Moving Forward & Feedback
›› ( Posted by: dystopia ) :: ( Posted On: March 9th, 2010 )
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve made a post here and I think it’s time to open up some communication with the members about features coming soon to CPN Groups as well as strategies to grow the community. First I’d like to touch on the news that we have received a check from adsense so we have some capital now to put into the site and how we use it is important, so feedback from the RPers is key on this, which I will come back to later. First one the agenda for site ideas is one to move the current main forums to a group like everyone else uses, the benefits of this would be there would finally be just one account for everything on CPN plus we could use that group as kinda a “community help group”. I’d like to know what everyone thinks about that idea, or what they would propose.
Now onto the important issue of how to spend the adsense money, the first thing that comes to mind is chatrooms, however as of right now there is a irc chat plugin for wordpress (which is what CPNs base code structure is) that I’m going to attempt to use so that the chats could actually be integrated into the groups. If that doesn’t work we will then probably start looking at other chat software, even though through that route actual integration probably won’t be possible, what’s important is that we get chatrooms here soon. We’d also really like some feedback about the groups service so far, we can’t make improvements if nobody gives us feedback so please let us know what you think.
Nexus Reflective Issue 5: Longevity
›› ( Posted by: caligo ) :: ( Posted On: March 1st, 2010 )
Keep that rpg alive!
The average lifespan for today’s rpgs is in the ballpark of two weeks. Needless to say, it’s a bit disheartening to see an rpg fizzle out after such a short time, when it often takes a month or two to put one together (sometimes longer). Even during the few weeks of activity, rpgs rarely reach the “fun level” that rpgs once did. What is wrong? Why aren’t rpgs being finished, and why aren’t they lasting as long as they should? This week, I’m going to take a look at a few key areas of forum rpgs and relate them to the longevity of the site.
One of the first things you can do to spark life into the site is create an interesting environment – people, places, story, etc. Make the environment as detailed as possible. Creating detail and fleshing out locations and setting really acts as a catalyst to the imagination of the players. Read the rest of this entry »
Nexus Reflective Issue 4: Story
›› ( Posted by: caligo ) :: ( Posted On: February 22nd, 2010 )
The Importance of Story
In video games like Halo, Gears of War, and FEAR, developers can get away with having a broad story, a nameless hero, cliché milestones and plots. There’s just one problem: a forum based roleplaying game is NOT these video games. Video games can get away with such bland stories because their focus is on the action – quick responding controls in a war time environment to make you feel like you are really playing that character and that you are really in that war. I like having story in my games, but it really depends on the game. I don’t mind trading a little story for a quicker pace if the game is meant to be an action shooter. In a forum based game, I don’t care how well your combat system is designed, you CANNOT reproduce the pace of an FPS, nor should you try to.
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Nexus Reflective Issue 3: What Do People Want?
›› ( Posted by: caligo ) :: ( Posted On: February 15th, 2010 )
What do people want?
I’ve been a little pressed for time this week, so I thought I’d take your responses (the few that I actually got) from the questionnaire I posted on the nexus forums a couple of weeks ago and forward them. Of course, I’m going to add my own answers into the mix.
Do you prefer Freeform or Stat?
Last weeks issue was on this subject, and I suppose it’s a subject which could carry on for a large number of issues. It’s a subject of much debate and many opinions. The majority of you stated that you prefer a good balance between a stat and a freeform system, with the scales tipped closer to the freeform side. This isn’t surprising. One comment stuck out though. Someone mentioned some stat systems seemingly requiring a college course in the rpg to understand. I can safely say I’ve never encountered such a system.
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