Here's the rough draft for the main Operation: Connect main page.
What is Operation: Connect?
Brawl's online was lacking; this is something that both casual and competitive fans agree on. At E3 2011, Nintendo revealed the WiiU and with it promised that its online will be on par with the 360/PS3. Nintendo also announced SSB4 and that development would start in October. SSB4 will no doubt have online features but will they meet the fans' standards? That's where this project comes in.
The project is Operation: Connect. The idea is to create a professional letter no more than 2 pages long expressing no more than 5 fleshed out ideas for what fans expect with SSB4's online. The ultimate goal is to create one of the best, if not the best, online experience Nintendo has ever offered that appeals to both casual and competitive players. Any ideas are welcome at this time to make this goal a reality and make SSB4's online unforgettable.
Why Should I Support This Project?
You may be reading this and wondering why anyone would bother investing time in this. “Fan projects like this hardly ever succeed,” you may be thinking but Operation: Connect is not like a vast majority of fan projects that have been done in recent years. How is it different and why should I support it? I’m glad you asked:
1. Most fan projects usually involve asking for sequels or games to be localized. Sequels involve making a whole new game and the localization of games involves translating, marketing, distribution, etc. What we’re asking for is some things to be added to a game that’s already planned and will be released worldwide.
2. When people generally ask for things to be added to games, the games have already been in development for months because the announcement of games are usually accompanied by a trailer. Sakurai estimates that development for SSB4 will start in October of this year. At the time of this posting, it’s July and that gives us, the fans, roughly three months to plan and flesh out something respectable to present to Nintendo before production begins.
3. Nearly all the past Smash fan campaigns have focused on one thing: characters. The problem with characters is that they affect a very small part of the gameplay and that there are very few characters that most people agree on. With Operation: Connect, we are focusing on a much larger aspect of the game that more people will care about then just one or two characters.
4. As I said earlier on, Brawl’s online was lacking. From casual players to competitive players to gaming sites to professional reviewers, this was probably the most common complaint of the game next to tripping. As a former online tournament director, I commonly experienced the short comings of Brawl’s online and I believe nearly everyone who picked up a copy of the game experienced them too. With that being said, that gives a very large percentage of the Smash community something we can agree on: Brawl’s online left a lot of room for improvement for the next game.
5. Brawl’s online was one of the big draws that got people interested in the game and that will no doubt be the case with SSB4. Nintendo probably knows this already but at the same time probably doesn’t know how to go about it this time around. This is where the fans should step in. Basically what we’re going to be doing is helping to make SSB4 more appealing to consumers on a large scale. In a way, we’d be doing Nintendo a big favor by helping them create a better product. As a big business, this should be very appealing to them.
Okay, I’m interested; How Can I Help Out?
There are two big ways that you can help support this project:
1. Contribute your ideas. This is supposed to be a community project so I’m expecting many different people to offer their thoughts about what they believe would optimize SSB4’s online experience. You can post your ideas here or in the official discussion group. Don’t know where to start? Here are some ideas that people have already suggested: player IDs, online tournaments, lobbies, video streams, leader boards, downloadable content, maps to select which regions to play in, voice chat, etc. Feel free to build off of the ideas of others. The five most popular ideas by the beginning of October will end up in the letter.
2. Spread the word! The more people that contribute to this project, the better it will be. The idea is not to limit this just to Smash Boards but to take it all over the internet, from the biggest sites to the smallest fan forums. Start an Operation: Connect thread of your own or simply show your support in your sig with a link to this page or the official discussion group. Every little bit will help.
I hope to turn this into something big that the Smash community by in large can get behind to show Nintendo that despite our differences in play preferences, we still love the Smash Bros franchise and want to see it at its best. May we be successful in our venture.
Questions to Supporters (July Edition)
1. What do you think would be the best way to present these ideas to Nintendo? Mail? E-Mail? Twitter? Facebook?
2. Who do you think the letters should be sent to? Nintendo of America? Nintendo of Japan? SORA? Reggie? Sakurai? All of the above?
Things Needed for the Project (July edition)
*At least two people who can write in Japanese
*People who understand online infrastructure so we know what all is realistic to ask for