Colapsing player base

[Hate33]

just my 2 cents.

i think you are looking at the problem from the wrong angle. ppl will quit this game anyways due to various reasons. what the admins didn't do, is find a way to actively recruit more and more ppl. that's the problem imo. out > in. should focus on increasing in, not keeping the ones who are going to leave. find a way to attract more ppl.

[flutterby]

funny, I know a guy who kept playing because his gf wanted him to teach the game to her ;-)

I play because Ezz plays... but girls wanting to learn how to play is rare. I thought about teaching my kids how to play but I decided to keep them away from Asshats like us.

[Palem]

I thought about teaching my kids how to play but I decided to keep them away from Asshats like us.

I disagree. We need more Taylor Swift supporters imo...

[StratOcastle]

Utopias charm might be in it's slow demise. I recall playing Feudal Lords; a snail mail game:

FEUDAL LORDS

DIPLOMACY/INTERACTION: Lots
DIFFICULTY/COMPLEXITY: Easy
GAME LENGTH: Fixed
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 8 to 17

Designed by John Van De Graaf, this game simulates the struggle for kingship in a mythical period of English history. Up to seventeen players, each representing the head of one of the more active noble families, vie for the throne which has been left vacant by the death of King Arthur. Only by building both economic and military strength can one prove himself worthy of the mantle of King (or Queen).

Players must feed their peasants, tax townsmen, train and pay knights, hire mercenaries, buy & sell livestock, improve their castles, dabble in foreign trade, and go on military campaign. They may conquer neighboring fiefs, forcing them to swear fealty to another player. Names & addresses of all players are given at the start of the game for easier diplomacy.

The object of the game is to get a minimum number of other fiefs to swear fealty to you (at the same time) by force of arms, persuasion, or bribery. When that happens, you become king and have won.

* prior to the convenience we enjoy today lol *

[Zappa]

hell i played for an embarrassing number of years (13+) and it was the style of bishops moderating that convinced me to quit. for this i am grateful as it has given me my life back. walks in the park and rounds of golf. concerts and motorcycles. when i saw my prov die for no apparent reason i just smiled and moved forward.

cheers/big ears

[flutterby]

I disagree. We need more Taylor Swift supporters imo...

With the exception of the youngest one, the other kids hate Taylor Swift :P

[Palem]

Then don't teach them

geez lol

[Hurlin]

oh no we are now doomed ............... everyone run to your cold war bomb shelters NOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW

[chalsdk]

funny, I know a guy who kept playing because his gf wanted him to teach the game to her ;-)

Nerdy females does exist - NOT the norm

[ZodZilla]

I think the game just needs to market itself differently. Appealing to 'hard core gamers who are into browser based games with no graphics' seems like a bad plan. I generally explain it to my friends (or curious randoms who see me Uto) as "part real-time strategy, part house plant". It may not be entirely accurate, but it's a fair interpretation in my mind. Why not push the more relaxed social aspect that made the Utopian ghettos so vibrant once upon a time? Also, in my opinion, the best selling point has always been the 'side-effect' of being thrown into irc (or whatever) and bonding with people from all walks of life across the globe.

Sell that.

[American Badass]

hell i played for an embarrassing number of years (13+) and it was the style of bishops moderating that convinced me to quit. for this i am grateful as it has given me my life back. walks in the park and rounds of golf. concerts and motorcycles. when i saw my prov die for no apparent reason i just smiled and moved forward.

cheers/big ears

Zappa that played with me?

[LightWolf]

I think what hes saying is that its impossible to play if you ONLY ever play from a phone. Whereas ur arguing that phone is great for logging on to do **** when ur out or not at ur computer.

I can run ops or make a hit from phone when someone texts me the mod off to send... But theres no way u can scout.kingdoms, lead a war, go over intel and all that properly if ur not sitting at your computer with a beer in hand.

I mean u can argue that u could run a war from fun in fact Anri has probably done it or something, but I wouldn't wish that extra added stress on anyone

I have only ever played on a phone in last 3 ages as with most of my kd mates and we have done well yes the honor and war charts mean nothing to a lot of people but we have topped each one in the last 2 ages. It may be a little harder than a comp but with an iPhone it's relatively easy. Yes make it easier but it's playable.

[tetley]

it might be life that is constantly taking people away, but presumably at some point there were enough people starting to play it that it outpaced the number of people leaving at any given point. I find it unlikely that people are leaving the game at a higher rate than they ever were. It is much more likely that less people are starting to play it. Which I surmise is because of other reasons that people put forward... dedication requirement, its text-based nature, the prevalence of other more flashy and psychologically rewarding games, and so on. The model of a game like this has to be to try and get more people to join, rather than keep people from leaving.

edit: i realize hate33 said exactly the same thing.

[Farore]

Why is the player base shrinking? It's mainly because a good portion of players are growing up, getting married, having kids and living their life. How many people's significant others tolerate the time this game consumes? I know a friend of mine quit recently because his wife refused to be okay with him sinking more than two weeks worth of middle of the night alarms for his war. We're a rare breed of people. We don't care if we have to get up to attack or wave or whatnot. But when you have a family it's hard to work the game around life if you're not a "serious" gamer. You can blame it on mechanics or trolls or what have you. At the end of the day.. it's life that takes people away.

Except when you think about the amount of hours "serious" gamers sink into games like Star Wars: The Old Republic, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, console games, even Facebook games - there are plenty of people who can and do sink a huge amount of time every day into gaming. It's just a matter of how to get those people to decide to spend part of their 'gaming time' playing Utopia, and that means updating it and making it more competitive with other games. Or doing nothing and letting it fade into oblivion. Either way.

[Lestat]

I just don't see it as life or Utopia. No reason you can't play golf etc just cause you tope.