Voting accountability for February

[Nyr]

It's pretty simple.  We've got the playerbase to dominate voting in TMC and stay at number 1.  We also have the playerbase to dominate voting in TMS and at least stay in the top 3 or 4.  Does this matter?  It gets us new accounts in the door.  We've tracked this for months.  The higher the voting, the more new accounts created.  The more new accounts created, the more people that actually get into the game.  The more people that actually get into the game, the more people get hooked...and stay.  With a focus on voting last year that was (for the most part) rather middle of the road as far as effort went, we managed to increase our year over year new player retention by more than 50%.  To maintain that effort, we need to do at least as good as we did last year.

There are other areas of improvement that can be addressed.  One possibility is surveys to those that spend a legitimate amount of time but do not ultimately stay...hopefully we can get feedback on the little things. 

Other possibilities include funneling starting options into player interaction opportunities.  While this may be a sticking point with some veterans, the fact remains that it is less likely to run into a player in some parts of the gameworld.  The interaction WITH players in this game is what we believe draws in the players that "stick" (this is based on a few independent reviews by a couple of different staffers on metrics).  We will continue to research this and find out what we can do that would increase the chances of a new player interacting with other players and getting looped in properly.  This may be small stuff or big stuff.

However, while we on staff can work on those things...you guys, the awesome players that create those interactions...can help far more by increasing the amount of new people coming in the door.  The best way to do that is to vote and to tell friends.  There's usually at least 30-40 people that try the game each month that come from a personal contact, after all!

Some have mentioned voting reminder apps, or even opt-in stuff where you get reminded of when the last time it was you voted, or something like that.  We'll look into something for that.  While I can't write one, there are plenty of reminder applications out there that you can install on mobile devices.  Even your basic calendar application on your typical smart phone can be told to remind you to do something at a certain time each day.  Make two of those reminders, one for the morning, one for the evening, and you're good to go for TMS and TMC.

So really...are you willing to give it a shot and do what you can to help out?  Do you have ideas?  This thread is for that, too, but let's get ready and prepare for February.  There will be a reset on February 1 at midnight for both TMS and TMC.  That's on February 1, 12:00 AM Eastern time, meaning you can vote your first time anytime between 12:00 AM and 12:00 PM Eastern on February 1 and have that first vote count, getting a leg up on our competition.

(anyway, also vote for this month, too...there are 8 days left!)

[TheWanderer]

Dat TMC registration. I was like, "I got dis  ," and then I was like,  , but then after deducing that the answer was hidden in the bold print, I was like,  . I don't know if everybody's gonna pass that - we're not all gifted with my detective skills.

[Desertman]

Have we considering putting a "How to get started" video tutorial on Youtube and linking the video to the main page?

It could have someone give a little talk about Armageddon, what it is, who we are. Then it could show new players how to create a character, from start to finish, what not to do in order to not get rejected...etc...etc....And then what to do when they first enter the game. What pitfalls to avoid, and what basic commands they should get under their belt in order to get off on the right foot.

Yes, we are a text based MUD, which is old school, but we live in a video age. Let's get the kiddies in with a video and a step-by-step and once they are hooked we can ask them to read our ten thousand pages of docs.  

The walkthrough on creating a character alone would be worth its weight in new players in my opinion. After bringing in more new folks than I can count, I can tell you that me writing their first characters for them was often the difference between them never even trying, and them at least giving it a try.

That first rejection is sometimes all they need to say, "Screw it, I'm going back to WoW."

It could also show them where to go to create a GDB account etc..etc..We also live in an age where gaming is another form of human social interaction. I can tell you I have four people right now who prefer playing WoW to Armageddon, just because they feel they get no social interaction in this game because of our strict OOC and IC rules. Getting them into the "community" would go a long way in making them feel like they are doing more than sitting alone playing with people they can't really interact with and have no connection to.

[LittleLady]

Personally, TMC has been giving me issues over a lost password for months now. They just will not respond to inquires about why their automated system will not work.

I do, however, make sure to vote twice a day on TMS, and will continue to do so.

[Nyr]

Personally, TMC has been giving me issues over a lost password for months now. They just will not respond to inquires about why their automated system will not work.

I do, however, make sure to vote twice a day on TMS, and will continue to do so.

It took years for them to accept a logo; this behavior does not surprise me.  Will they let you make a new account?

Have we considering putting a "How to get started" video tutorial on Youtube and linking the video to the main page?

It could have someone give a little talk about Armageddon, what it is, who we are. Then it could show new players how to create a character, from start to finish, what not to do in order to not get rejected...etc...etc....And then what to do when they first enter the game. What pitfalls to avoid, and what basic commands they should get under their belt in order to get off on the right foot.

Yes, we are a text based MUD, which is old school, but we live in a video age. Let's get the kiddies in with a video and a step-by-step and once they are hooked we can ask them to read our ten thousand pages of docs. 

The walkthrough on creating a character alone would be worth its weight in new players in my opinion. After bringing in more new folks than I can count, I can tell you that me writing their first characters for them was often the difference between them never even trying, and them at least giving it a try.

That first rejection is sometimes all they need to say, "Screw it, I'm going back to WoW."

It could also show them where to go to create a GDB account etc..etc..We also live in an age where gaming is another form of human social interaction. I can tell you I have four people right now who prefer playing WoW to Armageddon, just because they feel they get no social interaction in this game because of our strict OOC and IC rules. Getting them into the "community" would go a long way in making them feel like they are doing more than sitting alone playing with people they can't really interact with and have no connection to.

We need someone with a wonderfully rich speaking voice and video skills...who wouldn't mind having that sort of content used.  I don't think there's really a problem with someone creating a test account with staff assistance to do a video walkthrough of this process.

[Desertman]

Personally, TMC has been giving me issues over a lost password for months now. They just will not respond to inquires about why their automated system will not work.

I do, however, make sure to vote twice a day on TMS, and will continue to do so.

It took years for them to accept a logo; this behavior does not surprise me.  Will they let you make a new account?

Have we considering putting a "How to get started" video tutorial on Youtube and linking the video to the main page?

It could have someone give a little talk about Armageddon, what it is, who we are. Then it could show new players how to create a character, from start to finish, what not to do in order to not get rejected...etc...etc....And then what to do when they first enter the game. What pitfalls to avoid, and what basic commands they should get under their belt in order to get off on the right foot.

Yes, we are a text based MUD, which is old school, but we live in a video age. Let's get the kiddies in with a video and a step-by-step and once they are hooked we can ask them to read our ten thousand pages of docs.  

The walkthrough on creating a character alone would be worth its weight in new players in my opinion. After bringing in more new folks than I can count, I can tell you that me writing their first characters for them was often the difference between them never even trying, and them at least giving it a try.

That first rejection is sometimes all they need to say, "Screw it, I'm going back to WoW."

It could also show them where to go to create a GDB account etc..etc..We also live in an age where gaming is another form of human social interaction. I can tell you I have four people right now who prefer playing WoW to Armageddon, just because they feel they get no social interaction in this game because of our strict OOC and IC rules. Getting them into the "community" would go a long way in making them feel like they are doing more than sitting alone playing with people they can't really interact with and have no connection to.

We need someone with a wonderfully rich speaking voice and video skills...who wouldn't mind having that sort of content used.  I don't think there's really a problem with someone creating a test account with staff assistance to do a video walkthrough of this process.

I am not this guy sadly.

I'm not sure East Texas Redneck is really the accent we want doing the voiceover for our game.

Anyone with one of those fancy European/Lord of The Rings accents care to volunteer to do this?

Fantasy buffs love those things.

[Barzalene]

I would do it but all I have is a light Brooklyn accent.

[Desertman]

Ummm, having a female voice is just as good/better actually.

Why do you think they pay models to represent games at Dragon Con?

It brings in nerds by the droves to think there are girlies playing the game, and a female voice also opens up the window to the girl gamers who don't want to join the "make me a sammich" community. (It makes it more welcoming to female gamers.)

A female European accent would be ideal.

[Nyr]

I would do it but all I have is a light Brooklyn accent.

Having a few intros doesn't sound like a bad idea either.  Really could have a few versions from different people with different accents, too.

[Desertman]

I would do it but all I have is a light Brooklyn accent.

Having a few intros doesn't sound like a bad idea either.  Really could have a few versions from different people with different accents, too.

That is a good idea. 

[LittleLady]

Personally, TMC has been giving me issues over a lost password for months now. They just will not respond to inquires about why their automated system will not work.

I do, however, make sure to vote twice a day on TMS, and will continue to do so.

It took years for them to accept a logo; this behavior does not surprise me.  Will they let you make a new account?

I only have the one email address, so unless I feel like signing up for a whole new email account, no. It's just been a nightmare, and I really didn't want to have a seperate email just for TMC.

[ShaLeah]

Email accounts are free. No excuses!

Ghostymudy with his deep bass British accent would be fabulous for a video. Why not use James' video? We could write a story and he could narrate it. Barz's voice is mint too, hell, most of the voices I've heard in Teamspeak are pleasing to the ear.

Maybe we can have a contest for the best narrative in the time span of the video, they can get an Arm tshirt or something?

Edited to add the links.

[Barzalene]

What about the YouTube video equivalent of a webcomic?
with a cast of voices.

[Malken]

Er, I voted 'no' by mistake.. That'll teach me to try and vote at 6am from bed on my ipad.

So - 1 no + 1 yes!

[Hicksville Hoochie]

My schedule tends to be rather wonky, so I never know if the multiple times a day I click TMS actually gets two votes out of me, but I definitely give it at least one a day, and a daily vote on TMC. So I'll continue to do so in February too. 

[Desertman]

Web comics and cool narrative stories are great....

But I was thinking of a video to actually help new players get started with playing the game from the technical side of things.

[Barzalene]

Web comics and cool narrative stories are great....

But I was thinking of a video to actually help new players get started with playing the game from the technical side of things.

I know. I just got a little overenthusiastic.

[Nyr]

By the way, one of the things I wished to point out with this thread was how many people could actually choose to vote for something within a given period of time, even if it was to say "no."

We have 22 total separate votes.  Averaging it by hour over the course of a month, had we had this many people voting on TMS twice per day prorated up until 2:00 PM today, we would be in 5th place with about 980 votes and about to take 4th place (all other things being equal).

And on the other side of the coin, if we take out the three legitimate "no" votes, we would now be at 9th place.  So those of you that said no, that'd be the difference between 5th and 9th.  This is how much your vote matters!

[ShaLeah]

Web comics and cool narrative stories are great....

But I was thinking of a video to actually help new players get started with playing the game from the technical side of things.

The tall, muscular man series: How Amos got his start.

Like the sweedish guy did you mean? But with actual going through newbie land?

[Desertman]

Web comics and cool narrative stories are great....

But I was thinking of a video to actually help new players get started with playing the game from the technical side of things.

The tall, muscular man series: How Amos got his start.

Like the sweedish guy did you mean? But with actual going through newbie land?

It took me a minute, and then I remembered the sweed.

Yes, like that heh.

[Barzalene]

Web comics and cool narrative stories are great....

But I was thinking of a video to actually help new players get started with playing the game from the technical side of things.

The tall, muscular man series: How Amos got his start.

Like the sweedish guy did you mean? But with actual going through newbie land?

It took me a minute, and then I remembered the sweed.

Yes, like that heh.

Fin

[LauraMars]

Come on, people.  Swede, not sweed.  And spfnym isn't Swedish, anyway.  I still follow him on youtube!

I vote every day.

[williamson]

Come on, people.  Swede, not sweed.  And spfnym isn't Swedish, anyway.  I still follow him on youtube!

I vote every day.

The handsome sweed is here, collecting player complaints.

Just teasing all you OCDers. I'm going to start voting twice a day too.

[ShaLeah]

Come on, people.  Swede, not sweed.  And spfnym isn't Swedish, anyway.  I still follow him on youtube!

I vote every day.

The handsome sweed is here, collecting player complaints.

Just teasing all you OCDers. I'm going to start voting twice a day too.

I totally laughed out loud.

[Malken]

I think that those who voted 'no' don't necessarily really hate the mud or forget to vote, maybe they have another favorite mud that they vote for, or maybe they are Staff on other muds as well (I know a couple of Arm players who are staff on other muds that they vote for).. IT HAPPENS.