What makes a successful on-line game?

[Badger]

Saw this link to an article about the on-line gaming business model, originally posted by "dance" <S> over on AGW.

An interesting read.......
 http://imaginaryrealities.imaginary.com/volume3/issue9/games.html


Regards,
Badger

Looking for a different kind of environment to discuss your favorite on-line flight simulator?
 http://www.egroups.com/group/flightsimsonline

[Westy]

 A most interesting read. Thanks Badger.  This one line keeps coming to the surface in my mind; "Ensuring maximum retention of player base."   I really wish I could forsee  what lies ahead, say next summer, for our virtual playground(s).

 I've been reading alot of the writings on the "Egroups" now that I subscribed <G> and it really can make one rub thier chin while thinking about all of this.

 -Westy

[Exile]

I think we've got this point down   ...

 

The game should give things to argue about

Lastly-we spend so much time trying to make our games safe environments. And we know, their reputation as hard core, niche pursuits chases away many potential customers every day.

But the fact is that people seek entertainment in large part to be touched emotionally. If the experience does not touch them emotionally, they will not stick around for a repeat showing. They will not seek it out again, they will not recommend it to friends. It may be a pleasant brief diversion, but it's not something they will want to experience over and over again.

All those silly scandals about chat room moderators trading netsex for favors, about player killers causing demonstrations in some poor mud's inn, about schisms among guilds leading to massive anger-these are emotional engagement, people. These are people being passionate about some bits and bytes we have on a server! This is magic.

For the love of God, we need to stop sanitizing the emotion out of online games. We need to be willing to make people feel strong emotions about them. Yes, even hate. We all know about the games we love to hate-let me tell you, there's something oddly satisfying about running a game people pay to hate.

[AKDejaVu]

I like that statement, but in all fairness... he is talking on a much grander scale than HTC indicates they want.

AKDejaVu