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DF Suggestions / Official DF Guide
« on: July 25, 2011, 04:36:43 pm »
We have all read the NY Times' article on DF, and we are all well aware of the increased interest in DF. Over the years, we have also had many friends who have given DF a go after they heard about it from us, and who gave up as there seemed to be no obvious goals, or the game interface was too intimidating. Both of these lead to a thought process, that there should be some official DF guide, that people who have never played the game before can look to for a coherent, well organized and accurate account of information about the game, as well as information about playing the game.
There are excellent examples of tutorials, as well our wiki and related forums, however the cruicial information from these is not yet synthesized, and so anyone who looks into the game (whether intending to play or report on the game) must spend time looking through several of the websites and forums before reaching and understanding of the game, and its history, etc.
Because many people do not spend the time doing this, as indicated in the introduction, they mostly go down three routes: either love the game, don't understand the game, or are intimidated by the interface.
By having an official guide, it will eliminate these problems completly for people looking into the game. It will also increase knowledge about the game being a single document, as it is easy to spread, refer to, and to understand. (At the moment, most people I talk to have never heard of it, or have some vague (and usually incorrect) idea about the game.) Also, the small handful of people who look into the game everyday at the moment can be easily confused, and abandon the thought of playing completely. The last thing we want to do is stop the spread of DF! By having an official guide, the people who want to play the game will encouraged, rather than discouraged to. The guide will also have another goal of being tutorial based, so that first-time players can follow this guide directly (or people interested in understanding how the game is played). As I have said above, this section of the guide, written as a detailed tutorial will use the best elements from the wide range of tutorials out on the web, suitable for a document. (no videos, clearly, however links should be provided)
Like the wiki, the guide should have many internal references as well as external references, as no reader wants to read things they already know over and over again, or read something and want more information, but cannot access it. The guide will need to be rich with images (we all know that a picture is worth a thousand words), and the use of colours and styles can be used.
Smaller things like the first time a sub menu (e.g the designations menu) is used, the broad functions of are explained, so that a wider view of large sections of the game are developed, and not missed, as so many tutorials skip or assume. (I wished someone had explained to me all the functions of the view menu, and not just saying "select this preference by doing v - p - l.. etc, so I could understand I one go what the whole menu did, than just learn sections at a time. Yes we were all newbs at some time)
Clearly, the best way to approach a project like this would be to create a sub section of the wiki. I suggest that before any actual writing begins, that there is at least a one month planning period, so that everyone understands how the guide will be written, its aims, goals, etc. (They will be refined, as mine lack peer review, at present) Finally when the layout and organization have been decided, we can start, and at the end of a year (or however long it will take, after editing and refining a hundred time over) we will have a single, community effort, guide, that anyone can access, and maybe used as a reference for sections like this history of the game.
So why start on a project like this now? We all know the game pretty well, and have seen its development from the early days. (most of us) Our knowledge go beyond that of someone who just knows how to interact with the game, and so our community at the moment consists of a large percentage of individuals with knowledge like this. Later on, this will decrease, as newer and newer players join.
More importantly, by creating such a document early, it will remove the need for a gargantuan effort to produce such a document when demand for it peaks and will increase the number of positive reviews and players. The guide can be updated every time a major arc is released, or every year. (really up to what everyone thinks) And as I have mentioned, by adding to the guide everytime a new arc is released, it is constantly up to date. (unlike many tutorials)
Summary: Work on an official guide be started, with two main goals, as above:
1) Serve as the most reliable form of coherent information about the game, and a reference
2) Serve as a detailed tutorial
The layout and organization of the guide be discussed, before work on it, on the wiki.
Once completed, the document will only need to be updated every time there is a major release, and serve as an up to date complete guide on DF, helpful for journalists, accessable (and more importantly) understandable for those who haven't played the game before.
(please don't criticize me for the numerous spelling and grammatical mistakes, as it is late, I spent quite a while writing this, and I've got my message and proposal across, the most important thing)
There are excellent examples of tutorials, as well our wiki and related forums, however the cruicial information from these is not yet synthesized, and so anyone who looks into the game (whether intending to play or report on the game) must spend time looking through several of the websites and forums before reaching and understanding of the game, and its history, etc.
Because many people do not spend the time doing this, as indicated in the introduction, they mostly go down three routes: either love the game, don't understand the game, or are intimidated by the interface.
By having an official guide, it will eliminate these problems completly for people looking into the game. It will also increase knowledge about the game being a single document, as it is easy to spread, refer to, and to understand. (At the moment, most people I talk to have never heard of it, or have some vague (and usually incorrect) idea about the game.) Also, the small handful of people who look into the game everyday at the moment can be easily confused, and abandon the thought of playing completely. The last thing we want to do is stop the spread of DF! By having an official guide, the people who want to play the game will encouraged, rather than discouraged to. The guide will also have another goal of being tutorial based, so that first-time players can follow this guide directly (or people interested in understanding how the game is played). As I have said above, this section of the guide, written as a detailed tutorial will use the best elements from the wide range of tutorials out on the web, suitable for a document. (no videos, clearly, however links should be provided)
Like the wiki, the guide should have many internal references as well as external references, as no reader wants to read things they already know over and over again, or read something and want more information, but cannot access it. The guide will need to be rich with images (we all know that a picture is worth a thousand words), and the use of colours and styles can be used.
Smaller things like the first time a sub menu (e.g the designations menu) is used, the broad functions of are explained, so that a wider view of large sections of the game are developed, and not missed, as so many tutorials skip or assume. (I wished someone had explained to me all the functions of the view menu, and not just saying "select this preference by doing v - p - l.. etc, so I could understand I one go what the whole menu did, than just learn sections at a time. Yes we were all newbs at some time)
Clearly, the best way to approach a project like this would be to create a sub section of the wiki. I suggest that before any actual writing begins, that there is at least a one month planning period, so that everyone understands how the guide will be written, its aims, goals, etc. (They will be refined, as mine lack peer review, at present) Finally when the layout and organization have been decided, we can start, and at the end of a year (or however long it will take, after editing and refining a hundred time over) we will have a single, community effort, guide, that anyone can access, and maybe used as a reference for sections like this history of the game.
So why start on a project like this now? We all know the game pretty well, and have seen its development from the early days. (most of us) Our knowledge go beyond that of someone who just knows how to interact with the game, and so our community at the moment consists of a large percentage of individuals with knowledge like this. Later on, this will decrease, as newer and newer players join.
More importantly, by creating such a document early, it will remove the need for a gargantuan effort to produce such a document when demand for it peaks and will increase the number of positive reviews and players. The guide can be updated every time a major arc is released, or every year. (really up to what everyone thinks) And as I have mentioned, by adding to the guide everytime a new arc is released, it is constantly up to date. (unlike many tutorials)
Summary: Work on an official guide be started, with two main goals, as above:
1) Serve as the most reliable form of coherent information about the game, and a reference
2) Serve as a detailed tutorial
The layout and organization of the guide be discussed, before work on it, on the wiki.
Once completed, the document will only need to be updated every time there is a major release, and serve as an up to date complete guide on DF, helpful for journalists, accessable (and more importantly) understandable for those who haven't played the game before.
(please don't criticize me for the numerous spelling and grammatical mistakes, as it is late, I spent quite a while writing this, and I've got my message and proposal across, the most important thing)