Too many games? Dilution of dMw

[Gone_Away]

What is the next level? Games are changing. Most platforms are being driven by console gaming with online servers.
 
  Where is dmw going? Wow; Arma2, L4d2, BC2, LFS, COD4
 
  Are we in danger of offering too much and not being able to fill a server? With more and more games hosted on pay to play servers will gaming communities like ours die a certain death?  



Should we be considering only a limited number of games? When we argree to roll out a new game, should one be "unsupported" and shut down? Are we in danger of diluting the community due to our size?

 
  What I see happening is that we can ill afford to have more than one pay to play server. In fact we can't even fill one on a regular basis.
 
  Will we survive or has the industry killed off smaller gaming communities like dMw?

[TeaLeaf]

This is part of a discussion I started a while ago in Council and tbh it's still ongoing.  Tbh it's also similar to a post I make about every 6 months in Council.  There's a lot of elements of similarity in there so I'll try to summarise where I feel we are at the moment.

First and foremost we're a community.  We used to be a one-game, no forum clan who happened to talk on in-game comms, but we transitioned to include other games and become that community as no single game holds the attention of everyone all the time.

Where are we going?  Short question long answer.  I see several goals:

-survive
-regularly convert new blood into loyal community members
-continually strive to deliver better to our members, be that in game servers or other support
-remain non-profit/non-commercial

I guess those are the key ones.  

I see the community's role as to keep up with the games that are coming, to support and deliver a server where we can (or a forum section), and then use the community to increase the footfall on our website and other activities.  The more people stick around here, the more people will be on our servers, at our LANs, in our guilds.

In terms of not being able to fill a new server you are absolutely right, it's a risk, which is why I have stressed so much the need to promote each game outside our own forums.  The existing GLs will know I have been on about this now for some time, each reminder getting louder than the previous!  No single game will help us though & I doubt we could accurately set a maximum number of games to support as the number of members which are in the pool varies depending on the game choice offered, and thus so does any notional dilution point.  If the new CS arrived and was a massive hit then we might suddenly find (again) 3 full servers each night and still have overflow into other games but it would be unlikely to affect the numbers playing LFS or WoW players for example.  The key is new blood from outside our current pool - and this was also one of the main drivers behind the decision to become a gaming community some years back.  Heck, we even considered Google Adwords recently!

Budget wise we can afford more paid for servers and not cause any short-term cashflow issues, but the point is well made.  More games are coming with 'publisher controlled access', which in turn makes it more suitable for porting to consoles which in turn kills the mod market as they have nothing to mod, which in turn hurts PC gaming communities like ours.  But not all games are going this way and some have actively done a 'NatWest'; and re-opened separate server clients for forthcoming games.

The underlying message is that I think we need to be prepared to continually change to keep ahead of the market.  If we do not change then yes we will die and the community will be no more.  That's the challenge, the same one there has always been.  We faced problems when we foresaw the decreasing popularity of CS when we were but a single game clan, we changed and we grew.

[Gone_Away]

Thanks TL.

It's good to hear (read) that these things are being discussed on the other side of the fence. It gives me comfort that others are feeling and discussing what I've started here.

I won't drag it out except to say that promotion is difficult.. We're all aware of the work that I'm doing outside the community on promoting BC2 and it is painful to say the least. It takes time and continuous effort. It has produced limited results but to be honest even if one or two good people join the community and stay then it's worth it.

I'm always happy to share my ideas and approach with other GL's on the subject of promotion. Most of it has been made public but if any one needs a hand I'm there to assist.

Thanks!

[Blunt]

The underlying message is that I think we need to be prepared to continually change to keep ahead of the market.  If we do not change then yes we will die and the community will be no more.  That's the challenge, the same one there has always been.  We faced problems when we foresaw the decreasing popularity of CS when we were but a single game clan, we changed and we grew.

[Penfold]

TL says it all really.

We have the hardware to whack up new servers for any game that comes along for the forseeable future however without new lifeblood, we're stagnating and are ultimately dead in the water. If we're going to survive then it's crucial that we inject new blood into the system. Whitey managed it with re-inventing CS and the introduction of WoW and the associated cross-fertilisation from SoG really boosted us. We fundamentally changed from an old boys' club and did away with the hierarchical structure in order that any member, new or old, could have access to badges and member areas without having to be sponsored etc.

We do have a problem with FPS games and diluting our pool of players but we have little choice. We need to spread the net as far and wide as possible to collect as many people as we can.

We have adopted games and tried to draw in new people and that has been successful to a degree. But have a look at the active members and it's in gradual decline.

Any suggestions for promotion are welcomed and it's something we need to actively push.