Friday, May 9, 2008

Will Rankk explode?

Recently, ozehka asked about what we plan to do so that Rankk will not "explode" because of too many challenges.

The timing of the question could not have been more apt, because I have been thinking about that too.

First of all, we need to answer the questions whether we plan to keep on adding new challenges and whether there's a maximum number we're targetting at.

I haven't discussed these with Bio so the views expressed here are my own.

Yes, we plan to keep on adding new challenges. We have not set a maximum number of challenges and we don't intend to do so.

So it's quite conceivable that in time, Rankk will grow quite monstrous with very many challenges. Will it crumple under its very own weight?

Here are some potential problems:

1) New comers may get discouraged or overwhelmed by the sheer size, even before they start.

2) With no end-point in sight, players may lose the momentum eventually, no matter how determined they were at the beginning.

3) It becomes harder to keep track of challenges so some ideas may inevitably be duplicated.

So what are our plans to ensure that the size won't become a burden to Rankk?

Firstly, we'll be careful not to pursue a numbers' game. This means we'll need to be selective about new challenge ideas that are proposed, and only add those that are good and relevant to the site.

Secondly, we may need to modify the challenge listing to display only a default number of challenges so as not to "frighten off" new comers. Or we may introduce categories to the challenges and let players select what categories of challenges to display.

Thirdly, at some point in time we'll need to audit the challenges and get rid of those that are "insane" or grossly unpopular.

Finally, we will need to constantly make improvements and introduce new features to keep the site relevant.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Smething i though about: the later you joink rank, the easier it is to rise up the pyramid. Because the more challenges there are in a level, the greater the change there will be one you can succeed.

Sphinx said...

That's true for the lower to mid levels. Levels 6 and 7 have seen moderate increases in the number of challenges. Levels 8 and 9 will not have any challenges added.

Anonymous said...

I think , that recently the Pyramid has reached the perfect form, more challenges would dissolve it into the waters of Nile.
One idea is to create a map of the Egypt with say 9 points/tasks.
Each task would be a small pyramid itself (or Sphinx ;) ) completing one would open the way to another.
Then at any time you see only say , 30 challenges, you don't even have to know how many are in total.
Definitely like the new challenges but me thinks they have to be sorted somehow.