How to make NWC work for you.

[Karvon]

The following is a reposting of something I wrote up for NWC which I think might be of use to those ALFA folks thinking of tapping into NWC. For the full thread I refer you to...

http://www.neverwinterconnections.com/f ... htm#169690

While far from perfect, NWC offers a fair number of useful tools for those wishing to promote their games. In this thread, I'd like to share a series of observations on these resources. I encourage others to chip and add their insights as well.

1. Game Calender

Scheduling is, of course, the most basic feature of NWC. Most recently added events and upcoming ones are highlighted on the front page, so more likely to attract attention. Invitation only sessions are NOT shown on the front page, though you can see these if you view the game calender directly.

Make sure you adjust NWC time from default to your local time. You'll need to adjust this if you have a time change in the spring and fall as well. If you don't do this, the time displayed to you will be off and you'll miss games.

If you are trying to attract new players, you may want to look at the game calender before you schedule your game to see if there are any other games already running at the time you're considering. Shifting your own session, before or after another one, might draw you some players for the existing one.

Many PWs advertise their existence in NWC forums, yet most fail to utilize NWC game scheduling for their regular events, so don't end up drawing very many people from NWC. Schedule and run events on a regular basis and you will attract more folks.

In scheduling games, earlier is better. Some folks only stop in once or twice a week, others maybe once a month. The earlier you have your event posted, the better the chances new folks will see and sign up. This is even more important in application games as you'll need extra time to correspond with applicants.

Provide complete and relevant details and background info when creating your game entry. The less complete and more cryptic, the less likely you are to attract interest. A host can save such as a template for future postings to save the time of retyping a lot of important details each session.

In addition to the game entry, you can create game forum postings for things like hak links, player bio's, pregame RP threads and customized portrait links and important announcements.

2. Player Connection

Once you've created your game in the calender, you can improve your exposure by advertising your session in the Player Connection forum. You can simply copy and paste your game description, or type up something more elaborate if you like. It's best to include a link to the game page posting so folks can find the session with a single click. You can also field questions and fill out your party roster in this thread.

3. Direct Recruiting

Scanning thru the Player Connection forum, you may find some players looking for a game. Drop them a PM with a link to your game posting.

Look at the users who're active in the NWC forums. These folks are likely going to be around more than others. You can try PM'ing some of these folks directly with personal invites and links to your games. Note: many of us are already pretty busy, but you may find someone who's got the time and interest in your particular game.

Ask your current players to recommend potential players and PM these with invites and links.

4. Communication

Nothing kills off campaigns faster than silence. You should check NWC regularly for PMs or forum queries to insure a timely exchange of info as required by hosts and players.

If problems arise, post to the game forums, as people will look there first. You can also use the game page to PM all players.

Remember NWC is an international site with folks from all around the globe. A message a few hours before game time may well be in the middle of the night or work day and go unread or unanswered till just before game time.

A postgame note to all players thanking them for playing, reminding them to use RP threads and post reviews is often appreciated.

5. Campaign Forums

For those lacking a campaign website, create a private personal campaign forum on NWC to provide a more permanent area for OOC and IC threads. The session game forums disappear so anything you wish to keep permanently should be posted in campaign forums instead. These are only viewable by those added by the creator, so you can include server IP and passwords for your players here.

6. Continuity

Most folks want to play on a regular basis, usually at the same time and day once a week. Unless everyone is agreed, changing schedule after the fact will likely lose you some players.

7. Ratings/Feedback

Those playing and hosting on NWC are subject to review. While not everyone provides feedback every session, when taken with a grain of salt, you can gain some insights into a player or host by the ratings and written feedback left by others.

[Nalo Jade]

Very good advice!

I have been fumbling through NWC, and almost every one of those points is something I have ... messed up.

Just before this excellent post of advise I went looking through the players forums to see if I could PM some prospects for the Monday night game...

and this thread caught my eye...

http://www.neverwinterconnections.com/f ... ldid/0.htm

The thread itself isn't anything spectacular ... but have a look at their game page...

http://www.neverwinterconnections.com/g ... /30130.htm

The efficiency of the game host seems impecable (sp)

I became quite jealous of their set-up and am now trying to recreate a presence for our game that is as cool and efficient.

I mean I was in there looking to recruit players and was nearly recruited myself...if I had the time I probably would have joined this game...

[paazin]

Karvon, yet again I thank you for the invaluable assistance that you've given us. Indeed, your how-to touches on something that is often overlooked here in ALFA, targeting and catering towards new members - I'd quite recommend that our OAS DMs make a mention of their sessions within the NWC website (along with a brief introduction to the nature of ALFA), as it'd be a wonderful medium which new players can find out about our community, try it out and see if it fits their playstyle.

Again I thank you Karvon for your wonderful work with NWC and NW Con and I will make certain we take this advice to heart.

[Karvon]

Something else you might consider with your OAS sessions is having 1-2 of your current ALFA members take part as PC mentors to newbies PCs to ALFA. They could play the IC role of team leader(s)/recuiters(s) and help smooth the way for your new arrivals.

This also helps psychologically on NWC in "breaking the ice." Sometimes players feel leery of signing up for a session when no one else has signed up yet, fearing it'll be a wash, or maybe the DM's got no experience. If you have a couple of your ALFA regulars signed up, that clues folks in there will indeed be a session and they won't be alone.

Karvon

[Karvon]

The efficiency of the game host seems impecable (sp)

I became quite jealous of their set-up and am now trying to recreate a presence for our game that is as cool and efficient.

I mean I was in there looking to recruit players and was nearly recruited myself...if I had the time I probably would have joined this game...

Yep, DA is one of our longtime NWC DMs, and has it down to an art, so you won't go wrong in attempting to emulate her - and I'm playing in her new campaign

Karvon