I was thinking about how to get people to play Elite Dangerous who may not necessarily be interested in space combat simulators and have come up with an idea I think would attract the attention of a wider audience.
I think stations should involve player housing in some way. This will add a place for friends to meet and a place for players to show off trophies and add a custom feel of their preference to the game. I feel that player housing is a major part of any MMO. The player housing would also make for a 3D chat kind of environment similar to that which PlayStation Home used to have. There is a very limited number of 3D chat programs out there despite a rather high demand for them, and such programs are literally free money. People are willing to pay a high price for in-game customization items for their avatars. In this way I feel ED could attract that audience while adding to its own perfection. This whole new level of gameplay would also open up new opertunities for pilots. Taxiing these new players around could be big business, as they may not even want a ship and only want to play in stations. Ships like the Orca would have a major use, and may become the most desired kind of ship as carting players from hub to hub, or bringing them on tours of the galaxy could amount to big profits. And think, instead of all those NPC wedding convoys, why not player wedding convoys? Stations themselves could be like massive theme parks, or perhaps casinos. Players could play all the usual games and earn credits doing so or participate in player events such as racing. In-game credits could be used to gamble with.
By doing something like this ED could double its current player base while adding increased revenue streams. This new area of gameplay would not only appeal to its current players but attract new ones. A galaxy this large should not be inhabited mostly by NPCs, and I feel the only way to get a player base big enough to make it feel alive is to look into other modes of playing the game besides space combat/trucking/ect. This game can be as big as the ambitions of its creators, if we are only willing to look outside the box.
I think stations should involve player housing in some way. This will add a place for friends to meet and a place for players to show off trophies and add a custom feel of their preference to the game. I feel that player housing is a major part of any MMO. The player housing would also make for a 3D chat kind of environment similar to that which PlayStation Home used to have. There is a very limited number of 3D chat programs out there despite a rather high demand for them, and such programs are literally free money. People are willing to pay a high price for in-game customization items for their avatars. In this way I feel ED could attract that audience while adding to its own perfection. This whole new level of gameplay would also open up new opertunities for pilots. Taxiing these new players around could be big business, as they may not even want a ship and only want to play in stations. Ships like the Orca would have a major use, and may become the most desired kind of ship as carting players from hub to hub, or bringing them on tours of the galaxy could amount to big profits. And think, instead of all those NPC wedding convoys, why not player wedding convoys? Stations themselves could be like massive theme parks, or perhaps casinos. Players could play all the usual games and earn credits doing so or participate in player events such as racing. In-game credits could be used to gamble with.
By doing something like this ED could double its current player base while adding increased revenue streams. This new area of gameplay would not only appeal to its current players but attract new ones. A galaxy this large should not be inhabited mostly by NPCs, and I feel the only way to get a player base big enough to make it feel alive is to look into other modes of playing the game besides space combat/trucking/ect. This game can be as big as the ambitions of its creators, if we are only willing to look outside the box.
