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Can't You See This Trend? Is This Somehow OK?
Adjuvant1
Member RarePosts: 2,100
First there was beta, which wasn't really beta, but rolled straight into release.
Then there were cash shops for betas.
Then there was "paid beta".
Then there was paid alpha.
Then there was paid alpha with monthly sub and cash shop.
Now there's "pay for our tech demo, so we can have something to post on a kickstarter page", so we can have paid alpha, and hey, we already have a cash shop even though we don't have a game yet.
Can't you see how messed up this is becoming? What could possibly be next? How much farther can people push this?
Can we get a kickstarter for a pre-pre alpha with monthly payments, with p2w cash shop limited time only, for a game which will begin development in 5 years? But you'd better register and support it today, because there are only 10,000 $500 packages+$15/month and after these, they're gone! I promise the game will be great, with every imaginable buzzword!
What the shit. Is this somehow a good thing? Does it even matter?
Comments
I not only see the trend. I see dead genre all around me.
(not that I entirely agree with you, but yeah we are sliding down the slope with cliffs not only on all sides of us but also in most places before us)
If people stopped buying into this nonsense it would go away. Unfortunately i don't see this happening anytime soon. Every time i come here one of the trending threads is "Game xxx is now on kickstarter!!!"
It's sad.
I think you first have to look at how we got to this point. You then have to look at why people are willing to pay these fees. It's easy to brush them off as fools parted from money, from the outside looking in.
It boils down to whether people are content with what publishers are bringing to them... IF they are they have no reason to pay such fees or support such practices. However if that's what it takes for those who want them to get their game, I can't blame them for going that route. They're willing to cover the bill and offer support, I see no fault in that, putting your money where your mouth is, is how you get things done in this world.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
As far as people are willing to pay for it. If people could figure out how to get paid for promises that they'd come up with ideas for a game later and not even have to state the ideas up front, they would.
I'd like to recommend that you simply ignore all game development that hasn't at least reached beta. You can perhaps make a handful of exceptions for sequels to games you liked, games that you're personally involved in developing, and that sort of stuff. But if you'd rather not get worked up about early access, it's easy enough to ignore, and there's no reason why you need to care about it any more than the many people who post videos of their pet cat.
This is why i NEVER pay for a MMORPG until i try it for free at least once.
oh and you forgot the " pay for alpha but when the game comes out its going to be free "
why the fuck would anybody pay for this? its amazing how much people hate their money and are willing to give it away.
I think you're conflating two different issues, and I think one of them actually is the solution that gamers want.
The "management" of game development has moved farther away from the goal of providing entertainment. Instead, it seems to be promoting addictions. A game should provide (or so it seems they think) a motivation for abusers (*ahem* customers) to send them money. Hence ever more creative ways to siphon funds from people. Moving away from this management will require a return to the concept of "artisan" game development where passionate gamers create the very games that they want to play. I do not see any way that traditional capitalist infrastructure will give any of us this outcome. (Please, show me where I'm wrong.)
An alternative is crowdfunding, so that afficionados are more directly responsible for funding their hobby. Like any other hobby, gaming requires resources. Where this artisanal development fails, only a few of us will be financially drained, rather than all of us. Where it succeeds, it can do so without layers of "management" draining away funds while directing goals that are not in the players' interests. It doesn't eliminate the financial risks, but it does allow for greater creativity, and it will ultimately be cheaper and better for all of us.
Don't confuse a promise of a product (to which traditional game development should be held accountable) with a promise of a development effort (which crowdfunding can provide to the patient). Investing is not the same activity as purchasing.
Very good point. The 'trend' started with pre-orders in brick and mortars. Kickstarter/crowdsourcing is a whole other issue. The latter, desirable.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Yeah it's messed up. It's preying on the hopes of the chronically dissatisfied who are looking for a fix that will, against all odds, magically satisfy them.
I've never backed a KS game and never will. But then, I'm one of those oddballs who actually enjoys what I'm playing and when I stop enjoying them I move on without any hoopla to the next thing I enjoy.
But the "alpha," "beta" or "early access" designations don't really matter to me: if it's playable and enjoyable I'll gladly pay for it and enjoy what it has to offer at that point in its development.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
LOL, support a game in development... you are the disease, not the cure.
If you think paying in advance for home remodeling work results in a better product, then by all means, pay the guy upfront. Just don't come back here and complain when the job isn't done right. Buyer beware. You have the power to keep them honest... but only if you don't let them sleep in your wallet.
Yes, I discussed this in a topic a week ago, but the discussion didn't seem very popular because some people reject the idea and I think it's too uncomfortable for most others.
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/6583059#6583059
Also, I linked K's Choice in a thread about "Perfect Song While Waiting for the Perfect Mmo".
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/6589862#6589862
I don't know why more people don't catch on to this. It's pretty blatant to me.
Yeh, I was thinking of comparing crowdfunded early accesses to online psychic grief vultures and their "for entertainment purposes only" disclaimers, but I think if I made a thread like that, someone would cry foul, arguing I'm trolling their religion or something.
And that's probably why I don't back them... I once bought a townhouse based on the show home display model.
After I got over the annoyance of the delay that made me move twice and spend 3 months renting an apartment and living out of boxes waiting for the builders to finish, I then spent the next year first asking then demanding and finally filing a legal action to get them to correct all the sloppy deficiencies.
Never again.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
lolololol paying the contractor beforehand lololol
Bob Vila just shuddered wherever he is
this stuff is getting fascinating, really. We need some psych majors chipping in here.
Nah... it goes deeper than that and what you really should be asking yourself is "what is it that makes me think that I won't get bored or find fatal flaws in the next MMO I play when I have always found those fatal flaws and got bored in the past?"
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
i have noticed is that companies used to put much more effort and soul into their games so they could deliver a great product and earn people's money and trust. Now that they get all the money upfront they dont care about putting so much effort and soul at all because they already have the money. THIS is the trend that has been going on for a while. Every game thas has successfully taken all the money up front, have launched half assed and broken. Both mmos and non mmos.
If people stop supporting these practices then these companies will realize that they gotta become transparent once again and more dedicated to deliver the best product they can and earn a community and their money. Just like they did in the past when there was no such thing as "gimmie the moneyz now, you will love my unfinished mess of a game"
Wow absolutely. I was thinking as I read this thread that this is just evidence that there is a very large customer base that just isn't being given what they want.
This genre isn't dead, its just starving.
There is a lot of opportunity evidenced by the OP that the market has money and is absolutely desperate to find something to spend it on.
There are few things that money can't buy. Right now no matter how much money I have in my bank account though I cannot go buy the video game I want to play. It doesn't exist.
It doesn't matter. People will pay for what they want to, and when they want to.
If you found out today that EverQuest had early adopters who paid for beta access two years before the game released, would that some how degrade what you purchased at launch?
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But I really do not see why it bothers people so much. Other than that feeling of being "left out" because you didn't want to pay for access. I get that you're mad you can't get it for free anymore... but that's business.
This trend will die off as all trends do.
All it needs is a couple of more failures.