Improving community invovlement
Let's keep the momentum going!
The server has seen an increase of player influx, possibly due to the ongoing pandemic. First and foremost, props to everyone involved for making that happen. It's truly enjoyable to see signs of life again! However, it concerns me that, once these players are either maxed out or don’t feel challenged anymore, leave the server again. I understand that will always be part of any server, but I do feel that there could be some improvements to increase the longevity of the average player journey in Dodian and draw more players in. It'd be a shame kill the sprout and not nurture it into the plant.
Allow me to first outline some of my observations and illustrate potential improvements. I'll be happy to help wherever I can.
Observations
Finding Dodian – Most new players find the server by accident when they feel nostalgic and google if Dodian is still a thing.
Community – The majority of players are Gen Y players who know what Dodian used to be back in the days. Similar to OSRS, nostalgia brings us together, while community engagement keeps us together. People don’t care about server perfection. They do care about progress.
Gameplay – Will not go into too much detail. Although I have plenty of ideas, that’s for another topic. I'm not here to suggest new bosses, quests or minigames. I'm here to nurture the community. Generally, I feel like players actually enjoy the server despite the bugs. The real challenge is to keep the game refreshing and exciting for players that are already in their end-game stage.
Suggestions
Finding Dodian – Build on those nostalgic feelings. I’m sure there are plenty of people who are simply unaware that the server they once loved is back. Reimplement the voting system. Daily voting points could be spent in a voting shop for cosmetic items, skilling supplies or experience buffs. Also, referral rewards for when existing players invite new players is a feature that should be looked into. There is no greater exposure than exposure by community members. Reward those that advertise Dodian on platforms like YouTube.
Community – We have to accept that other servers are far more advanced in terms of features and gameplay. The server’s outdated and filled with bugs. But the fact is, they don’t care. People want to see development, not perfection. In order to keep the community attached, my suggestion would be a community vote on server projects, similar to weekly development polls on OSRS. Developers invite the community to vote on small projects and fixes they see manageable within a specific timeframe. “Bread and circuses” is all it takes for people to stick around longer It’s a big misconception that the server should be developed to perfection in order to have a sustainable player base. It’s an ever bigger misconception that the same people play Dodian on and off. It’s the same people who find the server, it’s different people that join the server and leave a week after.
Gameplay – I’ll leave this one up to the Runescape experts and developers. I enjoy the server as it is. And obviously, everyone wants to see new features. It's just not up to me to suggest any of them.
Now you've read all this and think "dang, another one of these pesky idealists with too much ambition..."
I understand that there have been plenty of shitty remakes with outdated code over the years. I understand that it’s the same players who are willing to invest time in the server and are actually involved in developing it. Heck, I even understand that it’s demotivating to work on the server without receiving a single penny in return.
What I do not understand, however, is that people seem to have lost faith in the server. “People will always come and go and the server is just too shitty to maintain a healthy population” is being used to resign in Dodian’s fate. That undermines the strength of the server: a mature, close community full of nostalgic players. It’s not about building the server to perfection, it’s about maintaining close relationships with both existing and new players. In my opinion, there is not enough interaction with the player base, and allowing them to work on the development of the server is generally restricted to those that know how to code.
Feel free to comment and give me as much stick as you want. Just be aware that I am, just like all of you, a member of this close community who simply feels that there is so much untouched potential. I’d be happy to help out wherever the community feels like they want me to.
Let’s make it happen.
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