Lord Rahl

New to the site? Place a post here and let us know about you and what brings you to the site. T
Post Reply
Lord Rahl
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 2:51 pm

Lord Rahl

Post by Lord Rahl »

I don’t normally post introductions I just start posting, however I figured why not do one this time.
Hi I’m Lord Rahl (I get the name from a book I was reading when I signed up...) and have been developing in some shape or form for several years.
What I have used and/or am familiar with –
- HTML
- Javascript
- PHP
- Python
- Java
- C# (basic)
- C++ (basic)
In the past I have run several online games, a blogging site, and forum. I have sold them off and am mostly doing freelance work now. I have created several games for Android, and several other platforms since I started fully freelancing.
Running projects(soon to be online) –
1) Personal blog to cover any tutorials I post elsewhere, and general tips. Will help me keep my stuff in one place rather than around many sites.
2) Text based game. Have run one in the past (using mccodes.), and earned a nice sum. More importantly I loved running it, and am now looking to open a new one.

Well... hi everyone. :)

Edit - I'm also thinking about writing up a few tutorials for my blog (has to start off with more then 1 post), and will be posting them here as well. Are there any requests?
User avatar
Jackolantern
Posts: 10893
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 11:00 pm

Re: Lord Rahl

Post by Jackolantern »

Hehe, welcome! :)

How was your experience with mccodes? I know a few people around here did not have a very good time with it, but at the end of the day, it apparently worked for you, so that is all that matters. Are you going to use it again for your next game, or are you doing something else?
The indelible lord of tl;dr
Lord Rahl
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 2:51 pm

Re: Lord Rahl

Post by Lord Rahl »

I used mccodes v1(was $75) that you can now get for free here.

My experience wasn't bad, but I got no support from Mccodes themselves nor was I overly active on CE(the MCC community now Makewebgames) well I was using the product. I was later told (and tested the theory out) that the community basically kept the engine alive... and still does today I assume. I'm not 100% sure on the state of the MCC community so I would have to look.

It had basic PHP errors that open security holes and didn't take a long time to go through and fix them. You have to keep in mind this was at a time were Mccodes was one of the only real options for a game of it's kind (at least that I knew of anyway) and today we have a massive variety of choice. Today looking at mccodes FREE there is more pointless crap in there then when I originally had the engine. Just makes it harder to find bugs, and I can still see the original ones there... and that's their "update".

So will I be using it? Probably not... unless I discover that I've missed something amazing. I'm seeing way to many of the same game popup out of it. Still despite the overall bad feedback and view it had it's day for me as well as many others, and it was an amazingly fun time. It wasn't my first website, but it was my first game, and I'm still in that area today.
User avatar
Jackolantern
Posts: 10893
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 11:00 pm

Re: Lord Rahl

Post by Jackolantern »

Oh, haha! I just looked and saw you were part of the discussion not too long ago about it in the 2D Engines section lol. But that is also what I have heard from others about mccodes. Basically the creators' only involvement with it is their bank account lol. :?
The indelible lord of tl;dr
Lord Rahl
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 2:51 pm

Re: Lord Rahl

Post by Lord Rahl »

Jackolantern wrote:Oh, haha! I just looked and saw you were part of the discussion not too long ago about it in the 2D Engines section lol. But that is also what I have heard from others about mccodes. Basically the creators' only involvement with it is their bank account lol. :?
I had forgotten about that. I seemed to have hijacked it a little asking about NWE. :lol:

As I said in the thread I made more then my money back on even the V2 license I held (albeit for about 2 months) simply because I sold on a fixed up version of it. People are still developing from it mainly because they know of past success, and unfortunately it seems to be newer developers who are using it. a_bertrand summed it up fairly well.
Last edited by Lord Rahl on Sat Jul 06, 2013 11:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Callan S.
Posts: 2043
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:43 am

Re: Lord Rahl

Post by Callan S. »

How did you earn a nice sum? With advertising? What was the previous text game, how'd you end up with players and why did it end (if it did)?
Lord Rahl
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 2:51 pm

Re: Lord Rahl

Post by Lord Rahl »

Callan S. wrote:How did you earn a nice sum? With advertising? What was the previous text game, how'd you end up with players and why did it end (if it did)?
1) with donations. With most text based games premium items are how money is made. Advertising was probably the biggest monetary drain since I needed to get the site out there, but didn't want ads on my own site. By a "nice sum" I'm talking completely relative here. from $75 + hosting it was self sustaining and then enough to fuel my online spending (bits of code, some layouts etc).
2) The actual name is something I plan on using again, however isn't currently my domain (since I haven't got around to buying it again) so I won't be saying.
3) I sold the site on, and it's disappeared since then. I sent a message today in an attempt to contact that developer to see if there is a problem with me bringing the site back because that's one option I've thought about. I have a solid structure for a crime game so I could re-use the basics. If there is a problem (and probably even if there isn't)... well I'll be starting a new project completely, and have to do a most dreaded thing. Think of a new name! ... and story, and weapons, and genre probably. How fun.

If you're asking about the v2 engine, I sold the fixed up version on for around $200 when I realised I wasn't actually using it. Didn't see a point in keeping the license.
User avatar
Callan S.
Posts: 2043
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:43 am

Re: Lord Rahl

Post by Callan S. »

Thanks for the info, Rahl, much appreciated!

So I'll just ask you more! :twisted:

What sort of premium items did you have that people would buy?

Also did you advertise all over the place to get in a bunch of players? That worked out well, I assume?

Did your game have a nice CSS layout (it's one of the areas I neglect and have been looking at it more recently)?

Sorry, seems an interesting topic to me, so I thought I'd ask, if you've got the time :)
User avatar
Jackolantern
Posts: 10893
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 11:00 pm

Re: Lord Rahl

Post by Jackolantern »

I would also be interested to hear more about it. I have also bombarded MonsterMMO with questions too lol. It is great to ask questions to people who have had success with browser games when you are working on your own :cool:
The indelible lord of tl;dr
Lord Rahl
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 2:51 pm

Re: Lord Rahl

Post by Lord Rahl »

Callan S. wrote:Thanks for the info, Rahl, much appreciated!

So I'll just ask you more! :twisted:
You're welcome, and go for it. ;)
Callan S. wrote: What sort of premium items did you have that people would buy?
At the start it was very basic, donator days came with the engine, and some extra gains (energy brave etc) came with the basic packs, I left those in. Over time players asked for more, better bank interest, unique items such as pills that allowed a better gym session. I had an item that blocked attacks for X minutes, and a number of other things all user driven. That's the key to selling; listing to the buyer.
unfortunately they are fairly common to see on such games now, and you would have to make them extra special for them to be unique. Can still be done however, for example search the streets, a common feature, could be done with a 2d map, and interaction with bots. Just one example.
Callan S. wrote: Also did you advertise all over the place to get in a bunch of players? That worked out well, I assume?
I did, and I didn't. I had something most game owners would kill for; a network of gamers. I played a few games in the past, and it's what drove me to create the game in the first place, and with it the friends/allies I had from those games came with me. I advertised on top list sites (CE being one of them), and ran referral competitions where genuine sign ups got all members a prize (10 new members reach level 5 all members got 30 donator days for example). I was also active, and got my members to be active, on several forums. Well I was on developer forums they were on gaming forums and a simple referral link (looked good due to a signature modification showing level, last on, and rank) got a few members. Beyond that I did some paid advertising.

For today I would highly suggest Facebook, allow wall posts when they get an achievement, post referral links when they join. It helps a lot in driving traffic.

What a large number of MCC owners missed (at least when I first checked out CE) was that to gamers the code means little. It's YOU that needs structure, but they don't really care. They need features, and speed/reliability(to know the game will be there tomorrow) I remember reading "clean code" as a USP for a game and thinking... why?

To sum up players feedback is key - they tell their friends, they drive the game.
Callan S. wrote: Did your game have a nice CSS layout (it's one of the areas I neglect and have been looking at it more recently)?
Back then it was ok... today I wouldn't touch a site like it. Design has moved on, and your site needs to stand out. Advertising everywhere means nothing if they never make it past the first page.
Callan S. wrote:Sorry, seems an interesting topic to me, so I thought I'd ask, if you've got the time :)
Ask away. I'm happy to help where I can. If anyone wants to give some opposing view I would love to hear them.

Edit -
Jackolantern wrote:I would also be interested to hear more about it. I have also bombarded MonsterMMO with questions too lol. It is great to ask questions to people who have had success with browser games when you are working on your own :cool:
I just had a quick flick through of that thread, and I think he summed it up amazingly -
MonsterMMORPG wrote: yes totally community composed :) i am just doing the coding :)
Found here I know the reference was to game assets but ideas are just as valuable.

I feel that feedback from a player is always worth more then most developers give it credit for. It's normally worth getting feedback as you're going if it's possible.
Last edited by Lord Rahl on Sun Jul 07, 2013 1:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
Post Reply

Return to “Say Hello”