Growing the Game

[Bob Kudelski]

After my hockey game the other night, the goalie was talking about how he had played NHL 94 that day for the first time in years, and how awesome it was (SNES version!).

He thought that Jagr was the only player left in the game that currently played in the NHL. I obviously pointed out that Hamrlik, Lidstrom and Selanne were there as well (I might be forgetting a couple others). He wondered how I knew that and I explained that I played in online NHL 94 leagues and that it was amazingly fun. I told him to go to the website and "get involved".

I believe there are many others like him out there that love NHL 94, or at least used to love NHL 94, and just haven't had the opportunity to play in recent years. They likely have no idea that the online community exists.

So my question is, how do we "grow the game" of NHL 94 and recruit more players?

I try to pimp it on messageboards, but maybe we need a viral campaign, or some guerilla marketing, like sticker bombing "NHL 94" stickers all over our neighbourhoods).

[kingraph]

Love this thread Bob!

I just played test games with two new guys last week and I was somewhat thinking about this as well. First, taking the time to help new guys is very important. I treat test games as important as a league games. If that first experience is a good one, it's more likely that we get a new member of the community who will be active, and that's what it's all about. You never know who will be the next great player, and we ALL benefit from a larger community. I know it can be cumbersome sometimes, but to all of you who take the time to help out our new guys, answer questions, play test games, etc...a BIG THANK YOU.

These two guys I played last week are good, and I could definitely see them become even better. BUT, without a structured league, new guys will have a harder time getting exhibition games in...it takes a little time to get comfortable with the community and how we play. I remember when I first started, I was a little...intimidated? -- not exactly the word, but I didn't really ask for exhibitions because I wasn't comfortable with it. But it was guys like sebe, zalex and kupuck (and others) who really helped me out and sort of "broke the ice". So again, BIG THANK YOU to all of you who help new guys.

Those two points boil down to asking our current live community to add new guys to their AIM list and take some time to help them out. Treat it as your duty.

As far as promotion, it's great to see people promote on message boards, like donnybrook did last week or so, and of course word of mouth is huge. You always hope for a viral effect...two new guys add two friends, who find two more, who know another...etc.

I think right behind the start of any Classic season is the best time to promote as a structured league, with a clean website and simple format makes it much easier for new guys to get involved for a few months.

[trudatman]

I have thought about stickerbombing, but I would hope that it would be done in a responsible way with selective adherence to property and wide ranges rather than local overload. are we mature and capable? somewhat. I envision simple box cover logos altered with the ".com" on stickers that are of a decent quality and would hold up over a few years of Canadan weather. I can imagine town officials trying to fine us for property damage and removal costs. they would know where to find us. I'm glad you are bringing these ideas forward, but I think at least half of our most prolific members would be haphazard in their execution, at best. I'd be willing to make some mockups if you'd be willing to organize distribution and/or outsource production.

edit: and yeah, it's down to just Selanne, Lidstrom, Jagr and Hamrlik. Lidstrom is the only non-starter from the original. the other three have their pictures "in the game."

Edited May 18, 2012 by trudatman

[Bob Kudelski]

I have thought about stickerbombing, but I would hope that it would be done in a responsible way with selective adherence to property and wide ranges rather than local overload. are we mature and capable? somewhat. I envision simple box cover logos altered with the ".com" on stickers that are of a decent quality and would hold up over a few years of Canadan weather. I can imagine town officials trying to fine us for property damage and removal costs. they would know where to find us. I'm glad you are bringing these ideas forward, but I think at least half of our most prolific members would be haphazard in their execution, at best. I'd be willing to make some mockups if you'd be willing to organize distribution and/or outsource production.

Haha, ya the sticker bombing thing was kind of tongue in cheek - but sometimes I just wish I had some cool NHL 94 stickers to put on my own stuff for the most part. I'm actually not willing to organize distribution or outsource production. I am willing to purchase stickers though.

[da94wookiee]

In my opinion, the biggest thing that anyone could do to help "grow the game" would be to update the homepage at nhl94.com and make it more current and easier to understand for new guys. If someone does a google search for NHL 94, that's the first thing they find. It would also be better to say "check out nhl94.com" than "check out nhl94.com, join the forum, check out nhl94online.com and blitz94.com."

When a potential new player goes to nhl94.com, there's just too much information and a lot of it is either out of date or unimportant.

For example, just on the home page there's a link to "Swos&Mahavishnu's NHL94 Update: This is a constantly updated version of NHL94 with current teams, rosters, players, and more." The problem is that it's 2-3 years old. Maybe someone can just change that to a link to pixelpuck.com? Also, the "Genesis Soundboard" is cool, but is it really necessary on the home page? In that space, you could put the download section from nhl94online.com.

There's a huge amount of information, which is great... but new guys might poke around for a little while and then get either bored or overwhelmed and leave... in my opinion, nhl94.com should be simpler and more focused on pointing people to Netplay. Looking at rosters is fun for a couple minutes, but playing games is fun for countless hours!

The "Getting Started" info from nhl94online.com is really helpful, and should have a big link directly at the nhl94.com homepage. Same thing with the "Waiting List" page, so if guys are interested they can leave their info and get emailed before the start to the next classic season. Maybe there could be some kind of yearly league schedule, like this (keep in mind, this is just an example and isn't 100% accurate. It doesn't reflect SNES leagues or things like GDL and Anaheim Mighty Prize League):

Then when someone clicks a league name, it sends them to that league's separate homepage.

The other thing that I think would really help grow the game would be figuring out how to do Netplay on a Mac.

Edited May 18, 2012 by da94wookiee

[kingraph]

In my opinion, the biggest thing that anyone could do to help "grow the game" would be to update the homepage at nhl94.com and make it more current and easier to understand for new guys. If someone does a google search for NHL 94, that's the first thing they find. It would also be better to say "check out nhl94.com" than "check out nhl94.com, join the forum, check out nhl94online.com and blitz94.com."

When a potential new player goes to nhl94.com, there's just too much information and a lot of it is either out of date or unimportant.

For example, just on the home page there's a link to "Swos&Mahavishnu's NHL94 Update: This is a constantly updated version of NHL94 with current teams, rosters, players, and more." The problem is that it's 2-3 years old. Maybe someone can just change that to a link to pixelpuck.com? Also, the "Genesis Soundboard" is cool, but is it really necessary on the home page? In that space, you could put the download section from nhl94online.com.

There's a huge amount of information, which is great... but new guys might poke around for a little while and then get either bored or overwhelmed and leave... in my opinion, nhl94.com should be simpler and more focused on pointing people to Netplay. Looking at rosters is fun for a couple minutes, but playing games is fun for countless hours!

The "Getting Started" info from nhl94online.com is really helpful, and should have a big link directly at the nhl94.com homepage. Same thing with the "Waiting List" page, so if guys are interested they can leave their info and get emailed before the start to the next classic season. Maybe there could be some kind of yearly league schedule, like this (keep in mind, this is just an example and isn't 100% accurate. It doesn't reflect SNES leagues or things like GDL and Anaheim Mighty Prize League):

Then when someone clicks a league name, it sends them to that league's separate homepage.

The other thing that I think would really help grow the game would be figuring out how to do Netplay on a Mac.

Great suggestions

[dcicon5148]

great idea, maybe we can somehow combine the classic site and blitz into like a mega site,,, one stop for all the 94 leagues...

[trudatman]

love the suggestion of revamping the site's homepage. it is long overdue. I find it is hard for new folks to even find the forums. they see a few topics on the right, but it isn't exactly intuitively obvious how one would find the forum homepage to browse and/or sign up. it is a common stumbling block, though. the site has an owner/webmaster and the forum has users and moderators -- getting things done doesn't necessarily flow directly from such a system. surely things should be done, but who should do the real doing and how?

[halifax]

So my question is, how do we "grow the game" of NHL 94 and recruit more players?

Great thread bud. I think the answers are mostly simple and are covered amoung some other posts in this thread. However I'd also like to add, that it has been growing. You take a look at where classic is compared to where it was, say 3 seasons ago. We've more than doubled numbers and have several leagues. We've emailed a lot of people before league starts. We've posted on message boards and have done whatever we can to get them here. The next step is even more important than the first...and it's accurately addressed by kingraph.

Taking the time to help new guys is very important. If that first experience is a good one, it's more likely that we get a new member of the community who will be active, and that's what it's all about.

My first experience online was with playing a game against schwartz. I didn't have a controller yet (was waiting for my adapter), so i was trying to play with a keyboard. schwartz went up 4-0 after about two minutes. then he decided to switch to a keyboard....he didn't need to but I thought the gesture was nice...since he sucked at keyboard as well. At any rate. it was my first experience online and it was fun and appreciated and we had a good in game chat about the league and site. Not long after that I spent a lot of time organizing my own leagues and spending time with guys getting set up to play online (the days of port forwarding...painful) but I think new guys appreciated it.

What this site really needs is a video, one for genesis, one for snes... a literal walk through of how to play online. from downloading the rom and emulator, to signing up for aim, to requesting game requests, to getting set up online, and even online etiquette and an understanding of the site. video can obviously tell the story much more than pages of writing will do.

The forums have a ton of information. Compile that into videos and people's frustration would decrease.

We do a great job at voice overs for games themselves, perhaps those skills could be extended. Boknows will do this for us. I have volunteered him without his knowledge.

[halifax]

Great suggestions

Indeed

[Bob Kudelski]

Great ideas buds.

I didnt' even know pixelpuck.com was before! Very impressive site.

Also, is the Ron Barr mug for real?

http://pixelpuck.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/barrmug.jpg

I want one.

[da94wookiee]

You take a look at where classic is compared to where it was, say 3 seasons ago. We've more than doubled numbers and have several leagues. We've emailed a lot of people before league starts. We've posted on message boards and have done whatever we can to get them here.

I absolutely agree. When I first joined, I was really impressed by the leadership of people who put this all together and make the leagues possible. It's a difficult and mostly thankless job, but you guys really do it well.

The forums have a ton of information. Compile that into videos and people's frustration would decrease.

We do a great job at voice overs for games themselves, perhaps those skills could be extended. Boknows will do this for us. I have volunteered him without his knowledge.

Instructional videos is a great idea! Bo: I look forward to seeing these!

[Bo Knows NHL94]

i would be happy to provide a detailed guide on how to go 15-25 and finish last in your division and miss the playoffs in Gens A.

SPOILER:

The key is going 0-4 vs dcicon. After you do that, the rest just falls into place.

[kingraph]

Summarizing these ideas (and please continue to make suggestions/give ideas!):

I. Revamp the NHL94.com homepage

a. Main focus on leagues/netplay

b. Current/Future League Information/Schedules

- Classic

- Blitz

- Survivor

- 2v2 Summit/Winter Classic

- GDL

- SDL

- Misc (Anaheim/SNESOT, etc)

II. Videos to supplement the very useful "Getting Started" section on nhl94online.com

a. Downloading GENS Emulator & nhl94 ROM, configuration and playing

b. Downloading ZSNES Emulator ...

c. Using AIM and contacting other members for games

d. Setting up Hamachi

e. How to play online via Hamachi/P2P

f. How to play online via Client/Server

I think the only person who can update the nhl94.com main site is the Grand Poobah himself, Evan. The videos, however, can be done by volunteers. Hypercam, or any other desktop recording device could be used, and a voice-over, if anyone is savvy enough and would like to volunteer. My videos list is just a suggestion off the top of my head...perhaps there's a better way to organize it.

Either way, those videos have to happen. Should be easy, and highly beneficial.

[minpind]

I might be able to do a few hypercam vids, then send em over to probob for the play by play?

[JayLighter420]

update the download page.

after downloading gens, you have to download the correct version of kailera from the blitz page :/

[dcicon5148]

i would be happy to provide a detailed guide on how to go 15-25 and finish last in your division and miss the playoffs in Gens A.

SPOILER:

The key is going 0-4 vs dcicon. After you do that, the rest just falls into place.

lol

my 11 wins,,, 4 vs bo, 5 vs hokee, 1 vs beavers and 1 vs kupuck

[jer_33]

Nostalgia is what brought me here. Never owned a Genesis or SNES (was a PC freak), but fondly remember playing on my buddies system every weekend as a college student.

I've never bought into the hype of the newest gaming systems, or gaming PCs. I've always loved playing the old games (absolutely refuse to fall into the sports trap of buying every iteration of the EA NHL sports title). Now that internet message boards are building communities of fans, we're seeing an incredible boom in retro games.

That this site exists, and that there is a strong community of players connecting online and playing league games is INCREDIBLE!

The effort to continue evolving the emulators, the rom itself, patches, mods, draft sites, stats sites - it's a little overwhelming. .. and entirely volunteer. CRAZY!

To grow this community even more - I would recommend a few things:

1. Continue to support/encourage and appreciate those that put the time/effort into keeping things running

2. I would recommend asking for an email (or registration) before offering the downloads page

3. Follow-up same day, or after a few days time with an email to offer help with installation troubles

4. Follow-up regularly offering online play, or league advertisments

5. Perhaps a prestigious global tournament (if there isn't one already) with a couple of sponsored (retro-)trophies to be taken home. Is there a way to broadcast games to allow people to witness live games as spectators?

6. Official Global Rankings

..all for now..

Jer

[kingraph]

Nostalgia is what brought me here. Never owned a Genesis or SNES (was a PC freak), but fondly remember playing on my buddies system every weekend as a college student.

I've never bought into the hype of the newest gaming systems, or gaming PCs. I've always loved playing the old games (absolutely refuse to fall into the sports trap of buying every iteration of the EA NHL sports title). Now that internet message boards are building communities of fans, we're seeing an incredible boom in retro games.

That this site exists, and that there is a strong community of players connecting online and playing league games is INCREDIBLE!

The effort to continue evolving the emulators, the rom itself, patches, mods, draft sites, stats sites - it's a little overwhelming. .. and entirely volunteer. CRAZY!

To grow this community even more - I would recommend a few things:

1. Continue to support/encourage and appreciate those that put the time/effort into keeping things running - YES!!!

2. I would recommend asking for an email (or registration) before offering the downloads page - You can only download something if you're signed into the forums (no guests)

3. Follow-up same day, or after a few days time with an email to offer help with installation troubles - Halifax just sent an e-mail yesterday to unconfirmed buds! Great minds...

4. Follow-up regularly offering online play, or league advertisments - E-mail you mean? Perhaps an "opt-in/opt-out" option for people to subscribe to e-mails. This would fall on the admins.

5. Perhaps a prestigious global tournament (if there isn't one already) with a couple of sponsored (retro-)trophies to be taken home. Is there a way to broadcast games to allow people to witness live games as spectators? A live prestigious global tournament has been discussed a few times, but it requires more time, effort and skill than is available in our community to administer. As you mentioned, it's all volunteer/hobby work done by individuals, and not an organized group. But one day...=)

6. Official Global Rankings - Been discussed to get a rankings system that combines all leagues, but hasn't been done yet. We do have rankings within 2 different tournaments though:

Classic: http://forum.nhl94.com/index.php?/topic/14399-classic-iihf-style-rankings-updated/

Blitz:http://forum.nhl94.com/index.php?/topic/13731-blitz-iihf-style-rankings/

..all for now..

Jer

My notes in RED above. Many thanks for your suggestions and feedback!

[IceStorm70]

U guys def need to post pics from this weekends rager. I think actual proof of a gathering of 8-12 guys would go a long way to having a bigger one at some point.

Live feeds would be awesome too hint hint Bo

[da94wookiee]

U guys def need to post pics from this weekends rager. I think actual proof of a gathering of 8-12 guys would go a long way to having a bigger one at some point.

Live feeds would be awesome too hint hint Bo

maybe we can set up a ustream or something?

[eggink444]

U guys def need to post pics from this weekends rager. I think actual proof of a gathering of 8-12 guys would go a long way to having a bigger one at some point.

Live feeds would be awesome too hint hint Bo

This could also scare people away.