How to gain empathy then?

Here's the thing. Your MOC's are telling your story. Or a story that is meaningful to you. People will look at them and love them for many reasons. But unless the MOC is telling their story, or a story they naturally mentally put themselves into, they will rarely vote or pay for it. This is why pre existing IP's do so well. The very nature of most of those IP's is a suspension of disbelief and a drawing in of the viewer/player into the story. This by nature makes the viewer feel a part of the story which in turn leads to support. This also happens with very familiar things. Famous places and landmarks. Historic events, etc. the trick is the project has to be something comfortably familiar, without crossing over into the mundane.

You could make a spectacular project of your house. Wonderfully detailed, reasonable part count and price, and it will get very few votes. Because it is your house. Not the voters. They like it. They admire it. THey would love to examine how you built it. But it isn't their house. For the viewer it's a nice place to visit, but not where they want to live. There is no story that they recognize or relate to.

Probably the most basic way to view it. Admiration happens when your project is telling them your story. Empathy happens when the project is telling them theirs. The better you do in telling the viewer a familiar and relatable story, the better you will do with support.

Edited August 30, 201311 yr by Faefrost

I predict next review period will be a face off between:

- Macross

- Road to Oz

- Jurassic Park

- BttF Jules Verne Train.

I predict next review period will be a face off between:

- Macross

- Road to Oz

- Jurassic Park

- BttF Jules Verne Train.

Of those I would guess Oz as the likely winner.

macross, wonderful project. Hideous legally challenged license.

Jurassic Park, insanely popular project (or group of projects) riding a wave. But Kre-O has the license.

BttF Train, great project and a definite maybe after the DeLorean. I just think Oz will hit a little more broadly customer wise. (A CuuSoo set as popular with girls as boys? That just cries out to FAFOL's?)

Edited August 30, 201311 yr by Faefrost

Of those I would guess Oz as the likely winner.

I would think the BTTF Train would pass too, but I don't think that will enter the review stage next quarter.

Here's one that could probably use a boost. It is currently sitting at #11 on the vote meter. But it is the second oldest project on CuuSoo. Created 10-29-08. Suzuki's adorable little Apollo 11 moon landing.

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/25

I just love the idea of a project that old suddenly climbing above the haze and actually seeing the top of the mountain so to speak.

Of those I would guess Oz as the likely winner.

macross, wonderful project. Hideous legally challenged license.

Jurassic Park, insanely popular project (or group of projects) riding a wave. But Kre-O has the license.

BttF Train, great project and a definite maybe after the DeLorean. I just think Oz will hit a little more broadly customer wise. (A CuuSoo set as popular with girls as boys? That just cries out to FAFOL's?)

I agree with your asssement -- the only hope for Macross is if it receives a "push" because it is Japanese.

Also, Apollo 11 is a great project that i feel will benefit greatly when it is polished by a TLG designer.

Edited August 30, 201311 yr by Another Brick In The Wall

Here's one that could probably use a boost. It is currently sitting at #11 on the vote meter. But it is the second oldest project on CuuSoo. Created 10-29-08. Suzuki's adorable little Apollo 11 moon landing.

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/25

I just love the idea of a project that old suddenly climbing above the haze and actually seeing the top of the mountain so to speak.

So do I, and I'd actually noticed that one myself and really liked it, though I hadn't gotten around to supporting it yet. I've just rectified that.

I'm a bit annoyed with myself in that most of the projects I'd personally like to put up on CUUSOO are for IPs that would need licenses. I really do have broader interests than just stuff from movies and TV shows, I really do, but most of the things I'd really like to see released as official LEGO sets - things that would specifically benefit from that treatment, as opposed to just being MOCed out of random bricks or whatever - do seem to come from such sources. I do have a couple ideas beyond those, though; I'll have to submit them...

Jurassic Park, insanely popular project (or group of projects) riding a wave. But Kre-O has the license.

In anticipation of CuuSoo killing the Jurassic Park project for the aforementioned reasons, the creator has listed the T-Rex as a separate project under the guise of Bricksauria.

In anticipation of CuuSoo killing the Jurassic Park project for the aforementioned reasons, the creator has listed the T-Rex as a separate project under the guise of Bricksauria.

Am I alone in thinking that he will be in for a rude surprise regarding vote growth without the JP IP attached?

Am I alone in thinking that he will be in for a rude surprise regarding vote growth without the JP IP attached?

Probably not - that is, I'm sure there are others who think the same - but I don't know about that myself. I'd imagine he's aware of the vote-getting power of the IP (or any IP), and probably doesn't harbor illusions a non-Jurassic Park dinosaur project will garner votes as quickly as one tied to the movies... but that Tyrannosaurus rex is really too nicely done to just abandon if it can be submitted on its own. I don't see any reason not to give it a shot on its own, just in case, and I'd guess the builder is thinking the same. Why not, right?

Am I alone in thinking that he will be in for a rude surprise regarding vote growth without the JP IP attached?

Yep. There's no way he'll get 5K that quickly. That said, the other aspects of the JP project were very highly polished.

The creator will get some advertisement "flow through" from JP until it gets pulled. Then it will be on its own.

I really like the Bricksoria idea, and I supported it. But indeed, this project won't get that many votes easily.

EDIT : The project earned more than 120 votes in a few hours. If it keeps on getting supported, it will be in the top 10, which would be a good highlight.

Edited August 31, 201311 yr by Leewan

Probably not - that is, I'm sure there are others who think the same - but I don't know about that myself. I'd imagine he's aware of the vote-getting power of the IP (or any IP), and probably doesn't harbor illusions a non-Jurassic Park dinosaur project will garner votes as quickly as one tied to the movies... but that Tyrannosaurus rex is really too nicely done to just abandon if it can be submitted on its own. I don't see any reason not to give it a shot on its own, just in case, and I'd guess the builder is thinking the same. Why not, right?

I agree. I was not aware that he posted the T-Rex as a different project. I will support it for the same reason. It is beautifully done and the main reason I supported the JP project. I could care less that the project he was submitting had the JP name, I liked the design aspect of the set. If this project never reaches 10,000, I hope the creator uploads the instructions on how to build it via LDD.

Why doesn't he re-post the photos and re-name it so that it doesn't refer to JP, once it reaches, ooh, 9000 votes?

I've never tried posting a CUUSOO project, so I don't know if that's possible or not.

Why doesn't he re-post the photos and re-name it so that it doesn't refer to JP, once it reaches, ooh, 9000 votes?

I've never tried posting a CUUSOO project, so I don't know if that's possible or not.

No, it's not possible.

1. CuuSoo are going to kill the project any day now. Because it's passed 5K votes already it will be already earmarked.

2. What you are suggesting is dishonest to the extent that the user and project will get permanently banned.

Hmm yes I suppose it could be seen like that. Fair enough.

When does CuuSoo normally begin ending projects in which the IP is already licensed elsewhere? Is it once the license is officially known? Or once the competitor has released products? I know there was a great culling of Dr Who related projects awhile back. But other than that I don't remember this question coming up often?

It doesn't appear that there's a set point for that, Faefrost, judging from the numbers of votes at which some such projects were closed.

____________________

Say, does the September 1st cutoff for the review period mean only projects that have 10k votes by the beginning of Sept. 1 (and in what time zone?) get into that review batch, or by the end of the day?

At the rate the Wizard of Oz project is getting votes (9694 at this writing, with at least the last few having appeared within the last several minutes), it appears that will make the difference for which batch of proposals it'll be in...

Say, does the September 1st cutoff for the review period mean only projects that have 10k votes by the beginning of Sept. 1 (and in what time zone?) get into that review batch, or by the end of the day?

At the rate the Wizard of Oz project is getting votes (9694 at this writing, with at least the last few having appeared within the last several minutes), it appears that will make the difference for which batch of proposals it'll be in...

I really feel for the CuuSoo staff as this review period comes to a close. 2 virtually the same projects hitting in the same review. More review projects than they have ever seen before in one sitting. That whole mess with the Jurassic Park projects. And now it ends with a race to the wire asking not just what day a project hit 10k, but what time zone institutes the cutoff? Who said playing with Lego for a living is not a high stress job?

The more I think about it the less likely I think it is that they'll approve a maximum of only one project per review period on principle, regardless of how many worthy projects make the 10k mark that would otherwise get approved if they didn't have competition - after all, if they allowed themselves only one approved project per period no matter what, they wouldn't be still mulling the possibility of doing that Portal project that came in the same period as the Back to the Future one.

That should mean there's at least a chance for more than one of these latest projects to get approved...

They've said all along that it's entirely possible for multiple projects in the same review period to pass, in which case they'll simply queue them up and produce them in subsequent slots. Whilst doing that could theoretically lead to a backlog, the large number of licensed products we've seen as meant very extended review periods, so it probably wouldn't actually hurt to have a few designs "in the pipeline" to keep fresh designs coming out slightly more regularly. I think they said they have four potential "slots" per year, which is surely more than we've seen so far.

They've said all along that it's entirely possible for multiple projects in the same review period to pass, in which case they'll simply queue them up and produce them in subsequent slots. Whilst doing that could theoretically lead to a backlog[...]

it's not exactly going to stretch their resources if they produce say a Ghostbusters set along with the female minifig set in one period. It can be justified economically on the basis that it aims at different demographics.

Certainly. I think any limits they put on the number of CUUSOO sets introduced at the same time have more to do with the factory production schedules - allocation of resources, what parts need to be molded in what colors, etc.

Certainly. I think any limits they put on the number of CUUSOO sets introduced at the same time have more to do with the factory production schedules - allocation of resources, what parts need to be molded in what colors, etc.

I suspect that they are probably limited to 4 production cycles / year for CuuSoo, and as a result, while there may not be a hard or fast rule of only 1 set approved per quarter, they will be very very conscious about creating a backlog. Same review period sets will be getting a very hard look at "which one of these do you want filling one of those precious production slots?"

Road to Oz reaches 10K, but whether it made the deadline is anybody's guess.