It's official. Season 2 of 1vs100 is no more. Unfortunately, too many distractions (among them - a cold) kept me from obtaining the "Quick Draw" achievement and reaching Lvl 50. =o/
Alas, now that the season's over, the kid gloves come off. Yep, I'm a big fan of the game to the point of being labeled a rabid fan, and I have nothing but high respect for those involved, but, the game (and related features) still has issues - and here they are:...
1) Lack-luster prizing. It's the end of Season 2 and we're still dealing with Microsoft points and arcade games. I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, but, the game's novelty isn't exactly new anymore. We're nearing a year since its debut, and it's time to push those prize values up.
2) Game advertising. I found it interesting to see how many people posted on the forums after Season 2's last LIVE game about how they "just found out" about the game. Dashboard entries, Inside Xbox videos are fine and dandy, but if you really want to push this game out for people to take interest, get the marketing out there.
There's more to Twitter and Facebook - you're limiting exposure by sticking to certain areas of the advertising medium. Buy banner ads on popular sites (maybe grease some palms with game dev sites to post ads on their end?) - How about a big huge banner on the front page of the xbox.com site? I've seen plenty of promotion for other games and events. Don't forget texting and mobile media.
It's obvious a lot of time, effort and I'm sure money is being spent on this endeavor - and yet, some people don't even know about the game or what it's about. I volunteer to help promote the hell out of this.. just ask!
3) Trivia Texting support. Season 2 took us a bit further with texting interaction. However, many a times I came across what appeared to be technical problems. One of which being told "I had already participated this week" when the trivia text was sent on a Tuesday. Unsure where the system got the idea I had already participated, but, I feel some of my entries were automatically discarded through no fault of my own.
Problem is, I didn't know who to contact. @1vs100XboxLIVE yielded no replies. Texting questions in the 1vs100 forums also were met with a handful of answers that weren't "official." Not even an announcement was made on 1vs100's site, forums, Twitter (can't speak for Facebook - I'm hardly on there) about this texting feature and so, frankly, to me it felt like a half-ass promotion/feature with little or no support. If this appears in Season 3 - this little/no support part definitely needs to be fixed. You can't offer features to players and not offer some recourse or instructions should things go *boom*.
4) A 1vs100 Knowledge Base. I know this was briefly mentioned sometime during S2 - I hope it's ready for S3. A lot of the forum clutter could *hopefully* be directed to this KB system. By the way, the very first KB entry should detail.. A Patch of Blue does not cheat.
5) What happened to the play-by-play during LIVE games on Twitter/FB? Sure, there was some but it wasn't consistent. Back to "advertising" - the more buzz created, the more potential attention the game draws to itself.
6) Fix the Prizing fullfillment aspect of the game and unless I missed it - post on the 1vs100 site what one should do if your prize doesn't arrive after the 4-6 weeks timeframe.
7) Keep building on your question database - Season 3 should have little to no repeats.
8) What happened to the forum "Shoutout" threads for the LIVE shows? They all but disappeared in S2. New players come in and don't know what's going on. Plus, the in-game audio is not consistent enough for some. Post the email address in the opening game credits or in the game's help or on the lobby "Scoreboard" - Less forum clutter, and threadlocking.
I really would like to see this game take off. The team has laid out the groundwork. It's time to tweak, fine tune, and get this puppy ready for "Primetime!"
See ya'll in Season 3!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
1vs100 Season Two winding down...
As the latest season winds down, I thought I'd put in my two-cents on what I think was the best season yet.
First, the overall look and feel was improved. As discussed previously, in the debut, I was taken back by just how expansive the EP arena looked.
The LIVE games in general, were appealing, and offered a snazzier look as opposed to Season 1(Beta). Unfortunately, I (and apparently others) encountered Network/Connection errors. In my case, a simple "N" router and Xbox adapter upgrade was all it took. Yet, I felt like a jackazz putting some of the team through hoops, trying to figure out the issue as if it was a problem on their end. Sorry guys.
December 1st, 2009 will forever be imprinted in my mind as the night I knew what it felt like to be in the Mob! *TWICE*. The feeling was awesome to say the least, and the pressure was on. I so tweeted my experience and it drew-air big time that I was playing solo with no help. How I managed to win on my second chance is a big mystery. However, getting some playful flak from some about being probably the biggest fan of the game, yet not winning - finally got put to rest. =o)
During the Holidays, clearly the team listened to some feedback about holding special themed events - but they took it a step further and "decorated" the LIVE set. I recall the wonderment when I first entered the lobby filled with presents, giant candy canes and "holiday" trees through-out. Having a virtual "snowfall" was a great effect! It was the closest I got to snow this Winter.
The New Years theme offered the same, and recall the clock serving as Jen's and "The One"'s floor as a nice added touch. The shiny disco ball - well what can I say? Clearly, the team put forth a ton of effort during the Season and like during its last hiatus, I'll be missing the fun and figuring out what I'll do with the extra time.
Among other enhancements was clearly a bigger push for community involvement with the Avatar Dance Contest (Monkey Dance FTW!), Heavy Facebook/Twitter interaction - especially the big Twitter Big Game contest, and last but certainly not least - TEXTING -Which took on a deeper role of engaging the fan/gamer with useful reminders for LIVE games and ability to win prizes from the text-based trivia.
Some other memorable moments - my party finally had their wish and made it in the Mob as well. Congrats to @Callmepotato83 and @Sourapplesmiles - it was a pleasure being able to share the experience with you. On a sidenote: @Callme - you definitely earned your spot with the non-stop AMPing! That was friggin' hilarious!
Shoutout time:
Toncu, Bootronix, Trilobiting, Adam Danger, The5thAlchemist, Manuel Bronstein - Thanks for making the season even better and for being so passionate about the game. It clearly shows, and its strength reverberates far and wide that a number of us profoundly appreciate and understand the labor of love put forth.
To those of you behind the scenes that I didn't name above - you do what you do daily, and we're completely oblivious to it. Yet, deep inside we know that if it weren't for your efforts, the game just wouldn't be. Much thanks!
Alas, the season ends soon, and yet I still haven't obtained the "Quick Draw" achievement(!) and I'm still at Level 45.
Much work remains.
First, the overall look and feel was improved. As discussed previously, in the debut, I was taken back by just how expansive the EP arena looked.
The LIVE games in general, were appealing, and offered a snazzier look as opposed to Season 1(Beta). Unfortunately, I (and apparently others) encountered Network/Connection errors. In my case, a simple "N" router and Xbox adapter upgrade was all it took. Yet, I felt like a jackazz putting some of the team through hoops, trying to figure out the issue as if it was a problem on their end. Sorry guys.
December 1st, 2009 will forever be imprinted in my mind as the night I knew what it felt like to be in the Mob! *TWICE*. The feeling was awesome to say the least, and the pressure was on. I so tweeted my experience and it drew-air big time that I was playing solo with no help. How I managed to win on my second chance is a big mystery. However, getting some playful flak from some about being probably the biggest fan of the game, yet not winning - finally got put to rest. =o)
During the Holidays, clearly the team listened to some feedback about holding special themed events - but they took it a step further and "decorated" the LIVE set. I recall the wonderment when I first entered the lobby filled with presents, giant candy canes and "holiday" trees through-out. Having a virtual "snowfall" was a great effect! It was the closest I got to snow this Winter.
The New Years theme offered the same, and recall the clock serving as Jen's and "The One"'s floor as a nice added touch. The shiny disco ball - well what can I say? Clearly, the team put forth a ton of effort during the Season and like during its last hiatus, I'll be missing the fun and figuring out what I'll do with the extra time.
Among other enhancements was clearly a bigger push for community involvement with the Avatar Dance Contest (Monkey Dance FTW!), Heavy Facebook/Twitter interaction - especially the big Twitter Big Game contest, and last but certainly not least - TEXTING -Which took on a deeper role of engaging the fan/gamer with useful reminders for LIVE games and ability to win prizes from the text-based trivia.
Some other memorable moments - my party finally had their wish and made it in the Mob as well. Congrats to @Callmepotato83 and @Sourapplesmiles - it was a pleasure being able to share the experience with you. On a sidenote: @Callme - you definitely earned your spot with the non-stop AMPing! That was friggin' hilarious!
Shoutout time:
Toncu, Bootronix, Trilobiting, Adam Danger, The5thAlchemist, Manuel Bronstein - Thanks for making the season even better and for being so passionate about the game. It clearly shows, and its strength reverberates far and wide that a number of us profoundly appreciate and understand the labor of love put forth.
To those of you behind the scenes that I didn't name above - you do what you do daily, and we're completely oblivious to it. Yet, deep inside we know that if it weren't for your efforts, the game just wouldn't be. Much thanks!
Alas, the season ends soon, and yet I still haven't obtained the "Quick Draw" achievement(!) and I'm still at Level 45.
Much work remains.
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