A short rant on casual player retention.

Myrkskog

Canada481 Posts

October 26 2012 07:34 GMT

Blizzard's latest and greatest idea on how to retain casual players has arrived in the form of a new "leveling" system. I'm sure everyone is familiar with it, but for those who aren't, prepare to be dazzled;

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/7681240/Heart_of_the_Swarm_Preview_Leveling-10_25_2012

/yawn. Who cares about more portraits. How are portraits going to motivate anyone other than the most hardcore achievement whores to ladder at all? How are portraits going to get the casual player interested in watching the GSL? Did you guess that it won't? You are right, and blizzard would be lucky to have you.

A big part of the casual experience that gets very little attention is team games. Casual ladder players enjoy team games. Want to improve the experience of casual players? How about making some decent 3v3 and 4v4 maps to keep us playing. This seemingly impossible solution gives a little hug to E-Sports as well. The motivation to watch an MLG or GSL is much higher when a casual player's experience is in some way relatable to the professional experience. Sorry, Nexus Wars, I still love you!

As it stands, 90% of the 3v3 maps are smaller than David Kim's cock. And given how much time he and Dustin Browder spend ass fucking each other, they are probably less shitty, too. There is only 1 expansion for each team member and then they have to fight over the single remaining expansion. It turns into a 2 base 10 minute bore fest every time. 4v4 is hardly better.

As someone who played a ridiculous amount of 3v3 in Broodwar, it drives me crazy that Ulaan Deeps and Dig Site are still in the game. Look at the new maps for this 3v3 season. Monsoon and Silent Dunes. Are you fucking kidding me? A frequent rotation of decent 3v3/4v4 maps is how you keep the casual ladder players happy, not 25 more useless portraits to throw on the pile.

But therein lies the problem, and it is the same problem that has plagued SC2 since its release.

Maps.

Blizzard just doesn't get it. After 2 years they still can't comprehend the role maps play in their game. They simply react to the community's outrage about maps without ever really understanding it. Just look at HoTS. As soon as Blizzard is solely in charge of maps again, they go right back to the same dumb maps as the release of Wings Of Liberty.

It's like Blizzard is a severely retarded person who has a habit of pooing into his hand at the dinner table and putting it on his plate beside the broccoli. He knows that those around him scold him when he does it, but he never genuinely clues in as to why it is wrong in the first place.

+ Show Spoiler +

Fuck Ulaan Derps.

Torte de Lini

Germany38463 Posts

October 26 2012 07:56 GMT

Such vulgarity and hostility really clouds your main arguments by cheap attempts of wit.

How are portraits going to get the casual player interested in watching the GSL?

They won't. This is to retain a player-base to which you can introduce fans of the game and transform them into fans of a scene. Portraits won't transform people to the scene, it will merely give them more reason to play and continue to play.

A big part of the casual experience that gets very little attention is team games. Casual ladder players enjoy team games.

Is it because team-games are typically less serious that you attribute a majority of a "casual" base to like team games over custom games, FFA, 1 vs. 1, etc.? Additionally, what defines a "casual" type of player and what is the percentage of casuals over total users?

As it stands, 90% of the 3v3 maps are smaller than David Kim's cock.

Vulgar crap.

And given how much time he and Dustin Browder spend ass fucking each other, they are probably less shitty, too.

Vulgar crap.

If you want them and their development team to change something, direct your anger into more constructive posts like you are doing here, except cut out all the explicit shit that makes you sound both irritable and childish.

It's like Blizzard is a severely retarded person who has a habit of pooing into his hand at the dinner table and putting it on his plate beside the broccoli.

I agree on your two main points to update the team maps and to find new ways to retain a "casual" player-base, but I think a lot of what you wrote is misguided on how to convert players into fans of E-Sports.

I also think it's narrow-minded to think that they're only introducing portraits to retain playership. I mean, it's been talked about 1,000 times that a clan system is coming. In addition, the experience bar is a much better way to display progress (something a lot of people enjoy), while the rewards aren't to everyone's liking; it's still pretty good.

You also ignored the map/match-up and other stats that would be included in your profile. I'm not sure why that wasn't more of a pinnacle point of your post. Really unfortunate.

Daswollvieh

5553 Posts

October 26 2012 10:30 GMT

Wow, OP really manages to sell his point short, but it´s gonna get edited soon, anyway.

Otherwise I agree. To clarify, I´d add: A "casual", not-competitive online gamer is mainly interested in various aspects of team games, be it social interaction, or a relieved burden of responsibility etc.

The social aspect of a game is not as well adressed through chat channels, networking and unlock opportunities as it is through social gameplay, i.e. teamplay. If SC2 supported teamgames better, then that could be a major motivation to play for many people.

Please or register to reply.

A short rant on casual player retention.

Completed

Ongoing

Upcoming