Lately I see a lot of discussion on why the player base shrinks and why no new players come.
Among other things, there is a problem of new player not meeting any other players for some long time:
Of course, there is the "teleport to new char" feature. But you never know who the new char is: new player? returning one? just a secondary/temporary char of an active one? someone who wants to stay incognito?Katharina Ross wrote: ↑Wed Jul 04, 2018 11:49 am Lets say we keep 5 from those 100 people who make an account and try the game. I bet that at least 3 stop playing due to not meeting a single char within the first hour. Why is that? Because there is not "real" meeting point anymore...
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And you never know who (if at all) will be online when the newbie arrives.
One of the things that caught my attention on the discussion was:
And I thought, maybe something similar can help with the first problem.
I propose that on the "character creation" page of the website the would be 2 optoins:
- Independent creation - like now
- Guided creation - get advice on choices or find tutor characters
(The wording could be better)
The second option would give you a template to fill, something like (again, wording is not good enough):
So then this message will be sent to community managers (I've heard them saying they don't have much to do in this role ) or a similar role, who will try to help the noob, and connect him to a tutor if so desired.This message will be sent to someone who will help you with starting a new character in Illarion.
It may take up to <X days> till you get a reply.
If you want to start getting acquainted with the game meanwhile, you can create a temporary character through "Independent creation" option.
This communication is Out-Of-Character (As opposed to In-Character communication you will do in the game and on roleplay forum).
None of the questions below are mandatory, feel free to leave them unanswered, or write about things that are not mentioned.
Tell about yourself (the player):
Have you played Illarion before?
What kind of gameplay are you looking for? Relaxed roleplay? Tough battles? Becoming the strongest character in the game?
Do you want an experienced player to help and instruct you and your character? If yes, in what hours of day you might be online (including timezone)?
Tell about the character you wish to play:
What will be his/her profession?
What are his/her goals, dreams?
What about his/her past?
Race? Gender?
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The tutor will not see all what the player writes, the only ooc that noob-tutor should have is scheduling an ig meeting.
The other part of this proposal is communication between the CM and experienced players, so that the CM know who would accept an apprentice etc. Perhaps a dedicated forum branch, plus messages for secret/private details.
Pros:
- Doesn't prevent you to create chars as usual
- Increased chance that the created character would find his place in the world
- Increased chance that new players see some roleplay from the start
- I guess that this OOC talk would be performed in friendly atmosphere, so if a noob meets an unfriendly character in game (e.g. his tutor ) it won't scare him away.
Cons:
- Requires work from the CM (or whatever this role will be called), inluding a certain degree of availability
- If a player chooses this option and doesn't get responce, he may leave right away
- CM and tutor will have to deal with problematic players that would leave anyway (e.g. powergamers)
Issues:
- Requires some website developement
- Need to decide on the use of communication channels for this purpose: email, discord, forum.