GDU Survey 2012

[Chief 30]

Alright. It's just hard to see where GDU is going because it is just a forum right now, and I don;t really understand the layout of most content on here. It still feels really centered around the forum.

 

However, it IS still just a forum, so that's probably why it feels so centered around it, lol.

[Marked 197]

GDU is just a forum right now :/ So you're correct. It just looks like a theme change from rmxpu. The only simple explanation as to the difference is the perfect IPB integration using our own unique system and the potential to develop web apps quickly and efficiently that plug straight into the system.

[Saltome 16]

I say lack of confidence because this isn't the first time you are doubting the purpose of the forum.

Things may look bad to you, but this is the biggest forum I have ever been active in, an average of 100 guests is nothing to sneeze at.

 

And being rational isn't all that its cut out to be. I've been wanting to make a virtual world for years, long before Minecraft and all the "survival" games existed. But I don't have the resources to make it, and i never will if i don't start working on it alone ;/

 

But yeah, Chief is right, forums are a dying breed. Can't say its in favor of social sites, they don't really offer anything. In my opinion online games is where all the attention is going to. Forums and social sites benefit strictly business relationships, most people would prefer chatting with their friends while playing their games, hence the popularity of Xfire and Gamespy, the problem with those is that they focus on games that weren't intended for online play. It's just no point being an active member of a website unless you are there to do business, with that in mind a website would only be useful if it somehow eases your work. Promptly put, for a website to be self sustained it has to offer a premium service of some sort, adds wouldn't cut it. As far as communication goes, its enough to have a chat box, to humor yourself while managing your business.

 

And forums, nope forget it. forums are a thing of the past, there just aren't enough people to go around to be able to support the the existence of quality forums, which will only hasten the forum's demise. I guess with that in mind web hosts and domain sellers should reduce their price if they want to keep forums alive, but I digress.

 

If you want to make a place where people will spend a lot of time, you have to entertain them. That should be your first priority, as long as it entertains them they will stick around waiting for more to come out, giving you time to do other things. It's not enough for it to be useful and polished it has to be fun. That's why games are so successful.

 

I wonder, why a website? Make an independent program that will offer all the things gdu does. Log in, check your progress, make changes, chat around and log out.

Bottom line is, as a forum GDU is great, but forums are at a decline, and so will GDU until it's ready to offer something more.

[Broken Messiah 20]

In my opinion online games is where all the attention is going to

 

This brings up a crazy idea I had awhile back. What if there was a online game that members of gdu met in as a additional hub? Maybe something like Gaia Online would suffice? More than anything, it would be better than only interacting via posts and text.

[Saltome 16]

I certainly like the idea, thought Mark might object to people taking his site and making a game out of it :P

And I've been itching to actually get involved in a project with the community.

About the platform, I don't particularly like browser games, browsers just aren't made for games ;/

Though there was a time when I used to play them they just don't have the same capability, and I do have a Gaia account, but I really never understood the fascination with it.

A better alternative is a flash game, but I do have my reserves about flash, its just too clunky and laggy for me.

That's why I'd suggest a small server-client online game for the community, with a classic rpg look, written in c++ or maybe Ruby(at least that's what languages I can help with).

And the game itself, I suggest somewhat of a combat manager, the user will have an avatar that trains its combat skills and you can use it to roam the world, challenging other users to fights, or taking part in tournaments with prizes, the combat would be classic turn based. I can take this idea further, but this should be enough for a start.