01-07-2015, 06:30 AM
Think I am with Bob on this. When I heard about Starmaster and Quest of the Great Jewels, it wasn't the delivery method that got me to give it a chance and lay the money down. It was what was offered in background and gameplay that did that. Starmaster wasn't cheap, so what they offered was great.
Rebranding PBM games will not work, but what will work is offering people something different to make it worth the effort. In this age of casual web games, Steam (PC) games, and mega console games; your PBM game had better be special. The one advantage you have that the majority of others don't have, is your personal touch.
If your PBM game is just a computer game you play via the mail, then most likely, people would just want to play it on Steam. The PBM game creators must put their heart and soul into the game, and the players must be able to see your love in the game. The PBM format allows you to make your game a living and breathing entity, one in which the creator can constantly interact with the game, faster than any MMORPG company can. That is the greatest advantage that the PBM world has, but the one that is hardly every used, at least to my knowledge, which isn't that great of field.
I'll say this again, if all the PBM creators are putting out is computer games that have to be played via the postal mail (or email), then you are only going to get is the 'usual suspect' PBM player, no new blood.
Now there are so many casual web strategy games, whether fictional, fantasy, or science fiction. Personally, I think most of them are crap. But the new generations don't and they have low attention spans, which is a high bar for PBM world.
Play to your strength, and give your future players something they can't get anywhere else, YOU.
Rebranding PBM games will not work, but what will work is offering people something different to make it worth the effort. In this age of casual web games, Steam (PC) games, and mega console games; your PBM game had better be special. The one advantage you have that the majority of others don't have, is your personal touch.
If your PBM game is just a computer game you play via the mail, then most likely, people would just want to play it on Steam. The PBM game creators must put their heart and soul into the game, and the players must be able to see your love in the game. The PBM format allows you to make your game a living and breathing entity, one in which the creator can constantly interact with the game, faster than any MMORPG company can. That is the greatest advantage that the PBM world has, but the one that is hardly every used, at least to my knowledge, which isn't that great of field.
I'll say this again, if all the PBM creators are putting out is computer games that have to be played via the postal mail (or email), then you are only going to get is the 'usual suspect' PBM player, no new blood.
Now there are so many casual web strategy games, whether fictional, fantasy, or science fiction. Personally, I think most of them are crap. But the new generations don't and they have low attention spans, which is a high bar for PBM world.
Play to your strength, and give your future players something they can't get anywhere else, YOU.