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Old 07-09-2011, 11:22 AM   #7
Erisine
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Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 21
Erisine is on a distinguished road
Re: Unwritten Legends: Searching for Player Testers.

I was going to write off the earlier poster as being someone who was incredibly impatient, and then I went over and had a look (since I'm looking for a new game myself).


Assuming someone was patient enough to sit on their hands while their application for play was approved, there is this issue:

"Any applications with web-based email will not be accepted."

I have to wonder just how many Average Joe's on the internet you've just flushed down the toilet. I hate to tell you, but the days of umpteen AOL addresses are mostly gone -- very few people actually use their ISP email address, and if they do, it's usually for "important stuff." Your primary audience is a tech-savvy one, so you're far more likely to run into them using than you are for their gaming or trial addresses. Some ISPs do not even issue email addresses anymore, and some will issue addresses to anyone, regardless of service. Your purpose for doing this -- to stop multiple accounts -- is blown out of the water when you consider it's entirely possible for someone to create multiple accounts from an ISP domain without paying extra money.

Furthermore, there are much better, less restricting ways, to enforce a no-multiaccount policy. In the end, all you are doing by filtering email addresses is blocking the non-hacker-elite gamer from your game, since the one who knows his way around the net is going to be able to get on anyway via spoof addresses and proxies.


Furthermore, your OOC application crosses the IC-OOC barrer, which is pretty much a red flag for a lot of people who are seeking RP games. The questions are worded in such a way that you pidgeon-hole players into feeling obligated to pick and play a particular character-type before they are even allowed onto the game. They have to pick possible character names, potential gods, and profession, but no one actually knows what the gameplay for these things are until they get in. While it's conceivable that you are looking for certain "character types" to "test" certain areas of the game, this can be done by posting and seeking willing volunteers (a much more straight-forward method). If your game really is in testing, this data is irrelevant since the PURPOSE OF PLAY is to TEST and not to ROLEPLAY.


Lastly, the application is terribly invasive. Why is Unwritten Legends collecting so much demographic data, and why is this data not optional? Things like my last name, city, state, and country of origin are of no use to you -- and neither is my gender. And while they are optional, how many actually report their AIM or phone numbers to your MUD, along with alternative emails? What would the game EVER use these for?

You can debate asking for a DOB if you are limiting the game to those 18+ and older; however, without an actual legal notice and agreement (which you do not have) letting people know what your age policy is, there is no point in this since someone 13 can lie about their DOB and say they had no idea that your game didn't allow minors to log in and start yiff'ing away.



Ok, all ranting aside, it reflects on you poorly when the VERY FIRST THING a person sees is badly designed. Clean up the application, and make it short and inviting. I should want to fill out that app. If your rapp is this annoying and restrictive, what is your gameplay like? Your staff? Your other players?
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