Kasral's Idea

From ProphWiki

Hi everyone, today I thought I'd throw out some thoughts about Prophecy as a whole, as a game, and as a community. I believe, as I'm sure most of you do, that our biggest issue right now is the playerbase (or lack thereof). Granted, advances in the gaming industry have slowly but surely pulled people away from text-based adventures. But, I don't believe that that is the only reason we have such a weak playerbase. I think it is perfectly feasible to aim to at least double what we have now (that is, from an average of 5 online players to 10, idle or not). While this may not seem like much, it is still a 100% increase on what we have now. Then, we are talking about possibly having 10-20 people on for planned events and quests.

Okay, so I know that many of you don't like when people mention World of Warcraft on here, but it is a good example to compare to. Let's forget that Blizzard has many more resources than we do, and that WoW has cool graphics. Let's think outside that box for a second. Prophecy obviously has some kind of appeal, or else you wouldn't find WOwers like Kataia, or me, playing this game. But why have so many people left then? Well, barring those who blame WoW and Halo, some would say it's because there are so many more restrictions than there were 5 years ago, and so much less player-player and player-imm interaction.

The imms of Prophecy have made great strides trying to balance the game, which is great. However, I find that a major drawback to Prophecy as a game is the fact that players have to rely on immortals to advance themselves to a point of interest. In other words, players have to rely on other humans that have the "immortal" priveleges in order to progress in this game. Prophecy as we know it only "automates" up to a certain threshold: level 91, aq eq, rare drops. However, the REAL appeal to this game is the ability to go further than that. I'm not saying that EVERY player on here wants to get qps, make/earn qeq, etc. In fact, I know of one person who refuses to use qeq. To each their own. But I would wager a large portion of my personal wealth that a vast majority of players here -want- to improve on the maximums provided by "stock" issue equipment.

The problem I see here is that this game encourages players to root against each other in the game, while trying to maintain a healthy playing environment. Some may say that it's what makes this game challenging and fun. I disagree. And I'm one of those who usually makes out pretty well in this game. I don't struggle much earning my fair share of benefits, so don't just write me off as a bitter person. I'm speaking for those who have less time to play, or are just a little less lucky.

A good game challenges its players to beat the GAME, *not* each other. I find that Prophecy encourages a lot of direct competition (see: Zubrette's recent scav/auc scatters). A game like WoW encourages a lot of a lot of direct cooperative work in order to succeed. We should be seeing players on here working together towards rewards, not trying to beat each other up on the way to the top. A lot of work toward this goal can be reached within the parameters of the game itself now builders making mobs harder, making miniquests harder. Clans searching for certain classes because in order to successfully complete x miniquests, you ideally want a player with high ac and rescue, a healer, and a damage dealer.

The appeal of WoW to me is the fact that it requires so much player COOPERATIVE interaction. Not to say there is no player envy or player competition, but for the most part, it is all cooperative work. Player competitions are tightly regulated and controlled. The ability to advance past stock (in WoW lingo, this would be the ability to progress through the end-game raids) is all automated, and very difficult and time consuming.

I think a big fear of many who play this game is that if the imms implement an automated way to earn qps/make eq enhancements past stock, that it will be too "easy" to get "buff". There are only two things to consider here. First, implement regulations and restrictions on how often/how much "buffing" can be done over a period of time. Second, place a threshold on how "buff" a character can get. We already have the latter. And the prior comes with implementing an automated way of progression.

For those who have experienced a game like WoW, you can see exactly what I mean through this direct correlation: Think of how long it takes to earn tiered eq. In Prophecy terms, "tier sets" are equivalent to "qeq". Ideally, you would like players to be ABLE reach the "qeq" threshold within 1-2 years. And this would require approx. 10-15 hours of gaming a week. That is what it is like in WoW. Those who obtain their gear quickly spend upwards of 40-60 hours a week earning it.

Now, I know that this game's goal is not to be like WoW. But there are precedents set in games like WoW that we should adopt in order to attract a new playerbase. Players need somewhere to go once the "stock" threshold is reached, without having to wait on imms (who are busy with game stuff and rl stuff). There SHOULD be a direct correlation between how "buff" a player gets and how much time they spend playing the game. So, while it may take Susie, who plays 30 hours a week, one year to get to the threshold, it could take Johnny, who only plays 15 hours a week, 2 years. In the end, though, it will take the same amount of playing time to get "buff". And then, as more and more players get "buffed", it allows Prophecy to grow. Maybe a level increase (as planned 7 years ago), harder mobs, more skills, more fun areas and miniquests. And then as that grows, we can raise the threshold on "qeq", forcing players to play even more to gain more.

That is how we attract players. We need to find a way to allow them to get to the FUN stuff without waiting. Right now, because of a dead playerbase and only a handful of imms actually actively interacting with us, new players find it boring and dull. You get to level 91 and get all your neat rareload eq, and your aqeq, and boom. You're bored. But what if we implemented a system (like, say, a well-thought out and revised version of the aq system idea i posted a while back on Amkin) that encouraged players to really dedicate that time, dedicate 10, 15, 20, however many hours a week working towards the end goal of being buff.

The goal here shouldn't be to beat each other. It should be to beat THE GAME. But, since Prophecy the game is so easy to beat, we have to resort to waiting for imms to give us opportunities to beat each other. We need to focus more on making it about beating the game. And then, the imms and builders and coders can focus on making the game ... well, unbeatable... by growing the game. Then, players can't just give up or get bored. As the game grows, they HAVE to keep playing in order to progress to the threshold!

Think about my aq system idea (idea find amkin). It's an automated way of building up your quest-enhanced equipment, which on its own would take you months of PLAYING time to reach the threshold. (note: playing time is hrs logged in and playing, in contrast to "real" time. i.e. you can have 15 hours PLAYING time in one REAL time week) In addition, we keep imm-held quests and fun stuff (cheers to Urgit and Zubrette for their recent efforts) going to help the community bond together. This, in return, provides more FUN for the mortal playerbase, which will hopefully increase the volume of players, which will in turn provide more FUN for immortals as they interact with the mortals via quests and forums. And then, such an automated system will also allow imms to spend MORE time on making the GAME better without having to worry about "creating" the fun for the mortal players.

Anyway, this is just an idea that popped into my head in the middle of the night. I'm sorry if it's not very coherent, or has lots of holes. I would really like to discuss this topic further, without hostility. I love Prophecy, and I want it to get better just like the rest of you. If you don't like my ideas or thoughts, please say so but don't hold them against me. We are all entitled to our opinions. What I would like to see is an open and active forum on this idea and the aq system idea. Agree, disagree, say what you like.

Thanks for reading and hopefully replying :)

-Mike (Kasral, Amkin).