0006340: New Player Experience Problems - DEV Arcen

ID	Project	Category		Date Submitted	Last Update

0006340	Valley 1	Suggestion - Balancing Issues		Mar 2, 2012 2:36 pm	Apr 11, 2012 8:57 pm

Reporter	JedTheHumanoid	Assigned To	keith.lamothe
Status	resolved	Resolution	fixed
Product Version	0.900 (Beta Series 3)

Summary	0006340: New Player Experience Problems
Description	Hi, I played the beta back in October quite extensively, however coming back as a ‘new’ player I think the following issues might detract from the new player experience, and hence reduce the word of mouth viral spread of the game. That thought makes me sad, as I love this game, so below is a brief explanation of what I think is lacking. 1) Choosing your character at the beginning of the game. This is one of the most confusing aspects in my opinion. When a new player starts the game and chooses their ‘World’ name, the next they have to do is choose a ‘character’. I think there should be text on the ‘Character Selection’ which clearly states that: a) /You/ are not your character, b) If your character dies you will ‘choose’ another one, c) You can choose to play as a different character as the game progresses. Maybe something along the lines of: “Please choose a survivor of Catastrophe to begin the game. As the game progresses you will be able to use different characters as they join your civilization. If you get your character killed you will have to start a new character, however you will not lose your Civilization Progress.” 2. Intro Mission First off, some on screen text setting the scene would be nice, maybe a dialog box pop up from an unseen Iliari saying something like: ‘Wake up human, you are alive. The world is a hostile place, you must learn to survive. There is small settlement nearby where humans are Iliari enjoy relative safety, please make your way there. However, there is much to learn, take your time exploring this region and collect anything you can, all resources are precious. I think the intro mission itself is pretty much fine as it is, however the problems appear at the end. After going through the terror and hardship, a little bit of ‘pomp and ceremony’ from the NPC at the settlement would set the scene nicely. Maybe something like, “Welcome to the settlement, I’m impressed you survived on your own out there.” etc. Also, it would convenient if the Iliari in the settlement revealed itself as the one who ‘called’ to you at the beginning of the tutorial (nice tie up of atmosphere) and said something like: “I am glad you survived human. As you have seen, the world – or what’s left of it – is a very dangerous place. The world beyond the horizon is more terrifying than you can imagine, we must work individually and collectively to build a new civilisation if we are to survive. You are blessed to be a Glyph Bearer (brief explanation). There are survivors to be found and rare materials to be discovered in the world. Refer to the encyclopaedia if you unsure of anything. Good luck.” This would ease the player in and make them feel centered, before moving out into the World Map screen to begin their journey.
Tags	No tags attached.

Internal Weight	For New Player Experience

Date Modified	Username	Field	Change
Mar 2, 2012 2:36 pm	JedTheHumanoid	New Issue
Mar 2, 2012 2:40 pm	tigersfan	Internal Weight	=> For New Player Experience
Mar 2, 2012 2:40 pm	tigersfan	Note Added: 0020180
Mar 2, 2012 2:40 pm	tigersfan	Status	new => strongly considering
Apr 11, 2012 8:56 pm	keith.lamothe	Note Added: 0021945
Apr 11, 2012 8:56 pm	keith.lamothe	Status	strongly considering => resolved
Apr 11, 2012 8:56 pm	keith.lamothe	Resolution	open => fixed
Apr 11, 2012 8:56 pm	keith.lamothe	Assigned To	=> keith.lamothe