nextnightmods: (Default)
𝕋ℍ𝔼 ℕ𝔼𝕏𝕋 ℕ𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋. ([personal profile] nextnightmods) wrote in [community profile] oocinthenight2020-09-14 04:30 pm

STATE OF THE GAME DISCUSSION.




and tomorrow i beg for one more tomorrow with you.

Hello, dearly beloved Bacon Bits. It has been about five months since the closure of In The Night and the transition to Next Night. As a mod team, we want to open a dialogue with you, our players, about what the GPSL will look like in the future.

As a team we understand that this is a hard time almost universally for our players. The state of the world makes RP harder than we want it to be. Changing hands and changing gears, losing players and losing character connections, makes things harder too. It is hard not to note that things have been a struggle for many of us, mod team included.

With this in mind, we want to talk with you all about our next step. A large intention of The Next Night was to provide closure, to help us to hold onto the character connections that meant so much to us and to continue towards finding a solution in a world we had grown to love. As we see players struggle to continue and struggle with interest, we want to discuss solutions.

An option to consider is starting AC again. Without AC, it can be hard to work up engagement. If we started running AC again in October, there's a chance we could refresh interest and speed things up again. Another idea discussed by the mod team is jumping up End Game to a sooner date than originally intended, potentially as early as this winter. This would allow us a few more months to build toward an ending together, and for those struggling it would provide an end in sight as well as the closure that was always the intention in the first place.

There might be other options worth considering as well. This post is intended to open that discussion, and the ideas presented are simply suggestions to get the dialogue rolling. Please touch base with us with how you are feeling, what your hopes are, what you think might help. And of course, thank you to all of you still with us and still interested in finishing this story. Please know that we on the mod team want that as well and hope to help create a plan that will be satisfying to everyone.

Thank you for your time, and we're excited to hear what you have to suggest.
immortalaccursed: (Without the light of wisdom)

[personal profile] immortalaccursed 2020-09-14 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Speaking personally I think that the lack of engagement is largely due to stressors in the real world right now, just like you said. Basically every game has slowed down.

IDK if opening AC up in October would change that, especially since the holiday season is right around the corner from there.

I've been wondering if we should do a world event that involves something like dream or memory sharing among the Beaconites? It wouldn't magically solve any engagement issues but it'd be a way to drum up CR with new character or old characters who maybe haven't had the chance to speak to each other much yet.
pure_havoc: (Default)

[personal profile] pure_havoc 2020-09-15 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
I'm absolutely having trouble thanks to outside influence, so it's definitely not the game's fault at all. If anything, sticking to plans and schedules at least feels like normalcy and routine, even if I can't muster up the brainpower to write a meager toplevel prompt.

Back at the last state of the game the idea of very minimal AC was floated and I didn't hate it. Though, I also very much see the concern that turning on the AC (heh) wouldn't necessarily stir up more activity either, it might just force people who can't get a single tag up to admit it and drop which...is usually the point but it wouldn't take too many people dropping before the game is doomed on the spot. So, I see it both ways and I don't know that there's an easy answer.

I've been trying to wait things out but I can't allow myself to wait another 3 months before something good happens and I magically get my mojo back, but I also don't want to drop. Nor do I want to start a new character over from square one. It's a dilemma and I don't think anything game-wise can help that, it's a me thing.

That said, I feel like part of the doom and gloom is that there's not a lot of fresh blood and I feel like the game could really benefit from some more active advertising - enablemeplz at the very least, also making sure there's mentions on the various game directories as the game being open, and maybe rpanons' Game Ads thread. I think a lot of people hunting for a horror game with every bonus TNN has don't even know it exists, and getting more new players can refresh things heavily. Replurking the open app period or tdm link isn't enough. I know, that takes time and work and even the mods are having a hard time with that, so it's not a perfect solution, but it's workable.
worthallthis: (Default)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2020-09-15 12:52 am (UTC)(link)
I know some of my problem has been "oh shit what if I have COVID" but now that I'm past THAT freakout I'm tryin' to get back in.

I will say that I wouldn't be opposed to speeding up the timeline. We had a lot more engagement with the big event in Helix than we'd seen in a while, and having concrete goals that feel engage-able would definitely help me. Soldat's good at coasting through his routine, but it gets repetitive to write sometimes :P

I agree that starting up AC again prooooobably won't help and would just encourage drops. I know some people who might not be up to a lot of tagging would stay for group-events where we hash things out on plurk or something and just advance the plot, but that won't get anyone AC, ya know?
p0isonpink: (Default)

[personal profile] p0isonpink 2020-09-15 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
I came on after the switch from ITN to TNN, so a straight drive to closure definitely hasn't been the goal for me! I really enjoy this world and this setting, and I'd hope to see it continue for longer than just a few more months. Bringing back AC, maybe with a low bar, would get my vote for driving some more engagement. The events are good, but an AC-less game has a way of sinking down people's priority ladders.
p0isonpink: (Default)

[personal profile] p0isonpink 2020-09-15 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
Memory share events always seem to be good drivers of CR imo, and tend to drum up a lot of general interest as well since they're terrifically fun events to play. I'm not even a little embarrassed to admit that I've already got a half-dozen contenders for fun memories of Reiju to share about with others if that event ever were to come up.
policier: 𝓭𝓷𝓽 (fifty two)

[personal profile] policier 2020-09-15 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
i'd be in favor of going into end game early. or, at the very least, moving the plot along so that there's a deeper sense of urgency. i know it's been difficult with the state of the world as it is, but much of what i've been struggling with (other than losing cr, which isn't anyone's fault) is the slow progression of the plot. my character is not well-suited for many of the party events and mingles, but he thrives in the action-oriented and investigative bits, which the explorations are good for, but they don't replace pc to pc interaction. i'd really like more events that would force characters to work together, since the co-op nature of the game is one of the things i've enjoyed most about itn/tnn, and it may have foster cr between more characters in the game.

i'm fine with ac staying as a check-in for now, too, for the reasons mentioned above.
flangirl: manga arc Whole Cake Island; coloring by <user name="cricket_melodies"> (Teacup-chan)

[personal profile] flangirl 2020-09-15 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
Seconding this! Gem said all the things I couldn't really figure out how to articulate, and I guess didn't really want to be the first one to post since I've been so out of it all summer.

But that's really the thing, I think, is that everyone's been out of it all year. I don't want to see the game end early and close because of a bad IRL year. That just seems to me like a goodbye that a lot of the playerbase maybe wouldn't be able to participate in. I'd like to see the game and our CR get to continue.

I definitely agree on getting in more fresh blood. I know I've been a non-entity on game upkeep; I think the truth is I'm better for one-off things than I am for ongoing maintenance. That said, I'd be more than happy to help with the one-time write up of game ads!
policier: 𝓭𝓷𝓽 (fifty one)

[personal profile] policier 2020-09-15 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
same! i really loved the event on the helix station, and having a more concrete, immediate goal would help out so much
Edited 2020-09-15 01:21 (UTC)
immortalaccursed: (at its feet are the souls of the dead)

[personal profile] immortalaccursed 2020-09-15 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
What if the bar for AC was just "literally anything"? Just proof that you responded to or did something, no hard number of comments.

It's like the system we have now except that "no activity at all" wouldn't count.
immortalaccursed: (find balance on unsteady ground)

[personal profile] immortalaccursed 2020-09-15 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
I also agree that more advertising would be good. TNN/ITN definitely offers a world and experience that other games out there don't and I think people would be interested in playing with it.
p0isonpink: (Default)

[personal profile] p0isonpink 2020-09-15 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
Honestly, I'd be very game for that. Like a lot of other people, I've been struggling with the mental load as much as I deeply want to be here for everything, so I'm not enthusiastic about a full AC, but also not falling by the wayside entirely is good.
pure_havoc: (head down)

[personal profile] pure_havoc 2020-09-15 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
and horror-based is a HUGE thing right now, I've noticed on past enablemeplz memes (which I am always late to anyway) that a lot of people are looking for horror and the only real alternative is Deerington which also doesn't meet a lot of their needs.

but I'm lame and I don't post because I always feel like someone official should put up an ad instead of some dumb nerd who can't even tag right now so...around and around that circle goes.
callada: (sun is shining in the sky)

[personal profile] callada 2020-09-15 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
We could certainly do another memshare! That's the sort of thing I have been afraid to overdo as an event because we've had a couple already before the flood and I don't want it to get redundant for players who've had that experience already - but if people who've been through one or two are game for another, I agree it could be a fun way to drive some CR!
pure_havoc: (cool smile)

[personal profile] pure_havoc 2020-09-15 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
Oh I bet you could code a sweet ad, and then the rest is copy-paste galore!
callada: (me abandonó sin avisar)

[personal profile] callada 2020-09-15 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
Man I didn't even think about advertising because I'm just... the worst at remembering places like EMP even exist. This is me wholly unofficially saying people should feel free to spam them game around to everyone they know and everyone they don't, because I agree, more people and more activity are all good things.
pure_havoc: (Default)

[personal profile] pure_havoc 2020-09-15 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
Oh same. Yeah, you're right, I mean the sandbox is good but...yeah. Us and our goal-oriented jerks.
pure_havoc: (Default)

[personal profile] pure_havoc 2020-09-15 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
O U

I have no problem responding even two days later to EMP posts because people are genuinely still looking for something that hits their buttons, but the first place anyone checks is game ads and that's only for official mods to post official ads. So, as long as someone behind the scenes is on top of official ads, I'm more than happy to roll around answering recs for people wanting a horror game.
worthallthis: (Default)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2020-09-15 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
Absolutely no complaints about more memshare, says the gal who plays an amnesiac :3 Just in case you were wondering.
worthallthis: (Default)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2020-09-15 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
Only if "literally anything" includes things not, like, posted on the comm. Like being part of an explore that somebody else posted the tags for or something? Because I really do think not everyone is up to tagging, but are up for plot-advancing, and in TNN that's not necessarily the same thing.
callada: (ain't the end of you or me)

[personal profile] callada 2020-09-15 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
I've experienced this plenty from the DM side of tabletop and now I'm seeing it here too - and this is why we tried to get that plot ideas thread going in part, because from a mod perspective obviously we can see all kinds of things that need to get followed up on, but I know it's harder to keep on top of all of that as a player, plus every person can't by themselves do everything in game.

But this kind of discussion here can also help us work out what people want to do and in turn we can maybe try and bend some of what we think should be done to fit those suggestions, so that's great. At the same time, I'm always personally hesitant when in a mod or DM seat to railroad things too hard, and instead veer toward handing out lots of leads and seeing which ones interest people/characters and where they take them and let things develop organically.

I don't know where I'm going with this lmao sorry, but if you or anyone here has ideas on how best to address that, I'm all ears and I'd bet the others are too. Do we need another ooc info share/roundup post? Is there some other way to direct people toward the concrete goals that we see versus letting people make and direct their own goals and let their characters pursue the leads that interest them?
callada: (intento saciarte de mi)

[personal profile] callada 2020-09-15 01:59 am (UTC)(link)
GOOD TO KNOW. Even if I'm learning this like... literal years later than I probably should have.
pure_havoc: (Default)

[personal profile] pure_havoc 2020-09-15 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
nah it's fine, I never mention it because...idk I think sometimes it's so late in the month that apps are already open so if someone doesn't already have samples from somewhere or an app they can whip out, it might not make it in time? for EMP, at least. WHICH REMINDS ME one of the other older ideas was open/rolling apps and I'd be down for that. If that's not too much for you guys to handle processing.
callada: (recuerdos de su condición)

[personal profile] callada 2020-09-15 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
Rolling apps is definitely not too much to handle, I think that was kitty's idea and I'm fine with it, especially if it helps get more new people into the game.

The downside is that you lose some of the existing rhythm/schedule of the game since the intro log is basically a reliable mingle every month and it makes less sense if people can show up any time, but maybe the solution is to still have an item delivery/meet the npcs/some kind of general post every month anyway. Or maybe we don't need it at all and just want to have a quick ooc item delivery post at the start of each month, I just personally fear that losing something like the intro log means losing one more way for people to interact and tag.
pure_havoc: (Default)

[personal profile] pure_havoc 2020-09-15 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm yeah that's sort of the catch-22 there. Then again, EMP isn't the only advertising route and others aren't time-sensitive so if you catch people ahead of time, they're ready for the usual tdm/app schedule and all is well. So I guess rolling apps is only a small solution to one problem that might create other problems. It's worth consideration but yeah it's not the most important.
callada: (me abandonó sin avisar)

[personal profile] callada 2020-09-15 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
Well and if everyone who joins makes their own network post or mingle log then there's still plenty to tag, so. It'd be an experiment! That's for sure.

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