Ntell

[Cherek]

Well I dont know. It supposed to be a chat channel where we can talk of anything? Should it be in character or out of? Should it be moderated? Who should moderate it? Should things you say there have consequenses for your character in the game? Etc.

Is everything that shows "life" a good thing? Any type of activity is good? I dont know if I would like seeing a spammy chat channel where people talk about their laundry or whatnot. Probably would not make me want to play a game where I had been promised some form of role playing. But perhaps I am too oldschool... but arent we supposed to attract these kind of people? Who actually want _something else_ than MMORPGs without roleplay? I always felt we want to attract those who dont like WoW (for instance), rather than try to get those who do. (of course you can like both as well).

However in general I agree that things that make the world feel alive is generally good. But I think perhaps in this case there are better ways than a chat channel? Cant we be more creative? *think*

[Cherek]

Here are some facts for you Cherek.
The average genesis newbie that we MIGHT recruit is not a hardcore gamer.
And most likely wants something to play around with when he's got nothing better to do.. Like running the game in the background when at work.
Which is actually a way many people in genesis play now.

Oh and.. We wont ruin our "unique selling points" if there are some modern updates.

And these are facts based on actual new players you have talked to?

Or based on how yourself, and your friends in the current population, play the game?

And yes it is an honest question.

[Makfly]

Is everything that shows "life" a good thing? Any type of activity is good? I dont know if I would like seeing a spammy chat channel where people talk about their laundry or whatnot. Probably would not make me want to play a game where I had been promised some form of role playing. But perhaps I am too oldschool...

That's the thing, Cherek. I'd probably be like you, turn the chat-channel off and play in-character as best as I am able.
But I think the argument for doing more to show that there is life in the game is a very strong one. The game can be AWFULLY lonely, especially if you don't have real life friends you can talk to via skype etc.

So what if you or me won't use the chat much, would it really hurt our gaming experience, Cherek?

Personally I don't think a chat is innovative, but it doesn't need to be. It needs to fill a very basic need, namely the social aspect of playing a multiplayer game online.
I think it's pretty much a proven fact that what keeps players around, are other players. Therefore the social aspect of gaming needs to be present, no matter what type of player you are (roleplayer, killer, explorer etc)


A small reply to what Amberlee wrote:
I agree that there is a big chance that any new player Genesis might capture would be of a more casual kind, than what we had in the mid-90's. The gaming marked has become ALOT broader and alot more casual, than what it once was.
We saw it in Everquest, we see it in WoW via Real ID accounts - The expansion of who you can communicate with. First it was group and location only, then it spread to serverwide and cross-server communication.
That Genesis doesn't have a chat function is not, I think, a unique selling point, because we have it already, just in a restricted form. Some guilds can freely communicate with people across the realms, and we already have the newbie line. So it's not something unique and new, it's just a function that could be made available to everyone, that wants it.

[Cherek]

Makfly: I am not saying its good or bad really. I am saying we need to figure out of its something that actually is wanted be new players. Do they feel lonely? Or do they like being able to figure out things in their own pace? I dont know, do you?

And no, I do not believe in a completely free chat channel where we can talk about whats on TV and our laundry. I would not like it, even if I can turn it off. And as a new player I seriously doubt I would like it. I know I have tried other Muds but the chat channels have definitely made me less interested. It could be because I "grew up" with Genesis though, I dont know. The forum, the facebook chat, etc is perfectly fine for general talk I think, where do not use your character name to speak, and you dont need to reveal your character if you dont want to.

I kinda like this idea though, IF, we ever are going to have something chat-like at some point I would definitely would like to see something like this instead of an expanded ntell.

Personally I think that a simple chatline is a bad idea, it needs to be integrated within the game.
Make it a spell to send messages into this plane, where beings from all the realms can communicate through. Draw up some simple quest in Sparkle, as well as a bit of lore, to make it seem like more than a simple chat. Karcadelt could be the instigator of this, since he's already involved in magic and hangs around in Sparkle.

Makes me think of the obelisk quest, where you can communicate with others over distance in a pretty cool way.

That way it would also make sense to keep things RP-ish on the "channel" as well.

[Recoba]

Let me explain what I mean.

With the recruiting drive, I have been recommending the game to a lot of people I know and who play MMO:s. When they asked what it's about and why it's fun, I have described it as something different than what they are already playing, and that has peaked their interest.

Among the positive things that I have mentioned is that it is:
- Community-run.
- Roleplaying-oriented.
- In-character and immersive.
- Rich in tradition.

If I had told them that it's a text-based game with almost no players which tries to adapt more to the style of mainstream MMOs then all of these people would have lost interest, and also asked themselves if I had a personal financial stake in this or why otherwise I was wasting their time talking about it.

Without the unique features, "selling points", to make it interesting there is no way I would choose a game that is run by a part time staff of less than a dozen people and that never has more than 50 players online globally.

I have played and will play WoW, EvE, LotRO, Age of Conan, Battlefield and Elder Scrolls, all good games, and all very different from Genesis. The reason that I at all log in to Genesis is that it's different and has its own charm.

Obviously there are different types of players playing this game, and they will stay or leave for different reasons. Some want it to be more OOC, some want to keep it roleplaying-oriented, some want it to be more about stat-grinding, some want it to be more about guilds and conflict. But I am perfectly convinced that no new player will choose this game if it is loses its originality. Nor am I likely to keep playing it myself.

[Makfly]

Among the positive things that I have mentioned is that it is:
- Community-run.
- Roleplaying-oriented.
- In-character and immersive.
- Rich in tradition.

This is what I enjoy and want to further as well.

I just don't see the ability for more players to talk across the realms as something that needs to be twarted, even if I personally won't make much use of it.

By the way, the game didn't die when the old forum had a chat available, did it?
What's different by accessing a chat through your game client, than through your browser?
You can choose not to use it, others may it enjoy it.

It seems like a win with no loss to me, but all change is met with resistance, especially with a relatively old and entrenched community as this one.

[Cherek]

By the way, the game didn't die when the old forum had a chat available, did it?
What's different by accessing a chat through your game client, than through your browser?
You can choose not to use it, others may it enjoy it.

The difference is you do not have to use your character name in those chats. And I also liked them, as I think the Facebook chat is good too. And the forum itself. But if all conversation is moved to an ingame chat, those of us who want to speak "out of character" and remain in character in the game, will have no place to go?

I suppose... you could stay in character on the chat, or not, just as people do in the world in general.

But I would much more prefer it to be an RP-theme to it by default, and not a "chat". So people atleast would be encouraged to atleast stay somewhat in character and not talk about whats on TV. That is what the facebook chat is for imho. But thats me. This is of course hypothetically, if we did have a global messaging system. I am not sure we should have though.

[Greywolf]

Why does a chat line have to be heard by everyone? Maybe we just need more efficient, easier to access messengers that can reach multiple characters but not everyone. The sender could determine who gets the message.

[Rhaegar]

I believe that what's really needed (for newbies and biggies alike) is turning on/off the LFG flag and all players who have it on can be seen on a magical stone in Sparkle.

Bored? Want to socialize and kill stuff together? Go to Sparkle and check who's also willing to hunt in a pack!

[Laurel]

editing all my posts - I'm done