What has rhythm gaming become?

[kommisar]

Re: What has rhythm gaming become?

tldr this thread but almost all communities experience this sort of phenomenon. You have your standard set of regulars that ultimately shun newcomers and leave them by the wayside. Then when the regulars start leaving, the community is pretty much dead.

In other words, if you want the community to live, don't ignore newbies. You want them to be interested enough to stick around and play/join the community.

Of course, the hardcore will always stick around. Then again, rhythm gaming tends to have a short halflife for most people. I'm clocking in at a decade even though I am a retired player.

This could be said about our entire generation of advanced play and hard simfiles. Barely anyone caters to the noobs (except people like patashu/silvuh etc.) but we're probably not going to play forever, and there'll be nobody left if we keep shutting out new people that have little to no material to play anymore.

[ddr_f4n]

Re: What has rhythm gaming become?

There's a reason why I make easier difficulty charts for my pad files :P

And there's also a reason why my packs are being noticed somewhat :V

[Arch0wl]

Re: What has rhythm gaming become?

tldr this thread but almost all communities experience this sort of phenomenon. You have your standard set of regulars that ultimately shun newcomers and leave them by the wayside. Then when the regulars start leaving, the community is pretty much dead.

I think the more important point that came out of ddxero's discussion was about the non-English-speaking players who could be playing but aren't.

Rhythm games are an inherently suicidal type of game. You need to get to the "elite" of the community as fast as you can, or you will be swept up once there is an aristocracy of people who can are way, way better than you. This is the case with FFR now; there are simply too many good players for someone who hasn't been playing for months to feel like they can involve themselves in the community in any meaningful capacity.

Thus, if you want new players to stick around, you need a solid reward system that makes people feel like they are getting somewhere even though their scores may not be great. You also need a way to make them feel like they're part of the "good players", even if the people who the community considers "good" are quite above that. O2Jam did this relatively well, but games like Stepmania suck a lot at it -- you're placed in your caste almost immediately. Good players like this because the fact that you're better than someone is unavoidable, but when you're on the receiving end of that system it there is virtually no incentive to continue. If I had started in 2006 and not 2002, I don't think I would have been as involved in the SM community as I was.

[stargroup100]

Re: What has rhythm gaming become?

This could be said about our entire generation of advanced play and hard simfiles. Barely anyone caters to the noobs (except people like patashu/silvuh etc.) but we're probably not going to play forever, and there'll be nobody left if we keep shutting out new people that have little to no material to play anymore.

Back at KBO we're trying to fix that by actually getting stuff done and making a ton of easy charts, getting ready for beta.

Unfortunately, the regulars of the community that should be regularly contributing are sitting around doing nothing while the staff is working their ass off.

[qqwref]

Re: What has rhythm gaming become?

Unfortunately, the regulars of the community that should be regularly contributing are sitting around doing nothing while the staff is working their ass off.

How many people are real KBO regulars (who play a lot and care about the game itself) and how many are SM regulars who hang out in KBO's community?


I agree with Arch about the importance of having a good, and progressive, reward system. I personally started playing Stepmania in 2008, and didn't play because I thought I could be one of the best in the world/community, but because I thought it would be fun to be decent at it (and it is). If I didn't have that personal motivation, there's no way I would have continued - and if I'd tried too hard to fit into the existing SM community, I know I wouldn't have.

[ddrxero64]

Re: What has rhythm gaming become?

not like SM's long notes like you can hold them until they are over, you need to let go the long note at a certain time

They're called lifts, SM has them. But they're a PIU based thing, so most songs don't have them. They're not really liked in files, but they're possible just to let you know.

I've been thinking about the latest posts. The whole reward system is very true, and I couldn't agree more. We don't have one, where as you guys have tokens and such. We do have a level system that needs to be a lot less steep as far as leveling up. I'm going to see what I can do.

I'm definitely trying hard to switch things up, thinking of ideas everyday that could make the experience fun. I'm announcing the release of my project this saturday. It would have been released up to a month ago, but my computer troubles were bad, delaying my work. It doesn't contribute entirely to the fun factor, but it's going to attract new and pro players. I hope people will find playing a bit more interesting.

Back at KBO we're trying to fix that by actually getting stuff done and making a ton of easy charts, getting ready for beta.

Unfortunately, the regulars of the community that should be regularly contributing are sitting around doing nothing while the staff is working their ass off.

I tried to be a part, but it felt tight knit. I'm willing to contribute (if you'd like) and come back to the forums, but I think making the site a bit more friendly might be a plus. I'd be a part of every rhythm gaming community if I could, I only like to be a part of ones who treat everyone on the same level, regardless of skill or seniority. Of course mods and admins have their part, but I'm guessing you know what I mean.

I've definitely started to post here a lot more. I'm glad people were willing to hear me out, so thanks to the open minded people of FFR.