Cubic Castles - Game Growth and Social Media

IcyTamTamIcyTamTam Member
edited June 2019 in Suggestions & Comments
Hey everyone :)
Before we begin, I'd like to ask everyone to read everything before commenting! This post in no way is an attack or a rant to the administrators of CC, nor is it a post to tell the devs how to run things! Please do not post controversial comments or start unnecessary arguments/drama, or any "cc is dying" or hate against the game/devs. This is literally just a suggestion so keep calm people, and I'd like this whole discussion to remain positive and friendly :) we're talking about game growth here!

First of all, as a player, I'd like to address the "Cubic Castles is dying" or "this game iz ded" comments (honestly, it really isn't helping to motivate the devs and/or players). To me, no, the entire game itself is not dying or dead. A dying game in my opinion would be the developers have abandoned the game, almost no one is playing the game, forums would be inactive, and no updates would be pumped out. We may be a small spark, but we are still alive. Yes, the player base has decreased over the years, but I believe that's a result of people simply growing out of the game/becoming bored of playing it for so long. It happens, it's nothing new. So why hasn't new players replaced the retired population?

I think it would be the inactivity of the social media pages.

Think about it.. back then, when the pages were active, the player base/population was stable and growing! But once it became inactive, the game wasn't reaching to new players in order to replace old ones.
Social media connects the world in many ways and in this case, a game's social medias can spread the word about the game, connect players, show its activity, and keep players updated and interested. Most of us here are digital natives, and I truly believe social media plays a gigantic role in game growth. I follow all the games I play's social media pages because their posts encourage a lot of discussion, brings me news about the game, reminds me about events, and I've been able to meet a lot of new people through the player's comments and engagements with the posts. The pages also show appreciation to players, fan arts, and gives tips! I can also direct any interested potential players to the social media pages as well.

The CC website links the game's Twitter and Facebook, but imagine clicking on that and seeing tweets from years ago- they'd assume this game is no longer being worked on by the developers and the company. First impressions are everything! Also, the instagram of the game isn't linked on the website for some reason though I think Instagram would be the best marketing social media platform. The Cubic Castles Community Server should be linked as well, if it is the official server (rn, it's the most official one unless the developers decide to make an official official one).
Getting an official reddit page for Cubic Castles would be good too :) not necessarily best for spreading word about the game since it's mainly ran by players basically, but it helps with posting memes, pictures, discussions, share ideas, and connects the community in many ways. (Similar to forums but different in many ways)

If I were to invite people to a game, I am certain they will try to find out things about the game by going through their social medias for first impressions, activity, and just to check out what the game may be about. With that being said, as mentioned keeping social media pages active isn't just to advertise to new players, but to also keep current players updated, engaged, and interested in the game.
I fully understand that Cosmic Cow is a small team of developers and they may not have all the time in the world to manage social media pages, I respect all they've done and as a player I really appreciate their efforts put into the game considering the size of the team :), but the posts don't have to be that time consuming, or they don't have to be pumped out daily. Remember, if you make a post for Instagram, it's also a post for twitter/facebook. One post for all social media pages (with some exceptions which will be talked about later)! As long as the page isn't left in dust and wouldn't scared potential new players away by looking at the dates of the posts, then it should be fine! Better yet, hire a Social Media Manager to manage pages. If not, this is still doable!

So, with that being said, I have suggestions on potential posts and a few concept posts that may fit with this game. Of course, I am not a professional gamer or any developer or marketing expert. This is simply a player's suggestions:
Can be used for any social media platform except reddit since reddit is mainly dependent on player posts:
Some posts may be more time consuming to make because of graphic designs, and some are simple, less time consuming, but still effective!
- Random promotional posts!
Of course, a real post wouldnt have a signature on it and will most likely be done with 3d models (unless if it's meant to be 2d).

- Simple humourous posts!
- Game tips!
Concept post. Combination of both humour and game tip post. Of course, a real post wouldnt have a signature on it and will most likely be done with 3d models (unless if it's meant to be 2d).

Caption can make fun of how the computer is a Windows AND a Mac!

- Simple reminders!
- Events! (can be for reddit) Can get more participants!

- Reminders about events!
- Builds! Realms! (less time consuming) Encourages people to build!
Concept post. Simple edits will do! If devs/social media manager really don’t have time to post, a simple edit like this will do. Or even no edits in this case will be good too! Of course, the photographer's name will be hidden in a real post.
Build:

Shop:


- Teases! (Gud for reddit too) Gives CC youtubers something to speculate off of and raises a lot of discussion + hype!

- Updates!
- Occasional posts reminding about other social media platforms! (Repeatable posts)
I would've used the discord logo here but it may cause some copyright issues, unless CC forms a partnership with discord.

- Fan arts! Encourages more fan art!

Credit: Cheshire Alice (from this year Geezer's Easter art contest)

Credit: Graceful Thunder (from last year's halloween)


Specifically for Twitter:
- Polls! Ask the player base what they thought of a certain update. Don't be afraid of bad percentages, they're there for feedback.
- Server status tweets! Tweet when a maintenance break is happening, or any bugs being fixed or updates on any server issues.
- Not a post, but retweeting positive feedback about the game or responding to concerning ones to show acknowledgement!
Old experience: I remember way back the CC social media manager for twitter (Taylor?) responded to one of my suggestions and it just made me happy knowing it was heard and motivated me to just hop on cc. Little things like this helps, believe it or not!


Specifically for Instagram Story
- "Swipe Up" stories!

Specifically for reddit
- Update patch notes
- Game/reddit rules
- teaser/events
What can we do as players about game growth using social media?
I know some people are hesitant to post their own content about CC, but that's ok! If the CC Social media becomes active again, we can help by sharing the page, retweeting posts, liking them, etc! Might not seem like much but it definitely helps!
In conclusion, I'd love the game to start reaching out for more and more new players :) It will definitely help with the contracting population and connection between the community!



«1

Comments

  • Marlboro ManMarlboro Man Member
    edited June 2019
    First of all i’d like to give you a really big hand of aplose. Seriously, this is is well done said. Finally a discussion I can whole entirely agree with.. with some help it’ll take time to get all these things done.
    And definitely a social media manager. Paid or volunteer it’s all good. I think if we got those posts yelled out and heard by admins. This really is good.
  • Nice post
    Also I think that the devs might not have the time to do all this, so what they could do is that they can open a thread, and every week, they can ask for stuff like, pics of good builds, fan art etc. And they can also have players design teasers and stuff
    Also it would be cool if they started the new post of SM. Mod
    SM. Mod(Social Media Mod) is basically a mod that manages the social media pages of cc
  • JouneJoune Member
    I am speechless.
    This is such a good idea!!
    I really hope this post gets more popular as time goes by, and one of the pictures showed me that I seriously need to start a new project xD
  • Oooooh I Love this idea! If you need help,Im here
  • I can only help with drawings tho
    I don't have any social media app
  • @SirKewberth can also do Special offer like other games
    "Share this post to get 1k Cubits"
    They can share it every week
    So The cc will spread Slowly
  • This is amazing! I can agree with EVERYTHING you have written here.

    We would really have more players if this was implemented.

    I'm really speechless right now I have no idea what else I should say.
  • @SirKewberth can also do Special offer like other games
    "Share this post to get 1k Cubits"
    They can share it every week
    So The cc will spread Slowly

    I agree , but if there's alt ....
  • CD87CD87 Member
    You have successfully summed up what a typical popular game would do with its media side. It seems pointless on the outside, but it always works wonderfully.

    For management, I think assigning a mod/find a volunteer with this kind of experience would be enough. One person is all it takes to keep the page running on at least a weekly basis.

    Lastly, fantastic works up there. I like your designs.
  • SPY C.SPY C. Member
    Good idea i like it +1
  • Maybe we should get trusted members of the community to manage social medias like Instagram? It would make it easier on the Devs and that way it's not too much hassle.
  • Alv'Alv' Member
    Best suggestions I ever see! This never go down!
  • lucaaa795lucaaa795 Potatoe's worldMember
    A moderator should do it.
    I can already imagine the drama and beef that would occur if devs pick X and not Y or Z, with all of them being just casual players.
  • DaFrenchyDaFrenchy Member
    edited June 2019
    TamTam.... I'm proud I've already met you!

    You've pointed out a major issue most of us wouldn't even notice and proposed a solution to it. And not like every past posts, this one's complete and fully doable.

    I do agree that today, advertising is going through social medias and not the only presence on Steam / Google Play Store / Apple Store. Of course, the first thing potential players will see is on these pages. But as you stated, some will check out further information about the game (appreciations, screenshots, ...) and would end on dead official accounts.




    As of now, I know that Cubic Castles (or Cosmic Cow Games) owns 4 social media accounts and a website.

    • Twitter
    Not a bad idea AT ALL. They started using it mainly for update teasing, and suddendly stopped. The last tweet comes from December 6, 2017. I've seen an increase of 'Cubic Castles' players accounts in the past year and it would be a good idea to bring back the twitter account alive. Spreading on Twitter is doable.

    • Instagram
    Heard it's been more and more used.. So why not? And it's indeed not included in the website. It waas used in the past but, tbh, I haven't checked it for a while. regular posts and players spreading tose is the easiest way to get new players! Btw, I do think there are more CC players on Instagram that on Twitter. So that would worth it.

    • Facebook
    I think that's probably the social media they used the most. I don't know how much they use it right now, but I remember it to be very active and players always around, especially during the summer events. Pretty self-explanatory.

    • Youtube
    It's still used. Lastly for the upcoming Space update. But it could be used a bit more for advertising, such as for events, sepcial cubits offers, news and more! With the help of known YouTubers such as our almighty Space or Grace, this would be a good spreading way.

    About the website. I'm glad it changed! I like its new look. Only have to add Instagram and Youtube buttons and it would be complete.




    Another thing is the wiki. It appears on the website. And yet it needs to be updated. I personnally don't like how it looks and the organization in there. But that's only the look. However, the lack of information makes it unused.
    We have a lot of editors so I don't get how it would stay like this. Btw, personnal thought, Eagence and kewbin should get in charge of it.

    Coming back to your last part of the thread, these look fabulous, congrats on the art. But I do totally agree this would allow CC to grow even more. You've explained it, and it's clear.

    Glad someone pointed it out and done so much to propose a real, doable solution.

    :)


    Edit for @sdgamez3 :

    Eagence is already a Chief Editor. :)
  • I agree with everything on this discussion, but what I dont agree with, is appointing eagence for chief wiki editor, leaving is ok, but not eagence.

    Also @IcyTamTam , those pics are awesome!
  • Alv'Alv' Member
    edited June 2019
    And it true that our game need some "Ads",especially the next update leak.

    Edit : Currently only Mabz and SirKewb working on the game, do you think he should find someone to help him to improve it?

    I think Kewb need add some more trusted Beta Testers, Thisisnotslim is inactive for so long, gdog is rarely online and redeagle quitted the game, Kewb needs some more trusted players to be beta tester to help him, so the game will be better than before.
  • b3achyb3achy Member
    edited June 2019
    +100

    I almost didn't join the game two years ago because the Steam info was so out of date (which is where I found the game), and the social media sites weren't very active -- I really thought the game wasn't in development any longer. It helped when Space was our event coordinator last year and posting things for the events, but now it is back to the days when I originally was looking at the game in 2017. Agree there needs to be at a minimum a social media Mod who posts things even once a week (and probably not one of the active mods as they have a lot on their plates right now since so few are active - either bring back an old mod or knight a new one for the task). Truly the devs are busy building stuff, so it shouldn't fall on their shoulders to have to do it, unless they want to do a surprise/VIP visit post here and there, which would also win a lot of people over because people like to play games where the devs are communicating with the players.

    However, with some major revisions going on in the game right now (remember that overworld update we're waiting on?), timing will need to be considered. Revisions means changes and change makes most people uncomfortable/unhappy. It might be best to wait on going full board on the social media until some of these major updates are released otherwise we may just be inviting a lot of new players to be frustrated when things change. Much easier to keep them if they like the new stuff...harder if they like the old stuff better and then rage quit because it was changed. People are funny, so doing a social media push should also take into account timing of the development schedule and major changes.
  • YakrooYakroo Somewhere In The Milky WayMember
    Vote @IcyTamTam as Queen! XD
    Good job! The Positive Mental Attitude is all we need here in the forums and especially ingame and now we need to spread it thru social media! Best of luck to the future people that will help the game be active again! We still support all that u are doing for us and for ur precious game its still a gem but we need to polish it more and see it shine again, leaving a sparkle in the eyes of all the noobs that will play! We believe in u! Thanks @SirKewberth for gathering us and thats all from a fellow noob -Yakroo :D
  • Having a trusted moderator or even player to start off the revival of the social media pages would be great. However, as CC gets bigger, they should officially hire a Social Media Manager- mods have enough on their plates doing voluntary work! :)
    How will they find a social media manager to hire? Through social media :D
  • IcyTamTam said:

    Having a trusted moderator or even player to start off the revival of the social media pages would be great. However, as CC gets bigger, they should officially hire a Social Media Manager- mods have enough on their plates doing voluntary work! :)
    How will they find a social media manager to hire? Through social media :D

    You wouldn't even need to hire one. I know plenty of people which would be ready to manage social media sites as a volunteer (including me) to improve the game's spreading.
    lucaaa795 said:

    A moderator should do it.
    I can already imagine the drama and beef that would occur if devs pick X and not Y or Z, with all of them being just casual players.

    At the time we only have 3 active moderators which already have enough work. If one of them was to manage the social media, things in game would get even worse.
  • Krakeen said:

    IcyTamTam said:

    Having a trusted moderator or even player to start off the revival of the social media pages would be great. However, as CC gets bigger, they should officially hire a Social Media Manager- mods have enough on their plates doing voluntary work! :)
    How will they find a social media manager to hire? Through social media :D

    You wouldn't even need to hire one. I know plenty of people which would be ready to manage social media sites as a volunteer (including me) to improve the game's spreading.
    lucaaa795 said:

    A moderator should do it.
    I can already imagine the drama and beef that would occur if devs pick X and not Y or Z, with all of them being just casual players.

    At the time we only have 3 active moderators which already have enough work. If one of them was to manage the social media, things in game would get even worse.
    Volunteers would be great but I think it'd be difficult for SirKew or the devs in general to find a trustworthy and capable volunteer. I know there are many trustworthy and awesome people in here but not sure if the devs fully trust that method (I may be wrong since I'm not a dev but if they do, go for it. It'll be nice for the player to earn experience and/or help the game out especially if they feel passionate about the game). There are a lot of potential issues that come with finding a player to run it, like the one lucaaa mentioned.
    I think the absolute best way to do it is to hire a Social Media Manager, whether its a player, mod, or complete stranger- allows them to filter out applicants. It'll be more professional, trustworthy, and doesn't take up mods or players time and it helps the developers run things. They can also use social media to FIND a social media manager with a hiring post.
  • Graceful ThunderGraceful Thunder Forum Moderator, Game Moderator
    I would love to see something like this come to life. Social media is a very important part of marketing/advertising and it's basically free.
  • lucaaa795lucaaa795 Potatoe's worldMember
    Yeah I'd like to see this being a thing too
    However I keep my idea up: No average player should have the official social media in his hands. Someone qualified should do it.
  • lucaaa795 said:

    Yeah I'd like to see this being a thing too
    However I keep my idea up: No average player should have the official social media in his hands. Someone qualified should do it.

    Yep, definitely!
    And with kew announcing the preview video soon, they can take the opportunity to start off the revival of the pages!
  • SirKewberthSirKewberth EdenForum Administrator, Forum Moderator, Game Developer
    edited June 2019
    I agree that it's not good if the game LOOKS unattended to. I'm working on something to at least get some regular simple posts up. Maybe we can get some help from the community as well. I'm thinking things like..

    1) player artwork
    2) showcasing realms
    3) previews (when available)
    4) game tips
    5) nice screenshots

    Those aren't so hard to do and it would be good.

    So at some point maybe ill make a thread asking for realm suggestions/ artwork / screens for social media if anyone wants to add things there.
  • Mind me asking @SirKewberth what do you mean on showcasing realms and previews?

    Do you mean on YT videos or?
  • PunpudlePunpudle Member
    edited June 2019
    :OOOOO I want to take captures of cubic castles and edit them and upload them to instagram :D in an account dedicated to cubic castles
  • It’s going to be much harder without the aid and support of yt content ^^ unless of course you can actually try making progress somewhere else like insta, etc.
    But I doubt this would affect the game in large scale though. Good luck
  • IcyTamTamIcyTamTam Member
    edited June 2019

    Mind me asking @SirKewberth what do you mean on showcasing realms and previews?

    Do you mean on YT videos or?

    I’m not SirKew, but I’m pretty sure he meant pictures of realms and post it on twitter/insta like they’ve done in the past. I think them doing YT vids would be way too time consuming and we could leave that up to the content creators.
    Previews will be YT and/or pics I think like they’ve done so in the past.
    Tetrimino said:

    It’s going to be much harder without the aid and support of yt content ^^ unless of course you can actually try making progress somewhere else like insta, etc.

    It is harder, but if the social media pages become active/post more previews and hints or what not, that would in fact help YTbers create speculation content! Besides, nothing is easy when it comes to game growth! We just gotta work hard for everything.
    “unless of course you can actually try making progress somewhere else like insta, etc.” this is literally my entire suggestion in this discussion lol, posting in different social media platforms.
    Tetrimino said:


    But I doubt this would affect the game in large scale though. Good luck

    Of course one post won’t immediately gain them 1000 players.... it is a gradual process for the game to gain publicity. Social media is a great marketing source and we have to believe in the devs!
  • IcyTamTam said:

    Mind me asking @SirKewberth what do you mean on showcasing realms and previews?

    Do you mean on YT videos or?

    I’m not SirKew, but I’m pretty sure he meant pictures of realms and post it on twitter/insta like they’ve done in the past. I think them doing YT vids would be way too time consuming and we could leave that up to the content creators.
    Previews will be YT and/or pics I think like they’ve done so in the past.
    I didnt mean on admins to create YT videos, but on players. There already are a few of YT channels and I think there should be more. I planned to create one, but since I have gotten into college not so long ago, I simply don't have time to focus on YT. Therefore, I meant om other players willing to open up new channels with promo videos and beta reviews.
Sign In or Register to comment.