For this week's challenge, @thepeoplesguild is asking us to identify key areas in the player experience—especially for new players—that could benefit from further development and refinement by the company.
I've been loving the opportunity to participate in these challenges! The topics brought to the table are always super interesting, and there's plenty of room for great discussions. 💬🎮✨
Introduction 📢
The idea I'm going to propose for this challenge centers on one main thing: Guilds. My proposition is that the Splinterlands team should invest their time, effort, and money into increasing and expanding the current guild system.
The main reason for this approach is based on my personal experience: being part of a guild has always attracted me the most. Being in a tight-knit group of people, a small community fighting for a common goal, is what has driven me in many other games. ⚔️👥
It's that sense of belonging that builds loyalty, and that loyalty to your guild is what will retain the most players. Because let's face it—bringing new people into the ecosystem isn't that hard; we just need publicity. The real challenge is actually making those people stay once they arrive. 🎯🚪
Why Guilds? 🤔
There are many ways to achieve this goal, and I'm sure other players will come up with cool ideas. However, I chose to focus on guilds because I believe it's the simplest and most effective way to improve the gameplay and overall experience for most users. Plus, there's a lot of room for improvement in Splinterlands when it comes to guilds. 🌱🎮
Guilds and New Players:
Guilds are a key part of every online game in one way or another. The most loyal Splinterlands players are also very loyal to their guilds. Guilds generate a sense of belonging and community, which is something game developers often leverage because it works! 🏰🤝
When a new player enters the ecosystem, they often know very little about the game. Many don't even know about the TCG genre, and others may not be familiar with the crypto aspect. However, most players who join are already familiar with one or two things. For example, new players usually have an understanding of how guilds work in online games. They've likely played other games where guilds are already fully implemented and are eager to join one to start participating.
I genuinely believe that the onboarding process doesn't need intricate or lengthy tutorials if we have an engaging and robust guild system. The key is to make new players feel welcome and hooked on the game. What better way to achieve this than through guilds? The community will naturally take care of itself.
Challenges and Considerations ⚖️
A possible drawback to this idea is that it would require dev work, development planning, balancing, etc.—basically, time and money the company might not have. I'm fully aware of this, but this is a game, after all, and if we want to expand our player base, we also need to expand what we offer to those players. 📈💡 You can't really grow without development.
One could argue that there are cheaper things (in terms of development and money) to focus on that might have a quicker impact—like giving out more rewards, more chests, more "glint," or whatever. But the truth is, if we want to grow organically, that's just not enough. We need real improvements to both the game and the player experience to build a loyal fanbase over time and for the long term. 💪🕹️
My point is that we cannot expect simple solutions to complicated problems. By adding these kinds of improvements to the game, we will actually grow, attract, and retain new players. There are, of course, many other ways to achieve the same goal, like improving the ranked or tournament systems. But the key difference between enhancing the guild system and other areas is that guilds offer something extra. As I mentioned before, no other aspect of the game engages players as deeply as guilds and communities. 🏅🌟
Current State of Guilds 🛡️
The current guild system in Splinterlands is okay, but it's not great. It doesn't offer much, and while it's not perfect, it's already producing some important effects. Personally, one of the first things I did when I joined the game was to join a guild, and I made a few friends along the way. 😊👥
As of now, the only things offered by the current guild system are:
- Weekly brawls 🥊
- Bonuses for ranked play 🏆
- ...and not much more 🤷
My idea is to expand on these features and add new ones. 🔧🚀
What Should Be Added? 🆕✨
- Treating Guilds as Mini-DAOs or "Collective" Asset Holders 🏛️
One key aspect I'd like to see implemented is reworking guilds so they can function as mini DAOs, managed by the guild leader and officers. This would mean that every guild should have a Hive account, enabling them to hold assets like NFTs and Non-NFTs (soulbound). 🎴💰
The guild leader could decide how to manage these assets—some might keep total control, while others could share decision-making power with their guildmates.
To expand on this idea, players could also delegate cards, SPS, and other items to their guild for certain benefits. ⚖️📜
This could also include a Guild Voting System 🗳️ for major decisions within the guild, such as leadership changes, resource allocations, or project proposals. This promotes democratic engagement and can strengthen community bonds.
I won't dive into specifics, as that would require an entirely different discussion about game balancing and development. However, the core idea is that guilds could collaborate and hold assets together. Some guilds, like Team Possible or YGG, have already implemented similar concepts on their own, so there’s definitely interest in this direction! 🌍🤝
- New Global Rewards and Objectives 🌍🎯
Another feature I'd love to see is the introduction of new global rewards and objectives that guilds could achieve through teamwork. This could take the form of Daily or Weekly quests, for example. 📅⚔️
The idea is to create activities that require players to coordinate with their teammates, making the game more engaging and encouraging communication and planning within the guild. This is where the sense of community and loyalty comes from—working together towards a common goal. Currently, this happens through brawls, but it could easily be expanded to include tournament participation, ranked play, or even land play. 🗺️🎮
The possibilities are wide, and I'm sure other players have great ideas in this regard. The key here is creating something—anything—that encourages players to collaborate. The rewards could be for the guild or for individual players. They don’t have to be SPS; they could be glint bonuses, ranked bonuses, temporary soulbound cards, or similar perks. 🏅✨
- PVE Content: Co-op Raids 🛡️🗡️
This is probably the most controversial idea because developing an entire PVE system isn't easy, and PVE content is often exploited by bots. 🤖❗ I'm not going to dive deep into this rabbit hole, as I could write pages about this topic. But I leave this option open in case the Splinterlands Team ever finds a way to create PVE content that can't be exploited.
If they do find a solution, it should definitely be something guild-related. Once again, giving guild members content that encourages teamwork and coordination strengthens bonds, boosts interaction, and promotes engagement. This might be the feature that convinces players to stick around when they feel bored with the repetitive ranked play. ⚔️🤝
- Guild Achievements and Milestones 🎖️
Introduce a system where guilds can unlock achievements or milestones for completing specific tasks, like winning a certain number of brawls or participating in community events. This could foster a sense of progression and competition between guilds.
- Exclusive Guild Events 🏆
Host exclusive events or tournaments for guild members, where they can compete for unique rewards, titles, or in-game assets. This can motivate players to engage more with their guild. We already saw not long ago @brybro27 doing something along these lines, and there was definitely interest.
- Guild Mentorship/Fathering/Alliance Programs 🤝
Establish a way where experienced guilds could father (support) smaller guilds, or where two guilds could ally to form some sort of a group of guilds. This can create a supportive environment and build larger guild communities.
- New Items and Buildings 🏗️
In order to implement all or some of the features listed above, I think it would be cool if some new items and buildings were released. The items should provide clear advantages in brawls, guild tournaments, events, ranked play, or whatever path the team chooses. 🏅🛠️
It doesn't really matter what the items do, but they have to be something useful, something players are willing to spend on. The point is that they should not be something useless like the current spy glass.
Final Thoughts 🤔
In the end, what I'm proposing to attract and retain new players is building on what we already have. The foundations are there; we just need to improve things. 🎯 Many times, players have expressed frustration that the game feels stagnant, and to a degree, this is true. 🛑
If we want Splinterlands to grow, if we want more players, and especially if we want those players to stay, we need to give them reasons to invest their time and money. 🌍💰 Giving players new, engaging features to work with, particularly ones that foster loyalty and interaction, will create lasting bonds that will not only attract new players but also keep them hooked.
Of course, this is only a small part of what could be done, and there are many other areas in which the game could improve. But I think that focusing on guilds is key to retain new players because players are already familiar with guild systems, that's not something we need to teach them about. And if we want to retain loyal players this is the way we can create the loyalty we seek.
💪🎮
What do you think? Feel free to comment below with your thoughts! ⬇️
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