I know that people are supposed to spending their time in this game playing Gamemodes. Even the Kickstarter information video explicitly stated that players are going to be spending most of their time playing Gamemodes, but there is a whole other chunk of content available to everyone, and from what I’ve seen in GMod Tower, very few people even acknowledge: The Lobby Attractions. I mean, from what I’ve seen, everyone is either buying things from the market, partying and decorating in their Condos, or waiting to be added to the next game Mini-Golf in the Gameports. Now this just a sign that the Gamemodes are doing what they’re supposed to be doing: Giving people an enjoyable experience and rewarding them with funds to buy things to decorate their Condos with and thus make it an attractive spot to gather and party. The Lobby, does not have such encouragement. I mean for a place with all the wonderful attractions of an Amusement Park, Nightclubs, and a Movie Theater, it’s dreadfully deserted and quiet. I would rarely see even one other person sitting in a floaty in the pool, or submitting songs or videos in the Nightclub or Cinema respectively; it feels like Point Lookout, Maine after a nuclear apocalypse.
Which leads us to what I’m suggesting here. Give people a beneficial reason to participate in Lobby attractions. If people have no reason to ride a virtual Ferris Wheel, people aren’t going to ride a virtual Ferris Wheel. What I propose is that every 24 hours all players get the same set of three randomized, simple, Lobby based tasks, such as [Go Full Circle on the Ferris Wheel], [Dance in the Nightclub for 2 minutes], and [Ride the Roller Coaster twice] giving about 500 Units(flexible) each. When people receive these tasks they will think “oh cool, easy money”, and congregate at the spot where performing this task is possible. There will be lines for the pool slide, there will be full Roller Coasters, and there will be people dancing in a Nightclub. When multiple people are getting together for one activity, people will want to gather there; this is why game servers where 40/50 people are connected are more attractive than servers where 10/50 people are connected (unless you’re playing DayZ).
GMod Tower and subsequently Tower Unite are social games, people will interact with each other. The Lobby is where everyone goes when a Game ends, and this Lobby and its attractions are about 1/3rd of the whole experience, and when no one is encouraged to partake in this 1/3rd then no one is going to, and thus it is wasted. When people are encouraged to participate, they will, and then they will socialize, and even if we, as the players of GMod Tower and it’s soon to be successor, are supposed to be spending time in the Gamemodes, wouldn’t being with other people by riding a Roller Coaster, sitting in a Pool, watching movies in a Theater, be just as good a use of our time?
