Expanding the player base.

[WhiteRanger]

I have noticed that in peak hours on a very good day the most players we have online at once is around 70 to 80. This is a good number considering I remember when seeing 30 people online was incredible. But like most of you I still want more. I would love to see the numbers get up to around 200 to 250. The problem is, Armageddon is so complex, and so vast that recruiting good players  who are really going to stick with it takes time. From the different storys I have heard and my own experiences, the only way we really gain truly devoted players is when another player gets his buddy involved, and that buddy gets a buddy involved ect...Though there are a few who found Arm simply though search engines (As I did). I was just thinking though, there has to be a better, more productive way to get people into our player base. Any ideas?

[Agent_137]

Flyers. I had this idea awhile back, hadn't done it yet. Been too busy with work, school, and actually playing the game.

Hit up the universities, the gaming shops, the S&M stores...

[Quo]

A good number of players here probably comes from a mudding background already, when at some point back in their life they were dissatisfied with the RP experienced elswhere.

An entirely different place to hunt for possible players would be at small, local gaming conventions, that kind that is held in gaming shops, or by local clubs.

If you're into RPGs in general, or even an experienced AD&D DM, you could hold small introductory adventures based on zalanthanized Dark Sun. Simple, pre-rolled chars without magic (though they can and should encounter the common feelings about them) living through a brief introductory adventure. An arena scene, or accompanying a npc-caravan as guards, or running a simple errand in one of those cities - anything that doesn't give more away than the "what you know" docs do.
If they like it, you'll have some work to do telling them how  to play the mud  
They could then either apply with the char they had been playing, using the little introductory adventure in their background, or apply for an entirely new char.

Quo

[Marauder Moe]

Perhaps we should make http://www.armageddon.org/rp/logs/ and http://www.armageddon.org/original/ more visible.  Put those links in advertisements.

[amoeba]

I've heard playing on Arm as related to acting, actors generally take someone else's work and try to breathe life into it.  What I see Arm as, at least in the way that I try to play it, is story telling.  It a constantly evolving, real time story proces in the making.  And what type of people are into to this: Writers.

It would be nice to solicit writers into the community.  Think about it, these people would be much more likely to emote and flesh out a scene better than your average H&S'er trying it out.  The problem is how to attract them.  How many of you hard core players won't talk about what we do with so much of our off time, with non-geeky types, for fear of being labeled a whaco?  :wink:

IMHO writers could gain a lot from playing the game.  Character development, plotting, conversational skills are all skills that writers need to practice.  Why not have fun doing it.  I would like to see this approached on a couple of fronts.

1. create a nice, non-geeky "What playing on Armaggedon can offer you" link focused to specfic groups.  In this case the writers.   I don't think the IMM's need to do this, they have thier hands full.  I think one or more of the exceptional writers amoung us could produce a page and submit it.

2. After a well planned link is in place, approach some of the -many- writers groups and carefully sell the idea of placing this link in thier writer's 'resources' page.  From what I have seen the potential user base is quite large.  The trick here is to have some focused marketing that makes them feel that the game could be something that they would be interested in and not just another group of mountain dew drinking, pizza eating, chain smoking, pasty faced, nerds that couldn't get a date if they paid for it.  (for the record I drink pepsi, don't smoke, and my wife won't let me date)  :shock:

Anyway, just another suggestion.

[Sanvean]

If you're interested in working to publicize the game, please feel free to drop me a line and I'll add you to the Publicity forum on here.

[ShaLeah]

Have we gotten any new players from our efforts at Dragon-Con?

[Kill4Free]

I joined because my brother joined, who joined because his friend joined, and he joined because another one of his friends joined

[Spoon]

I joined after seeing Armageddon on TopMudSites, so, if your not so creative: VOTE LIKE CRAZY.

Er... every twelve hours...

[Agent_137]

Hah. I joined because I was fucking fed up with Dragonrealms, and found Armageddon on TMS after trying out some of the other shitty muds.

I joined dragonrealms because my friend found it back in beta on AOL.

I found TMS because dragonrealms had a little vote button.

Since i've joined, I've successfully brought in one player, and attempted about four or five others. One of these made a character, but doesn't really have time for it.

[Kill4Free]

I brought in two people who have chars, but I dont think they play much anymore either :/

[Spoon]

I think the best thing is simply to stress that Armageddon is an RPI MUD. It took me a while to actually find one after getting rather pissed of with crap attempts at half-RP on other MUDs. You get into some really good scene, then some twit would shout "Yeah, well my level 45.9 rabbit warrior does 876-1376.8 damage points per hit with his gleaming hacksaw +12!". On the global channel.

[mansa]

I told my coworker at work about the game.  He made a character yesterday and died and got pissed off at me today because I didn't tell him about the dangerous alleyways.  I like being a dealer.

[KatieMunch]

Since i've joined, I've successfully brought in one player, and attempted about four or five others. One of these made a character, but doesn't really have time for it.

ahem.

[Agent_137]

yea, you're the one that doesn't really have the time for it.

the other one is brady.

[KatieMunch]

how encouraging.

[Bestatte]

I think the best thing is simply to stress that Armageddon is an RPI MUD. It took me a while to actually find one after getting rather pissed of with crap attempts at half-RP on other MUDs. You get into some really good scene, then some twit would shout "Yeah, well my level 45.9 rabbit warrior does 876-1376.8 damage points per hit with his gleaming hacksaw +12!". On the global channel.

I tried that - unfortunately, some players on some games think theirs IS an RPI. It isn't..but they refuse to accept the fact that other games out there are intensive, while theirs is merely - enforced.  They'll complain about "botting" and "scripting while unattended" in their own game. They'll complain about how players take things personally and go after their characters for personal OOC reasons. They'll complain that this alignment isn't doing things right, and that alignment needs to be nicer to newbies even if it means breaking character completely to do so.

They'll complain about all kinds of things that a -true- RPI doesn't really encounter all that much - yet they are adamant in their belief that no way in hell can a free mud be remotely as good as a pay-for-play. ESPECIALLY if they might risk losing their character to permanent death.

So - there's little you can do about that. Let them know another world of gaming exists, show them where to find it, and if they come, they come. If they don't, they don't. And - if they ask questions...answer them to the best of your ability. And hope some of it actually sinks in.

[WarriorPoet]

There are alot of twink, assholes, and posers over at NationStates, but I write there alot {Pantera}, and I've seen some stellar roleplaying come about.

I've tried to recruit a few people from there, one I know played for about a week, a few more tried it for a day or two, but I can't seem get anyone to stick around.

Aside form my NS friends I've gotten a couple RL 'friends' to play, mostly D&D dorks that I never spoke to aside from telling them about Arm, as I never tabletopped. I told my Creative Writing teacher about a year ago, and for a week solid he was crazy about it. Then he died and got very discouraged. He said he couldn't devote  solid chunk of his day, every day, to a charater that might not last out the week. I told him that it's not the individual character that's important, but the story of Zalanhas itself that mattered. He just shrujgged, so...

Mebbe I'm just a bad salesman, but I'll keep trying.

[Agent_137]

touching on the subject of permadeath....


you can't have a true rpi without permadeath.

Without death, there is no risk.

Without risk, there is no worth.