Inspired by the good folks over at KFC and Diablo 4, business partnerships are not a new concept but aren't always popular in gaming. How do players feel about these mashups and what kinds of partnerships would make sense for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen?
While I never used it, I liked that the /pizza command existed in EQ.
But as for corporate tie-ins, I think they are a capitalistic scourge that tarnishes the reputation of the businesses involved. This kind of thing eventually will lead to a dystopia the way Black Mirror depicted it: with full-wall advertisements that pause when you aren't looking or listening -- forcing you to pay attention to all of it, even if you don't want to.
Want to do a quest? Sure thing, but now, a word from our sponsors...
I envision this leading to:
But hey, maybe some good can come from this. Nike's child slave laborers in China, might be able to spend a little of their free time building new ad content for the company instead of inhaling formaldehyde fumes while gluing shoes together.
Savanja said:Inspired by the good folks over at KFC and Diablo 4, business partnerships are not a new concept but aren't always popular in gaming. How do players feel about these mashups and what kinds of partnerships would make sense for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen?
If it ended up with product placements in the game? No. Even /pizza was a bit much for me. So long as you can keep any/all of sauch partnerships out of the game completely then VR can do whatever they want. I should not have adds or other partnerships showing up anywhere in the process from launching the game, to logging in to logging out at the end of the day. On the Pantheon website? Sure, do whatever you want because I can avoid that if I want (and I would).
If crossovers are a type of business partnership, I see the pros. Essentially advertising to an audience that may already have similar interests if selected well. There are ways it can be overdone and feel uninspiring like Fortnite doing crossovers with every franchise imaginable.
Do I want to see other franchises in Terminus? No. However, I could see DnD having a Terminus storyline or Magic the Gathering having a Pantheon pack being a great way to promo the game to targeted groups. These two examples wouldn't affect gameplay in any way. If anything, it will enhance gameplay if the campaign is a success and we see an influx of new and excited players.
If you choose to do sth. like that go with the time and partner up with a modern, innovative company that stands for sustainable food/items/... not some fastfood like PizzaHut, KFC, BurgerKing, etc.
Admin Edited to remove profanity that was spelled to fool the system. -Kilsin
Just as a quick reminder.. not everybody is american and not everybody lives near a XXXX brand pizza / burger / whatever franchise.
Now, beyond that. I do not really care as long as it does not spoil my immersion... and sorry, I don't have any particular partnerhsip that comes to mind right now.
Im sure it has it's place, but I don't think I'm qualified to have any opinion on it.
However, I imagine a cool mashup would likely be with some sort of fast food place. There would be a code for 10% off for dungeon delving/raid nights. People need more time in dungeons and less time making dinner, so they just order some fastfood for those nights. That or there is some sort of popular food for adventurers that gets made into a real life food for order. Something like the Appleshroom Trail Mix we craft ingame, gets turned into a nice delectable snack/desert/meal (similar to Harry Potter and Butter Beer).
Vandraad said:If it ended up with product placements in the game? No. Even /pizza was a bit much for me. So long as you can keep any/all of sauch partnerships out of the game completely then VR can do whatever they want. I should not have adds or other partnerships showing up anywhere in the process from launching the game, to logging in to logging out at the end of the day. On the Pantheon website? Sure, do whatever you want because I can avoid that if I want (and I would).
If it helps to fund the game and fits the above constraints, I'm fine with it. The world is what it is.
My personal opinion about the "Public Relations Industry" is contained in the following definition:
"An international, multi-billion dollar industry dedicated to the science of lying, deceiving and manipulating people without QUITE breaking any laws against fraud".
Oukbok said:If you choose to do sth. like that go with the time and partner up with a modern, innovative company that stands for sustainable food/items/... not some fastfood like PizzaHut, KFC, BurgerKing, etc.
Admin Edited to remove profanity that was spelled to fool the system. -Kilsin
Doing such partnerships to reinforce a political ideology, in my opinion, makes it an even worse idea.
Cannabis companies, I could harvest goblin hemp for strong bags and cool sun hats, maybe some edibles that allow you to see hidden marks on cave walls but also slow your movement speed.
Musical instrument companies.
Leather goods.
Wooden furniture companies.
Quality textile groups.
All these can be promoted through an extra info radio button on item descriptions. They can pay to have supported the development of an asset.
Just avoid the big corporations that have any reputation of exploitation. There is no way to get along with the middle management and slaves in those operations, they will damage anything they can if it means they get a promotion or some leg up in the structure of business designed to suck the soul out of of humanity. Nike, nestle, Walmart etc, avoid at all costs.
Like Blooberry said, my mind went right to /pizza. I used it pretty often. I don't know for sure but I might feel positively or negatively based on which companies Pantheon promotes. Like I said, it's a might... but if I didn't like something and I saw it being promoted, would that affect how I view Pantheon? Maybe it's all the ads I've been seeing for games like Hero Wars. Anyway, am I rambling?
Do I want to arrive in a town and see a gnome eating KFC and drinking a Pepsi? Not really.
There have been some great suggestions like...
Feastycentral said:
Do I want to see other franchises in Terminus? No. However, I could see DnD having a Terminus storyline or Magic the Gathering having a Pantheon pack being a great way to promo the game to targeted groups. These two examples wouldn't affect gameplay in any way. If anything, it will enhance gameplay if the campaign is a success and we see an influx of new and excited players.
StoneFish said:
Cannabis companies, I could harvest goblin hemp for strong bags and cool sun hats, maybe some edibles that allow you to see hidden marks on cave walls but also slow your movement speed.
Musical instrument companies.
Leather goods.
Wooden furniture companies.
Quality textile groups.
All these can be promoted through an extra info radio button on item descriptions. They can pay to have supported the development of an asset.
Just avoid the big corporations that have any reputation of exploitation. There is no way to get along with the middle management and slaves in those operations, they will damage anything they can if it means they get a promotion or some leg up in the structure of business designed to suck the soul out of of humanity. Nike, nestle, Walmart etc, avoid at all costs.
I really don't care about it, I am ok at ignoring a lot of things in games I don't like, just don't give someone an advantage for participating, you know only glamour or housing kinds of items no xp boosts, also maybe don't get in bed with a company that like mines blood diamonds or participates in human trafficking, that could be bad.
Nothing in-game and nothing game--adjacent that will slowly bleed into in-game a couple years later.
As I've suggested before, I'm all for a deal to bundle subscription with a complimentary service. If Pantheon bundled with Netflix / HBO Max / etc, they would compliment each other. People who tend to subscribe to a streaming service to watch a particular series then cancel would be much more likely to stay subscribed if they were also using the service to play games.
im sure partnership has it's place but I don't see any current game out there that would fit well with PROTF lore or character design. Now partnership on the website is fine but in-game I'll have to pass.
I play a game call Another Eden. It's character design and lore fit alot of current mobile RPG games so they have alot of partnership character in their game with quest and even rewards the player with said character from partnership game.
I think VR can partnership with anyone they see beneficial to VR but I would rather have it plaster on the website than in the game.
i'm kind of with Stonefish on this one, but with a slightly different point of view, that being: Go big or go home. Or go big at home.
What I mean is, go big with those that dont depend or need on advertising and that may not initially see the benefit of pairing like Boston robotics, Miles Technologies,
Or go big with targeted associations with local grass roots businesses, not liquor stores, but like produce or in-season growers.
If VR wants to be used to promote Pepsi or whatever as long as it doesn't make its way INTO the actual game I don't mind. No pepsi armor or skin, no free weapons, no cocacola bear pet, etc.
If VR can turn a profit by partnering with a company and giving out say 1 day of subscription for every 12 pack purchased I am glad you got the funding and the advertising.
That said if you want my money, partner with a good author and write books set in Pantheon.
If I see a cool looking sconce on a wall and I found out I could actually buy one irl it would be great. Door knobs. Carpet. Moldings. All that crap. Clothing such as a shawl or boots. Some furniture maybe.
Items like that could be clickable when holding the alt-z or something and would open a link to a Home Depot or better a craftsmans store.
Imagine having a nice dagger you level with from 5 till 30. And then you find that it can be ordered from a blacksmith in Vermont who makes it to scale for use as a kitchen knife or something. Not likely but I'm just free typing here.
There has to be a two step layer, some for of remove for the player to have to be actively seeking the input of a marketing scheme. It can't be baked into the game because no matter how subtle the attempt, the user can detect the stink of commerce in a recreational space.
Lets think of absolutely terrible ways to provide synergy with large soulless corporate entities.
1. When you die you get a prompt from a life insurance company that lets you click on a link to watch a 20 second video to get a rez.
2. Buying consumables you can get a discount if you choose the 'sponsored' items brought to you by Whole Foods.
3. After killing a wolf you get a pop-up from PETA about animal cruelty and then they ask you to donate.
4. If your faction standing falls within Kingsreach you can sign up for emails from a political PAC and you faction standing is reset.
5. You drown and get recommend lifejackets from Amazon.
6. You choose to create a Skar character and start getting calls from mental health services or US Army recruiters.
7. You spend all your coin on a new cosmetics item for looking cool in-game and begin receiving spam emails about cryptocurrency.
I have a (very) small winery company (financially an expensive hobby, not a business lol) and have long-loved the idea of custom making a pantheon wine product for the community, built from strictly authentic in-game lore... just like the game of pantheon is built. Like Pantheon could cross over into a real world wine experience (and strictly not go the other way). Could be a vehicle to grow/share/gift about pantheon in real life in a very socially accessible way, could even help marketing for growing pledges (or investors with some luck?) with the IRL exposure. It could share real pantheon stories/lore by great wine IRL. Like bring a bunch to PAX or to a friends house for DnD night?
Could do collectors edition limited number releases. Focus would be on authenticity to VR values and lore and nothing would happen without their creative license stamp of yep, this is true to Pantheon. Like a "Blood of Khadassa" product or something cool. Like a true Pantheon experience, but outside the game, whole thing authenticated by VR. I'd die of giddyness if I got to collab w/ Mr. Pullen and/or JN on art/lore for it. Could make food pairings that use actual in game food items too? A wine making service for this community (deliverable to 41 states). And I'm down to donate % of any sales to VR to boost development and get the game to launch sooner. Literally a fund raiser and I'd be really cheap production labor. Could donate some product for pledge packages too? Idk...
As a long time and very true member of the community, and truer to it than my silly tiny wine company (tho those who know it really love it), the last thing I would ever have interest in is doing something that does not truly help or add value to the game. I'm nervous even bringing it up because its really not a big deal to me but Pantheon is. Not kidding, Pantheon > my wine co to me. So please if you don't like it be gentle, I have no interest in doing it if people don't like it! But I do wonder what you all would think of this idea that has stuck with me a long time. Impossible to do without quite a lot of real interest, too. I would have zero interest in starting work on this if VR or the community felt it didn't genuinely add value for the game, or if it tarnished anything about what is to be the best game ever <3
StoneFish said: Imagine having a nice dagger you level with from 5 till 30. And then you find that it can be ordered from a blacksmith in Vermont who makes it to scale for use as a kitchen knife or something. Not likely but I'm just free typing here.
That is brilliant!
StoneFish said:
Lets think of absolutely terrible ways to provide synergy with large soulless corporate entities.
Those seven examples had me laughing. Great examples of what NOT to do.