Emerald Bellerophon
Nenikekamen
0
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Posted - 2013.05.07 16:13:00 -
[1] - Quote
Hi, CCP.
I've been playing a whole bunch starting with the open beta. I play moslty on my own, and I'm not *that* good at it, but I think I've been getting better on the whole, and I feel rewarded for my gameplay. I've really enjoyed this game, and have even been enthusiastic enough to spend some money on it. I've invested a lot, I think and I hope that this game succeeds in the biggest possible way.
I haven't posted to the forums until now, and I've mostly been content to see a game that has mountains of potential take the time to grow, patient that things will get better on the whole.
When I played the Uprising build for the first time last night, it concerned me... enough to make this shy person start talking. I won't beat you over the head with it, CCP, but I won't mince words either: I am deeply disappointed, and worried that you have taken some possibly-fatal missteps in the last three months.
I understand that I am not alone in these sentiments.
Instead of crying about it, I am now going to try to help you make things better, for me and for you. I will take this moment as a lesson to 'get involved' as far as I am still interested in this game, and every complaint I have will be matched by an actionable solution.
I want to win in this game, and that doesn't just mean getting lots of kills or isk or shiny in-game toys. It means having fun... today, next week, next month, and in 10 years, too, in as many different ways as I can find to do so.
I want you to win with this game, as a piece of media, as a social enterprise, as a work of art, as a critical success, and as a profitable business. I want you to have lots of players and enticing gameplay and enthusiasm from all corners, because all that just increases the likelihood that I win, too.
You'll notice this in the name of my corporation, which is pretty much just me.
I'll try my best to make a stand with you here, CCP.
Are you listening?
Let's start with what you are... an MMOFPS whose business model- and, by extension, whose very existence- relies on getting people excited enough to go out of their way to spend money on stuff they can have in-game.
I understand that you might be used to a certain development cycle. I understand that you need time to establish the fundamental components of the game to build from. In understand that you've been doing this for a while now and you're used to it a certain way.
That way just won't work. It won't grow your game, it won't get you revenue, and it won't lead to a good future. We as players, on the whole, won't have the patience to wait for more months when that's what a great many of us have been doing already, and we won't give you more money if we think you haven't earned it with the developments you've introduced, which a great many of us thing you don't.
Historically, too, the few-months development cycle bodes poorly. I know that it's different, but the first thing I think of is Half-Life 2's attempt at episodic gaming, which took too long to produce too little, and ended up getting scrapped. Even so, there's still enough game in Half-Life 2 that the developers could rely on continued interest even without new developer content; there simply isn't enough in Dust.
May 14th is taking on increasing symbolic value... it's your "launch date," it's a day when everyone will expect things to start going swimmingly, and realistically, it's your deadline for making changes that can decide whether a lot of people will keep playing or not.
I don't expect you to wave a magic wand and make everything all better in a week, but perhaps next Tuesday should be a time for you to revise your overall strategy for the game moving forward. It doesn't have to come and go with earth-shattering actual changes as long as you commit yourselves to something fundamentally different and better.
The best thing I can think of for you to do starting Wednesday, May 15th is... *something,* and do something *every day.*
It doesn't have to be much. Make a new map one day. Add a new skin for a dropsuit the next. Address some balancing issue on the third day, and complete a project to develop a new game mode by the end of the following week.
It would show your players that you're actively working, and keep us interested in seeing what will happen next. It will allow you to experiment and get a solid grounding in the game, while giving more latitude to make mistakes, since they can always be fixed tomorrow. It will yield content that can serve as a foundation for an increasingly-expansive and immersive game.
I am sure that all of us will win if you do this. It really shouldn't be too difficult to do. Furthermore, once Dust 514 is 'officially launched', you won't have any more excuses for your shortcomings.
Don't try to make us wait, and build your development around avoiding just that.
I wish you well in your endeavors, CCP... I really do... but I sincerely hope you're listening and can find this helpful, because I worry about the fact that it's all I can do.
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