MUD and RPG Webmasters

nass · 02-28-2008, 06:00 AM

So I finally uploaded a redo for my mud website which I've had sitting on my hard drive for months (I don't MUD anymore so the motivation was thin on the ground). If you can look beyond the missing content and functionality, what's the general feedback -- is there anything missing that the pro boys have or do better? Site is at .

Cheers!

nass · 03-16-2008, 10:44 AM

*thinks*

No comments, anyone

Delerak · 03-16-2008, 10:51 AM

It actually looks pretty good, nass. Well done.

RP Kris · 03-16-2008, 12:27 PM

It is a nice site with a lot of information. I particularly like all the options you have on the side on the home page to start playing the game right away. Having the one page play guide on the side will also be helpful to people. The section on "Why Mud" is great for not only your game but the community at large.

There is a lot going on at the Home page and it can be a bit overwhelming because of that, but if people know what they are looking for then they can find it with some searching.

The feature list is really long. It is great you are giving all that information, but I don't think most new players will take the time to read the whole thing. You may consider putting the major core features that most mudders are curious about on the top of the list and then follow it with more features below it.

The flipping graphical banner is very nice. Is there any way to put hyperlinks on the screens so that it refers people to the pages that most relate to "help available", "Get started", etc?

Over all it looks like you put a lot of time into the website and it is well done. Keep up the good work!

Milawe · 03-16-2008, 03:24 PM

It's a gorgeous site, but I think you might need to make it more prominent that this is a gaming site. I first went to look, and it kind of made me think I was at a site that promotes the Wheel of Time books/news rather than a gaming site.

I might be the only one, though.

Still, it's very pretty, and I love the tabs at the top.

Delerak · 03-16-2008, 05:31 PM

Yeah I agree, though it does say it's the only game based on the books. It's really all up in robert jordans stuff.

nass · 03-16-2008, 07:29 PM

Thanks thanks thanks thanks *humbly bows*! Yeah, y'all have great points. Lessee:

The flash having links - absolutely. Meant to do that and did so, but bailed when I saw the result, it was ugly. In a nutshell, adding links onto the white text made the font size go down marginally. Since I've got the same text in black just behind the white, 1 pixel down and across, to add emphasis, it ended up being 2 fontsizes which looks dreadful. Anyhow thanks for the reminder, I fixed it (added links to the black text too in the end).

Game or not a game site, that's a tricky one - and related to the other point about it being too texty. See, having no marketing budget means you really have to rely on search engines for traffic, it's a mantra I've banged on about since I wrote . So guilty, yes I do tend to go overboard on the "Wheel of Time" stuff as that's an obvious natural constituency.

You're right about the features thing - I kinda deliberately did it alphabetically so as not to overpromisize (is that a word?) any one aspect. Maybe it needs a rethink =).

Why MUD? had to be done. You get really strange looks when you explain it's a text-based game, so it's a question you have to answer to convert the youngsters. It isn't easy

.

Still, fun though, the reception's been good. I'm finding the analytics and heatmaps feedback very interesting - the difficulty is almost knowing when to stop making tweaks to get a higher goal conversion rate!

I guess what I personally like about it is the very clear 1/2/3 "process" and the segmentation at the top - based on Bartle's classic division into spades, hearts etc. Each gets its own tab, quite deliberately - quite smart I thought. But I guess we'll just have to see!

Thankyou again for your nice comments, getting positive feedback always makes you feel good

Cheers,
Nass

Milawe · 03-16-2008, 10:08 PM

Yes, but gaming sites usually rely on first impressions. Most gaming sites are graphics heavy on their front page with a clear cry that "HI! WE ARE A GAME!" With something as popular as Wheel of Time, which spawns games, fan sites, tribute pages, etc., I think it helps to be very precise as to what you are. The very top graphic says "Wheel of Time." Wheel of Time what? With it being so text heavy, I'm less likely to read everything right away. I read the big stuff first.

Does that make sense?

Like I said, I believe the site is beautiful. I'm just thinking maybe add something under Wheel of Time. I don't think I'm the only person who read that part of your site first.

Your banners are gorgeous, by the way!

Newworlds · 03-16-2008, 10:12 PM

Wow Nass. I really like your work. Nice job.

I especially like the rotating advertisement of features of the game.

Good work!

prof1515 · 03-16-2008, 11:49 PM

Very nice, very professional-looking page. The banner was very impressive. My only complaint was the gray text which on my older, dimmer display was harder to read. Not that I couldn't see it but it just sort of blended together in a way which was unpleasing to view. Hard to explain, really, and it might just be me alone.

Well done!

Jason

nass · 03-17-2008, 06:58 AM

I take your point Mina, about that heading being somewhat ambiguous. I think it's worth a test in the google site optimiser, to see what effect it has on conversions. Hohum, the work never stops

The text colour, yeah it's quite light, it can be darkened a touch. It's funny, there's quite a discrepancy between the old laptop, the new laptop and the desktop - these displays all look sufficiently different that it's something that needs factoring in.

02-28-2008, 06:00 AM	#1
nass Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 128	New site, whaddya think? So I finally uploaded a redo for my mud website which I've had sitting on my hard drive for months (I don't MUD anymore so the motivation was thin on the ground). If you can look beyond the missing content and functionality, what's the general feedback -- is there anything missing that the pro boys have or do better? Site is at . Cheers! Last edited by nass : 02-28-2008 at 06:03 AM. Reason: funky icons

03-16-2008, 10:44 AM	#2
nass Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 128	Re: New site, whaddya think? thinks No comments, anyone

03-16-2008, 10:51 AM	#3
Delerak Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Name: Dan Location: New York Posts: 716	Re: New site, whaddya think? It actually looks pretty good, nass. Well done.

03-16-2008, 12:27 PM	#4
RP Kris New Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 20	Re: New site, whaddya think? It is a nice site with a lot of information. I particularly like all the options you have on the side on the home page to start playing the game right away. Having the one page play guide on the side will also be helpful to people. The section on "Why Mud" is great for not only your game but the community at large. There is a lot going on at the Home page and it can be a bit overwhelming because of that, but if people know what they are looking for then they can find it with some searching. The feature list is really long. It is great you are giving all that information, but I don't think most new players will take the time to read the whole thing. You may consider putting the major core features that most mudders are curious about on the top of the list and then follow it with more features below it. The flipping graphical banner is very nice. Is there any way to put hyperlinks on the screens so that it refers people to the pages that most relate to "help available", "Get started", etc? Over all it looks like you put a lot of time into the website and it is well done. Keep up the good work!

03-16-2008, 03:24 PM	#5
Milawe Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: USA Home MUD: Threshold RPG Home MUD: Stash Home MUD: Archons of Avenshar Posts: 653	Re: New site, whaddya think? It's a gorgeous site, but I think you might need to make it more prominent that this is a gaming site. I first went to look, and it kind of made me think I was at a site that promotes the Wheel of Time books/news rather than a gaming site. I might be the only one, though. Still, it's very pretty, and I love the tabs at the top.

03-16-2008, 05:31 PM	#6
Delerak Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Name: Dan Location: New York Posts: 716	Re: New site, whaddya think? Yeah I agree, though it does say it's the only game based on the books. It's really all up in robert jordans stuff.

03-16-2008, 07:29 PM	#7
nass Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 128	Re: New site, whaddya think? Thanks thanks thanks thanks humbly bows! Yeah, y'all have great points. Lessee: The flash having links - absolutely. Meant to do that and did so, but bailed when I saw the result, it was ugly. In a nutshell, adding links onto the white text made the font size go down marginally. Since I've got the same text in black just behind the white, 1 pixel down and across, to add emphasis, it ended up being 2 fontsizes which looks dreadful. Anyhow thanks for the reminder, I fixed it (added links to the black text too in the end). Game or not a game site, that's a tricky one - and related to the other point about it being too texty. See, having no marketing budget means you really have to rely on search engines for traffic, it's a mantra I've banged on about since I wrote . So guilty, yes I do tend to go overboard on the "Wheel of Time" stuff as that's an obvious natural constituency. You're right about the features thing - I kinda deliberately did it alphabetically so as not to overpromisize (is that a word?) any one aspect. Maybe it needs a rethink =). Why MUD? had to be done. You get really strange looks when you explain it's a text-based game, so it's a question you have to answer to convert the youngsters. It isn't easy . Still, fun though, the reception's been good. I'm finding the analytics and heatmaps feedback very interesting - the difficulty is almost knowing when to stop making tweaks to get a higher goal conversion rate! I guess what I personally like about it is the very clear 1/2/3 "process" and the segmentation at the top - based on Bartle's classic division into spades, hearts etc. Each gets its own tab, quite deliberately - quite smart I thought. But I guess we'll just have to see! Thankyou again for your nice comments, getting positive feedback always makes you feel good Cheers, Nass

03-16-2008, 10:08 PM	#8
Milawe Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: USA Home MUD: Threshold RPG Home MUD: Stash Home MUD: Archons of Avenshar Posts: 653	Re: New site, whaddya think? Yes, but gaming sites usually rely on first impressions. Most gaming sites are graphics heavy on their front page with a clear cry that "HI! WE ARE A GAME!" With something as popular as Wheel of Time, which spawns games, fan sites, tribute pages, etc., I think it helps to be very precise as to what you are. The very top graphic says "Wheel of Time." Wheel of Time what? With it being so text heavy, I'm less likely to read everything right away. I read the big stuff first. Does that make sense? Like I said, I believe the site is beautiful. I'm just thinking maybe add something under Wheel of Time. I don't think I'm the only person who read that part of your site first. Your banners are gorgeous, by the way!

03-16-2008, 10:12 PM	#9
Newworlds Legend Join Date: Aug 2007 Name: NewWorlds Home MUD: New Worlds Posts: 1,425	Re: New site, whaddya think? Wow Nass. I really like your work. Nice job. I especially like the rotating advertisement of features of the game. Good work!

03-16-2008, 11:49 PM	#10
prof1515 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 791	Re: New site, whaddya think? Very nice, very professional-looking page. The banner was very impressive. My only complaint was the gray text which on my older, dimmer display was harder to read. Not that I couldn't see it but it just sort of blended together in a way which was unpleasing to view. Hard to explain, really, and it might just be me alone. Well done! Jason

03-17-2008, 06:58 AM	#11
nass Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 128	Re: New site, whaddya think? I take your point Mina, about that heading being somewhat ambiguous. I think it's worth a test in the google site optimiser, to see what effect it has on conversions. Hohum, the work never stops The text colour, yeah it's quite light, it can be darkened a touch. It's funny, there's quite a discrepancy between the old laptop, the new laptop and the desktop - these displays all look sufficiently different that it's something that needs factoring in.

MUD and RPG Webmasters

New site, whaddya think?