Topic

Glitch founder describes the new Glitch - to - be in local paper

Check this out to find out more about our future.

www.straight.com/article-57...

Posted 11 months ago by Peachesan Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

1 2 Next
  • From a metagamey perspective, I'm just going to link to this piece by Clay Shirky from back in 2003 (given a couple of days before the launch of an obscure photo-sharing site) which is itself built upon thoughts on the lifecycle of online communities. I think we're at the point where this quotation is relevant:

    'the worst crisis is the first crisis, because it's not just "We need to have some rules." It's also "We need to have some rules for making some rules." And this is what we see over and over again in large and long-lived social software systems. Constitutions are a necessary component of large, long-lived, heterogenous groups.'
    Posted 11 months ago by Holgate Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm not so sure everything was figured out in 2003 to make hugely resounding proclamations.  Food for thought, certainly.  But a lot has happened in the online world since 2003.  Things are a LOT more mainstream, the unwashed are amongst us, etc.

    And I hope nobody expects us all to be TOO heterogeneous.  If anybody gets out marshmallows and starts singing kumbaya, I am spraying the fire with my mosquito repellant.
    Posted 11 months ago by Razzal Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Excellent Sir Stoot!

    I wasn't trying to claim you're a jerk for talking to "them" but not us, especially since this article was in a local media outlet for you (and ignoring your local media is rarely a suave business move), but I've been planning to get the "we want info!" chant going for much of the last month, was just waiting until after the New Year, and saw this as an opportunity to score some support.  

    I will be very much looking forward to it!
    Posted 11 months ago by Red Sauce Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Actually Saucelah, you shouldn't have to apologize...they should have posted something more substantial about upcoming changes since the de-launching blog post.  It's a major faux pax on their part, and we have been asking via comments in various threads in the forum for more information.  But honestly, we should not HAVE to ask...while they should grant interviews, they should be as loyal in keeping their customers informed as the customers have been in standing by their side during de-launch.  But what is done is done...it is what is it...a customer service lesson to be learned in this.

    Love the concept of the signposts with the revamp of housing.  I hope it's a cross between the FS model, and the Nord model.  I love in Nord where I can build different levels of access to various areas on my island - strictly public, anyone can come there if I'm online, friends only teleports where only those on my friends list can access, gates where I can hand out passcodes to closer friends, and then gates with no passcodes but I can manually control opening/closing, so I can let some in when I feel like it or keep it private if I feel like it. However, I hope it has more of the FS model where you go out to gather resources to build/expand your island vice only being able to purchase resources (which is more of a Nord model).  

    Though there was mention in one some older posts by staff, that credits would be used in the future for furnishings and maybe some changes to housing. I think a nice balance between paid for items, and earned/gathered items from in game resources is truly the best (which was more of the FS model for personal space development, and something where I think Nord falls short).

    The change to imagination is interesting, but I'd have to wait to see how it gets implemented before I can say what I think about it. I'm not a huge leveler/XP grinder, so I'll have to see how that affects my gameplay...could be good, just not sure.  I think I like the concept, but it could be implemented in a way that I'm not thrilled with...but I hope not.

    One can only hope that we start to see some of these changes sooner rather than later...since massive changes like these are likely to have some major challenges which could take a while to fix...putting off implementation will only shove re-release into the summer or fall, IMO. So, bring on the changes...
    Posted 11 months ago by b3achy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It would be nice to find these things out in game from our staff friends for sure but it would also be nice if we had a set place in forums or even on the homepage for links to TS interviews as soon as they become available. I'm excited about the changes and look forward to seeing what these awesome devs have in store for us! Thanks for all your hard work TS. :)
    Posted 11 months ago by Gertie Mack Subscriber! | Permalink
  • For real Stoot? Tell us! 
    It would be nice to have something to look forward to. Seems like a very good idea to build up the excitement level....just like that song.....Anticipation.....otherwise us bored folk will be playing Zynga games again.
     
    Posted 11 months ago by 1padme Subscriber! | Permalink
  • a lot has happened in the online world since 2003.

    And a lot had happened in the 2003 online world since the mid-90s. But some things don't change so much, and the lifecycle model for online communities -- which is like the lifecycle of most communities, just accelerated -- seems to hold up pretty well from my perspective.
    Posted 11 months ago by Holgate Subscriber! | Permalink
  • For me, the anticipation has been running pretty high for weeks. I've spent most of my gaming day in the forums, refreshing constantly. even today,  I was anticipating pumpkins being released again :(

    Anticipation alone isn't enough. waiting for something to happen can drive you insane, especially if you wind up disappointed. I don't think I'll be disappointed with the changes that are coming. I'm looking forward to them. Like b3achy said, bring it on.
    Posted 11 months ago by lol bored Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If I lose all my stocked cherries for more personal styled housing, I won't freak out.

    I'd be really happy if they took the level numbers away. I feel that this game should last forever and seeing people reach the end of the levels is a bummer. I'd still like some kind of levels but not so much numbered per say. 
    Posted 11 months ago by Eye Wonder Subscriber! | Permalink
  • just so it's here in this thread _
    Dear Stoot and Devs -
    "What are you thinking ?? "
    There , I've made it official - I am "an anyone" , and I am asking. .......
    maybe I should be more specific on the question - but I think this will do for now.
    signed with hugs and smiles ,
    serenitycat (aka occasional restless native)
    Posted 11 months ago by serenitycat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Glitch is going to space right now, can you give it a second to get back from space?

    :D
    Posted 11 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +100 to everything Beachy posted.  :: nods nods nods ::
    Posted 11 months ago by ♪♥~ Auren ~♥♪ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • agree plus a whole bunch to what beachy said !
    and i posted in the other thread to -that says "i am asking"
    heres my cross post from over there :
    Add me to the asking group -pretty much any/all of the above would be included on my questions list.
    ALSO - I agree- info from the devs would be helpful. Regularly ,with love and transparency.
    Please note---- I am asking also for those communications to please NOT just be twittered , twitted , kakow-ed or what have you . *Gasp!* - horror of horrors but not all of us use those sites.
    I'm not sure how I feel about the inference in stoot's comment the gist I get is " well , all you had to do was ask " ....
    -- I kinda feel like that was a dis-service to all us who post ideas,comments on ideas, and such.
    Plus, aren't REQUESTS for changes considered an "asking" (see mutiple threads both here and in Ideas forum asking for changes to be made or proposing ideas for changes to be made/added/fixed , etc) ???
    ... I think I might be a bit insulted about "all you had to do was ask " --when I kinda thought many of us ALREADY were doing that in those threads .
    I would hope that TS would jump back on that transparancy band wagon -especially when I think, as stoot noted, that a high percentage of players have stated/chosen to stay loyal with their money and time and see what TS does.
    Players that feel like they are the LAST to know something and "all you had to do was ask " type comments may not lead to continued HIGH percentage level loyalty.
    Maybe not from this player anyway .
    Posted 11 months ago by serenitycat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Totally agree serenitycat,

    It is insulting to be told 'all you had to do was ask' when people have been asking these questions so much its boring, and an awful lot of players have been patiently waiting for this kind of info.
    Posted 11 months ago by Lukie Subscriber! | Permalink
  •  
    Posted 11 months ago by 1padme Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The Venture Capitalists have to be told first.  That's just good common sense.  As the business model unfolds, players may find they are not really TS's customers.
    Posted 11 months ago by Kalstept Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Kalstept : Wow! I thought I was the only one who understood that. 

    I can't help but notice one thing missing from the very sparse information coming from Tiny Speck : Fun. Notice how in one of the articles it's all about how it makes things better for TS, not you. Fun would make things better for me. I really couldn't care less about any change coming down the pike so long as TS could be honest and tell me about how insanely fun the game is going to be. 

    They are not. 

    This is the part I keep turning over in my mind : 

    "Feedback from players of the game is also positive, according to Butterfield. “People really love it,” he said. “We’ve got to make it so that a greater percentage of the people coming in the front door end up loving it.” The changes being made will make the game much better, he added. “Everyone will be happier.”

    So which is it? Do people love it, or not? If only three percent wanted refunds, then what justification could possibly exist for changing the game at all? I cannot imagine the thought process behind someone dumping resources into placating or 'winning over' a mere three percent of "people coming in the front door", and I would wager the investors were thinking the exact same thought. 

    The simple reality is this statement is corporate double-speak gibberish at its very finest. I am still betting TS is in deep trouble and the sad reality is they cannot be honest with people playing the game for the fear of spooking the true customers of TS : the investors. 
    Posted 11 months ago by TekNoh Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Recently I was out in Andra running an errand and to kill a few minutes I stopped in a housing block, one of the newer ones with 30K houses.  I picked a street at random and stopped at each door checking the name of the person who owned it and then looking up their profile.  In every case those players - who had played enough to be able to afford a pricey home - had no activity at all since mid december or even late november.     I've done this before in other housing streets with roughly the same results.   You can try it yourself.   

    I think people played the game all they way through (as it were) much faster than the creators anticipated. 
    Posted 11 months ago by WalruZ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • TekNoh: I don't see the conspiracy, nor do I see any inconsistencies among their statements.  People that are asking for refunds are not people that are coming in the front door.  One has next to nothing to do with the other.  People that asked for refunds are people that came in the front door, liked what they saw, and spent money on the game, despite the game not forcing them to.  They liked what they saw after coming in the front door, or they would not have spent money that they wanted refunded.  

    "Greater percentage of people coming in the front door" refers to the new player experience.  For me, despite that I love this game, I spent my first month in the game never imagining it could be my primary MMO.  At least one person I invited never made it to level 3 -- in my mind, she never even really got to play the game.  The game feels and plays during the first month almost nothing like it does once a player has skilled up for a month.  There's a huge disconnect there, and revamping the new player experience is a very good thing.  

    And then there are the players who really enjoyed the game, but after they had all the tools and a top tier home, they no longer felt any need to play the game.  Some of them are probably not sandbox fans so not much will bring them back.  They "won," so now they are done.  But many of them likely wanted more tangible, more short-term goals than pursuing cubimals or icons provided them with, and many of them would still be here if there were some immediate mechanic that provided both short-term tangible goals and automatically added more when those were reached -- I think the proposed housing system will do exactly that.  

    Further, refunds had nothing to do with the decision to change the game.  The decision to change the game led to refunds.  So only 3% wanting refunds is not a reflection of only 3% wanting changes but a reflection that only 3% were either afraid of the changes or lost trust in the company for the unusual decision.  

    I like the game.  I'm still in it.  But it does reach a point, three to four months in, in which there isn't a whole heck of a lot to do unless you are OCD about collections.  The changes will make it so no matter what there is always another goal just over the horizon, and that will help player retention.  I take it at face value that they thought they had created a backbone that could be built upon and realized instead that the pace at which they could expand from that foundation was not going to work -- now the foundation itself will provide the carrot players chase, rather than always hoping some new content update will keep players interested until the next content update.  

    Nothing about this seems odd or bad except when you really stretched to bring unrelated statistics and comments together.  
    Posted 11 months ago by Red Sauce Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "Feedback from players of the game is also positive, according to Butterfield. “People really love it,” he said. “We’ve got to make it so that a greater percentage of the people coming in the front door end up loving it.” The changes being made will make the game much better, he added. “Everyone will be happier.”

    So which is it? Do people love it, or not?- TekNoh

    I agree.  The two statements are not congruent.
    Posted 11 months ago by lovintnt Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Saying "Screw it, we're revamping the whole shebang", requiring heavy staffing & turning a lot of potential customers away is not done by companies in trouble.

    Did TS manage to genetically engineer a paper tree into a money tree, and are now 100% financially secure? I doubt that extreme as well, so keeping the investors confident is important.

    They have "8 weeks" or so to deliver the imagination based economy. Or both players & investors are going to make stoot's life not so fun.
    Posted 11 months ago by Sturminator 5 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • IMO, you guys are drawing a false equivalency between the two uses of "people" in those two statements. 
    Posted 11 months ago by Scarlett Bearsdale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 Scarlett.  The first instance meaning something like 'active players' and the second something like 'newly registered accounts'. 
    Posted 11 months ago by oscarette Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thank you Scarlett -- that's the gist of what I was getting at.  
    Posted 11 months ago by Red Sauce Subscriber! | Permalink
1 2 Next