I think think there's pros cons and neutral ideas flying about concerning NS. And I think they're all valid, but I have a slightly off topic thought. Is there anything being done, in a focused manner, to try and bring some attention back to this specific game, NS/SRS, other than the ragtag band of pirates that are still participating, judging, working their butts off? Even something as small as word of mouth? Be it by email, conversational etc and by not just the creators of this game but by players, even Fanpro? And why can't Fanpro have suggest players check out the only current SR4 based online game? Comments, questions, suggestions?

Just commenting on the last part:

For Fanpro to suggest that would mean they would have to sanction NS. Most gaming companies refuse to do so. I don't know if FP is any different or not.

- X

We tend to opt for the low-profile version of events, the boundaries between SR computer games and paper games is rather foggy when you think about it in MUSH terms ;-)

As for advertising, I certainly plan some once we get the beta going in the various SR fan-groups :-)

Well, you can do the word of mouth if you want. If you are at another forum, put a link to the site in. Who knows, maybe someone will check it out.

it costs money to advertise, don't it? And if you don't know who to donate to, then you'll just have to find out, or wait for them to do it out of their own pocket and good graces.

Personally, I think that happy players should just spread the word to those they think would be fit for it.

On some mushes, as I'm sure everyone knows, you can advertise for free.  Just slap up a post on their Advertisements board, after talking to staff, like xander has done for the DragonLance game on Seattle.  Quick and easy, no cost, either just need to be a player of that mush or have the staff be really really nice.

Once we get ready to open and all that jazz, maybe Melkir or someone else, will write up a post here that we can copy/paste to spread the word.  Otherwise, just print out flyers and stick 'em up on your local telephone poles.

I was thinking a multi-media multi-market engagement campaign starting off first with local media then going regional with a couple of choice national spots during monday night football. It's just me, the Winged Demon-Minor Deity and the fragments of a distopian society.

I had planned on explaining the theme, how to use telnet, and what the 'internet' is in under 25 seconds, with enough time left over for my winning smile.

Don't forget the blimp. And the appearance with Billy Idol at Madison Square Garden.

And don't forget the almost nekkid cheerleaders in the background.  You can't have a commercial without them.

Here are my thoughts about advertising and New Seattle.

People need to see a benefit in a product in order to give it a try.  If people have already used a product and decided they didn't like it, the task of getting them to try the product again becomes exponentially more difficult.

The product in question is an online roleplaying community.  More specifically, it is a Shadowrun based online roleplaying community.  In this case, a lot of the people who you'd be avertising to have already tried the product and decided that they wanted something else.  Online RPers are a specific bread of human being.  Although Seattle lost a bunch of people to MMORPGs like Warcraft 3, a bunch of the players just went to other MU*s.  Obviously there are the other SR MU*s, but beyond those there are other genre's that people bailed out to.  Those people are still out there, so the advertising needs to be targetted to the communities that they went to.

Getting those people to come back and play in a "new" Seattle is a difficult task.  They need to be given a reason to leave the cliques that they are part of on the other MU*s to come and create new groups (and deal with old, repressed emotional issues) on New Seattle.  In simple terms, the roleplaying environment on NS needs to be more fun than what they are doing other places.

The only idea that I have is that there needs to be a big introductory plot.  Big is a relative term... it only needs to be big enough to encompass the people who are interested in playing in the New Seattle.  The plot has the potential to set the tone and provide the framework of RP on New Seattle.  The plot can address many of the other themes that have come up in threads on this board, such as how RP "should" be done in the Barrens.  The plot can introduce the players to the important locations on the new grid.  The plot can do for players what so many players either can't or don't want to do in their backgrounds.... it can give them an idea of what they can be doing in the community that New Seattle will be.

I envision such a plot would be scripted with a pre-determined cast of characters.  Those characters will have sheets generated for them.  Each of those characters will contribute to the overall course of the plot.  For example, some characters will be runners.  One of the characters might be a fixer.  A couple of the characters might be NPCish characters that PCs won't be allowed to play (such as gangers, org members, etc).  The characters will be handed out to anyone who wants to play.  Obviously there will be a couple of key characters in the story that need to be filled.  As more people sign up, they will get more and more periphery roles.  That will serve as an incentive for people to want to take part in it.

So anyway, there will be the plot and the plot will happen.  It will be a one off event, and all the characters will be taken away after the plot completes.  I think that it makes sense to have some sort of reward for those who live through the plot.  And on the other hand, there will be rewards for those who participate as well.  I think the rewards need to be close together, so that people be encouraged to RP their characters more than they'd be encouraged to try to "play smart" and "stay alive".  I think that a 20/25 karma award would be more than sufficient.  That way those who take part in the plot won't be that much ahead of brand new PCs who come to play on NS who didn't know about the plot.  As an extra incentive, there can be a +nom system.  The person who receives the most +nom's will get 5 karma AND everyone who +nom'd that person will get 5 karma.  That way people are encouraged to +nom often, and a sense of community and mutual support can be fostered.

Unlike a "normal" plot, I think it would serve NS well to be able to provide a synopsis as part of an advertising flyer (pre-formatted BBpost).  The synopsis should include certain elements.  One of those could be a theme setting such as, "On the acidic rainwashed streets of New Seattle, life is interesting for those who call the Barrens their home."  And then there needs to be an element of what the story is...  "Things are going to get more interesting now that (insert NPC org here) has problems with (insert other random character here).  Who knows what will happen in Redmond when news of it gets out."  <---- Or something like that.  The basic idea is that you need to let people know what they are getting into, which is a plot as soon as they hit the grid.  A plot with a reward for being part of.  A plot that will allow the admins to set the theme, and introduce it to people in a controlled manner.  And most importantly, a plot that will truly test the roleplaying ability of those who want to play.  They will have pre-assigned characters, and by their RP, they will either demonstrate an understanding of how that character type fits into the SR universe, or they won't.

[Moderator Edit: Policy Violations]

And on a side note, Warcraft 3 isn't a MMORPG. World of Warcraft is a MMORPG.

On topic: I think Dreamer's idea is among the most viable options. Nekkid Cheerleaders. And her suggestion to post on other Mushes is also good.? The usual venues of The Mud Connector and places that people go to looking for Mushes. A favorite web comic might work. Smack up a banner or two.

Maybe even a few porn sites will let us stick a banner up.

-Hades, interviewing the nekkid cheerleaders already.

Webcomics are a good idea, if you can get one of 'em to do it without having to pay for it.  I volunteer to not try to do that.

the great thing about SR4 is that it'll have most of it's following from SRS. My thoughts? It's got to be like any other grass-roots game, if we make it good and fun for ourselves people will see it and want to get involved. No sense in having floods of people early on.

We have a reputation of being elitists to maintain, don't forget.

Commercial Starts

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What is the Internet?  This magical thing that you click here and do that with all the time!

What is Telnet?  A fan-tuckin-fabulous combination of gaming and internet, available through SimpleMu and other so-called Telnet Clients!

Billy Idol Interview:  Do you like internet gaming called Telnet?

Billy Idol Response:  Rockin'.

Nekkid Cheerleaders Interview:  Do you play internet games called Telnet?

Nekkid Cheerleaders Response:  Gimme a T, Gimme an E, Gimme a.... uhhhh... Elll neet!  Wooooo yeah yeah yeah, woooo!

Commercial Ends.

I wouldn't mind making a webcomic for it...just that well...i'm still trying to teach myself to draw :p