Task 3 - Initial Work

Rationale

For my project I will be attempting to design an aspect of advertising for a computer game. I have chosen the game and the advertising will be a sort of web based slide show that tries to show off the aspects of the game that potential customers might be most interested to see.

In order to create this I will be asking people to fill out questionnaire's and investigating already practised forms of game advertising. I shall be asking primarily into what type of player I'm trying to reach and what sort of styles would be most fitting to reach this end.

The idea of this web slide show is to promote the game quickly, effectively and without forcing the user to trawl for detail himself. This is also a perfect platform for advertising very selectively. Leaving out information or spinning information that has driven old users away. The game I have chosen has many downfalls and is currently supporting it's slowly dwindling numbers on old faithful players with very few new comers. Any accounts made again are almost entirely made up from returning users. This shall play a major aspect in the advertisement, trying to persuade old users that the game is worth returning to.

In respect to the design of this presentation I will be using the already established theme of the game and be making it in flash to allow for the greatest use of visual styling and clean modern look the game needs so sorely.

Questionnaire

How old are you? Circle one

10 and under / over 10 – 15 / 15 – 19 / 20 – 29 / 30 and over

What gender are you? Circle one

Male / Female

What top 5 features do you look for in a massively online multiplayer role playing game? (MMORPG)

1. 
   

2. 
   

3. 
   

4. 
   

5. 
   
   

Do you prefer a game to be complex or simplistic? Circle one

Simple / Complex / Not bothered

Do you like your games to feature mature content. Gore and the like? Circle one

Yes / No / Not bothered

Do you look for good graphics in a game?

Yes / No / Not bothered

Do you look for a game that will run smoothly on your computer?

Yes / No / Not bothered

Is player versus player combat important in an MMORPG?

Yes / No / Not bothered

What is your favourite MMORPG?

.........................................

What my Questionnaire Returned

In my questionnaire I tried to determine what would be the best things to advertise and in what order they should be advertised on this web based feature's slide show.

The age rage is primarily from 15-19 on the questionnaire but on asking players within the game how old they were the reply was mostly between 20-30 with some exceptions leading to almost 50!

Features that the questionnaire determined as being the most sought after were a large player base most of all and a particular attention to the player versus player detail of the game. Both aspects are not unique when it comes to a massively multiplayer online role playing game such as this but in any cases are usually some of the most important aspects to focus on.

Another item raised by the questionnaire that bares particular importance to this game is the fact that advancement past the highest attained level should be important. This is very important especially to this game as it's going to be aiming a lot at returning old users. Advertising the advancement the game has made recently to show of what new points of interest the game has to offer and what the old users might not have tried yet.

As with most MMORPG's this game is one that updates it's content on a fairly regular basis with new expansions being released along side continually added features and fixes.

Players of Dark Age of Camelot are on the whole of the older age range and on the whole enjoy a game that is complex to play and tricky to master. This is something Dark Age of Camelot does offer. This game is not for someone who has a dislike for number crunching and tactics. However, this isn't something that most new users would be looking for in a game so this is something that I shall be practising selective advertising on. I will however mention in an under hand way that the game does feature many customizations that require some serious thinking. Hopefully in a fashion that most new users might overlook.

All the questionnaire's returned that users look for a game that runs smoothly on their computers, this is something Dark Age of Camelot does achieve and something I will be making a particular note of.

The greatest thing this game does feature is it's attention to the player versus player combat aspects. It's taken the idea of combating players to a previously unforeseen level, especially with new and recently released features.

The Games

The questionnaire returned 4 favourite games. Only three mostly due to the fact that the only people I had available to me to ask in person were people I have met before. The trend of games tends to circle close when it comes to acquaintances of mine.

The four games were:
Ultima Online

World of Warcraft

Jennifer Nation

Dark Age of Camelot

Ultima Online:

This game has been around since the dawn of time, it's one of the first of it's kind and boasts still some of the most immersive game play your likely to meet. Since the good old days Ultima Online has changed little and yet still maintains a good honest (and somewhat ageing) player base mostly consisting of over 30's.

The features it likes to press the most is it's age, this is something Dark Age can't rival but it is something it can say it has of it's own. Dark Age has been around a long time and has created some new unique concepts that other games are now trying to copy.

In particular to Ultima Online, and what in most cases keeps the players it has, is it's sense of community. The servers (or shards, as MMO's like them to be called) are quite small compared to modern standards and at the most will never have more than a few hundred players on at a time. Dark Age can support well in excess of a thousand players.

World of Warcraft

We've all heard of it and like it or not it is massively popular among most age groups. It's a trendy game that's loaded with features. However the thing that let's this game down is it's complete lack of depth. Once you've hit the top that's really where you stop and most players don't even reach that before they get bored of the linear and repetitive gaming.

Dark Age can't be rivalled on it's features beyond it's maximum level, in fact a lot of players even loath it but it is something that new players don't consider and old players would be interested in. Dark Age tries to cling onto the players it has by enforcing how much there is to do for players that think they've almost got it all covered.

Jennifer Nation

This sweet little game isn't really much to do on. It's a role playing web browser game that features no player avatar and instead is a micro management game based on moral dilemma's. I shan't be looking any closer at this.

Dark Age of Camelot

I shall cover this in a different section.

What I Need to Include

Aspects:

Player versus player combat:

This featured highly on the questionnaire, more or less everyone requested it.

Customizations (Character development)

Player classes, character statistics and the sort of play styles available

Player presence (Character building)

In a massively multiplayer online game with many other players being an individual is hard and a game that promotes a large sense of unique presence is usually onto a winner. This was something that came up as being quite important in my questionnaire.

Quests

Questing is an integral part of role playing games, it's something they all have in common in whatever forms they take. DAoC is no exception with massive amounts being churned out and a recently released expansion dedicated to quests among other things.

Groups of players

The questionnaire showed that people are after a game that features the ability to 'group' with other players to participate in events. Dark Age has this down to a fine art with many grouping features. This is something I'm going to play on as an MMO is often very group orientated.

Graphics

Dark Age is an old game and it's graphics were becoming outdated but it's managed to stay ahead of the competition in many ways by keeping itself updated with the recent remodelling of many in game elements. I think I'll have to have a slide dedicated to the graphics that it shows off best.

Size of the player base

MMO's are about the players, Dark Age although dwindling since it's prime day's has managed to boost per server player bases by merging servers and combing certain area's with other servers. A server in the US will never have any less than 300 online and will usually push at least 5 or 6 hundred. Populations often reach in excess of one thousand and can even get as high as two or three thousand at peaks.

Item craft system

One questionnaire mentioned they liked MMO's with an item craft system for players. This is something I'm fond of as well, it introduces dynamic economics and adds a whole new dimension to what's going on in the game. A game such as this orientates itself on the dynamism of the virtual world, this is a great way to invoke this emerged and dynamic feeling we crave.

Story

The defined game story is often unimportant or at least mostly ignored by players who prefer to focus more on the player orientated events and plots. However, a plot of at least some description is often required to give the game direction and let players know what's going on.

Online continuous play

A gaming world that doesn't sleep, it's something that all MMO's will boast and something that DAoC doesn't lack. Once your character logs off the game doesn't end, players continue the plot and events still take place even in your absence. This should be made well known in the slide.