Topic

I have a question for TS.

www.glitch.com/forum/genera...
I came across that post and found it really interesting. I would really like an update on it- how many levels of content would you say you've built now? And some current updates about content plans would be good too. Basically, where would you say you are and where are you going as far as, well, I don't know if end game is the right term, but higher level content? Sorry if this is confusingly worded, and sorry also if I'm asking too much. Really. But... I'd like to know.

Posted 52 days ago by Fernstream Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • Good find on that old post. I'd forgotten all about it. Now I am wondering also. :)
    Posted 52 days ago by Tibbi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Me too.
    Posted 52 days ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yeh, I would love an update, too. 
    Posted 52 days ago by Innie✿, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I linked to that post in this thread a few days ago, and staff didn't respond to that one, either.  Hopefully some sort of blog post about future plans is in the works.

    Here is the post I was looking for at the time, in which stoot says, "We have been been nerfing a lot of stuff. Mostly, it works like this: we find dynamics in the game which create massively outsized incentives for people do something SO repetitive and boring that we can't believe they won't end up hating Glitch if they keep doing it (but they will keep doing it if nothing changes, because it is insanely profitable in the game)."  That describes feats pretty well.
    Posted 52 days ago by glum pudding Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I hate to disagree with the usually wise glum pudding but I do not consider feats "insanely profitable" because if you look at it objectively, feats are a terrible use of you resources and time.  You can spend a huge amount of img and currents for a CHANCE to get a semi-rare artifact.  It would make more sense, from a purely economic standpoint, to use those same resources to buy artifacts on the open market. But it is the brief 15 minutes of fame and the sense of competition that drives the top contributors I believe.  Other heroes may be driven by a sense of contribution, but you have to be obsessed to get a top spot.
    Posted 52 days ago by Kookaburra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's true that buying artifacts or pieces of them may be cheaper than participating in a particular feat, but the larger rewards, like revealing new quests, clothing, and areas, are now only attainable one way.  Also, the participation costs vary from feat to feat.  The incantation feat's only up-front cost was time, so anyone willing to change streets and press up-arrow enough was in a good position to get extra rocks.  The value of all of the rock I donated during the Sparkla feat was 173,448c, but I received a medium rock and at least one small rock in exchange.  Selling the rocks and trinkets does seem to generate a ton of money in a short amount of time: some pieces of artifacts are selling for over one million currants each, and there aren't too many other ways to make a million in a day.  I haven't opened the rocks yet, but if there is just one piece of artifact inside, I could get five times my original investment in return.
    Posted 51 days ago by glum pudding Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I dont play thw feats to get artifacts, I play them to unlock content.
    Posted 51 days ago by Muncey Mango Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't play feats. Hell since they came out I've not played at all. Deliberately so.
    Posted 51 days ago by Fauxfire π Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Meh to feats *nod nod*
    Posted 51 days ago by Rutger Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This post is not meant to be confrontational in any way, just something that I really have been pondering:

    What could a game like Glitch do to remain entertaining forever (or for a long time...)  with the actions available.  Everything is going to boil down to pressing keys over and over.  New content would be interesting for its novelty value but in a short time becomes more repetitive clicking.

    The above thought may be because I lack experience in games (apart from FB games I have not played many computer games) or because I lack imagination (no pun intended)

    Or maybe expectations are too great, we are only going to be able to click, click, whatever the new content and we have to work with that and make our own fun. 

    Honestly interested to read what could be done with a game like Glitch that is different.
    Posted 50 days ago by Miss Parsley Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think the answer to Miss Parsley is twofold:

    A) Allow players to express their creativity; IE, create tools that allow them to create...what?  A short list: Environments. Metagames. Art. Curations of items.  Toys. Objects with verbs. Methods of transport. And more.

    B) Amplify social tools to permit greater opportunities for groups of players to create things together.  Create what? The stuff I've listed above.

    This is pretty high level, but is reflective of my experiences in text-based MUDs.  Those games that allowed for creation by players, and collaboration on creations by players continued to retain interest.

    A fast example: Someone created a series of objects and verbs, combined with a permission system that allowed characters to engage in an in-game fantasy role-playing game. Folks without the FRP-bit couldn't see the monsters, engage in combat with Mobs or one another. Folks WITH the FRP-bit could play an entire metagame within the broader MUD.  That may not be suitable for Glitch. Or maybe it is!  My point is, someone built it, and lots of people played it and liked it. It wasn't everyone in the MUD, but did represent about 10 percent of that MUDs player-base.

    In another MUD, tools were opened up for guildhalls. We could gather resources, create rooms, assign descriptions, add verbs, create objects to make our clan hall. It got big; in excess of a few hundred rooms, some for dwelling in, some for exploring.

    Again, this kind of functionality is not going to appeal to ALL players. But it will appeal to some.

    All this is in the weeds: The big idea again is allow for player created content, and player collaboration around creating content.
    Posted 50 days ago by CrashTestPilot Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It will be interesting to see where Glitch goes. Right now the towers are great for sandbox players but if you don't want to make a tower there isn't much to do once you start running out of quests. Even Second Life, the ultimate sandbox, has resorted to providing quests and combat to keep players interested.
    Posted 50 days ago by Lucille Ball Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I play the feats...because it gives me something to do. :) Also, rare artifacts are cool.
    Posted 50 days ago by Lily Linguistic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Muncey: that means that your reason to participate in feats, your "profit," is the unlocking of new content, as I mentioned above.  Regardless of what our motivations are, those of us who participate in feats are performing actions which are "repetitive and boring." 

    Miss Parsley: good question!  When street projects were part of the game, they gave us goals to work toward.  We had a reason to mine beryl, to create crystals, to grow crops, and so on: they were all necessary components of projects, and without them we were unable to unlock new streets.  Granted, it was rare that anything interesting emerged on the new streets, but at least we had something to do, and each player could choose the way in which he or she wanted to participate, if at all.  It was okay if you wanted to mine and didn't want to cook, because almost all activities came in handy. 

    Feats, in stark contrast to projects, involve one single activity repeated for twenty-four hours, and if that activity doesn't interest you, or if you find it offensive, you're out of luck until the next feat (and from what we've seen so far, there's a pretty good chance that the next feat will be objectionable, too).

    So what's the answer?  I've always thought that more puzzles, quests, and minigames would help tremendously, at least until the long-awaited "content for higher-level players" appeared.  That content may still be a long way off, if it's coming at all -- staff seems unwilling to comment either way -- and the new puzzles and quests have been short and simple, with little to no replay value (yes, you can get some mundane quoins from them, but the actual experience of solving exactly the same puzzle over and over again is not pleasing). 

    Some players keep busy with Game of Crowns.  It's a lot of fun, but it's buggy, and any sort of network lag or slow frames-per-second problem basically ends the game for you, because speed, agility, and the ability to spot your opponents are among a player's greatest assets.  Minigames of that sort are only going to appeal to a certain set of players, and the set will always be even smaller because of those limitations.  (Also, the GoC booths have been moved to hidden-to-most locations, only accessible via teleportation scripts, which stops new players from finding them easily.  The booths were moved because new players were joining and then unhappily waiting around for other people to show up, not realizing that they should ask others to play with them beforehand.  Rather than adding explanatory language to the booths, staff took them away; when players protested, staff put the booths into the old Alakol model homes, which are no longer accessible from streets.)

    But take, for example, the Kid's Room quests, which are simple word games.  Make them replayable, but add much more content to the games themselves, so that each session involves different letters forming different words, and perhaps new riddles, and allow the player to choose a level of difficulty.  When a round is won, reward the player with currants and img, and maybe a cute new conversation at the tea party table.  Special items could be awarded after a certain number of wins -- dolls of the critters drawn on the wallpaper, for example -- and that, in and of itself, would keep people busy and interested for hours.

    That's just one example, off the top of my head.  I'd hope that the game's designers could come up with many more ideas, all better than that one.  It seems as though some sort of salmon fishing ability will be added to Jal "soon," and hopefully that will be a minigame, not a "click Fishing Rod, click Catch verb" experience. 
    Posted 50 days ago by glum pudding Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like the more word puzzles idea, Glum.  

    A funfair area would be good, where there are simple games or the Ur version of slots to win prizes not available anywhere else.  Or maybe Uncle Friendly could start a poker school behind the shop.
    Posted 50 days ago by Miss Parsley Subscriber! | Permalink
  • That's been suggested before.
    www.glitch.com/forum/ideas/...

    And despite my sarcastic Futurama reference, I really like the idea.
    Posted 50 days ago by Jus​tin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't think the future can be in mini-games that are the same every time.  It is painful to do them over and over again.
    Posted 50 days ago by Miss Parsley Subscriber! | Permalink
  • From the pace TS has been adding new regions/clothing/etc it seems they've been busy and haven't got to actual sustainable content yet. I'd be interested to see what there plans are for the future too.
    Posted 50 days ago by Draron Subscriber! | Permalink
  • That's true, Draron... There's been a lot of what you could call expansion. More regions, more resources... I wonder what's cooking?
    Posted 41 days ago by Fernstream Subscriber! | Permalink
  • glum brings up a really good point about the potential of quests like The Kid's Room if there were more variation instead of the same puzzles repeated many times. There are some neat puzzles now, but it would be a lot better if they were based on some kind of algorithm to generate different puzzles each time instead of a static rendition of the same puzzle when reminisced.

    Also, Game of Crowns definitely needs more spotlight instead of being hidden away from sight. It's so far the only 3+ multiplayer game and one of the few activities that produce random unpredictability and fun challenges among players. What happened to Cloudhopolis?
    Posted 41 days ago by TomC Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like the Feats, yes they are repetitive, but then again they are only for 24 hours. However i do think that the one that was 5 parts....was soo......long. By the time we got to the last "rounds" of it....i didn't want to even try anymore, i did but i was actually getting sick of them by then. But the last one was much better in that it was 3 parts. Mind you if you were busy and didn't participate, the more in a row the better, more opportunity to at least get something  rock wise.  As for street projects i never got to participate because they were lag ridden. Severely. In that aspect the Feats are a big improvement, also some Feats favor low lvl players, some high lvl players, and some it doesnt matter at all! This is a good thing as well. But yes new mini games would be help, non-action driven ones since lag can be an issue. As it is most of the games are racing type games, or tag, etc. We need things like Hangman, Chess, Checkers, Reversi, Parchesi, Mousetrap... Board games, Puzzles, Trivia, and Card Games, mind you if its  a copyrighted game you'd have to change some things, but you see what i mean. Some things would be two player, some would alow more then two but could start anywhere between 2-6 players,some we'd be the playing pieces, some woudl have items in game as pieces, it would give us something else to do thats social inbetween  big crafting projects or Feats or New areas in game.
    Posted 41 days ago by Lyrical DejaVu Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I really like the Charades set up on Glitch. Now if there were some official game with lots of different questions and automatically generated Charade-like games, that'd be really fun.
    Posted 41 days ago by TomC Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Mini games are good for keeping people entertained, and I agree that GoC should be more spotlighted, but I think we need something for longtime players to work toward infinitely. Something that keeps expanding, or increasing, or something. And that something should be tied in very closely with the backstory/the Giants. ...and that's my vague concept.
    Posted 41 days ago by Fernstream Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I would like to see TS answer the original post.
    Posted 41 days ago by Ruby Specklebottom Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The way the trees and other things talk now i have to presume at some point SOMETHING concerning the Giants is brewing.....thats just a guess though.
    Posted 41 days ago by Lyrical DejaVu Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I wish they'd shut up!
    Posted 39 days ago by shhexy corin Subscriber! | Permalink