| 01.10.07 at 11:54 AM |
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Kikki
Copper Member  Posts: 19 Joined: 29.09.07 |
Making Multiplayer Fun Now I've seen some discussions in the German Forum about how the Multiplayer feature should be implemented. I must say the ability to play Multiplayer would be almost as cool as the port to Browsergame itself is - for more "experienced" players, like myself, there isn't that much fun left once you get to know all the ropes in the online version. Here are a few thoughts on how Multiplayer could work to guarantee some long-term fun: 1. Two-three players - not only in keeping with the spirit of the original, but also guaranteeing an easy start of the game (you just need one or two other folks, you don't have to try to join a game with 67 established players). It would also be easy to use the graphics as they are (of course in a 67-player game, everybody could see "their" office as the red one in their browser, but a bit of the fun would be gone, I guess, and some features, like intra-player communications, could not be implemented so neatly). 1a. Pendant to the above - one could leave messages to other players by entering their offices, where the only available option would be to click on the desk and leave a message. The player would receive the message the next time he or she would enter his or her office/programme. 2. Programming for a week - more challenging! You have to program for a week ahead every real-life day. More fun for people for whom 5 regular days are not enough per real-life day - trying to build a programme for a week ahead can surely generate enough challenge for a day! It would require some slight alterations to e.g. initial capital, library, ad allocations rules (i.e. what appears in the ad agency). Could be an option for more experienced players, once they get bored with the "normal" game. 2a. Pendant - bonus for series and shows appearing in the same slots the next week (with adverse effects if you move them). I would have them appearing pre-programmed for the same slots the next week the next real-life day, provided there is a next episode/installment of the show - otherwise, you get a warning message. The game could also give warnings if no production of the next episode is scheduled for self-produced shows and series. 3. Auto-casting (even less to do with Multiplayer, I know) - the cast of the Series and hosts for Shows remain the same for every next episode/production. If you change the cast mid-series, the ratings go significantly down. It could be done by adding an option "film another episode with the same cast". 4. Influencing each others' ratings/sharing audience - it would be fun if the players in Multiplayer would be competing for the same audience pool. To still allow for the transmitter/satellite purchase options, I guess it should get a tad complex - every player could buy the rights to broadcast through every transmitter. So, in regions where a player is the only broadcaster, the viewership is calculated on 100% basis using the "usual" factors. But in regions where there are multiple stations available, the viewership is influenced by the attractiveness of competitors' programmes. I can't produce a formula for calculating the influence of other players' programming on your viewership off the cuff, but I guess it could be like - the total number of available viewers is the "regular" percentages for a block for all players participating multiplied by 50% (for transmitters with 3 stations broadcasting) and 75% (2 stations). Then the relative attractiveness is weighed against each other and this produces the results. 5. Live broadcasts in fixed moments in time - so, if the rights to a live broadcast become available in the movie agency "in 3 day(s)", the next day they are "in 2 day(s)" etc. and, if not purchased, are removed off the list on the day the event should take place. |
| 25.03.08 at 02:11 PM |
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SventB
Administrator  Posts: 1286 Joined: 06.02.06 |
Thank you for the input, I made many notes and perhaps some of your suggests are soon implemented. |
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