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 Forum index » Meta » General META Discussion
[META] Thoughts about new game launches
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Phaedra
Lurker v2.0


Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously

 		[META] Thoughts about new game launches
** Separated from original post. Feel free to continue the meta discussion in this thread. -- jamesi

botherer wrote:
Good day, Mr. Walker (or the appropriate time for when you are
accessing this email).

CONGRATULATIONS,
YOU ARE THE FIRST LINK.
YOU MUST HELP ME ANSWER THIS MYSTERY.
THE CONSPIRACY OF B IS TOO MUCH FOR ME.
WAIT FOR IT.
. _ . _ . _ . . . . . . _ _ . _ . _ . . . .
_ . _ _ _ . _ . . . _ _ _ . . . _ . . _ _ _ _
_ _ . _

Excuse me. There is a slightly eventful happening that is about to
happen I must attend to. I would like you to post at your esteemed
blog this email. Even you are a pawn to the rest, Mr. Botherer.


May I apologize on behalf of the ARG community?

What is this, one every DAY now?
_________________
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World Champion: Cruel 2B Kind

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:17 pm
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botherer
Boot

Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 11

 		Re: "THE CONSPIRACY OF B"
Phaedra wrote:


May I apologize on behalf of the ARG community?

What is this, one every DAY now?


Any chance you could explain either of those comments?
_________________
John Walker

http://botherer.cream.org
http://www.briansguide.net

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:28 pm
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Phaedra
Lurker v2.0


Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously

 		Re: "THE CONSPIRACY OF B"
botherer wrote:
Phaedra wrote:


May I apologize on behalf of the ARG community?

What is this, one every DAY now?


Any chance you could explain either of those comments?


This is the second badly-done trailhead we've had today.

Making it, I believe, the third this week.

Not all trailheads start with spam, so, sorry you got spammed.
_________________
Voted Most Likely to Thread-Jack and Most Patient Explainer in the ILoveBees Awards.

World Champion: Cruel 2B Kind

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:30 pm
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botherer
Boot

Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 11

 		Re: "THE CONSPIRACY OF B"
Phaedra wrote:


This is the second badly-done trailhead we've had today.

Making it, I believe, the third this week.

Not all trailheads start with spam, so, sorry you got spammed.



Ah, I see. All for the same 'game'?

I don't consider it spam, really. If someone wants to launch a game via my blog, they're more than welcome to. I feel honoured. Unless, of course, I'm being embarrassingly naive, and this is something that happens to everyone about three times a day.
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John Walker

http://botherer.cream.org
http://www.briansguide.net

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:32 pm
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Saevitia
Unfettered


Joined: 30 Mar 2005
Posts: 688
Location: Rochester, NY

 		Now now, Phaedra, we don't know whether this one is terrible or not yet.

It seems a little more elaborate than the recent bad stuff.

Give it a chance.

Not all indie games are bad.

(*points out that RT played from start to finish and was resonably popular*)
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:36 pm
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Phaedra
Lurker v2.0


Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously

 		Re: "THE CONSPIRACY OF B"
botherer wrote:
Phaedra wrote:


This is the second badly-done trailhead we've had today.

Making it, I believe, the third this week.

Not all trailheads start with spam, so, sorry you got spammed.



Ah, I see. All for the same 'game'?


Heavens forfend. I'd hate to think, that over all our objections and annoyed mockery, the PM(s) decided to try again so soon without carefully considering how to do it.

Quote:
I don't consider it spam, really. If someone wants to launch a game via my blog, they're more than welcome to. I feel honoured. Unless, of course, I'm being embarrassingly naive, and this is something that happens to everyone about three times a day.


Well, botherer, lately there have been a large number of premature launches by inexperienced PMs, leading to meltdowns in the middle of the games, which we obviously don't want to see.

Furthermore, it's become almost a cliche for badly-constructed games to launch by either spamming #unfiction, PM'ing randomly-chosen people on the member list, IM'ing a player named hkdl, or posting a trail-head in-character. Unfiction is out-of-game, so doing the last of these is especially bad form, but it happens quite frequently.

So no, you're not being embarrassingly naive, especially considering you're not a regular. Smile It's just that this has been happening a lot, and it always involves an in-game character shrieking:

shrieking character wrote:
"OH NOES!!!1!1!!!11!eleventyone! the [insert name] conspiracy has begun! Help! Help! Help! [insert ROT-ed text, or website]


But this doesn't look like the same person as Flaming Heart.
_________________
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World Champion: Cruel 2B Kind

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:42 pm
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botherer
Boot

Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 11

 		Re: "THE CONSPIRACY OF B"
Phaedra wrote:

Well, botherer, lately there have been a large number of premature launches by inexperienced PMs, leading to meltdowns in the middle of the games, which we obviously don't want to see.

Furthermore, it's become almost a cliche for badly-constructed games to launch by either spamming #unfiction, PM'ing randomly-chosen people on the member list, IM'ing a player named hkdl, or posting a trail-head in-character. Unfiction is out-of-game, so doing the last of these is especially bad form, but it happens quite frequently.


I think you might be shooting first, asking later. This was a private email sent to my address, which I've posted on my blog as the email requested. There's been none of the shrieking, inappropriate use of UF, or random spamming that appears to have inspired your ire.

I mentioned it to one of the PMs on PC (I so speak your language) I'd gotten to know via researching the feature, who suggested that I post the info here.

I'm really not bothered about how good it is - just thought you were the people to tell.
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http://www.briansguide.net

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:55 pm
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Cortana
Decorated


Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 200
Location: Arlington, VA

 		Re: "THE CONSPIRACY OF B"
Phaedra wrote:
Furthermore, it's become almost a cliche for badly-constructed games to launch by either spamming #unfiction, PM'ing randomly-chosen people on the member list, IM'ing a player named hkdl, or posting a trail-head in-character. Unfiction is out-of-game, so doing the last of these is especially bad form, but it happens quite frequently.


And people wonder why I'm anti-grassroots games. Simple, Formulaic, unimaginative, written with no style, panache or character.

It's worse than picking up a dime store novel.

At least those had some semblance of entertainment value, depth and character development.

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:56 pm
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Phaedra
Lurker v2.0


Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously
Saevitia wrote:
Now now, Phaedra, we don't know whether this one is terrible or not yet.

It seems a little more elaborate than the recent bad stuff.

Give it a chance.

Not all indie games are bad.

(*points out that RT played from start to finish and was resonably popular*)


Saevitia, being a (retroactive, granted) fan of Metacortechs, Lockjaw, Urban Hunt, and Chasing the Wish, I'm well aware that indie games have the potential to be every bit as enthralling as corporate ones.

The problem is that lately, most of them have been squandering our trust and faith. And that is a precedent we don't want, especially as the genre gets more attention from the media.

Vpisteve, in a beautifully-constructed smackdown, explains why to Alzheimers here.
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World Champion: Cruel 2B Kind

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:56 pm
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Cortana
Decorated


Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 200
Location: Arlington, VA

 		Re: "THE CONSPIRACY OF B"
botherer wrote:
I'm really not bothered about how good it is - just thought you were the people to tell.


And you're not wrong, botherer, not in the slightest, we just can't see why this one would be any good :nutter:

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:57 pm
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Saevitia
Unfettered


Joined: 30 Mar 2005
Posts: 688
Location: Rochester, NY

 		Phaedra, I read your blog. I AGREE with you. I'm every bit as angry about bad PMs who waste our time with games that meltdown. But, I also think that the way you're jumping down throats really discourages potential PMs.

Just because it's a little cliched at the begining, dosn't mean an ARG will be patently awful. It's HARD to find an original way to start an arg, and I think emailing somebody random like Mr. Botherer is a lot more effort than we've seen lately.

I'm not saying that you have to play it Phae, I'm just saying that seeing your very negative posts may discourage other people from giving it a chance.
_________________
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EverymanHYBRID: Rabbit #24

WHOM UNMERCIFUL DISASTER FOLLOWED FAST AND FOLLOWED FASTER

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:00 pm
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Cortana
Decorated


Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 200
Location: Arlington, VA
Saevitia wrote:
Phaedra, I read your blog. I AGREE with you. I'm every bit as angry about bad PMs who waste our time with games that meltdown. But, I also think that the way you're jumping down throats really discourages potential PMs.

Just because it's a little cliched at the begining, dosn't mean an ARG will be patently awful. It's HARD to find an original way to start an arg, and I think emailing somebody random like Mr. Botherer is a lot more effort than we've seen lately.

I'm not saying that you have to play it Phae, I'm just saying that seeing your very negative posts may discourage other people from giving it a chance.


If it walks like a duck...

...and quacks like a duck,..

...and has feathers like a duck...

...it's a....?

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:02 pm
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Saevitia
Unfettered


Joined: 30 Mar 2005
Posts: 688
Location: Rochester, NY

 		I just think you guys are jumping to conclusions.

Flaming Nutter
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Marble Hornets
EverymanHYBRID: Rabbit #24

WHOM UNMERCIFUL DISASTER FOLLOWED FAST AND FOLLOWED FASTER

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:06 pm
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Varin
I Have No Life


Joined: 02 Dec 2002
Posts: 2456
Location: South of where I used to be

 		Umm, I don't see what all the fuss is about this one.

Quote:
Furthermore, it's become almost a cliche for badly-constructed games to launch by either spamming #unfiction, PM'ing randomly-chosen people on the member list, IM'ing a player named hkdl, or posting a trail-head in-character.


Maybe I missed the memo, but since when is sending out an email to someone as a trailhead horrible? That's how Chasing the Wish started and that was one of the best ARGs ever made. If I had ignored that first email from Dale because it said "Please, even though you don't know me, I pray that you will take the time to
read this message. I'm in trouble and have no one else to turn to...", I would have missed out on a wonderful experience.

Just because the trailhead didn't consist of a giant vat of tar being mailed to ten different people, doesn't mean we should all go on PM attack. If we don't want to see games explode or meltdown, maybe we should give them a bit of a chance? An email launch may not be cool and spiffy anymore, but they didn't break any rules and didn't IM hkdl.
_________________
"I still miss him to this day and probably always will." - Todd Keeler, Chasing the Wish

"meta meta meta, I made you out of play..." ~ j5

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:07 pm
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hkdl
Unfettered

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 347
Location: Hamilton, OH

 		Re: "THE CONSPIRACY OF B"
Quote:
IM'ing a player named hkdl.


Quote:
but they didn't break any rules and didn't IM hkdl.


Must I always get dragged into these dicussions? lol
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:08 pm
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