How-to for Improvement

[Armameteus]

*put in rants section as it's more my opinions on how the game could be drastically improved in a realistic light than an open suggestion geared toward the Virtrium staff*

An off-shot of: Longevity. Please read this too.

"Istaria has many Saris, in fact it's the MMO with 7 lives."

I beg to differ, Istaria is GIFTED as well as having Saris Gifted
as a native race. Istaria may have lived 7 lives so far, but
being gifted stretches that out to an Eternity of Lives.
*crosses claws*

I was here during the bleakness that hit the Empire during
the times of EII and the Bankruptcy before that. The days
when you did not know if you would be able to even get to
the server to login. I never stopped waking then, and have
not stopped ever. I like many I know here, will remain until
the blackness rolls over the Empire and we suffer our final defeat
from the Withered Aegis.

Do I believe Istaria has a Future? - For as long as I can wake and
see the world I call my Home, yes!
Do I believe it will grow? - with all my Heart I wish to see this world
restored to its previous glories. When there were 10 Splinters of
our Empire and we saw 100s of newly gifted each day. (I firmly believe
it should never grow to be the size of WOW - it would be ruined IMO)

I continue to pray I win the Lottery BIG, my first act after depositing
my check would be to visit Virtrium's offices and negotiate an investment
to brighten Istaria's future flame.

May the light of Istaria never be extinguished!!

Andaras

The reason the WoW community is as bad as it is today is mainly for two very specific reasons.

1) They're the type of "big company" that care more about what's coming into their funding, rather than making a deep, concentrated effort to make the game all-around better. All they do normally in the new expansions is maybe add a new semi-original (though usually hardly unique compared to the other ones) race, plop in a bunch of completely unnecessary new abilities/schools/whatever-they-are's and raise the level cap by 10. It's hardly more than just fattening up the already obese cash-cow that they perceive it as. If they really wanted to make an effort toward making the game better, they'd try something totally new and never before considered that would really shake up the video game market. Instead, it's just the same bland grey gruel that they shovel into the open maws of those willing to pay for it. This is mainly why they don't force out any players, so long as they pay for "new" content so they don't get bored--they just want their money. The 'fake-new' content is just an easy way of making the game seem better, which gets more people to play, which means more money for them.

2) Because of the fact that they allow their community to get out of hand in terms of the countless trolls/spammers/downright jerks they let in, without seeming to really care about them apart from telling those affected to either "deal with it" or "just ignore them", players tend to start thinking that anonymity somehow entitles them to be a prick. If their community got better, at least a little bit, to show they're really trying to 'exterminate' the 'infestation' of bad players, it would be a whole different story. But they don't. So it isn't.

Why Istaria is better is because...

1) In comparison to WoW, so far it seems that some of the companies that have owned the game aren't in it for the money (some, of course, were, but those were dark, sad times best prayed they don't happen again), and since (as far as I know) Virtrium are independently run, they have the right to choose what goes on within the game. This means it's not about the revenue, but genuinely about what a game should be: making it's players happy. Not the trolls and jerks, but the players that actually have morals and treat the game as a community, rather than an excuse to be a menace to others for their own twisted pleasure.

2)A tight-knit community is one way for it to stay kind and open toward newcomers, but so is just a stringent enough policing of the game to weed out the jerks, as well as the fact that they appear to listen to their players far more than any other MMO I've ever seen. This kind of thing especially makes people happy. Happiness = playing longer/staying longer = a larger community over time.

Really, the main reason not more people play is because the game isn't properly marketed enough. That, and it is pretty out-dated, but that's not the biggest issue. Most well-marketed games with a healthy player base and exceptional longevity have things like banners that appear on every website you go to, advertising them, or have commercials on television and things like that.

Istaria has... nothing. I've never seen even one banner for this site. I've never heard of it in any advertisement anywhere. You can't even google a "playable dragon game" to find it unless you search for a long time. The only reason I found it was from word-of-mouth from a friend and I plan to stay for a long, long time now that I have found it. And that's just it; if when I found it, I realized I absolutely loved the game, I'm sure there must be others that would feel the same way. See this new club on DeviantART (Istaria-Club) to find numerous posts from people saying "OMG, a game with an actual community that doesn't suck?" "Really? A game where you get to play as a dragon?! Sweet!" and so on.

It just needs to get out there better is all. If there was even one banner for it that occasionally appeared when someone was browsing, I bet the player base would see a substantial incline. So long as they effectively weed out the bad apples from the bunch and the current community continues to show respect and tries to get their good nature to rub off on others, I bet this game would continue to have the amazing community that is does, no matter how big it gets. It just takes a little extra effort, but it's so worth it. So incredibly worth it.

I want to believe that Istaria will last for a long time coming.

I want to believe that, once this game is finally given the attention it deserves from the outside world and it really starts to get out there, it will grow.

I want to believe that Virtrium will be able to then take that new revenue and hire a larger staff, get access to better technologies and just generally make their company bigger, better and eventually become the type of indie publisher that, if not necessarily as well-known as Blizzard for instance, is still recognized and respected for the hard work they put in for something they care more about then getting a bigger wallet.

I want to believe that this game will find itself becoming more refined and polished, while still retaining its 'flavor' and not stooping to the levels of copying WoW. Really carving out their own niche of game play style while they still listen to players and what they want, rather than just doing whatever will make them more rich.

I want to believe that this game will attempt the impossible; the things that no other company would even dare try. Not just the half-baked updates that most MMOs do, but really pushing the envelope and striving to make new and exciting things that bring whole new concepts and features to the game. Even if it takes a while, a truly dedicated player will wait patiently for these new updates and rejoice fanatically at their final release. For those that leave for a time, once they come back to check up on it, they'll see these amazing new things and get lost in it all over again.

Even if it doesn't become hugely successful in terms of popularity and money generated, I still want to see it improve because it deserves that kind of love and care. Because Istaria deserves to be respected. Because it deserves get the long-needed improvements it (and many players, I'm sure) have been waiting for. Because Virtrium (and all the other companies that actually cared) deserve to be respected. Because this game deserves to live on for years and years and years and years because it's just plain awesome, as are the people that play it and develop it.

It just needs to be advertised better, for a start at least. Once Vi has a good foothold, they can start trying new things and working to build themselves up. After that, so long as those two factors remain on a constant, steady increase--better advertising, more players, more funding toward the game and the expansion and upgrades of the Virtruim company--then they can really kick it into high gear and begin the major improvements they now have the funding and manpower for.

It all starts with getting the word out first though, all about the unique qualities of the game, the high standards of community that everyone upholds here, the fact that Vi listens to it's players (most of the time). Things like that.

So... anyone got any ideas?