An unclaimed community position at OpenRA
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2020 3:34 pm
Hello Guys,
yesterday I looked at the OpenRA resource center, where all the maps are stored and found a map "3pl-Extraction ", a variant for the allied Extraction coop mission and wondered how good it is. It is a shame that many maps go unseen...
I wondered if there is someone who reviews maps, and if there is something to watch or read regularly about new, interesting maps. Something I would want to watch or read.
There seems to be no one..., yet.
Maybe this is something YOU want to do, dear post reader.
Here is an Idea which could make you into a streamer/youtuber and OpenRA community content creator:
Make a regular show which informs players about new maps and their quality. Of course there are several types of players interested in different maps, so if you'd do only competitive 1v1 maps, that would reduce your potential audience.
There are several types: I know of the competitive player, who only wants to know about maps which are "fair" and "symmetric" and play to the standard meta. Then there is players who care about maps which are nice to play on, maybe in 2v2 or 3v3, but which need not be super balanced or be "meta". There is players who want to try out weird and wacky stuff like modmaps or balance playtests and are welcoming a refreshing change. There is also the vs AI or "with friends" player which are new to the game or look for CoOp fun. Those are the types of players I can think of. And there are TD, RA and d2k which a player may like/dislike as well!
Now those are a lot of different people, how to structure the show to appeal to them all? I don't know for sure but here is my suggestion:
Make a script before you go, write down your criteria like "fairness","visual appeal","modded content","average game length","attention to detail". Talk about the map author, game and when the map has been released, maybe the author even gave a comment on the map. Give an extensive overview of the map you are reviewing and look for the story of the map. Where do players start and which options do they have? How are players are supposed to play the map and how fun playing it that way might it be. Then you might choose a player type the map suits and apply your criteria, arguig why you give that ammount of of points, making the map thus comparable to others in one category.
You can put some pictures of the maps in your script an there you go, you have a blog article which you can publish on the platform of your choice or as .pdf in OpenRA discord. From then you could go live on twitch, with the maps you want to show in your bag, your script and your opinion shaped. Twitch is very interactive, so you could gather a public vote on the maps and get feedback on your own review style. Finally the twitch recording could go on YouTube.
Whether you do all three is up to you, more platforms more audience
You can offer the maps you find worthy as a map pack, so players can go and play after your show. Maybe you'd want to mix it up from time to time, playing a live game on a map or spectating one, showcasing a modmap or an interview of some kind... You'd become the "map critic(s)" of the community.
This concept is extensible to other games besides OpenRA of course, if you like doing it and it's going well. But OpenRA has one advantage: a HUGE number of new maps all the time. Since the last time I looked two days ago, there have been eight(!) new maps posted to the resource centre and a total of nearly "over 9000" maps. So there is enough to review, and map makes will be inspired to make even more if there is a well known "map critic" they can get good scores off of in the front of all the community...
I'd start wit a two-weekly schedule, so you 100% always have something new to review and the time to actually do the review, regularly. Also this needn't be a one-man-show..
If you like the Idea, say so and go for it! I posted this because I want to watch or read your work!
If you, reader, want to watch or read something like this this as well, please say so!
Cheers,
SirCake
yesterday I looked at the OpenRA resource center, where all the maps are stored and found a map "3pl-Extraction ", a variant for the allied Extraction coop mission and wondered how good it is. It is a shame that many maps go unseen...
I wondered if there is someone who reviews maps, and if there is something to watch or read regularly about new, interesting maps. Something I would want to watch or read.
There seems to be no one..., yet.
Maybe this is something YOU want to do, dear post reader.
Here is an Idea which could make you into a streamer/youtuber and OpenRA community content creator:
Make a regular show which informs players about new maps and their quality. Of course there are several types of players interested in different maps, so if you'd do only competitive 1v1 maps, that would reduce your potential audience.
There are several types: I know of the competitive player, who only wants to know about maps which are "fair" and "symmetric" and play to the standard meta. Then there is players who care about maps which are nice to play on, maybe in 2v2 or 3v3, but which need not be super balanced or be "meta". There is players who want to try out weird and wacky stuff like modmaps or balance playtests and are welcoming a refreshing change. There is also the vs AI or "with friends" player which are new to the game or look for CoOp fun. Those are the types of players I can think of. And there are TD, RA and d2k which a player may like/dislike as well!
Now those are a lot of different people, how to structure the show to appeal to them all? I don't know for sure but here is my suggestion:
Make a script before you go, write down your criteria like "fairness","visual appeal","modded content","average game length","attention to detail". Talk about the map author, game and when the map has been released, maybe the author even gave a comment on the map. Give an extensive overview of the map you are reviewing and look for the story of the map. Where do players start and which options do they have? How are players are supposed to play the map and how fun playing it that way might it be. Then you might choose a player type the map suits and apply your criteria, arguig why you give that ammount of of points, making the map thus comparable to others in one category.
You can put some pictures of the maps in your script an there you go, you have a blog article which you can publish on the platform of your choice or as .pdf in OpenRA discord. From then you could go live on twitch, with the maps you want to show in your bag, your script and your opinion shaped. Twitch is very interactive, so you could gather a public vote on the maps and get feedback on your own review style. Finally the twitch recording could go on YouTube.
Whether you do all three is up to you, more platforms more audience
You can offer the maps you find worthy as a map pack, so players can go and play after your show. Maybe you'd want to mix it up from time to time, playing a live game on a map or spectating one, showcasing a modmap or an interview of some kind... You'd become the "map critic(s)" of the community.
This concept is extensible to other games besides OpenRA of course, if you like doing it and it's going well. But OpenRA has one advantage: a HUGE number of new maps all the time. Since the last time I looked two days ago, there have been eight(!) new maps posted to the resource centre and a total of nearly "over 9000" maps. So there is enough to review, and map makes will be inspired to make even more if there is a well known "map critic" they can get good scores off of in the front of all the community...
I'd start wit a two-weekly schedule, so you 100% always have something new to review and the time to actually do the review, regularly. Also this needn't be a one-man-show..
If you like the Idea, say so and go for it! I posted this because I want to watch or read your work!
If you, reader, want to watch or read something like this this as well, please say so!
Cheers,
SirCake