Lots of lurkers here and on every forums. I can vouch for the fact that every time I visit a thread the view counter does not increase other than my first appearance. I have to believe this is the case for all users. So a low thread view count is not the 3-10 people coming back and checking the thread and increasing the count. If that were so, just my daily 3x checking of new posts would bounce up the views count immeasurably!
Release timing at this time of year is probably it more than anything else. My viewing experience shows me that the period just after Thanksgiving to mid January is pretty dolgarn slow, boards wise. Another very slow period is when we were forcibly moved to the BSN, which is not only slow due to summer vacation, it's also slow due to folks getting ready to come back to school the world over. And that period is generally even slower than the Holiday season, because even if you're not at work or school and at home, you're probably outside.
So I can assure you that, anecdotally speaking, you released at an inopportune moment.
I would also like to say this and I mean absolutely no disrespect in this, it's just my observation:
You seem to accentuate the negative and I think that translates into the way you write when posting. I haven't read all the Islander boilerplate, but that could be affecting your verve and prose in small ways that people might not be able to put their finger on, but are somehow slightly put off by it. And I say this only with the idea in mind that marketing has to accentuate the positive and completely pretend there's no such things as negative.
I'm a Glass is half-full kind of guy and I like to promote in a way that I hope not only entertains and amuses, but also piques interest. You could do that too.
Let's take the loosely paraphrased statement: I guess that's part of the problem, I was trying to be all things to all people.
Wow. That's not a problem, that's a selling bullet point. Like this instead:
Islander Has It ALL! That's right folks, we've got tons of custom voiceovers and synchronized lip movements in important dialogue and cutscenes! It's amazing! It's like you're THERE!
But wait, there's more! We've got all kinds of Spells, classes and Monsters galore! And we don't stop there! We've got dialogue and skills checks options that would choke a rideable horse (if we had them) and how you choose affects the rest of the story! You gotta see it to believe it.
Sure, that's over the top. Sure it's hyperbole. It's marketing. And sometimes, that's exactly the right thing to do. And posting a soft fuzzed chest area of a buxom woman is a good ploy to aid that.
So you get a +1 from me on that idea as well.
And I don't mean to imply that someone who has a semi-pessimistic tone isn't smart or creative or a force to contend with. Fate of a City, IMO was a great module and I have been looking forward to seeing Islander released. I have yet to download it because my schedule is just -- well crazy. I like the way you make your modules, if FoaC is any marker.
And, because I didn't want to say, "You write good!" I figured I'd point out a few things that are designed to make you take a moment and go, Hmm. (thanks, Skywing!)
I know the count is important to you and I totally respect that. I think though, that there are things that get in your way that you don't even realize. It's obvious you put a lot of work and effort into your production and I think the module shows that in the long run. And I think, in the long run, a more positive approach to marketing yourself (and don't take yourself too seriously -- have fun with it!) would be of a great benefit to you. Let the love and desire to create show through. Let the story carry the marketing by marketing the story as an intro to it. Thematics.
If you make a few small changes, I'm willing to bet that the count will increment upwards.
Also the others you mention, like Trinity and Risen Hero, their count, I honestly think, was affected by the tight lipped overall development cycle. You gotta feed the crowd from time to time and tease them with hints of what may come. It's part of the process and if the download count is that important, then that's part of playing the game of promoting yourself and driving interest. Watch how they overpump upcoming episodes in TV series shows and Theater movies. You'd think that your life would be diminished if you missed it. That's how you have to fish.
A Moral Tale:
A friend of mine and I used to eat all the time at the same place (US Air Force Chow Hall) and we'd usually order the same things off the grill in the morning for breakfast. One morning I noticed my friend, (we'll call him Mel) frowning deeper than usual and staring between my plate and his.
"What," I asked?
"How come we have the same thing, but your bacon is crispy and mine's all rubbery? How come you have 4 strips and I only have 2? Why is my omelette runny and yours is nice and fluffy and you have extra cheese in it, too? How come I have 3 pancakes and you have 4?"
I was stunned. So stunned that I really looked at the plates and by golly gosh! He was right!
"Why is that," he asked, "when the same guy cooks our food and we ordered the same thing at the same time?"
And it hit me. "Well, how do you order your food, Mel?" He stared at me. I looked at him and said, "Here's how you order: Give me some pancakes, I'll take some bacon and I want a cheese omelette."
Here's how I order: "Hey, man, how you doing today? I'm fine, yeah. Hey, could you make me some pancakes please? And if it's not too much trouble, I'd like a cheese omelette and some crispy bacon if you don't mind. Yeah, you take care too, nice talking to you."
And that's the difference. Presentation. He didn't believe me. So I said, "You do it like I do it for 6 weeks and if your breakfast doesn't change and be as good as mine, I'll admit I'm wrong." So he did. And I promptly forgot all about it after the first 3 days or so.
A while later, we're sitting there having breakfast and I'm busy spreading jam all over my cheese omelette and out of the blue Mel says, "You know, you're right."
So I said, "Of course I am. What about?"
And he pointed out his breakfast to me. I was right.
And all it took was to ask for the same things in a slightly different way and it was like night and day. It works and it shows, even if you don't realize it, how the way you present, in words and writing, what you have to present.
And rest assured, Mel is quite possibly one of my best friends ever in my life. I'd push him out of the way of an oncoming train or stop a bullet for him, but he was a bit too terse for his own good. And I don't know if I'd stop a bullet for you Eguintir, but the advice is the same for a friend online as I would give to my good friend, Mel.
(and to anyone else who ever wonders, why is my stuff not as interesting, good, flavorful as that guy's?)
best regards,
dunniteowl
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