Greetings Guys,
I am currently working on the 6th Annual Airspace Aeronautica Imperialis campaign. Not surprisingly, every year the numbers dwindle. The first year in 2009 we had over 2,000 downloads of the rules and had two dozen active participants or so. The last year we had about 200+ downloads and about half a dozen active players.
I am left with a tough choice. It is clear that the AI base is slowly dying out. Games like X-wing and Wings of War/Glory are eating into it. Plus, access to models for the world is a big barrier of entry. I don;t think AI alone can carry a campaign anymore. So what do I do?
I have a few options:
1. Just stop all ready!
I don't care for this option because I enjoy putting together the campaign and I still like to play AI. I put ont he campaigns for others, but I also do it for myself. It is something I like to do.
2. Keep going as is and darn the torpedoes!
As I mentioned above, this doesn't seem very sustainable. Sure, I like doing them, but it is hard to justify doing it for the numbers we are talking. it is still a lot of work I could put to other things.
3. Expand the Camapign base
To do this, I would move away from making is an Aeronautica Imperialis Campaign, but instead expand it to the larger realm of the Warhammer 40K universe. I would allow any game in said Universe to apply towards the campaigns results. Therefore, people who only played Warhammer 40K, Epic, BFG, etc. could get in on the action.
I prefer option three, and that is where I need your help. What things would an online campaign need to have to attract people from these other game systems in order to participate in it? I want a larger audience, but how do I go about it mechanics wise, promotions-wise, and story wise?
