Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

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Wolfsong
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Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby Wolfsong » Mon Jul 27, 2015 11:45 pm

For those of you looking at the comments on that Reddit post about Cantr, you'd see the game was almost entirely dismissed based on its weird, Engrish front page and poor formatting. Additionally, someone commented about the introductory paragraphs being self-indulgent. I'd take it a step further - the introductory paragraphs are written from the perspective of a veteran player berating a newbie who clearly doesn't understand the rules, stressing boring things (self-developed, perspective of each individual character, etc.) because they're trying to actively cull people they think won't be suitable for playing. That's... not how you want to sell the game on its front page. You want to draw people in, not list everything they HAVE to do. Do that somewhere else.

Here's the existing front page blurb:

The True Role-playing Game!

Cantr II is a 100% free persistent browser-based role-playing game (PBBRPG), in which players can play roles of self-developed characters who all together form different societies of many languages all over one great Cantr World.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE GAME



Playing always from the perspective of each individual character, you can try to play the world's most famous politician, most feared criminal, most cunning military commander, most wealthy entrepreneur or most beloved village idiot.
The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
Cantr II is a slow-paced game and offers the possibility for enjoyment even with limited playing time. However, you can play as many as 15 separate characters, and it's up to you how far they are involved in their communities.
The Gamemaster


For the love of God, get rid of the "true role-playing game" blurb at the top. It sounds elitist... and wrong. Cantr is ten years old according to its front page. Fifteen years ago, I was roleplaying online. Twelve years ago, I was roleplaying on MUDs online. Until Cantr has a wikipedia page stating it is historically the truest roleplaying game around... Yeah, just remove that blurb.

For the rest, something like...
Cantr II is a 100% free, persistent browser-based role-playing game (PBBRPG) where the world, its cultures, societies, history, religions, and objects are all created by players, playing as the characters that inhabit that world. Considered by many to be a slow-paced game, Cantr offers the possibility for enjoyment even with limited playing time. However, if slow isn't your style, you can play up to 15 unique characters, and it's up to you how far they are involved in each of their communities. With a rich, living history and support for sixteen languages, the possibilities in Cantr are almost endless. Play as a politician, a pirate, a poet, a feared conqueror, a trader, an artisan, a courtesan, or as an explorer in an ever-changing world that is affected by the choices you make in game. Don't believe us? Check out the testimonials below.

[Testimonial video here. Get players to post about (bonus points for narration in a video) their experiences on Cantr. If players are unwilling to narrate themselves, find a handful of people who aren't afraid of narration and get them to read a few short posts about Cantr experiences. Character experiences, preferrably. Interesting ones. Additionally - no music. Get other players to sketch a few short scenes from each experience, and slideshow those to the testimonials. No cheese. Just simple cuts. No Engrish.]


Also, remove the CLICK HERE TO JOIN and instead add a "Create a New Account" or "Register" option on the sidebar. CLICK HERE TO JOIN sounds desperate and pleading. You never want to look desperate.

Stop bolding the wrong things, too. Don't bold the bits that talk about how you HAVE TO play. Bold the bits that talk about HOW you can play and WHAT you can do.
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*Wiro
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby *Wiro » Tue Jul 28, 2015 12:00 am

What we need is someone to actually implement these changes. There is no one in charge of the front page. Making suggestions is of little use when there's no one to push them through.

If someone has the skills and time, bring it up with Greek. I'll help out too.
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Wolfsong
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby Wolfsong » Tue Jul 28, 2015 12:12 am

I'm not talking about changes to the actual php/etc. of the page - just the text itself. The video is additional, sure, but again wouldn't require changes to the front page aside from a new video link.
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Friar Briar
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby Friar Briar » Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:15 am

Do you have a link to that Reddit post?

Edit: Nevermind, found it. :P
Last edited by Friar Briar on Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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sanchez
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby sanchez » Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:33 am

I would never have tried the game if the first things I saw said "Born [Sic], Learn, Die." I get that not all staff are native English speakers, but this has been on the front page for years now and it's embarrassing. It would be more enticing for the page to display correct Polish or Spanish than bad English. It does matter.

It also would be good to get marketing efforts directed in the same vein. What sort of players do we want? It's not a game for everyone, and some perspectives are disruptive. People who play Cantr have to agree to unenforceable rules that are rare in other games. I agree with Wolfsong the current front page is doing a disservice to the game, by simultaneously turning off or confusing potentially good players, while inviting people who probably won't stay.
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Wolfsong
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby Wolfsong » Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:37 am

Friar Briar wrote:Do you have a link to that Reddit post?

Edit: Nevermind, found it. :P


It's in the sidebar on the main page, in the twitter feed, before logging in.

Edit: And so you have.
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Wolfsong
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby Wolfsong » Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:40 am

sanchez wrote:I would never have tried the game if the first things I saw said "Born [Sic], Learn, Die." I get that not all staff are native English speakers, but this has been on the front page for years now and it's embarrassing. It would be more enticing for the page to display correct Polish or Spanish than bad English. It does matter.

It also would be good to get marketing efforts directed in the same vein. What sort of players do we want? It's not a game for everyone, and some perspectives are disruptive. People who play Cantr have to agree to unenforceable rules that are rare in other games. I agree with Wolfsong the current front page is doing a disservice to the game, by simultaneously turning off or confusing potentially good players, while inviting people who probably won't stay.


If someone had told me I could "Be the village dumb" on Cantr, I would have hit the ground running in the opposite direction.
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Wolfsong
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby Wolfsong » Sat Aug 01, 2015 12:35 am

So who do I need to harass to get something done?
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*Wiro
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby *Wiro » Sat Aug 01, 2015 12:49 am

Greek, like I told you in the first post. He can tell you what is needed to push this change through. It's not an unreasonable idea but it likely needs GAB's approval.

I'd suggest sending him a list of your ideas. If you put in the effort I don't see why it couldn't be done. You have my support, and likely others' as well.
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Friar Briar
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby Friar Briar » Sat Aug 01, 2015 1:54 am

Just out of curiosity, but who puts out Cantr tweets?
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sanchez
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby sanchez » Sat Aug 01, 2015 1:55 am

It might be nice to use this thread for suggestions, to give GAB more ideas.
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby JohnnyScribble » Sat Aug 01, 2015 2:00 am

I think a section for "Player Testimonials" would be a good addition to the front page. There is a lot of difficulty in explaining the game to people who don't play, so statements from people about why they play/love the game would have a good impact on potential new players.
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Friar Briar
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby Friar Briar » Sat Aug 01, 2015 2:03 am

Also, how about short snippets of role-play highlights, unique character and custom descriptions, town descriptions (with blanked out names), etc.? Like a Best-Of reel...
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Wolfsong
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby Wolfsong » Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:08 am

Snippets run the risk of alienating people who don't immediately identify with that particular style of play - but testimonials are a great idea. So are short stories about past characters, etc.
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Friar Briar
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Re: Fixing the Front Page (English Version)

Postby Friar Briar » Sat Aug 01, 2015 9:23 am

That's actually how I feel about testimonials and short stories, though. :?

How about this: have an immediately accessible Tutorial island without needing to create an account first. Make a "Click Here To Try Cantr" button that lets you into a demo right away.

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