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Mission Failed :(
nikeliz
Member CommonPosts: 51
Sad day. From the Pledge page:
To all agents,
We managed an incredible mobilization here, we’ve raised $ 54,362 with a common goal: to create the first ever Persistant ARG. Hopes where high when a couple of players, through word of mouth, helped us to get nearer our goal from 35% to 39% in ONLY one night. We had the chance to meet people as dedicated as we were to the project and we wish to give a big thank you to everyone who stood by our side until the end.
We also wish to give a special thanks to Robert Bannon and the Paradigm Symposium; who pledged $5,000 for a real life mission and to also offer a booth so we could recruit player at the next convention
Unfortunately, rules are rules, and we will start the refund of all pledges. In the next 7 to 10 days, you should expect a full refund if you were with Crowdtilt, and a small fee (2.5%) deducted from your refund if you pledged via PayPal.
But in other news, agent Vismal went to the Human Equations office today, and he says that this is not the end of The Black Watchmen.
Looking forward to the future.
A.K.A. nikel
Comments
Did it fail, though?
The higher ups within the Black Watchmen organisation now know which agents they can safely put their faith in; which agents they can trust to send into the mouths of these Ruptures. They now have the scaffolding around which to build - they now have the strongest division.
They didn't fail; we found them.
Now it's just a matter of time before more will follow.
Find Them.
</inspirational speech attempt> Aye, a shame. But as we were told before, and now know for sure, this won't be the last we see of The Black Watchmen.
If I were to try and look at this in a positive light, I'd much rather have the game soar to success, launching ARGs into the limelight alongside RPGs and FPSs, than I'd want it to limp past the goal-line only to struggle in order to not to fade. Not saying the latter would definately had been the outcome of this, had it just barely succeeded, but the game could still be hyped so much more; not only because of who the creators are, but also because of how involved the game-lore can be.
No, they really don't. If they did they would remember simple things like conversations over the weekend. And they probably would have treated people a bit better as well. It's also good to not brush people off when they are giving advice either.
The complaint is probably going to come out that there were too many "mooches", and not enough people who just wanted to freeload and not support things. Protip, if you only want to get paid, then don't offer your product for free and hope people will pay more afterwards, but you most certainly don't call them freeloaders for doing so.
It would probably also help to have realistic goals as well; while it's good to believe in your product, and there is nothing wrong with trying for SyFy... you should probably not bank on just that. Also buying a building, even joking about it is probably not something people are interested in, in general.
Timing helps as well, if the emails had gone out now when Tokyo is out, although it would now have the burden of word of mouth from this experience. Which...won't be entirely great.
Don't pat yourselves in the back because you hung out in IRC all the time. People were looking forward to this, and put their money forward and it didn't make them any less "loyal". Some loyalty and keeping of promises on HE's end is what was lacking.
I'm sorry you took offense - my previous post was a pat on the back for everyone who became aware of the game this time around, not "just" to those who hung out in IRC. Otherwise I would have written it in chat - not the general discussion section that any and everyone can access.
You're actually the first person I've heard imply that one specific type of support; be it general hype, IRC lurking, forum lurking, or financial donation, is somehow graded into one being more "loyal" than the other.
Indeed, Anashel has brought up the issue of giving TSW GMs free access, but not in the sense you so negatively portray it in; he had no animosity towards people who opted to not to support the game financially once they got the GM pass, only that they - Human Equation - opted to go down that path to begin with, which in retrospect turned out to be a detriment to the game.
The word "freeloaders" was not only used by Anashel, nor was it ever used as a derogatory term; it was used to identify the group of people who had shown interest, but not yet donated. They were not unappreciated, nor were there a lack of understanding of why people pledged more or less, if anything at all, only talk about how to increase the rate of which people reached signed up. I do, of course, agree that the term could have been better chosen - but just wanted to point out that there's been no animosity towards people based on the amount they pledged, only frustration as to how to encourage them to pledge.
As for realistic goals, they very much had those; their "goal" was not just getting a spot on SyFy - which was more of a method than a goal - or buying a building (that wasn't a joke, by the way, that was an answer to "What if we reach $1 million?" question in one of the AMAs). Anashel did interviews both on here, on mmogames.com, and on a local radiostation, as well as encouraged the community to help spread the word. While they could have done more "official advertising", I understand - and agree - that doing so would have detracted from the "Augmented Reality" part of "Augmented Reality Game".
As for the Goal; their goal was a persistent ARG - which is a very fair and down-to-earth goal, in my opinion. Level of participation was up to players, and at the highest level it was equivalent to the experience for those players who were very active in earlier ARGs by HE.
They did have the "conversations over the weekend"; before pressure built up and Anashel was forced to focus on doing exactly what you highlight as a problem; focusing on more down-to-earth "goals and methods" - he was regularly on IRC and on the forums.
Which leaves me, in all honesty, rather speechless at the statement that they somehow brushed off peoples advice, because that is completely contrary to my experience. Anashel not only listened to our advice, nor brushed it off with a curteous but hollow "thank you!", like every other Dev team I've spoken with. He discussed our ideas with us, not just his own ideas.
Now that Tokyo is out, sure, timing could have been better. But 3 months ago Tokyo was still a far bit off, and the whole project could just as easily have been interpreted as even more connected to TSW than it has been - which is already very slim; making it even harder to explain to people why it deserves financial funding, and isn't just a "TSW expansion you have to pay a seperate company to develop".
Moiren, we are sorry you were offended that we didn't go further with all your Monster Erotica suggestions and email you sent us, It's sad to see you take it personally and discredit the entire process. Especially with the enthusiasm you had since the beginning.
But even if we didn't took your suggestions, many other where taken into account: both in game (classes, game mechanics) and for the pledge systems. There are some really good thread in the Pledge Giver's Forum where we brainstorm around features, funding and in-game mechanics.
I agree with you Santiak. First everyone had a free ARG to play with, it was long due and I hope it was entertaining. Second we did found who was our supporter, like you say a scaffolding to build on a great community!
We thank everyone who participated in the project. This is not the end.
The fact that you think I am offended by the monster erotica thing just really shows me you honestly have no clue what you type at times;
No, what I am offended by is:
Just like after having an entire conversation about a novel and a comic book, you said you would get back to me with feedback over the weekend, and then had absolutely no clue what I was talking about a few days later is what I am talking about. But I had thought you were serious during that conversation. And I told my friends. I had 20 people who were excited for it, didn't really care about the ARG but all said "Tell me when that pledge is up and I will bid on it, that sounds awesome." Obviously once you blew me off I stopped telling people about it, and pretty much told them to nevermind about pledging at all.
You apparently also forgot the conversation about the super pledges, re: The novel and comic when you asked me if it was okay to announce those pledges... and then completely dropped them with no mention of them ever again.
Your comments in IRC about anyone wanting to write, but not someone who just did it "as a hobby." and then pretty much ignoring any direct communication after completely forgetting a conversation, and all the while carrying on in the main channel.
You calling people YOU had given free passes to freeloaders.
You dismissively blowing off comments that for example, perhaps the ARG shouldn't be set before the events in Tokyo as we didn't know when it was and out real time is well, current.
The fact that you latch on to some ideas and pretty much ignore everything else. I couldn't tell if buying a building in Detroit was joking or if you were serious; and that is part of the problem why you didn't reach the goal; asking for money for game development is one thing, then saying you are going to use that money to buy a building that 99% of those people who are using the money are never going to go to is a bait and switch. The initial pledge was for apps and comics and the ARG itself. You think too big. SyFy is another example of this. While it's nice to try, you really need to be less focused.
So no, it has nothing to do with the monster erotica, that was something to have a sampling of. The fact that you thought TBW was going to fit into that world was your doing, not mine.
In the end you need to stick to the puzzles, which you do amazingly well, and not so much deal with the public relations. Or at least learn that some suggestions aren't criticisms and actually listen to people, which given your capacity to forget conversations, I will remind you is something you had said to me in our last conversation.
Hi Moiren,
You are right that we didn't manage to get the super-pledge and the comic book pledge in-time before the end. And we would had love to do alll that, and all other great suggestions we had from the players. But by that time there was 2 weeks left and more then 50k to bridge.
We gamble on corporate sponsorship and manage to bring about 15k more. Sadly it wasn't enough.
But saying that my team just didn't listen to community and brushed off all suggestions is simply false.
First off, I'd suggest you take it up in private - or leave it with what's been said - mainly for the sake of the tone on the forums.
Secondly, I hope you'll let me play devils advocate, or at least attempt to mediate:
Super-pledges: Aye, I was wondering about them personally as well. I did, however, wager that time-constraints had gotten the better of them, as the planning and so forth would have detracted from the potential gain they might be found elsewhere; i.e. "Do we bet on these awesome items?" vs "Do we bet on sponsorships?". Desire to do both, but not enough time - i.e. they focused on one thing.
I agree some word would have been nice, but in the grand scheme of things, I assumed they had been dropped a few weeks prior to the final date.
Hobby-writers: While I would personally have loved to try and write something, primarily because I love the ARGs HE produce, my ambition alone would not have improved my ability, to the point where I could write anything that wouldn't be shot down by fans. Just take a gander at my "Iridium Wolf" fan-fiction - if there hadn't been a "sidenote: no hobby-writers" comment, that might have been the quality of writing you'd have ended up with.
Detroit HQ: That is, of course, very subjective. How serious was it meant? I'm not sure if you watched the AMA or only read the recap I wrote. I was forced to paraphrase a lot of what was said, so anything "lost in translation" (or transcription, as things would have it), would be my fault - which is also why I'm taking the liberty to butt in, as some of the blame - if it was indeed caused by the AMA recap - falls to me.
In the AMA, while it is, again, very subjective, it was quite clear to me that it was an example: If they reached 1 million in pledges, that would be the kind of grandiose plans they would carry out with them. As was later added, it would likely not be something as limited geographically as that, and should more than anything be taken as "AAA-Game X might add 100 square kilometres to their game-world for that money. We add 2000 square metres dotted around the real world for it - or something equally placed in the real world - not in the game world."
Pledges and "Rallies": The initial pledges were indeed mainly for in-game benefits; clearence levels, missions, app access, TSW-related bling, real-world bling, and so on. These were kept throughout, and later more easy-to-manufacture items were added; nail-polish, ID-card, Eventpass, so on.
The "SyFy" deal - which was actually "any network or avenue you can find" deal - however, was mainly left in our hands, and not something HE themselves actively persued. We were tasked with contacting them and reaching out, we were "rallied", so to speak. Meanwhile, I imagine HE attempted to arrange interviews such as previously mentioned, as well as finding other benefactors as per usual, keeping an eye on whether or not they were best served by reaching out, or adding new pledges for us to throw money at.
Timeline: This was discussed quite a bit, and for me, I felt Anashel clarified it quite aptly.
TBW and TSW are two seperate universes, but both are based on the real world; that's not to say either TBW-Universe or TSW-Universe can't meet, just that they haven't done so yet.
Imagine the secret societies aren't just the TSW Dragon/Templar/Illuminati iterations, but that the TSW iterations are just "Branches" of the "Real World" D/T/I. Likewise, TBW-TBW Divisions are branches of "Real World" TBW Divisions, but there's also a TSW-TBW Division, wholly disconnected from TBW-Universe.
A bit messy, I agree. But it merely means that both universes can interact, but are independent of each other - there's no strong tie between them, just hintings and inklings that the TBW Division in TSW might be the TBW Division in TBW - or it might be another sister-branch that knows nothing of the going ons in TBW-Universe.
As I said, quite confusing, and ultimately, I liked it that way - plenty of room for brainstorming and healthy discussions.
All in all, I think it's good you bring up the issues you felt were present - I don't agree with them, but that's beside the point. I do, however, feel that HE did an excellent job at listening to the players, and discussing things with them as best they could - at the least to a much greater extent than I had experienced before.
Either way, there's a new ARG afoot; what ever constructive criticism was needed has been passed on - and I for one am looking forward to the new round - and to seeing the end result of supportive players that are not scared to voice their concerns nor praise, coupled with devs that take suggestions and discussions to heart.
This stuff seems very interesting
Couple of questions:
1. Whats TBW in your words?
2. Are there still TSW ARGs going?
3. What failed?
4. Is it possible to play through old ARGs, pre TSW launch?
5. The future, are there more ARGs coming?
Then this statement from the main page shouldn't exist:
"The Black Watchmen ARG is a game set before the events that leads to The Secret World universe."
If they are separate universes then it doesn't lead to the events in The Secret World. Period.
I'm going to come right out and say what my biggest issue has been with TBW: I feel used. I feel that statements such as the one I quoted were designed to create a purposeful tie created between TSW and TBW in order to lure in folks who already had ARG experience under their belts from prior dealings with HE designed ARGs in TSW. While I have no issue at all with them obviously looking to us as a marketing base, I do have a problem with early indications about the connection, including communication from Joel Bylos and including changing the forum background in TSW for a time. There is no connection. Just the fact that they are both modern world does not a connection make. So I felt used because I sold it to people as another TSW ARG when it wasn't.
IMO a lot of things about this were poorly handled that's just one of them. I love a good ARG going back to my Majestic days. I wanted to love this one. However I think I'll steer clear.
I'm not sure whether this is directed at Anashel, Santiak or me, but I can give it a shot!
1. TBW is a secret society, much like the ones in TSW, that rose after the fall of QADHOS, an organization in Human Equation's other ARGs. The mission, motives and enemies of TBW are not clear at this moment, but what we're doing is investigating rupture sites. Rupture sites are a dangerous phenomena that have been tied with horrible events in history, such as the Halifax Explosion or the creation of the world's worst serial killer. After Division 42 (Field Agent division, by my guess) nearly wiped out by a rupture site, the Cyber Mage was discovered at the scene. We work with the Cyber Mage, also known as Patient Alpha, as she is the only one who can interact with certain artifacts that we collect from the sites.
The storyline and 'endgame' of the ARG is not known to us beyond this.
2. It's hard to say if TSW ARGs are still going. I don't think they'll say 'never again,' but TSW has a much smaller team than it has had in the past, and if this ARG reaches its funding goal then the company that ran "A new mission begins (#33)" and "End of days (The Situation Room)" ARGs will be occupied with this ARG.
3. What failed? Taking that question literally, the crowdfunding failed. HE was trying to raise $100k, and only raised $55k. As to why it failed, there are a number of reasons... Advertising was done mostly to a small subset of people mostly (TSW players and MMORPG.com) and so it became difficult to attract new pledgers. The idea of a pARG is difficult to explain simply, and therefore difficult to market. The lack of private forums or a website also made some people uncomfortable with pledging.
4. #33, with the Gate, will mostly likely not be replayable, but that's my guess! I don't know what their plans are because technically this ARG is set before TSW. Maybe there could be some interplay. Going to ARGs before that, like the Sanctuary of Secrets, or Wagtail Adventures with Aveline Belmont, those were the TSW team, not HE.
5. They're trying again with kickstarter very soon. So keep watching here for updates!
A.K.A. nikel