This is an interesting observation after playing through a slew of F2P MMORPGs. I've noticed in several company's case there seems to be a large outburst of angry players stating that they are dissatisfied with the current way the game is being ran.
Let me use two games as examples. One is Acclaim's 9Dragons, and the other is YNK's Rohan. Let us look at the issues behind the player outcry.
Frankly, the player community in 9Dragons is fed up about the state of the game. Currently, Acclaim has a huge Ad-bar flung across any non-premium user's screen (40.99 for 90 days, in case you were interested in paying.) What's interesting is that Acclaim seems to have hidden the general discussions forum, rendering the average forum newbie unaware of the issues until they have joined the game. In addition, though there have been many threads made about it, they haven't seemed to take action yet.
Is the complaint legit? Very likely, though I am not from Acclaim nor do I have the ability to judge. However, we seem to forget some key points as players, which is reflected on Rohan's forums.
Here, the issues are primarily bot related. Always a bad sign. People are complaining that bots aren't being banned and that the GM team is inactive, etc. Rohan, a promising western-styled RPG has hit some bumps on the road, and people are jumping ship.
Here is where I must digress and point out a few flaws within our own thinking. First of all. You cannot judge a game by its forum activity. I've met plenty of kind hearted and solid players who have never even bothered with the official forums. Secondly, out of the thousands of players that are around, only a fraction posts on forums and even less hunts it.I daresay that those of us who enjoy sharing our opinions to the public see ourselves as some sort of an activist figure, striking against the tyranny of the staff and admins who make our game a miserable place!
Is that what we're really doing though? George Washington is one of the most famous "rebels," but he didn't try to throw off the "shackles" that the "admins" placed on him.
No, he was just being a good Englishman, exercising his English rights - the God-given natural rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In the same vein, isn't that like the current situation on these forums? While there are legit complaints out there on the forums, most are drowned in a deluge of angry rants towards the administrative staff. As a result, the staff team seems to be unhelpful and silent, but think about it this way.
If they respond to your thread with something that you do not like, what are they doing?
Adding fuel to the fire.
Here is where I must point out Rohan's staff, MzRohan's example. I see no such responses from Acclaim.
"Motive-
We truly appreciate your comments and concerns about Rohan: Blood Feud. Whether people believe it or not, we read everyone's posts and take your comments about the game seriously. If we do not reply in a timely manner, we are either busy fixing the problems, analyzing the situation, discussing the issues with the team, finding the correct answer to your questions, and doing a billion other things. It doesn't mean that we are ignoring the post.
We are aware of the current situations on bots and EXP rates, which are the main current concerns of the community in the forum. I cannot promise anything, but I can assure you that we are doing what we can to have a fair and balanced game.
We appreciate your support on Rohan: Blood Feud and thank you for staying with us since CB. I hope that future game improvements will satisfy you and others to stay and enjoy the game even more. Posts like yours enable us to improve the game to the best of our ability.
As far as UGC cards...an official release date has not been finalized, but it will soon be available in Canada, and go international in the future. We steadily look for various payment methods that our gamers can easily access and utilize. We will be sure to keep you posted.
Thank you"
To which some player replied:
"Thank you for actually replying to a post. But regrettably, whether or not anyone believes that the YNK team actually takes us players seriously is irrelevant, this isn't a religion. We don't just want to hear about you guys fixing the problems or believe that they're actually being looked into, we want to see RESULTS. And to be honest, despite the billions of things GMs do everyday, there is a surprising lack of RESULTS."
Results? Results? Ha. Friends, Romans, Countrymen; the staff of any MMORPG is not blind. They may be out there to get your money, but most adheres to a standard honor code. We have our opinions; they have theirs. Respect the differences, and work something out. They know. They read their forums, and believe it or not, I think they care.
To those of us who are willing to forgive and give the staff team of their current game more chances, thank you for reading this post. To those of us who not willing to forgive the staff of their current game for whatever grevious wrongs that they have suffered, I hope one day we'll solve the problems. To those of us who wishes to flame me, I welcome the challenge. I haven't had a good laugh in a good eight months, where my last Lincoln-Douglass debate took place.
I am not affliated with Rohan, 9Dragons, or any MMORPG. I am merely a Chinese-American student sharing my opinions. Any and all thoughts are welcome.
This is Raistlin, signing out.