Wanted: Screenshot for promotion

[Estralis Seborian]

Dear Illarionites,
for an upcoming promotion campaign, the Illarion staff needs your support. To show potential players how Illarion looks like, screenshots are a common method. The current screenshots are fine, but The One screenshot that rules them all is not among them. Since we know you are creative people and would enjoy some more good players around, maybe you can help us out with a screenshot of the new client. Differing from the current screenshots, I set up some requirements for the perfect promotion screenshot:

• Use the latest client, no old screenshots, please
• All visible text has to be in english (the client, too!). If you want, you can create a german version, too, but no german-only version, please
• No self-named characters, no numbers, no "Somebody" or unknown characters
• Display full names (F12), names should be "stylish" (no "Bob", "Peter" and "Hannes" but "Sir Tharion", "Elthareon Linthilin", "Szerkar Zsharlem")
• Clear chat box - log out and log in again
• No OOC nowhere
• At least three characters of three different races and/or genders present - no two avatars should be of the same type
• No crowded mass scene
• No white-in-white winter scene
• Mild weather effects are OK, but not preferred
• Monsters or NPCs are optional
• Magic effects are welcome - but no "[ANC] ***********************", please
• All avatars have to be of "normal" sizes (no tiny elves and giant dwarves, please)
• The character names should appear in different colors (red, yellow, green, blue), you can achieve this by taking different object into the hands
• One character could say something remarkable, the speech bubble should "look good" (e.g. "Hail Sir Tharion, what news do you bear from the northern realms?") - all others stfu
• Perfect spelling and grammar in text
• There should be as much stuff around as possible - a building, a campfire, an item on the ground, different tiles,...
• The inventory should fit your race/gender/class. Do not put too many items into the bag and belt. No stacks of items except money, arrows, potions,... Use round numbers for stacks (e.g. 10 or 100)
• Move the mouse pointer out of the screen, no tool tip may be present
• Take the screenshot in fullscreen mode or just make a screenshot of the Illa-window (ALT-print)
• When you set up a good scene, take more than just one screenshot (e.g. 5), varying e.g. avatar position, shoot avatars while walking, one character says something,...
• No cutting or cropping of the screenshot, please! Submit it WITH inventory
• Save the screenshot as bmp; NO jpeg, please! You may present a compressed jpeg here, but save the original bmp
• If you submit screenshots here, do so as thumb (e.g. use imageshack.us)

Sites I have in mind for taking a good screenshot:

• Eldan Monastery
• Garden of the Seahorse
• Witch hut
• Maybe Glittering cave (Tol Vanima)
• Places with NPCs

Bad sites:

• Any workshop
• Library of TB
• Graveyard
• Dungeons
• Forests
• Inside a building

Thanks a lot!

Yours,
GM Estralis

PS: The screenshots submitted here do not fit the requirements

[The Returner]

Quite a list estralis, but your first sentence about showwing what illarion looks like doesen't quite fit the immense guidelines :/

[Kevin Lightdot]

I realise these do not fit what you really want, though I'm hoping it might give people some ideas for better screenshots.
Sadly I do not save screenshots with my inventory/paperdoll usually.

[Estralis Seborian]

Sure, many requirements, but most are pretty obvious, aren't they? Maybe I should take one myself to see how hard it is to meet the requirements.

[The Returner]

Sure, many requirements, but most are pretty obvious, aren't they? Maybe I should take one myself to see how hard it is to meet the requirements.

Oh dont get me wrong, its not the requirements, the requirements are fine. But your trying to promote a game with blatant false advertising by regulating how it will get advertised by using a means of limitation. You should be more focused on getting a screenshot that shows the real community of illarion, not some false eden that nobody will ever encounter in the actual game, right?

[pharse]

Do you really think that any ad shows you the reality? It always shows you an ideal or exaggerated situation.

That screenshot is to make people click on the link to the Illarion website, that they know it exists! Anybody who is slightly interested will do his second click on the screenshot link at the top right of the homepage. Anybody who is still interested in the game will create an account or read some stuff.

That's all we want, don't we?

[Lance Thunnigan]

Sure, many requirements, but most are pretty obvious, aren't they? Maybe I should take one myself to see how hard it is to meet the requirements.

Why don't you just do it all yourself then.
;]

I myself usually get things done quicker when I do them, than when I let someone else.

[Gryphius]

Since these complex requirements are highly unlikely to be met by coincidence, breaking character is almost imperative to stage such a scene - could become a nuisance in public places, since the assembled characters would barely be open to RP, let alone the issues coordinating a scene with multiple chars involved. I'd suggest these screeners to be made via GM-driven IG-photoshootings: Cast the talent, pick the location, place a warning on the Quest-Index to stay clear of that region, since heavy ooc-exchange is to be expected, and compose the scene by the numbers. Then usable results would be almost guaranteed. If thouroughly prepared in advance, multiple scenes could be staged within one evening.

Since you have very precise ideas, Estralis, i'd suggest you to be the photographer.

You should be more focused on getting a screenshot that shows the real community of illarion, not some false eden that nobody will ever encounter in the actual game, right?

Advertising screenshots always depict the game in idealistic fashion: They are to show how the content can look like in its very best moments. Every back cover of any random game you can purchase is structured that way, so why do it differently here? Some back covers even showed graphics and scenes not appearing in the contained product - in this regard, the screeners asked for here are pretty straightforward, since they invent nothing new. The additional Screenshots on the HP will stay on, too, i assume.

[Estralis Seborian]

I'll shoot a screenshot today. Maybe this acts as "jump start" for your creativity (that is what I lack!).

Why don't you just do it all yourself then.

Because I still hope the community of this game wants to help my efforts to attract new players.

[Faladron]

Just collect ideas and use the Testserver for that?

[Kevin Lightdot]

I propose an "ooc day" (Though not exactly a whole day), ingame at certain locations for screenshots?

Basicly it's like a little quest to get the awesomest screenshots.

[Misjbar]

Exactly what I was thinking. Get a lot of people together, look at their names, races, take whatever you need, and coordinate them.

Don't know who is going to lead it, but that is actually the best thing you can do in this case. (yay for Kevin)

[Kevin Lightdot]

Here are a few battle ideas(because let's face it, battle is generally the most interesting to look at on a screenshot, however you might want to add peaceful scenes too for those who do not like to fight.)
Red being fighters, green archers, blue mages, grey skellies, brown mummies, pink demon skellies, big pink dot necro, big black dot demon.


Here, in the graveyard, just before the demon skelly room, the numerous undead are pounding on the remains of the army from all sides, they must breach the gate to provide a small enough passage so the undead can not come all at once. They are about to be seriously owned by more approaching dead, the elite start their assault on the gate to get this, not only must they destroy the undead but they must do it quick.

(perhaps more demon skelly gate guards, kind of depends on the amount of fighters and all)




The gate is breached, they must quickly push inward to make room for their retreating forces behind them.
Several men die and only the bravest of heroes remain to challange the demon and the necromancers that controle all the dead pounding the few gate defenders left and attacking the isle.

(also on the isle there could be a big losing and mostly uncoordinated struggle in the city of Trollsbane, the force dispatched to the graveyard must take out those controling the undead so that the city and it's denizens may be preserved. And as they start their struggle in the last room the dead breach the city gates, massive retreat into the buildings, yet a few remain to face their death and keep the undead at bay long enough for the others to escape now that the retreat has been sounded.)



Big pvp battle, here blue is just breaking through red's defence.


To make sure enough people would come, it might be a good idea to disable skill loss upon death and to replace the items of those who lost theirs(or give everyone a set of items to use at the start, though that would take long to arrange.)
Perhaps some magic weapons might also be lended to the big heroes, adding some magic strike effects to the screenshots(or movie, alternatively?).

[LifeWonder]

Your idea smacks the ground since there's no way in a screenshot to tell whether someone is an archer, fighter, druid or ball-scratcher, really.

[Kevin Lightdot]

Your idea smacks the ground since there's no way in a screenshot to tell whether someone is an archer, fighter, druid or ball-scratcher, really.

There is the animation of shooting an arrow, swinging a sword, ect?
And there is the char name colour?

If someone is willing to record a movie with lots of fps and high quality too of this there are bound to be some good frames in it.

[pharse]

no two avatars should be of the same type

Your ideas do not fulfill this requirement. An overcrowded scene is not good anyway. There are some on the actual screenshot page.

[Kevin Lightdot]

I just drew some dots as an example, there could be less or more of them.

And 2 avatars looking the same in something big is not a very big problem I would think.
This is mostly to show a certain strategic element in the game.

[LifeWonder]

I can try to make a promotional 30 seconds (or so) video.. but it won't be that exciting.. :/ There's not particularly amazing graphics on Illarion..

[Estralis Seborian]

Mistakes: Cursor, "?", screenshot not taken in fullscreen mode (my computer didn't like that idea) - too few items on the ground, no magic effect, wheat in wrong cycle.



But all in all, such a screenshot would be fine!

[LifeWonder]

Mistakes: Cursor, "?", screenshot not taken in fullscreen mode (my computer didn't like that idea) - too few items on the ground, no magic effect, wheat in wrong cycle.



But all in all, such a screenshot would be fine!

I don't like it.

If I see the screenshot of a game where someone's going: "Behold! Sir Thalion is approaching from the North!" I'm gonna go 'smile it.' and download a shooter.

[The Returner]

perhaps your playing the wrong game LifeWonder.

[Estralis Seborian]

Better?

[Misjbar]

Brilliant Estralis. =D

[Vern Kron]

In both you are talking in language that is not usually present and not really welcomed IG. Sure, you could talk in deep flowery stuff, but how many people are going to want to say "Halt Dantagon! You hath slain the citizens and now I shall avenge them!"
Or instead "Dantagon stop! You killed all the citizens! I won't let you get away with it!"
Or best "AYAYAYAYAYAYAAA!"

[LifeWonder]

perhaps your playing the wrong game LifeWonder.

Perhaps you should learn not to be so shallow. (This goes for Estralis too)

Stereotyping medieval roleplay with Shakespearian and flowery talk is really annoying and makes people not interested in a game, I speak from experience.

[LifeWonder]

In both you are talking in language that is not usually present and not really welcomed IG. Sure, you could talk in deep flowery stuff, but how many people are going to want to say "Halt Dantagon! You hath slain the citizens and now I shall avenge them!"
Or instead "Dantagon stop! You killed all the citizens! I won't let you get away with it!"
Or best "AYAYAYAYAYAYAAA!"

There.

Thank you Arty-warty.

[Juliana D'cheyne]

I don't mind the "flowery" because some chars may elect to talk that way, however if I actually see the leet on a screen shot I usually assume terrible RP and go no further. IMO some screenshots can be "flowery" and some the way most talk on Illa....giving examples of both can't hurt, it is not as if we are going to have only one screenshot.

[LifeWonder]

The leet talk on the second screenshot was Estralis trying to prove a point which he didn't really manage to, don't worry, I doubt it'll be used to promote Illa.

[Estralis Seborian]

*sighs*
I miss constructive input here. The promotional screenshot is ment to attract certain players. If you are not among those players, it is ok.

The shown screenshot is a "proof of concept". It is not perfect. Make concrete proposals how to improve it.

The language used was an example. "AYAYAYAYAYA" won't find its way into a promotional screenshot, it is not ment to be a display how Illarion really looks like ingame. Feel free to suggest a better dialogue, less "flowery" - but still "stylish" enough to attract the intended audience. Or just take a screenshot yourself .

I doubt the dialogue really matters that much - people will take a brief look at the screenshot and judge the graphics and the overall look of the client. Those who read the whole dialogue were not spoiled off in first place and chance is high they check out the game anyway. But the intended audience would be scared off by leet or bad grammar - not because they think the game looks like this but because they think the developers of this game give a shit about how a promotional screenshot looks like.

[Damien]

Estralis' first one is alright. And Estralis, i do think the dialogue does matter, at least somewhat.
Remember that the screenie will "represent" illarion. It will affect the type of people coming here, and it will affect how these people BEHAVE !

If you want to attract the typical "standard", non-RP-behaving mmorpg player, a screenshot without any rp-ed, medieval-ish/theatralic speech is alright. But if that is what we want, we can forget about roleplaying.

If you want to attract people talking leet, Estralis' second fun screenie would do, of course.

But if you want to attract people who think that they might find some actual roleplaying here, or who even will roleplay, the first one Estralis posted is defnitely the best suitable one.

Flame me if you wish, but illarion once was supposed to be a roleplaying game where people needed a little bit maturity and a little acting skill.
But even though it's far away from that now and even though the average player age seems to have gone down alot, let's at least try to keep the general direction that way.
Do it old-school-RP-style.