[arg_discuss] Casual/Hardcore

[Brian Clark]

Why would you want the activities of the "hardcore thread" from the casual
players? Are you talking about just using that to "dumb down" the main
experience? Are you talking just about puzzle difficulty?

I guess I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "hardcore". I think there are
always ways to give a little extra to "fans" (who might notice more of the
nuance).

-----Original Message-----
From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org] On
Behalf Of Patrick O'Luanaigh
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2008 7:37 AM
To: 'Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG'
Subject: [arg_discuss] Casual/Hardcore

One thing that has been playing on my mind recently is the casual/hardcore
problem, and appealing to both kinds of player at the same time.

This led to the idea of a 'hardcore thread' running in parallel to the main
ARG that gives committed players additional longer-term puzzles and things
to do that require more time commitment, but which casual players never see.

So I'm thinking of specifically giving players the choice of becoming an
'ultra-player' (placeholder terminology!) which means that they get sent
additional puzzles that spin off from the main story and give them something
extra, but aren't key to the main story progression. If players find this
too much, they can revert to being a normal player at any point, which
doesn't include these extra hardcore elements.

Any thoughts? I'm sure this must have been done before, and I wonder whether
this is a good way of giving extra content to hardcore gamers, or whether I
risk splitting the community and devaluing the 'casual' path...

Patrick




-----Original Message-----
From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org] On
Behalf Of Brian Clark
Sent: 11 February 2008 12:26
To: 'Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG'
Subject: Re: [arg_discuss] Introduction - Elan Lee


> Just signed up and wanted to introduce myself ... ARGs have

> been a central part of my life for the last..well, since

> they could really be a central part of anything.


Are you late to every party, Mr. Lee? A Mr. Elan-Come-Lately with gummi bear
distractions? Nice to have an "ex-dirty marketer" in the mix, wish you had
been around for the Majestic dissection last month (feel free to bump the
thread, buddy, I think your thoughts would be fascinating.)



Brian





_______________________________________________
ARG_Discuss mailing list
ARG_Discuss at igda.org
http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/arg_discuss

_______________________________________________
ARG_Discuss mailing list
ARG_Discuss at igda.org
http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/arg_discuss