Topic

Something I love about Glitch

I love that everything we need is readily available, and not terribly expensive. I love that it's easy enough to get currants to be able to afford whatever we need - with a bit of work and leveling up. I believe this is one thing that helps to foster the feeling of community in the game. It's pretty easy to get what you need, so when you come across someone who is fairly new and doesn't have something, it's no big deal to give them a little help. Or it's easy to help with Projects - you can give your goods, your time, or work your tools until they break, and you know you can easily get more goods, you've got time to do whatever you want (not just use all your time trying to keep from going broke), and you can repair or replace your tools. 

I also play another online virtual world, where I've been a member for over 2 years. In that game, it's not always so easy to earn the game currency. While it's a fairly easy game to understand and play, people tend to collect and hoard things, and rarely give them away. Newcomers sometimes resort to begging (which is really not necessary, and most people really hate it). There aren't community projects, really. If you see someone who doesn't have a lot, you're more likely to say "go earn your own!" rather than give some of what you have. Sometimes I feel the game is all about getting as much as you can, owning all the rare items, and being richer than the next guy. (Thankfully, it's NOT always like that, and there ARE a lot of generous and helpful players, or I would not still be playing!)

Another thing that might make a difference, is that game is for people ages 13 and up... and there are a lot of young teens in the game. Sure, there are a lot of older players, too, but the teens outnumber the mature players by far. Yes, SOME teens act more mature than older players, but GENERALLY speaking, they do not. Glitch seems to have more mature players than teens, and I do think it makes a difference. 

I LOVE the generous nature of Glitch... the people, and the game.  =)

Posted 18 months ago by Zany Serendipity Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I may be wrong, but i believe this game is intended for people 18 and up - and that might be where you're getting the feeling people are more mature. If there are folks younger than 18 they're not acting out in a way that's getting them booted for being under 18. 

    I too love the fact that it is very easy to share here!
    Posted 18 months ago by Wren Bramble Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I always thought the game was child-accessible, but accessible for adults as well too. Appealing to all age demographics. Like Rocky and Bullwinkle. Or Rocko's Modern Life. Well, OK, I doubt we'll be seeing weiners rubbing against each other in Glitch, but we did give happy endings to butterflies...

    I agree, the community here is very generous.
    Posted 18 months ago by Liridona Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There's nothing that says you have to be over 18 to play:

    From the Terms of service:
    In order to access and use the Service, you will have to register and sign up for an account with Tiny Speck. You agree to provide and maintain true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Service's registration form. Registration data and certain other information about you are governed by our Privacy Policy. If you are under 14 years of age, you are not authorized to use the Service, with or without registering. If you are between the ages of 14 and 17, you represent that your legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms.
    Posted 18 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Agree that I like that all things are available to everyone, and it does seem to breed a community of sharing vice hoarding/begging.  However, Zany according to the posted age poll, at least for those that responded to the poll, the teens by far don't out number the mature players, so it seems odd to me that you would say that - unless you were saying the more mature age wise act less mature than the teens (which in some cases is true).  Though that poll does also highlight that there are some that are playing (13 and younger) even though they aren't allowed here per the TOS that Windborn posted.  

    @Windborn, there was a time when people were stating that this game was for 18+...long before the TOS was even posted.  Also, while the game is intended for an older gamer, they clearly are allowing younger players to have an option "with their guardian's permission" (which at this point is completely unverifiable that they got their guardian's permission)...however, I suspect this may eventually come back to haunt them mixing children and adults.  There are just so many rules for "protection of children" in online games, and none of them are implemented here (and frankly I wouldn't want them here)...but their game, their issues to deal with.  And yes, I'd prefer the game to be for 18+ only just so we don't have to have the restrictions placed on us that are required for games with kids, but that's just me.  I do understand that this game will appeal to sub-18 yo players...but that's a whole other thread discussion.
    Posted 18 months ago by b3achy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • B3achy - I said (or tried to say, perhaps it wasn't clear?) that on the OTHER game I play there are a lot of young teens, but on Glitch there are more older players than teens. 
    Posted 18 months ago by Zany Serendipity Subscriber! | Permalink
  • b3achy:  And yes, I'd prefer the game to be for 18+ only just so we don't have to have the restrictions placed on us that are required for games with kids, but that's just me.

    If it were me then I'd just change my age to 24, like I always do. It doesn't really stop people from coming in unless you actually ask for something that verifies your age, like a credit card.
    Posted 18 months ago by Liridona Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ah, got it Zany...I read it the other way in your original post, so I was scratching my head.

    Yep, Liridona...people will do that...however, I can't get accused of being a perv or a predator if someone who is underage lies about their age to play an adult game.  It also keeps adults from impersonating being a kid and then being completely rude to others...if everyone is over 18, we can just note that they are rude immature adults.

    And back on topic...the more I think about your first paragraph Zany the more I have to agree that the game set up for obtaining resources really is brilliant. While there are restrictions on things like harvesting, there is no lack of trees (well, once they restricted the mad tree killers)...and you can always go to another region to get what you need for most things.  Once you break the code on the vendor vs auction system, you can always have plenty of currants, even as they introduce more things to purchase.  I do like that the amount of begging is minimal here, and the community spirit is higher than on many games.  It does sadden me to still see some racing to get items, or taking things that aren't bolted down (like blockmakers at projects/in community rooms or gifts left at neighbor's doors), but there will always be some selfish players (not sure they are necessarily rude as much as out for #1).  But you get that anywhere.  The game has more good than negative to it on the community side for now.  Will be interesting to see the dynamics change (which they will) as the game opens to more players. Hopefully the changes will be for the better, but we'll just have to wait and see what type of players this game attracts.
    Posted 18 months ago by b3achy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • COPPA comes into play for the US for children under the age of 13. I'm assuming the age range in the TOS has something to do with that among other reasons such as you can't enter into contracts because you aren't of legal age. TOS falls at least loosely under that umbrella. I believe @Travinara can speak to that part more definitively.

    As far as someone misrepresenting their age to gain entry to a site, that happens today. It happens on alcohol related sites where you have to enter your DOB in order to gain entry. The site owner doesn't have to validate the information as being true (Yes, you are g33kgurrl and you are 21 or older). The responsibility is around asking and getting an answer. If the website visitor lies to gain entry, the site owner isn't liable for that lie.
    Posted 18 months ago by g33kgurrl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • OT, but: I recently went to the website for Kahlua (long story) and had to enter an age. I said that I was born in the year 1211 and it was no problemo. 800 years strong!
    Posted 18 months ago by stoot barfield Subscriber! | Permalink
  • LOL. I had no idea Glitch was designed by a Methuselah.
    Posted 18 months ago by Liridona Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Wow, stoot...You are looking very good for your age!!!
    Posted 18 months ago by sgjo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Dang. So that's where the wisdom comes from. 
    Posted 18 months ago by g33kgurrl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @stoot: Ahhhh, like Yoda you are, hmmm? Begin speaking backward soon will you?
    Posted 18 months ago by RM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @b3achy

    "people were stating that this game was for 18 plus"

    I never saw a statement from staff that said anything like that.  What I did see was a group of people who thought that teenagers ruined the game and wanted staff to make a rule that would keep them out. 

    There were other people who were concerned about teenagers seeing naughty words and who wanted to protect them from joining a game where naughty words were used. 

    The game is not designed for a particular age of player.  The game is being designed to attract players with a particular cultural perspective.  If younger players enjoy that, then they are welcomed.  TS has wisely avoided the attempt to verify people's ages (btw a credit card is not something that can be used to do this), since that creates a legal/bureaucratic process that is a nightmare to administer.   

    The main thing to note is that staff knowingly allowed a young teen to participate as a tester.  If they had been designing a game that was meant for an 18+ crowd, that tester and that feedback would have been worse than useless, since it would be skewing their design toward a group they did not want to encourage. 

    The discussions you refer to were a lot of wishful thinking on the part of a small group of players. To quote one of the devs slightly out of context, "For various reasons, a whole nother class of people also fortuitously joined the site" and "We of course had no problem with that, and were in fact pleasantly surprised".  But, from the beginning, under-18s were welcomed here. 
    Posted 18 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink