Note: As difficult as Verant is finding it to get up servers as fast as they
get new players, maybe player retention is NOT their highest priority. There
are cases where you don't WANT as much business as you have got. I know I
have left organizations in the past because they got Too Big. The
organization as a whole would have done better to discourage people from
joining so that those present could have more fun.
Do not assume More always = better.
Verant may be interested in ending up with a solid player base of people who
want to play the same type of game that THEY want to put out. NOT just in
ending up with a huge player base. They very likely would be just as happy
if many of the IDIOTS out there who don't want to play their game would just
go away.
(I've seen some of the types of questions/complaints Guides get. There are
some people out there you have to wonder why they are playing Everquest)
>-----Original Message-----
>From: James Schuldes [mailto:jgs@...]
>Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 11:27 AM
>To: 'eqbards@onelist.com'
>Subject: RE: [eqbards] Re:Re: Guise of the Deceiver (Longish)
>
>
>From: James Schuldes <jgs@...>
>
>The 'absolute' part is debatable - imho. We have heard snippets of "we
>were shocked that players got level 50 in xx days played..." makes me think
>that they (Verant) are concerned with 'how hard' it is to make levels, etc.
>Like why have hell levels? If they want to have some kind of milestone, it
>should be a positive re-enforcement - not a negative. If they want to
>retain players, that is. More than half of my friends who I started this
>game with have pretty much ended their EQ careers because it got to be just
>too hard (and too boring) to make progress. In short, it was no fun any
>more. A few others have made level 50 - the level of nothing to do. And so
>they re-start chars in other classes.
>
>Here are 2 scenarios:
>
>EQ-X: hard to play. Serious players make lev 50. It takes you 6 months of
>concentrated playing. You start a couple twinks and play them to upper 20's
>and a new game comes out somewhere else that is more fun than then next 10
>levels killing aviaks. So you semi-retire your 50 and maybe do occasional
>dragons. But then you get sick of all the guild email about stuff
>you don't
>care for and you quit.
>
>EQ-Z: fun to play. Still quite a challenge but acceptable to the
>people who
>want to play 2 or 3 hours at a session and still do pretty good. So they
>make level 50 in 5 months. And then start a new char of a different class
>or try a char on a Race War team or PvP server. Things are challenging but
>still fun - not frustration. So they get this next char to 50 in 3 months.
>And then they decide to start another char and see if they can do
>it without
>twinking and do some role playing. Now they are good for another couple
>months.
>
>Retention rate of your customer base is gonna depend on the fun
>factor - and
>that will be the 'absolute' of all absolutes. This is after all the
>entertainment business. When it's no longer entertaining, you are out of
>business.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: kim@... [mailto:kim@...]
> Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 1:07 PM
> To: 'eqbards@onelist.com'
> Subject: RE: [eqbards] Re:Re: Guise of the Deceiver
>(Longish)
>
> From: <kim@...>
>
> The problem with adding/removing things purely on the basis
>of
> "fun" is that for the most part, it looks at only the
>relative
> side of things (will the players be happier after the change
> than before?). Unfortunately, the prisoner's dilemma and
> tragedy of the commons are very real, and thus create
> situations where stuff that makes the players unhappy can be
> better for the game.
>
>
>>Please send submissions for the eqbards newsletter to
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>