor (help channel)!
To enable:
/advisor on
To answer a question:
/advice charname answer
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That means everyone can go to the tutorial and help out newbies ;)
Also, if you would like to help newbies in another way but don't feel like hanging out in the tutorial, become an advisor (help channel)!
To enable:
/advisor on
To answer a question:
/advice charname answer
Oh wow I actually had no idea you could do this! I just activated it a few minutes ago now :D
Speaking of newbie help, I've had some friends who stopped playing PS in the beginning of their experience because they found it too complicated and overwhelming with a ton of buttons, and they couldn't figure out how to play. Would it be possible to make it so the features in the tutorial (on the first time, at least) are revealed gradually, so that players aren't overwhelmed and have time to figure out each individual one? Or at least to give them the option of this in the tutorial.
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Have you done the new tutorial Demagul Riwe?
I would happily look over any comments you have directed at the new one we have. We tried to get as much feed back as possible when it was first re-made, much of what was suggested to me I added. But I'm still happy to adjust things if someone has a good workable idea after doing the tutorial.
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I've done it. It's better than the one I did the first time... \\o//
But maybe if you could run around in a loop so once you get to the end you're back at where you started? Instead of having to run back through the entire thing again, that is.
Just saying.
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I've done it. It's better than the one I did the first time... \\o//
But maybe if you could run around in a loop so once you get to the end you're back at where you started? Instead of having to run back through the entire thing again, that is.
Just saying.
Lazy are we? ;D
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I've done it. It's better than the one I did the first time... \\o//
But maybe if you could run around in a loop so once you get to the end you're back at where you started? Instead of having to run back through the entire thing again, that is.
Just saying.
Lazy are we? ;D
Perhaps. ;D
I know some people are, and maybe it could deter newbies, especially if they spent an hour or so going through the whole thing. Maybe.
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If you guys are concerned with making a gameworld that interests a larger diversity group of players while not losing central emphasis on it being an RPG, consider http://www.avalon-rpg.com (http://www.avalon-rpg.com). (The thing doesn't get much hype or advertising, so far as I know, yet has been around for 20+ years, is a text-based MUD, and isn't free — though fees are paltry.)
What does RP include to you? How does PS emulate that? In other words, how does PS allow you to accomplish what you deem RP in a way which nothing else does?
Well, then there's the idea of living on tiers inside a stalactite, but that's not really evident in the game, and the landscape is rather bland at this point in development.
I will also add that i've had a very frustrating time exploring, even when looking for something which i've been told was there and shouldn't be hidden in any way.
Please pardon a new player, and maybe i simply haven't tried enough, but: Where are the entrances to the sewers in Hydlaa? Why can't I find Nyshyn in some ruins somewhere on the pass between Hydlaa and Gugrontid? When Harnquist wants you to get the experimental blade from Barrin Dhorod, why doesn't Harnquist know where to find him, or who to ask?
In no way am i recommending the stupid HUD map with moron-resistant flags at each point of interest for a quest. These are just some examples of difficulty a new player has had.
There are also some problems with the GUI which make it resistive to play, but i haven't finished documenting that yet.
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The best way to find somethings is to have a player show you.
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Can-ned Food made some good points and is clearly not a noob with rp or video games. At some point, with a whopping 11 people on line in my timezone, at some point PS has to do something different to attract and retain players. Can-ned Food's comments show they are exactly the kind of person we need!
imho
RR
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The best way to find somethings is to have a player show you.
Indeed. And, I can't say there was no-one about, because in my wanderings I saw a few PCs. However, though Gedundk is friendly kra gets discouraged easily, so kra went exploring the wilderness and got killed by a Consumer (which then ate him...); Malsuon, being go-it-alone as he is, wouldn't ask. Okay, so maybe I fleshed most of the Kran out based on my mood as I was playing kra- (what's the passive determiner pronoun there?), but you see the dilemma.
On the other hand, I tried asking via IRC but not OOC in-game, d'oh. The gossip channel? It looks very OOC most of the time. I'd try, but my connection isn't co-operating right now. Come to that, I don't think any of the chat channels besides the main should ever be used IC, but that's just me.
:offtopic: Anyway, I'll probably start a topic sometime regarding a few of my observations.
I apologize if my need for sleep made that too haphazard.
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Can-ned Food, sometimes, for more private conversations, we use Group Chat ICly, and sometimes even whisper when someone whispers something to another. Especially in larger-scale RPs, they definitely have their IC uses.
EDIT: Pushed submit too soon... Anyway, I completely agree with Can-ned Food about tricky it is to get a general understanding of where stuff is. In my opinion, this is a good way to encourage PR with newer players, but from what I've seen it just leads to people asking OOCly on gossip and whisper. Although I wasn't around at its peak, from what I've heard, the Explorer's Booth sounds like a really good idea for help with this, but that guild would need more members if that's to be effective. Maybe we should have a thread where experienced players who are interested in newbie help RP can post their timezones and some tips to ICly work with them or something. Maybe with the need for players to get directions, and with that offer of help out there, it could cause more effective IC newbie help RP.
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Gossip channel is OOC. Main is IC all the time although I am guilty of being OOC when helping new players but I do try to get them on another channel. ???