[VonGuard]

Hey, this is really terrific! Extremely impressive, especially the fact it's so small (code size). This expresses a real retro sensibility that most "retro" style games miss: pixel art shouldn't take up megabytes of space.

I think you should do something with this. You've actually got something you could spread far and wide, in this. It's shocking how few Web-based MMO experiences there are like this. This is the point where I say "quit your day job." Unless this is your day job.

To whit: such a small MMO could become a nice little business for you. People will pay for cosmetic stuff, and they love to idle in virtual worlds...

[simple1]

Wow, thanks for the encouragement! I am indeed making a business out of this, and so far I sell memberships, character customizations, vault upgrades, and name changes. The income has not reached "quit my day job" yet, but I am still actively developing and marketing the game, and I'm hopeful for the future! Any ideas on how I could "spread this far and wide"?

[VonGuard]

I think you've got a few options. Route 1 is to spread it by hand, post it on 4chan /v/ or on Neogaf and ask for advice there, as you did here.

Second option is to buy actual ads on those same sites, Facebook, Twitter.

But the best option, though the hardest, is for you to begin making the game show off your personality a bit more. Make it more unique. Think Kingdom of Loathing or Candy Box: both have totally unique writing and worlds, and aren't just the standard orcs and goblins. What are you into, personally? What's some private joke you have with yourself you can spread across this game like a layer of butter?

Finally, giving people more ownership of the game world will encourage them to invite friends. Perhaps an "invite 5 friends, get your own house in the game" type thing. Growing it via social networks is half of that, but the other half is allowing players to have something in the world they'd want to show to someone else.

Good luck! You're already doing a great job. Watch player growth religiously. It's your guide to where advertising works.

[lotyrin]

Kickstarter? If the goal is free to play with cosmetic items, then you could maybe do well to have chunks of game functionality as (stretch) goals, with cosmetic items as rewards?