Creating a promotional/tutorial video

General Stuff about Armagetron, That doesn't belong anywhere else...
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sinewav
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Post by sinewav »

I feel like video tutorials should somehow be part of armagetronad.net (is there enough bandwidth?). Maybe a "tutorials" link on the main page can go to a youtube channel temporarily.

The videos should be short and specific (1-2 min each). Let's start with an outline, then develop a short script for each. Maybe each letter can be a video under that topic? Feel free to add to this.

Code: Select all

I. What is ArmagetronAD? (or Playing ArmagetronAD)
   A. Basic premiss and controls
      1. changing name, colors
      2. changing keys
   B. Rubber and grinding
      1. What is rubber?
      2. How to make grind? ;)

II. Network Play
   A. The server browser, game types
      1. How to sort the list, bookmarks
      2. What is ping and lag?
      3. Different game types, maps
   B. Etiquette
      1. Chat
      2. Suggestions for new players

III. Game Types
   A. Dog Fight servers
      1. High/Low rubber
      2. Open/Closed play
   B. Fortress
      1. Regular
      2. Wild Fortress
   C. Sumo
   D. Capture The Flag
   E. Racing

IV. Advanced Features? (maybe something about servers and the console?)
I think this is a good place to start since it's more practical. Shouldn't we have a good resource before driving new players to the game?
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-=VcL.Rajinn
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Post by -=VcL.Rajinn »

Sounds good! I've made a few tutorial video's for newer players on many occasions, some which are still found on youtube.com.

It would be a nice and helpful tool for newer players. However, the video's should be clear and high quality and not filmed with cheap/free software. Some videos are so dull and clouded I can't stand to watch them, especially the clan video's people make.
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KamP
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Post by KamP »

sinewav wrote:I feel like video tutorials should somehow be part of armagetronad.net (is there enough bandwidth?). Maybe a "tutorials" link on the main page can go to a youtube channel temporarily.
There's no need to reinvent the wheel. A youtube channel with videos there, and an embedded youtube player on armagetronad.net will work just as well as anything. It *was* good enough for the white house, should probably be good enough for arma. We can even give everyone making videos access to the channel and work it that way.

Sinewav, as for your hierarchy, I'm not a big fan of making it in such a hierarchical fashion, though that is a good overview of what should be a part of it. Personally, I believe the tutorials should be presented somewhat like Expert Village where things just flow from one subject to the next, with the option to jump around from one vid to the next.

Rogue, you're right about video quality. Sucky videos don't get you anywhere, these should definitely be made by someone with some A/V experience. Any volunteers?
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2020
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Post by 2020 »

prezi.com allows videos to be imbedded
which might be a nice format:
eg http://prezi.com/12144/
i haven't stuck in a vid
because i don't have any at the mo in the right format
hold the line
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KamP
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Post by KamP »

I have to say, 2020, I'm not exactly sure what you want to do with Prezi.

Have any tuts embedded into the Prezi presentation, and then force people to go through that? I say simpler is better, and people are already very comfortable with simple youtube videos. Why route them through yet another tech?

Don't get me wrong, it's a cool piece of software, but I just think it's a lot of extra stuff for very little gain.

The idea behind the tutorials ought to be to give them a basic understanding of game mechanics so we can let them on the grid as quickly as possible. Videos should be skippable, easily navigable, and most importantly, short. Should not take more than 30-40 seconds to explain a concept.
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2020
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Post by 2020 »

@kamp
agreed
no need to complexify things

however
where are all these vids going to be hosted?
when i started playing this game
it took me a long time to work out what bits were connected to what bits
forum
main site
download site
wiki
it is a lot...

conc's trying to come up with a simple starter pack
as it were
so that when a new player downloads the game
it is meant to be really simple to get the player on the grid as easily as possible
and therefore the question as to how the vids are accessed comes into play
hold the line
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Tank Program
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Post by Tank Program »

We probably could host videos on the site without worrying about bandwidth, but I think a YouTube channel would be fine.
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KamP
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Post by KamP »

Tank Program wrote:We probably could host videos on the site without worrying about bandwidth, but I think a YouTube channel would be fine.
A common platform, which can easily be taken and used on other sites. Something people are already comfortable with. It just makes more sense than hosting it here.
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Post by epsy »

Yes, my only concern with youtube is the lack of a "download" button.
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Post by madmax »

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Post by noob_saibot »

holy shitz dat is sick...looks like i'm gona be up all night now :P you have no idea how many videos i have favorited, just so i can go back and search for their torrents (most of which i can't find)

thx max!!
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sinewav
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Post by sinewav »

Ok, I think "promotional" and "tutorial" are clearly different things with different intent, so let's discuss them that way.

Personally, I feel like working on a tutorial video since I just got done with a "promotional" one. I know it doesn't say much about Armagetron, but I just wanted to make something that might drive someone to the site to find out for themselves. One of my girlfriends watched it and she said it made her want to do acid, and I take that as a compliment because that's pretty much what I was going for - something to make you say WTF is this crap?

And since we're looking to make one super-condensed video now instead of a tutorial series, I challenge any of you to write the copy for it. If you can come up with 60 (± 10) seconds of copy that says everything a brand new player needs to know to:

Open the game
Choose a name
Turn like a mother
Burn some rubber
Dig a good grind
Server do find
Learn to team chat
And everything like that

Then I'll produce that video to the best of my abilities.
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KamP
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Post by KamP »

sinewav wrote:And since we're looking to make one super-condensed video now instead of a tutorial series, I challenge any of you to write the copy for it. If you can come up with 60 (± 10) seconds of copy that says everything a brand new player needs to know to:
I thought it looked like we were leaning to a tut series of short videos. Where did one condensed vid come from?
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Post by 2020 »

@sine
you got it!
hehhe
rap the mutha
and we can use type too
complete overload
and if people can be bothered
they can return to it to make sense of it

would be nice in conjunction with conc's attempts for a fortress fork of arma
hold the line
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Post by pike »

sinewav wrote:One of my girlfriends watched it
Hehe, you rock, man :lol:

Where was I? Oh, right...
I'm preparing to make 30-sec Fortress/Tronic promo video, although it may take some time, cause I'm not really good in vids editing. Got some interesting ideas, however some of them will require "custom choreography". Anyone tried to hack .aarec files and change player movements in recorded file with any success?
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