03-17-2023, 11:40 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-21-2023, 10:00 AM by Aneeqs. Edited 6 times in total.)
Introduction:
Hello everyone! I appreciate this is somewhat unusual for Media, and I'm not posting it to make money so don't mind if it's ineligible. But I recently spoke to HO and was asked to post my proposal publically to gather impressions.
A little bit of context, I work professionally in Game Design, and specialise in gameplay systems, balance & user retention loops. One observed problem is that the ISFL has a relatively high inactive user rate, especially amongst newer users, but tends to retain more competitive minded players quite well. As casual & moderate players are the lifeblood of every game, I thought about ways of helping the league in this sense. Anyway, here is my proposal:
The Proposal:
Basically currency rewards (in this case TPE is our primary currency) should be an inverse curve that implements diminishing returns based on effort expended.
Our issue at the moment is to play anywhere near efficiently the barrier to entry is significant. That's great for players like me who will max earn regardless, but ultimately we should make up the minority of players.
With all those people we see go inactive, one of the leading causes will be witnessing the effort required to achieve even a moderately "powerful" player and going, to be blunt, "fuck that". This is a fantasy roleplay game at heart, players want to be great football players for their team.
So anyway yeah, the Activity Check should be the most rewarding weekly activity. This follows a common theory in game design where your initial / casual rewards are the most intense in value, and then value diminishes progressive when a player decides to "grind" the game, as the kinds of players who will grind will do it anyway. Think about like daily quests in any MMO like WoW or Destiny, they're relatively fast to complete, and by far the most lucrative thing you can do timewise.
Making the easiest reward also the best means that the "minimum engagement" or really, minimum effort, is much more appealing to players. Someone who goes inactive obviously won't bother to do ACs for 2 TPE a week, it's not even enough to upgrade a stat in the 70s after two weeks. They'd take an entire ISFL career to even hit the DSFL cap.
However, if a player can check in once a week, receive a notable boost to their player and actually feel the changes their minimal effort is making, they are much more likely to enjoy the game on a casual basis and feel like a genuine contributor to their team, which in time converts many of those players to more "hardcore" style players, as they are drawn in by the leagues social & communal elements, and want to contribute even more.
tl;dr: There's a reason why games have an easy mode. Making the AC lucrative gives players who would otherwise quit, an "easy mode" to play on, without devaluing the extra effort of hardcore players.
It also plays into more advanced design stuff like currency exposure / getting people addicted to gameplay loops but thats more the dark arts stuff.
Proposed Solutions:
1. The Activity Check rewards 8 TPE, remove the 3 TPE PT.
This is my personally preferred & suggested solution. This results in average weekly TPE gain increasing by 3, which is something to be concious of. However, for lesser enfranchised players, that is a strong positive. This makes the AC exciting, and an ultra rewarding weekly check in to keep players active & make them feel like true contributors. It's worth noting players chosing to complete all additional tasks & earn training would still earn 60~% more than someone simply doing the AC.
2. The Activity Check rewards 5 TPE, remove the 3 TPE PT.
If we want to keep average TPE gain the same for whatever reason, this is a much milder alternative. I personally believe there is space to increase the average, but this implements a lesser version of the same theory as above for those who don't wish to rock the boat. The main benefit here is we get rid of the dull 150 word task for all players.
3. The Yabba Dabba Doo Option - AC to 8, Keep the 3 TPE PT
This is also fine (read: great), but I initially didn't include this as I figured veteran players would panic at the increased TPE per week, which actually models fine really.
Hello everyone! I appreciate this is somewhat unusual for Media, and I'm not posting it to make money so don't mind if it's ineligible. But I recently spoke to HO and was asked to post my proposal publically to gather impressions.
A little bit of context, I work professionally in Game Design, and specialise in gameplay systems, balance & user retention loops. One observed problem is that the ISFL has a relatively high inactive user rate, especially amongst newer users, but tends to retain more competitive minded players quite well. As casual & moderate players are the lifeblood of every game, I thought about ways of helping the league in this sense. Anyway, here is my proposal:
The Proposal:
Basically currency rewards (in this case TPE is our primary currency) should be an inverse curve that implements diminishing returns based on effort expended.
Our issue at the moment is to play anywhere near efficiently the barrier to entry is significant. That's great for players like me who will max earn regardless, but ultimately we should make up the minority of players.
With all those people we see go inactive, one of the leading causes will be witnessing the effort required to achieve even a moderately "powerful" player and going, to be blunt, "fuck that". This is a fantasy roleplay game at heart, players want to be great football players for their team.
So anyway yeah, the Activity Check should be the most rewarding weekly activity. This follows a common theory in game design where your initial / casual rewards are the most intense in value, and then value diminishes progressive when a player decides to "grind" the game, as the kinds of players who will grind will do it anyway. Think about like daily quests in any MMO like WoW or Destiny, they're relatively fast to complete, and by far the most lucrative thing you can do timewise.
Making the easiest reward also the best means that the "minimum engagement" or really, minimum effort, is much more appealing to players. Someone who goes inactive obviously won't bother to do ACs for 2 TPE a week, it's not even enough to upgrade a stat in the 70s after two weeks. They'd take an entire ISFL career to even hit the DSFL cap.
However, if a player can check in once a week, receive a notable boost to their player and actually feel the changes their minimal effort is making, they are much more likely to enjoy the game on a casual basis and feel like a genuine contributor to their team, which in time converts many of those players to more "hardcore" style players, as they are drawn in by the leagues social & communal elements, and want to contribute even more.
tl;dr: There's a reason why games have an easy mode. Making the AC lucrative gives players who would otherwise quit, an "easy mode" to play on, without devaluing the extra effort of hardcore players.
It also plays into more advanced design stuff like currency exposure / getting people addicted to gameplay loops but thats more the dark arts stuff.
Proposed Solutions:
1. The Activity Check rewards 8 TPE, remove the 3 TPE PT.
This is my personally preferred & suggested solution. This results in average weekly TPE gain increasing by 3, which is something to be concious of. However, for lesser enfranchised players, that is a strong positive. This makes the AC exciting, and an ultra rewarding weekly check in to keep players active & make them feel like true contributors. It's worth noting players chosing to complete all additional tasks & earn training would still earn 60~% more than someone simply doing the AC.
2. The Activity Check rewards 5 TPE, remove the 3 TPE PT.
If we want to keep average TPE gain the same for whatever reason, this is a much milder alternative. I personally believe there is space to increase the average, but this implements a lesser version of the same theory as above for those who don't wish to rock the boat. The main benefit here is we get rid of the dull 150 word task for all players.
3. The Yabba Dabba Doo Option - AC to 8, Keep the 3 TPE PT
This is also fine (read: great), but I initially didn't include this as I figured veteran players would panic at the increased TPE per week, which actually models fine really.
Craig Brand - LB:
S40 DSFL First Team All Pro - DAL
S41 Defensive Rookie of the Year - CTC
S41 Ultimus Champion - CTC
S41 NSFC Pro Bowler - CTC