unforum

[crocen]

[jessie1326]

I can't make the chat, but I did want to chime in, and if SoTM is reading these forums, it may be the best place.

At the risk of drawing the "baseball bat" of personal insults and animus, I will readily admit that I understand Loki's frustration. I don't agree with everything that was said, and I wouldn't have said it in the same way, but I understand it. Unfortunately, it has become clear that SoTM was not prepared for this project. While I am greatly sympathetic to the troubles of working as part of a small team, there comes a point at which that can't be the excuse anymore. Emergencies and unforeseen things happen, and players (including myself!) are on the whole very understanding and patient with them. We understand that real life is more important, and we understand that sometimes real life is going to get in the way. If something happens that causes a delay in an exciting, well-run game, no problem! Players will wait. And in this case, we did wait. We waited when personal emergencies first delayed this game almost a year ago, and we talked about how excited we were for the game to return. Then we waited when SoTM-announced deadlines came and went with no response. Then we waited when the game was delayed...again. Each time, we waited to see what would come next, but each time it was harder to return with the same enthusiasm. Personally, I had high hopes each time that now, this time, SoTM would have it worked out. This time, I hoped, the game would be ready to roll and would keep rolling. But it never happened.

The reality is that lots of exciting, successful ARGs are run by small teams. But if you're going to do that, you have to be prepared. You have to work as much as possible out before you begin, and you have to be prepared for the inevitable truth that things will not go as planned. Above all, you have to be realistic. No matter how ground-breaking your concept is, you will not amass a huge player base if the game feels unstable. And you can't run a huge game with stability on the back of one person. If your grand concept is too grand, you have two options: (1) rein it in, or (2) expand your team. Either way, you shouldn't have to be in the position of constantly delaying your game after it's rolling. If it really comes to it, take a longer delay early on and fix the problem in one of the two above ways.

Finally, on a personal note, my one simple answer to "how could this have been better / how could it be better in the future" is: give and take. You've got to give as much as you expect to get from players, especially in terms of communication and feedback. One of the sources of ongoing frustration for me was that the game "rules" were incredibly strict and demanding for players in terms of timing and communication with SiC, but it felt as though the PMs were not holding themselves to the same standard. Even during the height of the game, we would sometimes go days without getting a response to things we were told had strict deadlines. Then later, weeks or even months would pass before we were finally told the game needed to be delayed. A lot of the disappointment, furstration, and, frankly, mistrust that has developed in many of us could probable have been reduced or avoided if we had simply had more communication from the PMs.

/soapbox

[Palm]

End of an Era

[magnet0]

I am sad.