Mission Pack Vs Psych Test

Heyho Folks.

Anashel held a small AMA asking for our opinion.
Basically, they're contemplating which way to go to try and promote the game this coming week. The two options they're contemplating are:

1: Small (4 missions) Mission-Pack.
2: Psychological evaluation test.

There are some concerns, though, which they're looking for some feedback on.

Regarding Mission-pack:
How can they make the mission-pack interesting, seeing as it's going to be hard to give the players attempting the mission-pack that sensation of it being a community event.

Basically, they're worried there won't be a "rush" or "community" aspect to the mission pack, and the storyline is also quite absent from those 4 missions (taken from the Division 66 mission back in April), not to mention that the storyline is already ahead of the bit of lore involved in that mission.


Regarding Psychological Evaluation test:
It will most probably contain a surprise for players who undertake it, but is it a priority to include this in one of the weeks before the deadline?


So, which option do you think they should work on for the coming week?
In addition, how would you suggest they make these missions, in order to make sure that they will adequately encapsulate the experience of playing ARGs.

Addendum: Do keep up poking Tapping, Shyamalan, and King on twitter, as well as commenting on both Kickstarter and Greenlight! Let's show potential new agents how awesome it is to be part of The Black Watchmen!

 

I prefer the psych exam. The mission pack is already available, albeit in another format. The test would be something new and unique that I think could generate some discussion amongst gamers and get us a bit more attention.

 

I'm leaning towards the psych test as well. For much the same reasons as TCO give.

In regards to the mission-pack, I feel there's already the Barbizon mission going on, as well as the fact that doing a seperate, "interested new players only" mission, wouldn't give the right impression of what ARGs are all about.
If anything, I'd perhaps suggest to up the speed of the Barbizon mission (as I suspect it's a slow-burn), and increase visibility of that, as that would involve players with the community, and if anyone gets stuck, asking for help wouldn't be as intruding for the new players, since we're all still working on it anyway.

With the Psych test, I feel there's more room to give people that lovely sensation of verisimilitude (<3 Bats). Of expecting one, quite ordinary thing, and suddenly stumble across another.
It's also more likely people will do it "for the fun of it", whereas the Mission-pack would be because they're already somewhat interested in the game. In essence, I feel the Psych test is one step closer to reaching those who might not be that interested yet, whereas the Mission-pack is closer to those who're already intrigued - and my impression is we need to reach the former rather than the latter.

Who knows, one might even set up the Psych test to lead to the Barbizon mission, and perhaps include the Rosenberg Clinic. They were, after all, specializing in both 'mood disorders', 'psychotic disorders', and so on, and it would be a perfect opportunity to give players that sensation of "Should I really be here?", once they get the reply that they've been tagged for further testing, or some such.

 

So, with the mission pack when I was tossing the idea out it was generally that there would be a single player and multiplayer option. In the single player option, there would be strict time limits set and if the tasks weren't completed by those time limits then the mission was a fail. A fake chat could simulate other agents participation, and all 4 of the missions would have to "rely" on one another in order to be completed. For example, a scientist may have to quickly research information and pass it along to the hacker and soldier who would be trying to keep ports open and steal data, respectively. The soldier would have to download a bunch of data and send a picture of a target to a waiting sniper... etc... Multiplayer would work the same way, except with a real players/chat instead of simulated.

 

I think this is the best idea going...a new player could immediately jump in on what we are already doing, and it could merge easily with Rosenberg Clinic and psych testing.

 

I could go either way, but I think I come down on the side of mission pack. While psych evaluation has the bonus of being a cool thing to put us apart from other kickstarter projects, as well as being a new thing for us (which is always nice ;D) I stand by it when I say that gamers respond best to game play. After it was mentioned on an ama a few weeks back, I started following the (successful!) campaign of Kôna. They were not looking like they would make it entering the last week of kickstarter, so they did a huge social media blitz, Facebook, twitter, Google +, reddit and imgur. They made 10k in just a couple days largely because of http://imgur.com/gallery/1Gg2F , their imgur post making front page. Check out the 3rd comment. We know that there's already a lot of work done 'in-game,' and A&S should try to display out wherever they can.

As far as the community aspectisaI don't know how you intend to package the demo, executable or online, but I might recommend to have a disclaimer when it's first opened up: "the black watchmen is a community game/experience and not intended to be played solo. We recommend for you to find a few friends and play together." Alternatively, you can send them to the forums to get help from us in the forums through the 'community' button.

Just some thoughts. Can't format well in my phone.

 

Honestly, how possible would it be to do both?

 

You are like my kids..going for the third option, lol...but yeah, that's a good idea too. If we already have the set-up for the mission pack, why not do both?

 

Hmm...a lot of factors to consider then...we need the biggest bang for the buck. How confident are we that something similar to the imgur would be more successful than the psych test? And we have to consider time...I may have to backpedal...if the mission pack is close to ready, but we would have to hype the psych test, I don't think we have time for it after all. Might be better to go with mission pack after all, and it already has tons of images for imgur upload.

 

@Anashel would it be possible to do both if you had community support? For example, could you have someone from the community write the missions for the mission pack while you focused on the psych test, and then all that would need to be done for each was the programming aspects? Could something like that work?

Edit: perhaps some of the community might be willing to work on some of the simpler programming stuff like what would likely need to be done for the psych test, as well.

 

We already have Barbizon we're working on, I voted for the Psych test.

 

Ah, I see my link didn't fix itself the way I hoped. I wanted to bring attention to the Imgur gallery, but I also wanted to highlight the comments. Particularly relevant is quote number 3. Here is the gallery with comments attached.

Rather condescending, sure. maybe that's just the internet lack-of-tone talking. I'm standing by mission pack since I feel that it will better represent the content A&S is raising money for. I don't know much about the psych eval, but will that be the case? If it's a one-shot deal with limited resources to create, do you think the psych eval is something people will do and then tell their friends about? Everybody who downloads the demo and takes a friend into the missions with them is a new recruit.

I should sleep. I'm babbling.

 

(My apologies for always counter-arguing. Even I'm getting the impression that I'm a stubborn git, but I promise you that, me counter-arguing, is not an expression of me thinking anyone is wrong, it is only me attempting to dig deeper into a discussion, in the hopes of reaching the core of it, so the best possible solution can be found.)

I certainly agree that any push made, should try its utmost to showcase what the game is about, rather than try and hype its way into the hearts of people - which only ever backfires.

In those regards, there is still one thing that makes me land on the side of the Psych Eval: The possibility that the Psych Evaluation might contain a (short) mission of its own, be it one bordering on something we've already come across (Rosenberg Psych Evaluation), or something a bit more stand alone-ish (Black Watchmen Psych Evaluation).

I can't quite decide which demographic I consider the best bet, but the proximity of the former, and the possibility of the latter, ultimately makes my choice land on the Psych Eval - so long as it contains the aforementioned "Hidden surprise".


If I try to prophesize the people who will jump on-board thanks to a Mission-pack, I primarily see them being those, who in one form or another, already have a pre-existing love for puzzles. A Demographic which, I suspect, is already relatively close to supporting the project.

If I do the same for the Psych Evaluation, I see people who are only vaguely interested, taking the test just for the fun of it. Then, as underhanded as one might deem it to be, I can't help but smirk, when I imagine their surprise, when they are suddenly faced with a not-so-obscured mission. A box-trap'o'fun, if you will. They're taking the Evaluation, and suddenly find themselves raveled up in a mission they weren't expecting.
That, to me, is the epitomy of what an ARG is; expecting one thing, and being ambushed by something else. Which is also why I consider the Psyche Evaluation as a (possibly) better showcase of what A&S are doing, than the Mission Pack.



Conversely - and perhaps one of the main reasons I'm in favour of the Psych Eval over the Mission Pack - I can't help but be somewhat fearful of the reaction people might have, when they find out that the Mission Pack is essentially recycled, 6 months old missions.

On the other hand, if the Psych Eval does end up containing the "hidden surprise (mission)", a wider demographic is arguably reached, the nature of ARGs is showcased, and A&S gets an opportunity to show their ability to maintain and develop new content. In addition, I think hyping it isn't going to be a problem. As others have brought up, people love these kind of personality tests, underlined by the sheer amount of them found on the net. It's not something people see as a commitment, so they don't need that much convincing to go ahead with it - contrary to straight-up missions.

*goes back into his cave, rather embarassed about himself, contemplating if he should mute himself for a bit*

Edit: Silly me have been forgetting that the Mission Pack would help showcase the interface, which, as Nikel mentions, is a good thing. It certainly makes me gravitate if not closer to the Mission Pack than the Psych Evaluation, then at least further out in orbit around the Psych Evaluation.
The Issue of the missions being previous missions, rather then new content, still has me somewhat worried. I can't quite decide whether or not people would interpret it as lazyness if, or rather, when, they find out that it's not new content made to help showcase the game.

Hm. The Gameplay trailer will be the week after the next?
If so, might I suggest that, if possible, the Psych Eval is released first (to somewhat coincide with the tutorial trailer, give everyone that vibe of "something new is happening!"), and then when the Gameplay trailer is released, have it coincide with the Mission Pack.

 

Alright, I opened this can of worms. I asked about the previous psych evaluation. Santiak above said it all. What he said! But you honestly can't tell me that a serious client of this game would not pay to have something catered to his quirks. Makes it real.

 

I have to say I'm really torn. One on hand the mission pack would show people what gameplay feels like, but it would be largely recycled content (great content but you know how the internet gets!) which could serve to put off some people.

The psych test is shiny and new and might have a hidden mission but would require more resorses and a promotional push that the missions might not.

I'd still be tempted to go with the psych test though. If people are clamouring for gameplay you could always knock together the mission pack later or if resorses are that stretched point them to division-66.com.

Maybe...

 

Man...so much text for such an old german like me...i have to admit that sometimes i have problems to follow this discussion without using a translation page like leo.org
What i want to say is: one of the biggest if not THE biggest nature of mankind is curiosity!
So i personally vote for the Psych test with the surprised mission in it.
Get them interested, get them excited, get them thrilled

 

I'm trying to recap what have been said until now and add my point of view.
4 Mission Pack

The pro of the 4 mission pack is that it shows actual game material, which gamers like in order to judge.
It shows that there is something "real" and that The Black Watchmen isn't all smoke and mirrors.
But, those missions are old and may not manage to attract non puzzle loving people.
This option seems more like better the devil you know than the devil you don't.​

Psych Test

The pros of the Psych test are that it is a bolder approach, it has a broad target audience and, last but not the least, it's free!
If you add a little personalized surprise mission, the new of show actual gameplay is somehow covered.
So, this option could work as a great hook if done correctly. It's different and thus surprising and engaging.
The main con is that we don't know how this is gonna pay off, but there is much to gain if it succeeds.
​

Both @Santiak's and @nikel's arguments are great, and I agree with both. But, under the actual circunstances I think the Psych Test is the way to go since it has more potential.

 

I voted for the Psych Test. It's something almost everybody likes to do. There is a free, interesting test? Well, I just do it. And if there is also a secret mission as suprise which shows ingame stuff - well that's great! So for me it is no question at all - the test wins for me.