Destiny Strings collaborative app-this-plz ad

[all_wound_up]

Well, it's getting close to that time of the month again - app-this-plz goes up on Saturday August 31st. We seem to have hit a pretty serious recruitment slump, as we've had far less apps into the game than usual and a number of drops lately. I love this game and want to see it grow and flourish, but it's not going to do either of those things if we don't start getting more proactive in getting the word out there.

To this end, I think in addition to the normal app-this-plz game ad we typically put up, it would be good if we could also get one or two people to volunteer to go through the Character Ads page this time and advertise personally to people who are looking to play in a game like ours. A lot of people who are seriously considering playing a specific character tend to post only there rather than looking at the Game Ads post, so we're really missing out on a good chance if we don't try to pimp the game around over there.

This game has a lot going for it in terms of what it can offer to potential players, but none of them will know about any of it unless we get out there and tell them. I love Destiny Strings to pieces and it is absolutely my RP home right now, and I would gladly do this myself if I weren't going home for Labor Day to the Land Without Internet (AKA my parents' house). But I was hoping maybe by getting this up three nights in advance, we could spur some discussion and maybe get a second game ad drafted up for the purpose of advertising directly to players.

Here's a list of things I think are extremely attractive features that this game has:

• allows you to keep powers with very minimal nerfing
• no memory loss
• slow to medium pace
• very easy activity checks
• fairly simple application with many players willing to help make Personas
• ability to pull in locations from your character's home canon
• dedicated and friendly mod team who are very receptive to player concerns
• long-term game plot that can be affected by player actions
• extremely friendly to player plots
• characters can learn skills and powers from other characters' canons

Some of these things are things that no other games out there do, or at least very few. We have a really unique and wonderful setting here with a lot of potential, and I really do think it's just a matter of letting people know how great it is to play here. I realize our biggest obstacle is we're viewed as niche because of the strong Persona connections, but if I have to walk every new player through Persona creation step by step to get more people into this game, I am happy to do so, and by all means feel free to attach my Plurk fullofbees to the resulting game ad.

So, that's pretty much my spiel.  If someone more skilled than I at writing up a game ad wants to take a crack at it with what I listed above, I think it will help us out immensely.  And like I said before, we probably only need one or two people to go through the Character Ads page and post it to anyone whose specifications for a game match what we've got.  Let's not be That Game and spam it out to everybody, but there's definitely no harm in letting people who might be a good match know that we're out here.

Thanks for listening and playing.  I wouldn't love this game half as much as I do without such great fellow players.

Comments

[phantom_envoy]

"fairly simple application with many players willing to help make Personas"

The number one reason I see people not want to app into Strings is that Persona making is so daunting. I think what we really need to do is emphasize that we have a Persona creator since a lot of people don't notice it, and we have a ton of people who'd be willing to walk applicants through the process step by step until it becomes more intuitive.

Unfortunately, I will also be busy this weekend and will be unable to help out, but I think this is a great idea!

[all_wound_up]

Yeah, I think a lot of people don't even know that the creator exists at all. That thing needs to be in HUGE BOLD FLASHING TEXT. Or alternatively, linked in whatever game ad we come up with in the first place so that people know it's there. I know Walker was trying to draft up a step by step of how to use it, with helpful screenies and the whole nine yards too, so I can see how that's going also.

[deathboss]

I can't wait to see it too! The last step by step thing I made was for the old method of apping with just the lists so it was completely confusing.

Edit: THIS TUTORIAL IS AWESOME.

[all_wound_up]

Here is a link to the tutorial in question. It's still in draft form, but yeah.

[deathboss]

This did make me realize that my wording on those forms can be really confusing for people. If you guys think there should be some words changed on the forms or ways of making it more user friendly, I am all ears.

[all_wound_up]

This thing is confusing as heck:

"Click here if you are using this Persona to apply for usage in the Velvet Room (don't if you're not, or creating this for public use, or using it for a webpage! This is strictly when you are submitting to use a persona, as this requires your name and current lvl)"

Because what it seems to be saying is that you're only supposed to click the box if you're creating the Persona for general Velvet Room purposes, which actually isn't true. It could be a lot shorter, honestly, because all it boils down to is:

"Click here if you are creating a Soul Persona for your character's personal use. Fill in your character's name and DW journal name in the first two boxes. Your character's Persona is lv 1 unless they had one before coming to the game, in which case it is lv 2."

Or something of the sort.

[pretty_pink_ribbon]

Yes. All of this. I still get confused reading that part.

[deathboss]

I shall be changing that then! This is what you get with a frenchwoman making forms.

[phantom_envoy]

This is super duper spiffy.

[unbroken_chain]

Why thank you!

[tyrantball]

Yeah, once this on an official page and not just my personal journal I think we should throw in a link in all future ATP ads.

[stringmods]

Could I have the html code for it please?

[tyrantball]

Okay, sent the whole thing in two chunks via PM.

[deathboss]

Here's also a few things to keep in mind if you want to help with this!

> Look for people you'd also personally like in the game or you think would be interesting.

> Don't post in on everyone's list! Basically pick and chose those who YOU think would be a good fit for the game.

> Make each post unique. I can't stress this enough, don't just post the same thing over. Personalize each post, because we are not robots and neither are potential players, and honestly I would rather get a 1-2 sentence from a player directly talking to me than a copy+paste ad for the game.

> If players aren't interested, make sure to wish them luck anyways! Especially since they took the time to reply to you saying as such. Finding a game can be a hard thing, so show curtsey.

[all_wound_up]

Definitely yes to the personalization. Even just a sentence or two about how we'd love someone from XYZ canon or how we already have castmates waiting for someone thinking about apping in from a canon we've already got would probably go a long way.

The basic information can be copied over and should be consistent between posts, but it's never a bad thing to reach out to the player and entice them with things that might specifically be interesting to their character. Do they have an awesome castle or something in their home canon? Make sure to emphasize being able to pull in canon locations! Stuff like that.

[nyanface]

"Not a jamjar" should probably be in big neon lights at the top of the ATP. Because I know there are a LOT of people who are tired of jamjars, and ALSO there are a lot of people who ought to know that the characters they're apping should be willing to stick around in Hinoto-Ri of their own free will, for whatever reason.

[all_wound_up]

Also a good point! I actually find this sort of hard to work with since I feel like it kind of stretches the bounds of being IC for 2 out of my 3 characters to not have just immediately gone back home five minutes after arriving in town, but I can see how this would be an important thing to mention given the recent backlash against jamjar settings.

[phantom_envoy]

I do actually feel like there should be an IC reason for characters who don't want to stick around to still be here. I know people have handwaved that Philemon just pulls them right back again, but is there a better thing we can come up with for the reluctant crowd?

[all_wound_up]

Yeah, I've been sort of rationalizing things in a similar way for Nano. If I was playing her 100% accurately and IC, as soon as she found out she could go home, she'd be gone. Because let's face it, she's basically the sole caretaker of an eight year old girl and a cat and also incredibly attached to her school friends.

But that might be a change better saved for later at this point, since I assume all the mods would want to be on board with discussing something that major.

[phantom_envoy]

Yeah, I just worry that saying 'not a jamjar' will lead to people saying 'well my character doesn't want to stay then so I can't app'. BUT yes let us apply the handwave button for now

[themortalhalf]

You could also say they just don't know how, even if they have the knowledge that they can. Only that it's "possible."

Or maybe there could be a glitch with their string that makes returning impossible at the time, for characters who wouldn't technically stay. Like, they have to be around for a month (x amount of time) before the String is stable enough to tug the character back on their own free will. That could be dependent on the character. But if they need a reason, there can be ones made up on the fly, I guess.

[nyanface]

It definitely begs the question of what's in it for the characters who stick around. For Samus, she's just an all around helpful person who can't just LEAVE when she's needed, even if she was in the middle of something important back home. (there's also some other IC reasons i can keep her in hinoto-ri, enough so that she can still stick around)

For Joshua..... well if he left Hinoto-Ri, he would be going back to a TORTURE FACILITY so it's in his best interest if he never, ever leaves.

Might also be an interesting idea for future plotting: how can we better reward characters who stick around in Hinoto-Ri aside from fulfilling some desire to do good/bad? Save the Earth, for instance, is also technically not a jamjar, just like it's technically not an AU game... the characters are all there because they were (re)born in the setting, and they get involved with the plot because they want to protect their home and their loved ones they've grown up with on Earth.

Random suggestion just to throw it out there, even if this is a weird place for it, but it might be cool if later down the line characters' home worlds were being affected by Nyarlathotep or some other evil force in Hinoto-Ri that gives characters more incentive for sticking around. :Ia But those are thoughts for another time.

[deathboss]

In the interests of being as vague as possible, there are plans already in motion for those things.

[nyanface]

Oh my. I would know these things if I wasn't but a lowly helper mod. >8O

[bondsofsuffering]

I'd also like to add that it's very important we don't just attack every single comment to the Game Offers section! Make sure the game fits what they're looking for, and be respectful of that! There are some games that enthusiastically post to each and every commenter, and it gets to be to the point where people are actually turned off from it.

Of course, if it does fit in with what they're looking for, totally go for it c: We just want to make sure that the way we're promoting doesn't reflect badly on the game.

[badend_replay]

I think we should have a stickied pic post for offering persona making help. If I didn't have you all on Plurk then I would not have known where to just ask "hey, what am I doing here?"

[all_wound_up]

Like at the top of one of the mod journals or something, you mean?

[badend_replay]

Yeah, something like that. Or even an extra link somewhere around the testdrive. I just think it would take the pressure off of people who don't know how to make a Persona if they had an easy way to learn how. Not to mention that they'll be able to see they aren't the only one with that problem and feel more comfortable asking about it.

[stringmods]

That was an excellent suggestion and something I added to the new Test Drive Meme

GAME AD

[stringmods]

DESTINY STRINGS @ destinystrings
A Shin Megami Tensei Inspired Game set in the mysterious City of Hinoto-Ri, Japan.

▼ Quick Game Summary

Destiny Strings is a panfandom, plot-oriented, adventure/slice of life community game, based on the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series. You do not need to know about the series to play here! Characters are brought to the mysterious city of Hinoto-Ri to aid in the city survival against the forces that threaten to destroy it...or they can join in on that destruction themselves. The choice is yours.

Characters brought in keep their full powers (unless moderators feel one would not work for plot-related reasons), all their items, even their vehicle of choice. Moreover, the more they stay, the more the city adapts, and you will be able to have pieces of your own homeworld arrive in the city as well.

The world is ever-changing, highly influenced by character interactions, and driven by a central plot that is modified based on the player's decisions. Nothing is ever completely set in stone and how the story ends will be entirely up to you.

▼ Extra Game Info

▶ You do not need to know Persona or Shin Megami Tensei to play in this game, as they are a backdrop. If you need persona help, we have a guide created by one of our players, that helps you use the semi-automatic persona creator. Go ahead, try it out for fun if you'd like!

▶ You can also apply for a character without a Persona if you like!

▶ Small to Medium paced, with a lot of backtagging. Super-friendly and amazing player base (at least that's what the moderators think!)

▶ Player plots are accepted, and in fact, highly encouraged. We make sure that player plots also influence the world and how the world reacts to the characters who have come to the city.

▶ Characters do not lose their memories, do not get powered down (apart from specific limits which the mods will ask you about). What your character does in the game is entirely up to you, and highly customizable. They can try to get a job, go to school, help with the effort, try to sabotage it, or even seek out different parties and demons and forge new alliances...they can even learn skills from other game fandoms they interact with! Meet a jedi master, learn to use a lightsaber, hey it could happen!

▶ Applications are open 24/7 as are reserves which last for 2 weeks.

▶ We have a Test Meme up for all your game-testing needs. Players are anxious to help you test out and you can use the samples there for your written samples in the application itself!

▶ If you're interested about learning more, we have a quick game guide that lists everything from a quick plot snapshot to activity check requirements.

▼ Links

Rules & FAQ ◆ Reserve ◆ Applications ◆ Current Taken Characters ◆ Navigation