New Graal Website

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

I think the website should be based off of a header something like this:

That's a fun drawing.






As counter-intuitive as it sounds, I would rather approach the website as business presentation than "fun happy game" (although maintaining a minimum of fun-happy-game mentality). The current site is fun-happy-game, and is entirely dysfunctional - although it's definitely a poor example of fun-happy-game.

I feel it's very important we win our customers over with a minimum of pretty graphics, especially since the majority of servers (graal in it's current state) are anything but...

[DustyPorViva]

Originally Posted by Stephen

I feel it's very important we win our customers over with a minimum of pretty graphics, especially since the majority of servers (graal in it's current state) are anything but...

You mean lure them in with lies? :P

[Tigairius]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

You mean lure them in with lies? :P

Not necessarily lies, just stretched truths, yes, sort of like sirens. That's successful marketing. Everyone knows those sandwiches you see on TV for McDonalds aren't what they really look like when you go there and order one.

Edit: The whole point of marketing is to entice the player enough to download the client, then hopefully get hooked on the game. Enticing involves pretty graphics and neat aesthetics-- and easy navigation.

[DustyPorViva]

Originally Posted by Tigairius

Not necessarily lies, just stretched truths, yes, sort of like sirens. That's successful marketing. Everyone knows those sandwiches you see on TV for McDonalds aren't what they really look like when you go there and order one.

Edit: The whole point of marketing is to entice the player enough to download the client, then hopefully get hooked on the game. Enticing involves pretty graphics and neat aesthetics-- and easy navigation.

Ya, but when I see those delicious burgers and go to Mcdonald's, I still at least get a burger...

[Crono]

Originally Posted by Tigairius

Not necessarily lies, just stretched truths, yes, sort of like sirens. That's successful marketing. Everyone knows those sandwiches you see on TV for McDonalds aren't what they really look like when you go there and order one.

But tasty nonetheless. Graal, on the other hand, is a laughable joke in the state it's in. Seriously, I showed two of my friends the login and Zodiac just to see their reactions and it was hilarious.

Originally Posted by Tigairius

Edit: The whole point of marketing is to entice the player enough to download the client, then hopefully get hooked on the game. Enticing involves pretty graphics and neat aesthetics-- and easy navigation.

Exactly, start with the client itself because I can guarantee the site will go to waste if the game isn't fixed (I mean hell, the v2 interfaces and v3 interface looked better than the current garbage). Once you atleast have an attractive client that will leave a good impression, then launch a nice site to go hand-in-hand with it.

[WhiteDragon]

Originally Posted by Crono

But tasty nonetheless. Graal, on the other hand, is a laughable joke in the state it's in. Seriously, I showed two of my friends the login and Zodiac just to see their reactions and it was hilarious.



Exactly, start with the client itself because I can guarantee the site will go to waste if the game isn't fixed. Once you atleast have an attractive client that will leave a good impression, then launch a nice site to go hand-in-hand with it.

So basically we're just making a new game.

[Crono]

Originally Posted by WhiteDragon

So basically we're just making a new game.

No, I'm referring to the login screen and serverlist really.

Originally Posted by Tigairius

Well, currently I have someone working on a new theme for the login screen to make it more of a graal look and something more interesting. I will see if I can eventually remake the entire login screen to make it more interesting.

I'm hopping that whatever interface and site are planned share a common theme.

[Tigairius]

Originally Posted by Crono

I'm hopping that whatever interface and site are planned share a common theme.

Of course it does

[Hiro]

Originally Posted by WhiteDragon

So basically we're just making a new game.

more like new content for the current game

[Tigairius]

Originally Posted by Crono

But tasty nonetheless. Graal, on the other hand, is a laughable joke in the state it's in. Seriously, I showed two of my friends the login and Zodiac just to see their reactions and it was hilarious.



Exactly, start with the client itself because I can guarantee the site will go to waste if the game isn't fixed. Once you atleast have an attractive client that will leave a good impression, then launch a nice site to go hand-in-hand with it.

Well, currently I have someone working on a new theme for the login screen to make it more of a graal look and something more interesting. I will see if I can eventually remake the entire login screen to make it more interesting.

As far as interesting servers go, yes, that's true, but right now, our best bet to get more interest in the game is to create a more attractive website and try to move away from the current marketing plan in my opinion. The game should be free and then you should be able to purchase in-game items (as it was said earlier in the thread). If we can do that + create/fix the servers to have some nice content, we would be rolling in the right direction. One step at a time right now though, and the easiest & most practical step is to build a new website to boost developer morale and maybe even attract a new player or two.
I mean, everyone has been trying to make a nice server for years now; obviously that's not working out so well, there is no one server on Graal that's attracting massive amounts of players, so we'll take this approach right now.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

You mean lure them in with lies? :P

Potential users should have a realistic expectation created for them. The "fast buck" approach which has been in employment for the longest while seems to have bred a lot of hostility and dissatisfaction in current and former users.


We can see the result of that approach which I feel we're currently living in; steady decline.