what could help with player retention on Gateway?

[MaGoHi]

Hei,

I dont have any numbers for this but one thing i noticed was that we lose new players in the first scene followed by the second scene, so i took a look at the first scene at what information they get about the game and thought that it wouldnt be enough to make me stay thats why i though that the welcome message they can see there should be updated, for this matter i made this topic.

how would you describe MD to people to spark interest in the game? how would you word it to make them pull through some waiting times? what would be a good welcome message for new people? and so on...

TLDR: help describe MD to improve the welcome message on GWI

-Mag

 

 

[Blackshade Rider]

7 minutes ago, MaGoHi said:

Hei,

I dont have any numbers for this but one thing i noticed was that we lose new players in the first scene followed by the second scene, so i took a look at the first scene at what information they get about the game and thought that it wouldnt be enough to make me stay thats why i though that the welcome message they can see there should be updated, for this matter i made this topic

I used to keep numbers but once they started getting so high I just stopped keeping track. I agree with the above statement. I've seen players quit just from the long read when they first start. 

Personally I feel a lot of new players don't want to be bumbarded with a bunch of reading from the start. 

I feel for new players that the reading should be spread out as they learn. 

An example would be they get a greeting and a small read on how to move and such, but then when a player clicks on their fight log or creature page they then get another greeting that talk specifically to that section. ( Sorry at work so I'm just quickly typing) 

Same would go with the message tab. A new player clicks the tab for the first time and gets a greeting about how to use the message system and how you can upgrade it from the MD shop. 

Does this make sense? Please do tell as like I stated I quickly typed this so I could get back to work.

Thanks

[Azull]

@ bsr, What solutions do you suggest?

[MaGoHi]

@Blackshade Rider i think i understand your suggestion, i'm not opposed to it either, but it looks like a lot more work than changing the welcome text

[Ungod]

this is a mild incentive: send private messages to players offering to help or pointing to the live help button (I received such a message from mya on my second day and it assured me there are people playing; also, due to the cramped interface, many buttons are not so easily spotted, such is the case of the LH button - and people might not use it even if they see it)

describe the game: I think it's useful to tell people from the start that there are no monsters to fights here, no epic gear, the accent is put on research, patience and imagination (it mustn't sound elitist, though, because it simply refers to another way of doing things); I feel the kind 'lhos' would be helping new players play with the game tools throughout those waiting times (lintara is an example)

describe the game 2: the first impression MD makes is not so great, but I liked the feeling the scenes had, and the pencil 'nostalgia', so I suppose some people will be impressed regardless; but as the scenes are 'desolate', so to speak, it would be important to point out to new players MagicDuel is a perpetual beta frame hiding some 'high-end' features, so the one who is able to push through the 'dull' frame will discover the gems

 

now, I wrote too many words there, and the wording is not great, but i'm writing as I think about this, so...

[Ledah]

Not sure how GWI plays out, but when I started in PC there wasn't all to much text and when there was I admit it bored me. Maybe try to move some of the activity in the Island to those first few scenes? So the first things you see aren't empty scenes and text boxes?

[Blackshade Rider]

On 11/29/2018 at 1:34 PM, MaGoHi said:

@Blackshade Rider i think i understand your suggestion, i'm not opposed to it either, but it looks like a lot more work than changing the welcome text

It could be a lot of work yes, but it would be for the better. Many other games do it this way, and do it successfully. 

On 11/29/2018 at 1:11 PM, Azull said:

@ bsr, What solutions do you suggest?

My solution to this may be some work but it is simple. 

When a player first starts off they see a 7 page long intro. I feel it could be better if a tutorial was implemented similar to the old days. What i mean by that is the paper cabin days. 

A player on gateway when starting has a few things to click. One of which is a sign with a nice message telling them to click stuff and so on. But they are already able to click everything, unlike in the PC days you had to do it step by step. 

So when a player begins they should get a one page greeting, but it also say to click everything and revisit locations often and such. When a player first clicks a tab such as the creature tab for example it should show them a small tutorial on how to heal their creatures, whats used to heal creatures, and how/where to use CTC's 

When a player clicks on the new quest page , which was once the progress page they should get a small tutorial about the forums and how a lot of the game does take place on there.

And so on. 

Or even the possibility of a video tutorial. I feel a video tutorial would be a great possibility to explain things in more detail quickly. This video could be implemented in such a way that it forces a player to do step by step instructions to play. It doesn't even need to be long as only the main tabs would need to be explained. the chest icons and such can be learned as they go, However i feel a tutorial for the inventory is more so needed. I've noticed a lot of new players quit cause they felt it was to complicated. 

Also the island needs a form of NPC for them to learn to fight on. Maybe a journey up the mountain and on the way down they could be forced to get in a fight, if they have creatures. Ive had thought of another scene thats unseen that could be full of NPC's for then to train on. The biggest issue though is most quit due to the lack of MP3 and MP4 players. I feel MP3 and MP4 should be taken out and they start at MP5. With this can come new stages in the future possibly. We have MP6 MP7, and i think MP8 was a thing but i am unsure. But this could also be fixed if MP3 and MP4 could just attack and MP5.

 

I think another fun Idea would be to have a mind power that is based on your active days. Like 2 or 3k and above. It would show the elite players that are vets and such. It could be. I feel more achievements can also be added, such as a 3k activity day or maybe something else. 

The live help option is just about done as ive noticed most new players dont use it as a lho may be online but they could be idle. can can cause an issue. A player can get frustrated after not getting a response due to one not being online.

Another big thing would be if Md had an app of sorts that would allow the player to play normally. With this could bring a hoard of new features and players. Possibly even have players return due to lack of not having a computer. 

The idea is to keep the player interested till they get the hang of everything. When they get bored they register is as a boring game to them, and then quit. 

On 11/29/2018 at 1:54 PM, Ungod said:

this is a mild incentive: send private messages to players offering to help or pointing to the live help button (I received such a message from mya on my second day and it assured me there are people playing; also, due to the cramped interface, many buttons are not so easily spotted, such is the case of the LH button - and people might not use it even if they see it)

describe the game: I think it's useful to tell people from the start that there are no monsters to fights here, no epic gear, the accent is put on research, patience and imagination (it mustn't sound elitist, though, because it simply refers to another way of doing things); I feel the kind 'lhos' would be helping new players play with the game tools throughout those waiting times (lintara is an example)

describe the game 2: the first impression MD makes is not so great, but I liked the feeling the scenes had, and the pencil 'nostalgia', so I suppose some people will be impressed regardless; but as the scenes are 'desolate', so to speak, it would be important to point out to new players MagicDuel is a perpetual beta frame hiding some 'high-end' features, so the one who is able to push through the 'dull' frame will discover the gems

 

now, I wrote too many words there, and the wording is not great, but i'm writing as I think about this, so...

The guardians have messaged players and told them this. Problem is most dont reply or speak at all. Such as they wish to do it themselves. We cant help the players who dont want to respond, but if we can get them to understand whats going on without anyone messaging them then that may help retain players.

 

On 11/29/2018 at 3:05 PM, Ledah said:

Not sure how GWI plays out, but when I started in PC there wasn't all to much text and when there was I admit it bored me. Maybe try to move some of the activity in the Island to those first few scenes? So the first things you see aren't empty scenes and text boxes?

Thats the thing. To much text is boring. Most players leave just from the forced mass reading they need to do from the start, and i feel is poorly explained and could be better.

[Ungod]

14 hours ago, Blackshade Rider said:

The guardians have messaged players and told them this. Problem is most dont reply or speak at all. Such as they wish to do it themselves. We cant help the players who dont want to respond, but if we can get them to understand whats going on without anyone messaging them then that may help retain players.

I know they don't answer/speak. I know it well, because I, too, didn't do it, wanting to do it all by myself. But receiving a message does work regardless.

The main thing here is that you don't know what you're dealing with and are too proud to ask. How many times did you skip the tutorial, saying 'i'll get the hang of it by playing, no need to ask anyone, even if I make a few mistakes'? I know I usually do that, because most games are alike, with a similar system of fighting, getting resources, achieving things etc.

This is why, after loitering around, rather confused, you hang on to that message you received (if you do). That doesn't mean you should be wandering aimlessly, so something should be done in this regard, but receiving a personal message is a (mild) incentive.