Advertising for Armageddon (more players!)

[Sokotra]

Just had a thought come to me about advertising earlier tonight... and then I logon and see a post about player dilution.  It would be nice to have more players, especially in large cities like Allanak (or whatever larger points of civilization may be in Arm 2) where there are supposed to be large crowds.  I like the wasteland and villages and outposts and stuff, but the urban environment in a place like Zalanthas can be pretty cool as well.

Anyway, I just wanted to see if we could discuss or brainstorm on more ways to advertise for the game... especially on the web.  An idea I had was to start advertising Armageddon less as a MUD and more of a paperless D&D type game where all the calculations are done for you.  I guess they are both pretty much the same, but MUD is an old term that may be turning some people off or not even being understood at all.  I'm no expert, but that is just my guess.  I suppose we could call it a MMORPG, but then you might draw a lot of people looking for something like World of Warcraft and immediately leave without trying it because it is text-based. 

My main idea is to focus more on a new way of advertising... like along the lines of an "automated D&D" type game with our target group being people that would be interested in playing a text-based, paperless D&D type game.   Or find ways to advertise something like this, in an attractive manner, to the new generation of gamers out there.  I'm sure someone else could word it better than me and maybe come up with some more ideas along this line of thinking.  If this has all been discussed to death before, feel free to post the link to the thread.  I didn't see much when I searched for advertising here on the GDB.

[number13]

"An online text-based fantasy game featuring real stories, player impacted environments, player vs. player conflicts, and permadeath."  There has to be a sizable contingent of people who've come to realize that the typical MMO/MUD grind is a treadmill -- that they're looking for something a little different.  Permadeath is the kind of keyword that people notice. Though they tend to have a negative reaction at first, being noticed is the first step in getting people to log on.  Best place to advertise would be online forums, real life friends/contacts -- where you can take the time to explain the game.   With the new Dark Sun out, there could be 4e players looking for online Dark Sun games.  So, you know? Fuck it.  Try to get permission to call the game "Dark Sun" inspired.

One area of resistance I've seen (beyond the obvious:  that there's no graphics) is in the strict control of IC information.  Related, it's a shame that there can't be a "Where I Play" thread for Armageddon on something like rpg.net or somethingawful.  Threads like that are a huge reason why retro games like Dwarf Fortress and MineCraft are popular.  If a talented writer (and we've got plenty) could figure out a way to bang out a thread like that without tripping over IC-information sharing rules I think it could be relatively popular. "A Day In the Life of a Grebber"

One method might be to simply suspend the rule for the purpose of a particular "Where I Play" thread, with a header that existing Armageddon players should resist the urge to read it.  There's already all sorts of OOC information that we all disregard (or pretend to disregard, at least).  Honestly, any raider attempts against our grebber hero based on knowledge of where he's going to be might actually spice up the thread. I don't think logs or after-the-fact stories capture the "feel" of live play like a "Where I Play" would, but maybe something like a "Where I Play" thread could be constructed for a character that's a couple years old?  ...though that would probably seem too much like blatant advertising, and not very interesting to any thread readers, as they wouldn't have the opportunity to pass out real-time comments/advice.

With an advertising push, I think you'd have to marry it to an attractive tutorial/guidebook.  There's a lot of color in Armageddon's world and history that I don't think is immediately obvious.  The website is dated, somewhat incomplete, and the navigation could use improvement. Better website with the information a new player wants easy to find and upfront could increase buy-in.

[boog]

ARM has consecutively more players online everyday than many other muds do.

[number13]

ARM has consecutively more players online everyday than many other muds do.

The muds at the top of the mud site list tend to have several hundred everyday.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

One thing we need to do is to reach out to gamer magazines and gamer websites, irregardless of typical orientation. I was looking at a MMO site today, and mixed amongst the top ten games of the year was Threshold.

This means that the text based game was considered seriously enough to rank it amongst the top ten games that this website (which looked well developed) had reviewed and previewed.

[lordcooper]

Armageddon's web presence is low.

I spent years actively looking for things similar to this and only just stumbled across Arm.

[Wolfsong]

ARM has consecutively more players online everyday than many other RPI muds do.

Fixed.

[number13]

Armageddon's web presence is low.

I spent years actively looking for things similar to this and only just stumbled across Arm.

That's interesting.  I have a feeling there's an untapped audience for RPI muds. For Lordcooper, or anyone else who stumbled upon Arm after a long search, how did you search (like what keywords did you use in search engines, what websites did you check)?  How did you eventually find the game?  What could have made the game easier to find?

I just tried typing 'permadeath' into Google, and Arm (arguably the online game that takes the concept of permadeath most seriously) doesn't appear in the first five pages of results.  "Dark Sun" MUD and a defunct MUD has a higher listing.  "RPI", and SoI and a couple of RPI MUDS I've never heard of have higher listings.  This says to me Arm might benefit from SEO tactics -- for example, posting links to Arm on forums that are highly ranked by google -- in appropriate topics.  Maybe loading future WordPress blog articles with noteworthy keywords and prompting discussion with some hot-button topics (like an article about something Armers like to whine about, and eliciting feedback/conversation on the topic).

Digg (and perhaps Rededit) should be pretty easy to game in it's current state, if a writer at a popular gaming blog/site can be coaxed into writing an article.  The WoD MMO is rumored to feature permadeath.  An angle might be holding Arm up as an example of how that sort of thing works in practice.

[HailTheAbyss]

There are plenty of boards for pen and paper RPGs where the game could be advertised.

I think a lot of people who normally do not play computer games much might be attracted to ARM, as it's based on roleplaying more than anything coded.

That's what attracted me to the game - I had no real interest in MUDs as a genre - if I am going to do grind with no roleplay I would rather have an MMORPG with pretty graphics. The roleplaying aspect has to be pushed constantly, as especially the fact that is is mandatory. We should describe the total immersion in another world that this creates, and also play on the fact that you can play with a lot more different people than you could with pen and paper.

Another thing, as people have suggested numerous times before, is putting up posters in your local hobby stores - I think someone had even designed one.

If we wanted to suddenly double the population of the game, one way would be for everyone that plays or posts here on the GDB to get at least ONE person they are acquainted with to play. If everyone could just commit a lot of effort to that only over the next 2 weeks, I think we might see an effect.

[Reiteration]

In all honesty, if the webpage didn't look like it was fifteen years old, we'd probably get more people.

[Is Friday]

I prefer quality over quantity. If we get a lot of players from a general demographic, we're going to pollute our playerbase.

[Malifaxis]

I prefer quality over quantity. If we get a lot of players from a general demographic, we're going to pollute our playerbase.

While true, those that can't hack it will quickly quit, and we'll pick up people that never would have had the chance to join.

I think advertising is a great damn idea, and I'm going to chop out a flier today and hit up my local gaming store.

[Kronus]

A few random thoughts from me.

• "Heavy" roleplayers are a very small minority of the MUD/MMO audience.  There are plenty of people who will say 'thee' and 'thou' while talking about the World Series - which qualifies as roleplaying in the broadest sense - but the people who can and will throw themselves fully into the mind of another being living on another planet are honestly not all that common. To a lot of people, Armageddon presents a front of being a haven for elitist roleplayers who will chop off your virtual head if your emotes suck or you break immersion. I suspect we get a lot of new players who spend hours on an application, enter the game, stumble around lost until they find a tavern, get mostly ignored by the people RPing inside, get all intimidated by the emotes they can't match (because they don't get the syntax if nothing else) and then go linkdead without even caring what happens to their character because they're never coming back.  Ever.  And then I steal the coins and tandu sausage from their inventory.
• The website doesn't just look 15 years old, it is 15 years old.  Quirky nostalgia will make long term players think 'I like the website!  It doesn't look outdated to me.', but they've been looking at it for 15 years.  It's as comfortable as an old blanket or that awful t-shirt your girlfriend secretly wants to burn while you're away on a trip. By comparison the Castle Marrach webpage is downright bleeding edge. It has images.
• Yesterday I went looking for the Armageddon MUD group on Facebook to join.  I really had just assumed it would be there.  Maybe get fed some tweets about new code changes and upcoming RPTs, yeah?   No.
• Generally speaking, text-based games of any flavor were an acquired taste in their heyday and these days are an antiquated relic.  People who don't even consider something a game unless it has 3D graphics and particle effects aren't going to look twice at something like Arm.  Yes, it's their loss and not ours, but it makes the hope of a massive playerbase somewhat unrealistic.

[Is Friday]

I keep trying to get my wife to play.... Maybe the newbie room will help her out a lot. (Maybe it'll help us retain more?)

[Sokotra]

One thing we need to do is to reach out to gamer magazines and gamer websites, irregardless of typical orientation.

There are plenty of boards for pen and paper RPGs where the game could be advertised.

Yes.  These are what I think might really give us a number of quality players.   As I said, I'm no expert, I don't delve into the world of gaming much anymore but many years ago I remember reading "Dungeon" or "Dragon" magazine a few times.  Doing a search on the internet for "pen and paper RPGs" and things of that nature might yield some perfect places to advertise for Armageddon.

I've seen a few other good ideas so far in this thread.  Hopefully some of us that have some time can pick through these ideas as they continue to flow and advertise in some new places with some of the other resources we already have.  I remember seeing a pre-written advertisement for Arm somewhere that we could use... and the banner.

[HailTheAbyss]

Yesterday I went looking for the Armageddon MUD group on Facebook to join.  I really had just assumed it would be there.  Maybe get fed some tweets about new code changes and upcoming RPTs, yeah?   No.[/li][/list]

There is an Arm facebook group by the way. It's just no one really posts much there apart from "Random Armageddon Thoughts" type stuff.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2301038942

[Kronus]

Yesterday I went looking for the Armageddon MUD group on Facebook to join.  I really had just assumed it would be there.  Maybe get fed some tweets about new code changes and upcoming RPTs, yeah?   No.[/li][/list]

There is an Arm facebook group by the way. It's just no one really posts much there apart from "Random Armageddon Thoughts" type stuff.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2301038942

The hell?  There are actually two?  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Armageddon-mud/110078165688002?ref=search

I swear to Tek, yesterday I searched for 'Armageddon MUD' and got a record label or something and some guys pretending to be on the movie poster for Armageddon.

Well, cool, so it's there. 

[Adhira]

There's also an official Application page on facebook where you can play the game via a facebook app.   http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=144472147042

It has it's own wall (on the about page) which people could use to promote RPTs etc (hint hint).

[number13]

• Generally speaking, text-based games of any flavor were an acquired taste in their heyday and these days are an antiquated relic.  People who don't even consider something a game unless it has 3D graphics and particle effects aren't going to look twice at something like Arm.  Yes, it's their loss and not ours, but it makes the hope of a massive playerbase somewhat unrealistic.

Game doesn't need the 500+ players at peak of Aardwolf.  It just needs about 100 players on at peak to feel full, or roughly double what there currently is.  That's one of the reasons why I think some epic demolition could be a viable solution.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Any boost in players is quickly noticed, honestly. A steady 70 at peak times would be amazingly beautiful. But in a game focused on story, we need to make sure that new players are welcomed in, by a story. By personality. By Armageddon.

This is as much the players' responsibility as it is the staff's. One of the hardest things about Armageddon, since it is not focused on H&S and raising skills, is getting involved in a story. The lack of instantly active story for new players and even veteran characters kind of sucks. This is one of the biggest reasons why I have always OOCly supported IC wars. It is an immediately understandable story, and fighting begs for fresh bodies. Even fresh newb bodies.

[HailTheAbyss]

There's also an official Application page on facebook where you can play the game via a facebook app.   http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=144472147042

It has it's own wall (on the about page) which people could use to promote RPTs etc (hint hint).

For some bizarre reason, when I try to use it it tells me that I am not logged into Facebook (?). I tried suggesting it to people, but even that did not work... Probably a bug or something.

[jriley]

THE PROJECT FOR A NEW ARMAGEDDON CENTURY


Just to give you cats the realpolitik spin on this, recruiting from the general gaming community is likely to be a wasted effort.  Typically, we could recruit a player, he might discover that he likes MUDs.  After that, he will vary likely move on to another MUD that suits his interests closely.  Since we as players are discouraged from forming gaming clans with our real life friends, there is little to keep a player here if/when he discovers that there are actually hundreds of MUDs and a different MUD will satisfy his particular tastes, statistically speaking. 

By contrast, sniping players from other MUDs promises a much better payout.  Lowest-Common-Denominator games like Achaea have a vested interest in recruiting from the general gaming community.  Certainly, hundreds, if not thousands of people who try Achaea must become dissatisfied because it is gay.  What then?  Some of them will go searching the MUD community for that one MUD that closely suits their niche tastes. 

Just as a point of strategy, it makes much more sense for us to let the bigger, more-generic MUDs do the recruiting from the general gamer playerbase, and then for us to snipe malcontent players and lure them into our MUD from within the MUD community. 

One strong vector for this is MUD interest websites like the famous Top Mud Sites.

Another, more controvertial tactic is to send teams of players over to the larger MUDs and try to lure them over to the RPI community.  Likely, this would eventually be detected by the administrators of the General Appeal MUDs.  Likely, there would be a showdown between their staff and the Armageddon staff, if they realized what we were doing, however if they were intelligent they would quickly come to terms with the fact that most people who enjoy RPI MUDs are likely to abandon a General Appeal MUD rather quickly anyway, and that siphoning a small number of players over to the RPI community does not really impact their bottom line.  Since the bigger MUDs are commercial MUD anyways, it is possible that a commercial solution could be found to this sort of conflict. 

In any regard, players who are interested in initiating a concerted clandestine recruitment effort from other MUD should feel encouraged to contact me through private message.  Doubtlessly, the staff will need to take the official position that these sort of efforts are publicly discouraged.  Hopefully we can reach an agreement with staff that some incentive will provided privately for partisans who successfully support a recruitment effort.

Further, the following ideas deserve consideration:

• Long term improvements to the Armageddon game are most directly contingent upon the successful increase of the playerbase, while maintaining or boosting the level of player quality.
• Infiltration of other RPI MUD staff administrations will elicit useful information about their operations
• The best candidates to improve the playerbase come from dissatisfied elements of existing, general appeal MUDs.

I did not say this.  I was never here.

[/list]

This is a terrible idea.  I could never approve of anything this controvertial.

[Marauder Moe]

 

[brytta.leofa]

Moderation in 3...2...

You're not exactly wrong; it just doesn't need to sound that sinister.

[Is Friday]

By contrast, sniping players from other MUDs promises a much better payout.  Lowest-Common-Denominator games like Achaea have a vested interest in recruiting from the general gaming community.  Certainly, hundreds, if not thousands of people who try Achaea must become dissatisfied because it is gay.  What then?  Some of them will go searching the MUD community for that one MUD that closely suits their niche tastes.  

That's what happened with me. Somebody on Achaea told me to stop roleplaying on Achaea and go play Armageddon, where people appreciated that kind of thing.

[Aarlo]

I'm a brand new player who's been in-game with his first character for only a few hours yet, and here's my perspective.

I played Gemstone for 3 fantastic years, but then I got poor (read: got engaged) and had to go looking for a free mud. I checked TopMudSites and Achaea (@jriley - yes, the gay one) was listed first. I jumped in and didn't look back. The barrier to entry is low because the game is setup so that you start out in a guild and are immediately given an orientation by a guild mate and the next thing you know, you really feel a part of a community. Achaea does have great role-playing if you look for it, but there is still way too much reliance on grind and numbers. I played Achaea for five long years before I ate the red pill and woke up.

Once again I hopped onto TopMudSites and started going down the list. By now, I knew there were muds that enforced role-playing, so one by one, I checked out the details of each on The Mud Connector, particularly looking for that keyword Role-playing Enforced. I tried Threshold, and it was promising, but the inability to turn off the OOC Citizens channel was a deal breaker for me.

When I found Armageddon, I was taken by just how *different* it appeared to be, and this from simply reading the content on the website. I read testimonials on the forums about when it *clicked* for people... when and how they fell in love with Armageddon. I read up, wrote my character, got rejected, modified him, got approved, logged in, and was immediately lost and confused. Hehe.  I observed some people in the tavern for a bit, one of them insulted my character, and I hesitantly started rp'ing with them. My contribution was devoid of any custom emotes since I had no clue how to do it yet, but I was pleased to be in game, to have made some contacts. I can tell that this is a good place.


I am an example of the value of TopMudSites and others like it. I consider myself a strong roleplayer, but not knowing what I was missing, I naively hopped onto the lesser muds simply because they were higher on the list. If armageddon were higher on the list, even more players would give it a try. And the barrier to entry is pretty high, so I don't think you need to worry about the quality of the incoming players as visibility increases.

I would echo (in order of priority) some of the suggestions already mentioned:
1. Word of mouth - By far the most effective for retaining new players
2. Boost score on Top Mud Sites and The MUD Connector - For increasing general visibility
3. Post on like-minded forums - It's impersonal, but it's a targeted audience

[Cutthroat]

The first rule of Project Mayhem...

This

Just as a point of strategy, it makes much more sense for us to let the bigger, more-generic MUDs do the recruiting from the general gamer playerbase, and then for us to snipe malcontent players and lure them into our MUD from within the MUD community. 

makes a lot of sense, and I can agree with the premise of recruiting mudders that are "tired of H&S" or "tired of RP-encouraged" or what have you, and are seeking something more. However, we don't need to delve into what is essentially sabotaging other MUDs secretly - mainly because it would look pretty bad.

We can achieve the same effect by posting advertisements on NEUTRAL (not controlled by any one game) mudding/tabletop RPG/roleplaying forums. We can time those advertisements with large RPTs, like Luirsfest-scale. We can achieve quality control once new players are in the game by setting an example for what we expect. We need greater name recognition and a focus on getting our name as a game out there. Voting for ArmageddonMUD on Mud Connector and Top Mud Sites helps, but there's more work to be done. I think it would be interesting to see this page updated to be more appealing and contain more information first, since it is the page that TMS links to in their MUD listings: http://www.armageddon.org/intro/adpage.html

I think that the most effective method of advertisement is word-of-mouth, however. A good amount of players are students that probably have a computer lab or roleplaying club in their school. Even if you would normally never be seen in there, go in there and at least post a flyer or something.

[Marauder Moe]

I suppose my objection is using other MUDs and/or their forums with the sole purpose to advertise our own game.

If we wouldn't want people doing it to us (coming here and advertising for their game), we shouldn't do it to them.

It could look awful and drive away more potential players than it would bring in.

[Sam]

Instead of advertising ourselves as a MUD, why don't we advertise ourselves as a code heavy MUSH?

I believe MUSH is interchangeable with RP and not a lot of code.
I believe MUD is interchangeable with Hack and Slash.

[jriley]

Moderation in 3...2...

You're not exactly wrong; it just doesn't need to sound that sinister.

Very well.  Be that as it may, let us instead pursue a more amicable line of inquiry. 

I propose the establishment of an Armageddon Intergame Friendship Council, to pursue the establishment of eternal friendship and fraternity between role playing game enthusiasts, to support the goals of Dear Leader and to further the Juche Ideal.

[number13]

When I found Armageddon, I was taken by just how *different* it appeared to be, and this from simply reading the content on the website....

Thank you for that post.

Thinking: Maybe changing the blurb on TMS to emphasis just how different Arm is could pull people.  The current blurb is functional, but it doesn't really pop out and throttle the reader with the notion that RPIs are a different experience than the typical MUD.  Blurb is probably four years old now, so it's due for a change anyway. I'm not a great writer, so I'm sure someone could come up with something better, but I'm thinking something like this:

"Ready for something completely different?  For nearly 20 years, Armageddon MUD has hosted the most intense, mature roleplaying in any online game -- ever! Set in a harsh, low-fantasy wasteland that will seem familiar to fans of Dark Sun and Dune, Arma features a believable world, unrestricted player-vs-player conflict, permadeath, dedicated staff and players, and the strictest roleplaying requirements.  It's not for everyone, but if you're looking for a real story, real grit, then maybe it's for you."   Anyone have a better idea?

[Gunnerblaster]

Here are some things I think may draw in more crowd, without subtracting from potential.

1.) I think it would be eye-catching to put up a few player-submitted artworks on the mainpage. Maybe the race sheet or some random, hardcore oil-painting that Bisuits and OHST are so fond of pimping out for us. Let's look at popular MMO's and think to ourselves, "What makes me want to play this game?" (ie. Example One, Example Two, Example Three)

2.) Jazz up the ArmageddonMUD sign on the homepage. Don't make it glam and spam, but maybe a bit of cultural flavor from the game on it (I know, none of us can read in-game, anyways). Maybe have some drawing competitions and have the best staff-voted picture put up there. (ie. Example One, Example Two, Example Three, Example Four)

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Actually, we need to do away with using the terms MUSH, MU*, or MUD entirely. With the advent of MMPORPGs, the new (and correct term) to label ourselves as is a RPI-MMO. Roleplayer Intensive Massively Multiplayer Online Game . In fact, to make it look better, you might say MMORPI.

Yes, MMORPI looks better.

Within the text of the introduction on the front page of the website, of course, you do inform the player about the game being entirely textual. But the word MUD doesn't draw players in, because these young bastards have no idea what a MUD is. Everyone knows what a MMO is. Everyone will at least want to know what the hell the RPI on the end of MMO stands for.

Furthermore, defining yourself as a MMO instead of a MUD will cause more Gaming Review Editors to at least investigate the game, or the website, instead of discarding it when the name comes across the desk because "Muds or so yesterday".

[Gunnerblaster]

Actually, we need to do away with using the terms MUSH, MU*, or MUD entirely. With the advent of MMPORPGs, the new (and correct term) to label ourselves as is a RPI-MMO. Roleplayer Intensive Massively Multiplayer Online Game . In fact, to make it look better, you might say MMORPI.

Yes, MMORPI looks better.

Within the text of the introduction on the front page of the website, of course, you do inform the player about the game being entirely textual. But the word MUD doesn't draw players in, because these young bastards have no idea what a MUD is. Everyone knows what a MMO is. Everyone will at least want to know what the hell the RPI on the end of MMO stands for.

Furthermore, defining yourself as a MMO instead of a MUD will cause more Gaming Review Editors to at least investigate the game, or the website, instead of discarding it when the name comes across the desk because "Muds or so yesterday".

+1

[Malifaxis]

Yes, MMORPI looks better.

THIS.

[Kronus]

I suspect we get a lot of new players who spend hours on an application, enter the game, stumble around lost until they find a tavern, get mostly ignored by the people RPing inside, get all intimidated by the emotes they can't match (because they don't get the syntax if nothing else) and then go linkdead without even caring what happens to their character because they're never coming back.  Ever.  And then I steal the coins and tandu sausage from their inventory.

Prophetically, I think...

I read up, wrote my character, got rejected, modified him, got approved, logged in, and was immediately lost and confused. Hehe.  I observed some people in the tavern for a bit, one of them insulted my character, and I hesitantly started rp'ing with them. My contribution was devoid of any custom emotes since I had no clue how to do it yet, but I was pleased to be in game, to have made some contacts. I can tell that this is a good place.

You did something which a large number of raw newbies won't do, and that's take the first step by responding to something and speaking to someone.   I'm glad you made it through your first tavern scene, though I'm a little sad I won't get to eat your tandu sausages.

[Kronus]

Read that one up there. This one doesn't exist.

[Aarlo]

I'm glad you made it through your first tavern scene, though I'm a little sad I won't get to eat your tandu sausages.

Actually someone got their hands on some of my stuff before I figured out I should toss everything into my pack.. and CLOSE it!

I suppose there's nothing like a good thief's welcome to Armageddon!

[Lizzie]

I've seen only a couple of people who play/have ever played Arm, posting on the TMS and Mudconnector forums. This gives the impression that Arm players are intentionally avoiding being part of the MUD community. This further gives the impression that we're all a bunch of snooty snobs who think we're too good for communities outside our own game forum. Which might, by extension, turn off a lot of potentially awesome new players.

I'm not suggesting we all make accounts and spam the forums, but perhaps instead of just voting, without being an actual contributor to their websites, we could make more of an effort to create a presence there other than our game's hyperlink on a list that doesn't "really" mean all that much.

In other words, rather than emphasizing "Armageddon" on an arbitrary list as our exclusive method of visibility, why not become participants in their communities?

[Bogre]

I prefer quality over quantity. If we get a lot of players from a general demographic, we're going to pollute our playerbase.

Many vets today started out as complete and utter noobs and didn't 'get' roleplay, I wager.

[Kronus]

I'm glad you made it through your first tavern scene, though I'm a little sad I won't get to eat your tandu sausages.

Actually someone got their hands on some of my stuff before I figured out I should toss everything into my pack.. and CLOSE it!

I suppose there's nothing like a good thief's welcome to Armageddon!

I guess it bears mentioning that people preying on and exploiting new players is a great way to drive them off the game.  I deliberately don't steal from newbie characters because it's hard enough surviving those first few days.

[brytta.leofa]

I've seen only a couple of people who play/have ever played Arm, posting on the TMS and Mudconnector forums. This gives the impression that Arm players are intentionally avoiding being part of the MUD community.

I'm basically not interested in any other MUDs.  I suppose I'd try SoI, or another "real" (permadeath) RPI, if something terrible happened to Arm.

But 99% of MUDs, even those that consider themselves roleplay-enforced, don't require serious roleplaying.  If I only wanted to explore and level up, I'd go play Eve.

[Barzalene]

I don't like the forums there. No one listens. Everyone just wants to have the same debate over and over.

-edited to add: Sorry that wasn't productive. Yes, we should post more over there. I was just explaining one reason it might not be happening as much as it should.

[Is Friday]

I don't like the forums there. No one listens. Everyone just wants to have the same debate over and over.

I CAN TYPE LOUDER THAN YOU.

[Barzalene]

I don't like the forums there. No one listens. Everyone just wants to have the same debate over and over.

I CAN TYPE LOUDER THAN YOU.

I concede this point.

[X-D]

This further gives the impression that we're all a bunch of snooty snobs who think we're too good for communities outside our own game forum

But...we are!

[Anaiah]

In other words, rather than emphasizing "Armageddon" on an arbitrary list as our exclusive method of visibility, why not become participants in their communities?

Yes, we should post more over there. I was just explaining one reason it might not be happening as much as it should.

You both make a good point. Be the change you want to see.

Anyone want to work on compiling something kick-ass, informative, and awesome enough to post over there under the advertisements?

Ideally, two different posts. One to lure folks in with an awesome taste of the world, and another which is... kind of an update/brief with little things in it that you'd DEFINITELY want to know before coming in? (ie bowing/nodding to templars, not to go outside alone, etc). While I realize Mansa's done a very awesome newbie guide, realistically, new people are probably unlikely to read it before playing in many cases.

[valeria]

Once I put in a request suggesting we update the Arm blurb on TMC.  I think the problem was some kind of technical difficulty?  If that's been solved, I'd be happy to write up a generic, IC-sekretless (and thus more likely to stand the test of time) blurb to replace the one that's talking about recently freed Tuluk...

I think Mansa's newbie guide should be featured somewhere prominently on the website.  Maybe down by the helper's link.  That thing was my holy book when I first started playing (after a helper helped me find it).

[Anaiah]

I was actually referring to here in the 'Advertising for Players' forum. But yes, it would be great to see some stuff put up.

Since it doesn't pertain directly to the IC world, or any part of our site, I'd like to see it go on the forums here, instead of in the request tool. The most appropriate place I can think of for the thread would be Player Collaboration. Once there's been a pretty thorough list of things put up, I'll throw it together in a rewrite and post it on the other forums.

[chrisdcoulombe]

There's also an official Application page on facebook where you can play the game via a facebook app.   http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=144472147042

It has it's own wall (on the about page) which people could use to promote RPTs etc (hint hint).

For some bizarre reason, when I try to use it it tells me that I am not logged into Facebook (?). I tried suggesting it to people, but even that did not work... Probably a bug or something.

I had the same experience.

You must be logged into Facebook to access ArmageddonMUD  You don't see an armageddon here

[Bogre]

Here are some things I think may draw in more crowd, without subtracting from potential.

1.) I think it would be eye-catching to put up a few player-submitted artworks on the mainpage. Maybe the race sheet or some random, hardcore oil-painting that Bisuits and OHST are so fond of pimping out for us. Let's look at popular MMO's and think to ourselves, "What makes me want to play this game?" (ie. Example One, Example Two, Example Three)

2.) Jazz up the ArmageddonMUD sign on the homepage. Don't make it glam and spam, but maybe a bit of cultural flavor from the game on it (I know, none of us can read in-game, anyways). Maybe have some drawing competitions and have the best staff-voted picture put up there. (ie. Example One, Example Two, Example Three, Example Four)

Putting the Zalanthan Race chart up on the front pace or somewhere close would be -killer-.


Edit: I've also seen, and appreciated our trend upwards- seeing 60ish around on the peak times is pretty killer.

[Lizzie]

Here's an idea for the front cover of the website:

The racial drawing at the top. And each race's head is actually a hyperlink to the helpfile explaining the race.

More graphics underneath - of a famous templar, a known Kuraci (Sargax is a good example), a Kadian, a Salarri, nobles of each known/open house...

and each one is actually a hyperlink to the appropriate info in the game's timeline, or the House documentation.

So they can SEE what the people might look like, and get the text version of who those people ARE and what their function is in the game world.

[Lizzie]

I've seen only a couple of people who play/have ever played Arm, posting on the TMS and Mudconnector forums. This gives the impression that Arm players are intentionally avoiding being part of the MUD community.

I'm basically not interested in any other MUDs.  I suppose I'd try SoI, or another "real" (permadeath) RPI, if something terrible happened to Arm.

But 99% of MUDs, even those that consider themselves roleplay-enforced, don't require serious roleplaying.  If I only wanted to explore and level up, I'd go play Eve.

I wasn't suggesting you try any other muds. I was suggesting you create an account on their community forum (which is like the GDB here, but for "mudders" and not just "armers"). And then, read a few topics, brows their forum, see if there's anything of interest to you. There's all kind of stuff about mudding in general - the history of it, Richard Bartle's works, the whole DIKU licensing monster, coding in general, roleplay...it's actually a pretty fascinating forum.

And then, if you see something that interest you, you - write a post! And say "wow - I never knew that. I've been playing Armageddon for 47 years and had no idea that Richard Bartle talked about it in his first book, written in 1847."

And then - VOILA - someone else just posted something about Armageddon. And a reader who doesn't play it might think - huh - another post from someone entirely other than the usual people, posting about Armageddon. I wonder if there's any truth in the rumors of its uberness.

And then a week later, someone ELSE posts in a DIFFERENT topic, and mentions Armageddon in reference to his response. And that reader from the paragraph above this thinks - hey - you know..this really does sound interesting. I'll have to try it out.

Then, 4 days later, someone ELSE posts in a DIFFERENT topic and the same reader says "That's it - I gotta apply for a character on that game. Where's the link to the website again? Oh yeah - CLICK"

And we've sucked in a new player.

As for me being the change I want to see, I don't want any new players. I like the game with a small playerbase, and I'm not as newbie friendly as a lot of you claim to be (and some of you actually are). I came to play Arm BECAUSE it had a small player base. But I know I'm in the majority, and that's okay with me, so I decided to post here suggestions for anyone who wants to see the playerbase expand.

[lordcooper]

Armageddon's web presence is low.

I spent years actively looking for things similar to this and only just stumbled across Arm.

That's interesting.  I have a feeling there's an untapped audience for RPI muds. For Lordcooper, or anyone else who stumbled upon Arm after a long search, how did you search (like what keywords did you use in search engines, what websites did you check)?  How did you eventually find the game?  What could have made the game easier to find?

I just tried typing 'permadeath' into Google, and Arm (arguably the online game that takes the concept of permadeath most seriously) doesn't appear in the first five pages of results.  "Dark Sun" MUD and a defunct MUD has a higher listing.  "RPI", and SoI and a couple of RPI MUDS I've never heard of have higher listings.  This says to me Arm might benefit from SEO tactics -- for example, posting links to Arm on forums that are highly ranked by google -- in appropriate topics.  Maybe loading future WordPress blog articles with noteworthy keywords and prompting discussion with some hot-button topics (like an article about something Armers like to whine about, and eliciting feedback/conversation on the topic).

Digg (and perhaps Rededit) should be pretty easy to game in it's current state, if a writer at a popular gaming blog/site can be coaxed into writing an article.  The WoD MMO is rumored to feature permadeath.  An angle might be holding Arm up as an example of how that sort of thing works in practice.

I think the main keywords I used when searching for Armageddon (without my knowing it) were mmorpg, pbbg (progressive browser based game) pbbrpg, rpg, permanent death, roleplaying, society simulator, virtual world etc etc.

Unhelpfully, I found Arm through a link posted on the Cantr website.

I think one of the main things that could be done to increase Amrs playerbase is having links on sites like http://www.pbbg.org/

If that was the case, I'd have joined a good few years back.

[Old Kank]

I can't argue with having a better web presence, but I think the most effective 'advertising' strategy is simply to recruit your friends.  Wasn't that one of the leading answers to the "How did you hear about Armageddon" survey of new players?

On the other hand, we've had playerbase highs of over 100 players, so maybe a better question to ask is, "Why don't those people play every night, and what can we do about that?"

[lordcooper]

I can't argue with having a better web presence, but I think the most effective 'advertising' strategy is simply to recruit your friends.  Wasn't that one of the leading answers to the "How did you hear about Armageddon" survey of new players?

On the other hand, we've had playerbase highs of over 100 players, so maybe a better question to ask is, "Why don't those people play every night, and what can we do about that?"

Real life, I wouldn't recommend trying to change it.

I've been trying for years to recruit my friends to RP with me.  No luck.

[Derain]

I learned about arm through MMORPG.com they had a whole article on it so that was why I ended up trying it a couple years ago now.

[Sokotra]

On the other hand, we've had playerbase highs of over 100 players, so maybe a better question to ask is, "Why don't those people play every night, and what can we do about that?"

Unfortunately that is one of the things I have have a problem with.  I don't have the time to play every night, or sometimes even every week.  So a more spread out type of playerbase with different kinds of players would be nice... some might be able to play every day, some just a couple of times a week.  I think making the game more friendly toward casual players would be helpful and I think we can do that in ways that won't sacrifice the quality of role-play.  It seems like it is hard to be welcomed to the game by staff and just the game world in general if you only pop your head out of a cave once in a while.  Time constraints severely limits the types of roles you can play which might look strange if you only pop in the game here and there just to hunt or make a raid or attempt a mugging.  Not everyone can or wants to sit in the taverns and chat or wander around or spar and train for endless hours and days before they actually get into doing something exciting.  

I remember one time I played a desert elf raider and I happened to attack like 2 or 3 people over a long period of time on the north road and I was accused of twinking.  When raiding you occasionally will try to engage in combat first, before they get away, and then throw out those emotes during or after combat.  I don't even think I ended up killing anyone or anything.  Sometimes I had time to emote, sometimes I didn't.  Sounded to me like someone just got upset because they actually encountered trouble on the north road besides a gith or gortok in the same location. The times that I didn't emote it was because they got away too fast, heh.  

So I think we can advertise and go for numbers without worrying about hurting the quality of role-play.  Either people will figure it out, like everyone else, or they won't and they will move on.  You've got to sift through thousands and thousands of players and let them try it out themself before you find those 100 that will be online and actually -trying- to "play the game" every night or every week.  I think it has improved recently, but still continuing to try to make the game more friendly toward casual players would help.

[number13]

I'm doing my part?  Are you?

Simple, painless things to try:

* Include a link to Armageddon in any .sigs you have on other forums.  Bonus points if you include keywords like ropeplaying, permadeath, etc. in the link.  Extra bonus points if you are posting to forums that rank highly on Google. (somethingawful, rpg.net, etc.)
* Bring up the idea of the game with real-life gamer friends, online acquaintances, guildmates, etc.
* Click that stupid Vote button daily.

[Barzalene]

Buttons. both buttons.

[jriley]

I'd like to repeat the following suggestions:

--Implement a quality control system to prevent valued players from leaking out of the game over minor issues. 

--Implement a mentor system to help players try out the game and guide them over their first year of playing. 

--Provide incentives to players who recruit people that end up staying for more than a year. 

[3kanks]

The only incentive needed is another player to play with. Incentives are for HnS muds.

[Is Friday]

Courtesy of meganlara.com

[Voular]

.. Could that be our website!? I wants it.

[Reiteration]

I think I just shat brix when I saw that.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

The only incentive needed is another player to play with. Incentives are for HnS muds.

This, I agree with.

Also, WTF, Buscuits. So sexy.

[number13]

.. Could that be our website!? I wants it.

Yes, please.

[Sokotra]

Just had a thought... is there any way we could have the capability (or option, not required) to be more like a modern "web browser game" with a couple of different interfaces that could be chosen, depending on how you wanted to play?  Everything right there on the web page could be at the noobs fingertips, while they are playing, without having to navigate around through different pages and telnet and all that jazz.  I imagine something like this would draw tons more players and make it a lot easier for new players to get into the game and figure things out.  

Heck, if you wanted you could have some simple graphics also... just pictures of whatever location you are at and that sort of thing.  Like in a nice fantasy novel you might be reading, nothing too video-gamish.  I wouldn't mind seeing a nice detailed drawing of a view like you were walking the streets of Allanak when you were there, and then a picture of the desert when you left the gates... things like that.  We've got some pictures of certain areas drawn up by the players already.  I'm not talking every room or anything like that - still leaving most of the game left to the imagination of the player - like reading a book and just seeing a picture for every chapter or something.

[SykotikGith]

Courtesy of meganlara.com

This +1

[Nana]

Just had a thought... is there any way we could have the capability (or option, not required) to be more like a modern "web browser game" with a couple of different interfaces that could be chosen, depending on how you wanted to play?  Everything right there on the web page could be at the noobs fingertips, while they are playing, without having to navigate around through different pages and telnet and all that jazz.  I imagine something like this would draw tons more players and make it a lot easier for new players to get into the game and figure things out.  
...

Yeah, this.

I have a friend I try to get to play, and though they are absurdly good at emoting and writing in general, and would make a fantastic addition to the game.. they need a little more help learning the interface and such, or maybe some tidbits to make life easier for them.

an enhanced web-based telnet client would give them that..

(we just have to make sure that we don't attract too many god-awful noobs that way. I think it should be possible)

[HunterKiller]

There's also an official Application page on facebook where you can play the game via a facebook app.   http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=144472147042

It has it's own wall (on the about page) which people could use to promote RPTs etc (hint hint).

I'm not done reading this thread so sorry if it's been suggested - a link to the arm board via the "Discussion" tab might not be a bad idea.

[Qzzrbl]

Courtesy of meganlara.com

This +1

Holy shit, this!

+1

[Wolfsong]

Courtesy of meganlara.com

This +1

Holy shit, this!

+1

+1

[HavokBlue]

Armageddon has pretty much nothing but positive mentions in the SomethingAwful thread about MUDs, but it isn't mentioned nearly as much as some other games. Someone with an account should get on that.

[Is Friday]

Dwarves are bald retards and elves are xenophobic thieves. Everyone is racist. Good stuff.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAA.

[Barzalene]

That's absolutely gorgeous.

[Reiteration]

Are we actually getting that website?

[3kanks]

I'm fishing at a writer's workshop I am a member of. I think they're all going to think I'm weird now.

[Aarlo]

I think we should add the Armageddon logo to the listing at TopMudSites. My eyes tend to pass right over the ones without a logo.

A logo would help the listing stand out, *especially* during the times when we are listed in the bottom half of the twenty. Only a few of those muds have logos next to their listings.

[Reiteration]

I think we should add the Armageddon logo to the listing at TopMudSites. My eyes tend to pass right over the ones without a logo.

A logo would help the listing stand out, *especially* during the times when we are listed in the bottom half of the twenty. Only a few of those muds have logos next to their listings.

I made a thread about that a bit ago, costs $60 for a year.

[Barzalene]

I'll give $20

[brytta.leofa]

And you have my bow.

[a strange shadow]

AND MY AXE!

(come on, you were asking for it.)

[Sam]

Sekrit Santa for Arm year?

[Reiteration]

I'll throw in $20.


$20 left.

I'm wondering if we might stand out more if the logo on TMS is set, much like the IRE games.

Is there any way we could set it to the thing on the front page?

We used to have a logo on TMS.  It costs $5 a month to keep it there.

Suggestion:  Donate $60 to the MUD with the stipulation that it only be used for the TMS icon.

However the problem still lies in contacting sanvean about the listing, since he was the one that registered it. If worse comes to worse we might have to re-list armageddon at the end of the month when the votes reset.

[brytta.leofa]

I'll give $20

And you have my bow.

AND MY AXE!

(come on, you were asking for it.)

I'll throw in $20.


$20 left.

Actually, I think that puts us at $ -20 left!

[Riev]

Protip: Sanvean, better known as Cat Rambo, is definitely not a dude.


Though, science is out on the subject still.

[Reiteration]

Protip: Sanvean, better known as Cat Rambo, is definitely not a dude.


Though, science is out on the subject still.

Wait, is sanvean the lady with the purple hair that made the podcasts?

[Wolfsong]

Protip: Sanvean, better known as Cat Rambo, is definitely not a dude.


Though, science is out on the subject still.

Wait, is sanvean the lady with the purple hair that made the podcasts?

Wrong again.

It's totally pink.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I'll donate $20 for it.

[Reiteration]

Thats the funding taken care of then, we just need to wait for the donation box to become operational again.

[brytta.leofa]

If one more person would donate, we could have two logos on TMC...

[Reiteration]

Two logos?

[brytta.leofa]

I'm just saying.

[Reiteration]

Code Select Expand

Personal Icon - ranking list - (32x32)
$5 per month or $30 for 7 months. An non-animated 32x32 gif/jpg of your choosing will appear next to your site on the ranking list.

Scratch that, let's go with $10 each for 7 months and see how that works.

[AreteX]

I went to a Games Workshop convention and found some people to hang out with after for dinner.

At dinner we all discussed games, Games Workshop(Warhammer ect) and others, D&D and things like that.  Well, two of the guys happened to play Armageddon.  They mentioned it because I mentioned MUDs in general.  I come from a PK mud background, but find the RPI Muds extremely rewarding in terms of story and just overall character attachment.

Either way, he explained how he was a sneaky assassin type, and involved in some plots ect ect.  It all sounded so awesome, I gave it a try.  Died in the desert(IM pretty sure I played a desert-elf back then, were they ever 0 karma?).

Well, I played a few characters, then came back a few years later.  But I would of never heard of Arm without that random encounter with people I've never met.  I love the mud though, its great.

I think one of the best locations to go for advertising would be Conventions that involve other roleplayers.


Exalted Conventions, D&D, Tabletops in general.  These are people who are committed to something, whether its glueing and painting models, or actual roleplaying/larping ect.  These are the people who would not just give Arm a try and say, "This is lame."   They would see the potential and stay.