VerusZetec, on 10 September 2014 - 01:51 PM, said:
Really, this is all the Founders tag means now. It's now a badge of shame. A reminder of a time we trusted PGI.
This reminds me of a similar instance of this happening surrounding a game and a company in my past, so I felt the need to share it. Maybe an example that everybody remembers that isn't PGI-related, and from the lense of somebody who isn't a (rightfully) bitter founder will give them a lense to see what they're doing wrong.
I like Battletech. I
like Battletech, I don't quite love it, I don't have a passion for it like some people here do. Know what I did love? Mass Effect, developed by Bioware. I loved the universe, absolutely loved the first game that created a fantastic world that I couldn't get enough of. Then, Mass Effect 2 came, and along with it, changes. Comparing the two, you can see what they were. Primarily, the series tried starting appealing to a different audience, and I don't hold that against the developer at all for a few reasons, but it was still, despite being a good game, a bit of a disappointment. I still absolutely loved the franchise though, and at one point, I held the record for the most recorded playthroughs, and when Mass Effect 3 came out, I was working on a Mass Effect cosplay, trying to create a full, accurate costume with an accompanying replica weapon.
I invested a lot of money and myself into the IP, and then Mass Effect 3 came. Anybody who was on the internet during March of 2012 caught wind of that. Terrible ending that pissed off literally 98% of players, as recorded by a poll on Bioware's own forums. While I wasn't exactly one of the "Take Mass Effect Back!" people, I was quite upset by the whole thing. That isn't the straw that broke the camels back, though. It sucked, but I still loved the IP, I wanted nothing but the best for it. It was inevitable that people in the fanbase would be disappointed, because there's no way it could've made everybody happy, and I didn't really hold the fact that I didn't get my ideal version of Mass Effect 2 and 3 against the developer, Bioware.
The the PR disasters followed shortly. In the following weeks, I, along thousands of others, was designated by Bioware's PR as a troll, as somebody who didn't really care about the franchise or its success, who secretly wanted to see it fail. I was labeled as having an unhealthy mind because, hey, I was genuinely disappointed and upset with the ending. They continued to act if there wasn't proof on their own forums that literally 98% of players hated the ending, that they weren't upset or disappointed. There were bans all over and sock puppet accounts from developers trying to shut down criticism and editorialists saying that everybody who was upset was an entitled crybaby. It just left a taste so bitter in my mouth that I haven't touched anything Bioware or Mass Effect related since then. Nothing, nada. I haven't given them a cent, I haven't gone back and played any of my games, or taken part in any of my discussion. Eventually, I threw out the cosplay that I was making because it just felt like a gut punch every time I saw it in the corner of the room.
It wasn't disappointment that drove me away and leaves me still bitter over two years later - its PR acting like there's no problem, like I was out of my mind for being unhappy with the ending, for being "ungrateful" and "entitled". It was not broken promises, not disappointment, not toxicity in the community, but the developers just being jerks about the whole thing that killed the franchise for me. I imagine thats a lot of what is at play here, alongside a significantly larger monetary investment on the part of the Founders.
You want to make things right? Just for a moment, forget about the broken promises, forget about delayed features, forget about the game's stagnation. Look at how you're interacting with the community, and fix that, because all that goodwill that you just earned with that Town Hall Meeting dissipated in less than an entire day. I don't have nearly as much investment in MWO as all the Founders do, but this is how I understand it - these people love Battletech like I loved Mass Effect, and it doesn't bode well for you that you're following in the footsteps of Bioware in regards to relations with the community.
Edited by MarsAtlas, 10 September 2014 - 02:33 PM.
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