Re: Online games vs. PBM, was: For PBM game moderators

From: Enno Rehling <enno@despammed.com>

Date: Thu, 06 Feb 2003 08:18:19 +0000

Paul Walker wrote:
> On 05 Feb 2003 12:41:24 GMT, MadCentral wrote:
>
>>I've found many young gamers to be very disatisfied with the games they've
>>experienced online. Once they get past the pretty colours and 3-D they
>>don't find much actual *game* underneath.  In the end, it is the meat of
>
> In some support of that - although it's not an online game - there was a
> study in America recently which found that the third most popular game
> actually played regularly, as opposed to just run a few times, was Snood
> (http://www.snood.com/). A shareware game, written by one guy, with average
> graphics and sound.

I think that fancy graphics are important, but not all-important. To create
a large customer base from the start, graphics are probably the most
important aspect. Marketing gets so much easier when your game looks
terriffic. But if you're dependent on the players coming back to you for a
long time, gameplay becomes much more important. You can see that in
MMORPGS: At launch, their graphics must be top-notch, to create a critical
mass that will help you stay afloat (around launch, the company's account is
usually drained for money). Once they are in, they'll need compelling
reasons to stay - and in this kind of game, just like in PBMs, the qwuality
of the gameplay, not the graphcs, is what makes them stay. People still play
Ultima Online today, Lineage is rumored to have about a million customers
alone, Everquest has several hundred thousands. All these games have
graphics far inferior to newer titles, but the critical mass of players
combined with fun gameplay keep them alive. And successfull expansions
mostly focus on adding gameplay, not graphics.

Mad, you should remember that you've got a big advantage over people who
start in this genre: You've got a name and a reputation, as well as a loyal
customer base. People know that your games have great gameplay, something
they don't know about new games entering the market - it's hard to judge new
titles on gameplay because nobody has experience, so people use other
criteria, like graphics, instead. What woprks for you may not work for them.

I believe that a grpahical client for a PBM game can be extremely helpful in
generating a lot of players for a new game, even non-PBM players. But it's
the gameplay that makes them stay.

But in the end, as norwegians say, great graphics are a bit like pissing in
your pants: You get a warm feeling in the beginning, but it lasts a very
short time.

Enno.
--
I like deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by --
Douglas Adams

References

Re: For PBM game moderators
"Ryan S. Johnson" <dowrie@guildofblades.com>
Wed, 05 Feb 2003 06:11:20 +0000
Re: For PBM game moderators
madcentral@aol.com (MadCentral)
Wed, 05 Feb 2003 12:41:24 +0000
Re: For PBM game moderators
Paul Walker <usenet@blacksun.org.uk>
Thu, 06 Feb 2003 01:49:50 +0000

Referenced By

Re: For PBM game moderators
"Ryan S. Johnson" <dowrie@guildofblades.com>
Wed, 05 Feb 2003 06:11:20 +0000
Re: For PBM game moderators
madcentral@aol.com (MadCentral)
Wed, 05 Feb 2003 12:41:24 +0000
Re: For PBM game moderators
Paul Walker <usenet@blacksun.org.uk>
Thu, 06 Feb 2003 01:49:50 +0000