Why don't many PBBG sites talk about the game?

[Topazan]

I've noticed it's pretty common for browser game sites to not let people past the first page without registering.   As a potential player this is frustrating, because I want to read some of the helpfiles to get a general idea of the gameplay before deciding to go through the effort of registering.

Why is this?  Is it just laziness, or is it a marketing decision?

On one hand, I guess by forcing players to register before telling them about the game, you make them commit to playing it to satisfy their curiosity.  You also prevent them from seeing anything that would turn them off from the game

On the other hand, unless my interest in the concept was particularly strong before visiting the site, I'm less inclined to stick around if I don't see anything that grabs me.  A login page usually does not.

Like I said, is it just laziness, or is there some evidence that it draws more people in?

[Blacklava]

On one hand, I guess by forcing players to register before telling them about the game, you make them commit to playing it to satisfy their curiosity.  You also prevent them from seeing anything that would turn them off from the game

+1
I bet that's the main reason... Check Evony past advert campaign : A babe on a banner => a splash screen with just 5 lines about the game (you don't even understand it will be a town building game) => registration step

For my game CitySlaves we ask no email for registration so it's a bit different story, if we would use a classic signup form I would put more screenshots and info anyway

[133794m3r]

I've noticed it's pretty common for browser game sites to not let people past the first page without registering.   As a potential player this is frustrating, because I want to read some of the helpfiles to get a general idea of the gameplay before deciding to go through the effort of registering.

Why is this?  Is it just laziness, or is it a marketing decision?

On one hand, I guess by forcing players to register before telling them about the game, you make them commit to playing it to satisfy their curiosity.  You also prevent them from seeing anything that would turn them off from the game

On the other hand, unless my interest in the concept was particularly strong before visiting the site, I'm less inclined to stick around if I don't see anything that grabs me.  A login page usually does not.

Like I said, is it just laziness, or is there some evidence that it draws more people in?

Well it's mostly just them trying to get people to come in without telling them much of anyting. Also it's a bit of laziness imo. Since you want to make your game look enticing to the potential player by telling them about it if they want to see it. I'm personally going to have a minidescription of one paragraph, with a link that'll allow you to look over the information about the game. How the battle system works, screenshots will be on the main page once i get the game's design down pat. Also there'll be files about how the classes work, etc. etc.

I'm also going to have a try now w/o any registration what so ever type thing. Basically it's a once the session's overwith you're done kinda thing. But they'll be able to go into the game and start the tutorial part of it. It's instanced so to speak, so each person's there on their own. And this is b/c it's the "prologue" so to speak of your character. Players can opt out of this prologue and thus just click a few buttons to pick their class' setup and such, but for those who want to they'll be able to do the full back story. Then after that they can go into the official tutorial part of the game. Once the person trying it can only complete up until the tutorial.

Once the tutorial's completed by that person, they'll be prompted to register, if they don't register the game ends there for them. I'll also be deleting this entire table after one week. All entries that've been in there after that is dropped. This is my way of not making someone be forced to register to see how the game's about. But also, being able to not make it easier for spammers to get into there or well someone who wants to "troll" the game so to speak since they're unable to communicate with anyone.

[Topazan]

On one hand, I guess by forcing players to register before telling them about the game, you make them commit to playing it to satisfy their curiosity.  You also prevent them from seeing anything that would turn them off from the game

+1
I bet that's the main reason... Check Evony past advert campaign : A babe on a banner => a splash screen with just 5 lines about the game (you don't even understand it will be a town building game) => registration step

For my game CitySlaves we ask no email for registration so it's a bit different story, if we would use a classic signup form I would put more screenshots and info anyway

Yeah, Evony.  What the hell was up with that ad campaign?  I guess whoever's in charge of their advertising takes the "sex sells" mantra a little too literally.  I wonder how well it worked...

I have to admit, the first time I saw your site, I didn't notice that no email was required.  In light of that, just choosing a username and password isn't too unreasonable.  Maybe I'll check it out myself later today.

[133794m3r]

On one hand, I guess by forcing players to register before telling them about the game, you make them commit to playing it to satisfy their curiosity.  You also prevent them from seeing anything that would turn them off from the game

+1
I bet that's the main reason... Check Evony past advert campaign : A babe on a banner => a splash screen with just 5 lines about the game (you don't even understand it will be a town building game) => registration step

For my game CitySlaves we ask no email for registration so it's a bit different story, if we would use a classic signup form I would put more screenshots and info anyway

Yeah, Evony.  What the hell was up with that ad campaign?  I guess whoever's in charge of their advertising takes the "sex sells" mantra a little too literally.  I wonder how well it worked...

I have to admit, the first time I saw your site, I didn't notice that no email was required.  In light of that, just choosing a username and password isn't too unreasonable.  Maybe I'll check it out myself later today.

Evony is controlled by one of the largest gold farming companies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFb9QKkNDU8 check out that link.

[mobeamer]

I debated forceing registration for a long time. The problem was that in order to understand the game you kinda had to play it. In order to play it I needed you, the visitor, to register.

My solution, every visit that comes to the game can enter as a "guest". This creates a fake login for them..."guest1234" password="somethingcrazy".

Then when the user was ready to register, I just sent them to a "edit profile" page. This strategy worked well till the multi-accounters figured it out.

I then had a stopping point in my game where guest could not get past. (20% into the game, I guess)

I also had to periodically clean out the guest accounts. Though this was not as bad as I thought it would be.

[dsheroh]

I debated forceing registration for a long time. The problem was that in order to understand the game you kinda had to play it. In order to play it I needed you, the visitor, to register.

My solution, every visit that comes to the game can enter as a "guest". This creates a fake login for them..."guest1234" password="somethingcrazy".

Then when the user was ready to register, I just sent them to a "edit profile" page. This strategy worked well till the multi-accounters figured it out.

This is similar to what I'm planning to do with my game, based on a previous discussion I'd seen here.  It's on The List for my next update, it's just a question of finding time to do that and the other two outstanding features that I want to get in there...

The specific approach I plan to take is to allow new users to log in with a name and nothing else.  These demo accounts will start off reduced skill ranks and cash, along with some restrictions on chat (e.g., local chat only) once that's implemented.  There will be a 'register' option rather than 'log out' (with no password they wouldn't be able to log back in if they logged out) and, on registration, skills will be raised to the normal starting rank and cash will be increased by the difference between what they started with and the normal starting cash.  I don't plan to put any hard caps on demo account progression, but they will be automatically deleted after 24 hours, plus there won't be any way to get back into a demo account if you end the session, which will effectively limit progression without having to put a wall in front of players.

[AcidicOne]

Browser games suffer from one thing most traditional games don't, which is the unavailability of ingame movies, cause i mean if you take a new pc game or xbox you can head to the site and almost guaranteed find video of what the actual game footage looks like. However being a semi static game we could do that, but it wouldn't be very entertaining.My plan was simple, have screen shots of the things you would end up doing most often to familiarize yourself with, and have read access only to the forum before registration, because regardless of any games help files, I have always found the forums to be the best source of information because of the player guides,walk through etc Which because are player written given a more unbiased feel to the events in game because there giving there opinion on the same view i would be playing the game from, and not from the guys making the game.This is not to say i wont offer my own collection of help files, but i do think once you get a solid small community behind your game, they tend to come together and write some damn solid guides, especially new player ones.That being said communication between players is also important because with a chat/message system the players can always discuss things between themselves.

[jannesiera]

A really well written home page / help page can do wonders .

[Topazan]

Browser games suffer from one thing most traditional games don't, which is the unavailability of ingame movies, cause i mean if you take a new pc game or xbox you can head to the site and almost guaranteed find video of what the actual game footage looks like. However being a semi static game we could do that, but it wouldn't be very entertaining.My plan was simple, have screen shots of the things you would end up doing most often to familiarize yourself with, and have read access only to the forum before registration, because regardless of any games help files, I have always found the forums to be the best source of information because of the player guides,walk through etc Which because are player written given a more unbiased feel to the events in game because there giving there opinion on the same view i would be playing the game from, and not from the guys making the game.This is not to say i wont offer my own collection of help files, but i do think once you get a solid small community behind your game, they tend to come together and write some damn solid guides, especially new player ones.That being said communication between players is also important because with a chat/message system the players can always discuss things between themselves.

Personally, I find the forums to be a mixed bag at best.  I agree it gives the clearest picture of the gameplay, and it is nice to have a place to ask for help if you don't understand something, or look for hints and tips.

However, I often find it takes the mystery out of the high level game.  Furthermore, forum posters often focus on the negative, and the cynicism of the high level players can really dampen one's enthusiasm.  Finally, it can present a biased view of the gameplay depending on what playstyle is dominant on the forums.  A forum full of number-crunching min-maxers might leave you with the impression that number-crunching is all the game has to offer. 

I wonder how a game would get along without an official forum, just in game communication and fansites.

[Sagefire135]

if a bbg didnt have a forum, i seriously doubt I would bother logging in a second time (same goes for a chat and pm system). i like being able to communicate with lots of people all at once if i want to, or to communicate with just one person if i need to; and for when i just want to talk to whoever about whatever, the chat is handy (and none of that external site to handle the stuff either, needs to be ingame chat and forum)

im a little picky i suppose, but the community aspect of a game is just as (if not more) important than the gameplay.

[-fedexer-]

I had wondered this aswell, and to be honest a site which does not give me some type of description or show of what the gameplay is like/suppose to be, and what the goals are etc just fails me. I would prefer to have ample descriptions of stuff, maybe even a help log or something.

Also on the subject of forums, i prefer a game to have forums attached so that you can ask questions, interact with other users, and even try to work out strategies based off of what others have to say about the game and their gameplay techniques. A game without communication methods really does drag out, i also prefer being able to communicate with the other players playing the game with me.

[Chris]

Isn't it simplier to just register and see for yourself than reading through promotional materials? Sounds like less work to me as a player...

[Topazan]

Isn't it simplier to just register and see for yourself than reading through promotional materials? Sounds like less work to me as a player...

How so?  The latter would just require a few clicks and a little reading.  Registering, if nothing else, involves thinking up an appropriate username, a memorable and secure password that fits the site's individual requirements, and frequently verifying your email, which can take a couple minutes.  Besides, giving out personal information like your email address is at least a slight risk, maybe not as much now as it used to be, but many people don't like to do it unless necessary.  And you still have to click and read.

As far as forums, I do recognize their utility in learning about the game, and in small games they probably make for a good community.  However, the larger the game grows te more impersonal the forums become.  In my experience with really huge games, forum discussion is often dominated by an elite few, with the rest just observing or playing bit parts.  Encouraging people to communicate on a more one-on-one basis might have the benefit of giving people who would otherwise just be lost in the crowd the chance to make connections.

You guys are probably right in that it might not be worth getting rid of forums entirely though.

[Chris]

username TAB, password TAB password TAB email
then I look at the screen and read what register fields actually asked for (in more than 97% I went exacly as expected)
Then click Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C, go to next field and press Ctrl+P (only if they ask to put enail second time).
Then click TAB twice (ask for referral)
Then actaully look at the screen and read CAPCHA.
Next tick AgreeToToS, and finally Submit.

10-25 seconds for me, depending on register form complexity

These points:
- involves thinking up an appropriate username, a memorable and secure password
- Besides, giving out personal information like your email address is at least a slight risk
are not valid since the user already know them since he/she played such games before.
IF
the user is new and never played browser game then the whole "reading if the game is worth it" is completely irrelevant since such game will be surely a completely new and unique experience no matter how cliche the game is

[Topazan]

10-25 seconds for me, depending on register form complexity

These points:
- involves thinking up an appropriate username, a memorable and secure password
- Besides, giving out personal information like your email address is at least a slight risk
are not valid since the user already know them since he/she played such games before.

10-25 seconds to start learning about a game is STILL longer than the <1 second it takes to click on the link to the helpfiles.

This makes the following entirely academic but:
-Not all usernames are appropriate to all games.
-Sometimes you need to name more than one thing.  Your character, your kingdom, your pet, etc.
-If the game is hugely popular or your usual username generic, it could already be taken.
-Some sites have different rules for passwords.
-Using the same password all the time might be risky if you don't trust the game's admin.
-Waiting for an email verification to arrive can take time.
-Giving out personal information doesn't stop being a risk just because you've done it before.

Like I said though, none of this matters, because no matter how you slice it, reading publicly available helpfiles or other material is still faster and takes less effort than registering.  I'm not saying that registering is hard.  Sure, it's easy, but navigating away from the site and not coming back is even easier.