Retaining New Players
How does a mud go about retaining new players (newbies)? There are
many who think the key to new players is just advertising. Shove as
many players through the door as possible and hope for the best. Does
this really solve anything? If you get the players logging in and half
or more don't stay then what have you accomplished? If you take no
time to understand what is driving those players away then you
obviously don't take interest in improving the game play of your mud.
In which case your mud is doomed to fail or the mud will grow very
slowly.
Another method used in keeping the new players at login is the PLUNGE
method. You grab the player at login equip them and throw them at some
monsters. In most cases the player is either killing a monster or
getting killed with in three moves. Now if you are a player new to the
whole mud concept is this a good way to learn for the first time? Has
your mud based its success off of combat in such a way that your best
move is to show the player that at login? In my humble opinion a mud
that uses the PLUNGE method is targeting a hack and slash crowd. If
the mud you run is looking for that kind of player base then this
would be the way to go.
The third and IMHO best way to keep new players at login is to have an
eye catcher. When a new player logs in he/she needs to be drawn in and
feel they have a destiny or role to play in the story line of the
game. Does your mud have a story line? The story line of a mud is
perhaps the most important feature it can have. Without a good story
line all you have is a run of the mill mud and there are too many of
those out there already. After you have a good story line you need to
help the new player to understand how the game works. You need to
educate them in the types of commands they have at their disposal and
what effects certain things have on their player. Some do this with a
newbie area that the player logs into for the first time. No matter
how you go about it the new player must be taught the mechanics of how
to play. After you have a story line and a information system other
than basic help files to bring the new player up to speed with muds
your chances of retaining players has increased by ten fold.
Ok lets talk a little more about story lines and how they are
presented to the player. Is your story line buried deep within the mud
or does it slap the player right in the face at first login? Would
either way really get the story to the player without boring them or
scaring them off? I'm sure there are many ways to present a story line
but the one I find to be the best at grabbing attention is to submerse
the player within it at login. No that does not mean slapping them
with a huge spammy story for them to read after they create their
player. To submerse a player within the story line is to almost force
them to take part in it. To allow them to view it as it happened in
the past while they are in the present. Give them flash backs of a
past not yet forgotten. Make them feel as if they are the final
chapter to the story line. You must help them to find a purpose so
they can begin to develop their character. I realize some experienced
players already know who and what they will be and that can not always
be changed, but this will help the new players. I am not the master of
retaining players although I hope you agree with some of the ways I
have pointed out about keeping player.
About the author:
~Shalliko@thedragonsden~
addy:dden.discordia.org
mud:dden.discordia.org:2222
email: Shalliko@aol.com
position: Immortal on The Dragon's Den
