Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Ten Ton Hammer: What do you find is the biggest hurdle to retaining players at this stage in Atlantica’s life cycle? Is there a specific point in the game you can identify as problematic? If so, what are you doing to remedy that?

Peter: Player retention is always difficult, and it’s no secret that the average player sticks around for only a few months in most F2P games. In game, the biggest hurdle is always offering enough exciting content updates in a timely manner to prevent players from hitting a wall. But as I mentioned earlier, the team is working hard to churn out quality, content-filled updates.

Another hurdle is ensuring a smooth ride to the top. Currently, leveling slows down at 95 and it doesn’t really pick up until you hit 100. So we’re working out the kinks and eliminating some of the grind to provide a more enjoyable experience.

However, one of the real keys to retaining players is creating a strong community, hence a lot of the features that encourage players to engage with other players.

Ten Ton Hammer: I have said before (http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/49528) that the Atlantica item mall does a good job of selling convenience items instead of items necessary to succeed in the game. You confirmed that is the direction Atlantica will continue to take in your recent interview with ZAM (http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=17198). You really mean it? I will never have to purchase an item to play Atlantica?

Peter: Never—we feel that implementing necessities would only reduce our player-base and alienate others. The problem with adding items other than convenience items is that it can ruin the balance that is already hard to maintain. And to provide a fair environment for players, we feel keeping the Item Mall limited to convenience items is the way to go.

Ten Ton Hammer: Based on feedback from multiple players, bonus Gcoins (the item mall currency) are now spent before any Gcoins we paid for. The bonus Gcoins were given away with the purchase of the original Gcoins. Why did you decide this policy needed to be changed even though it might cost you money?

Peter: Simply put, it wasn’t a popular policy. So we changed it. If we support the players, the players will support us in return.