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writingonjorvik · 3 years

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Can We Discuss Game Hiatuses?

I want to preface this enter post with the comment that I am absolutely not saying "Oh, if you're not enjoying SSO, you should just leave the community." That's a bad argument used against criticism that I do not promote. However, I am going to talk about how if you're not enjoying SSO, why you should take a pause from playing.

I'm going to generally credit @centeris2 on this topic, because while I'm not using direct quotes (because private convos aren't exactly the style I want to use for Can We Discuss), we had a long conversation about this topic and she made a lot of good points for this that I wanted to discuss. Some of these points are based on her opinions, a lot of out thoughts blurred together so it's hard to directly credit, and she gave me the ok to talk about it and use her thoughts.

In any case, let's start with the fact that it is perfectly normally to like something and still drop it for years at a time, or to not directly engage with it. For instance, I adore the Legend of Zelda franchise (were it not obvious from my recent to be rescheduled event), but I haven't personally picked up a LOZ game for a year-ish now when I replayed Minish Cap. That doesn't revoke my LOZ fan card, that's a perfectly normal thing to do. Most of you will have done this throughout your life, more and more recognizably as you get older.

This however can get blurred by fandom. It is very often that folks with hyperfixations on a thing, who may or may not engage with something more regularly than other media, will get involved in fandom and make a lot of content for that fandom. These people can produce loads of content on a piece of media and this can fuel a community, even if the rest of the community isn't actively engaging with that media. It also doesn't specifically mean that people with hyperfixations are constantly engaging with that media. Going back to that LOZ example, I wrote LOZ fanfic for years without actively playing more than one LOZ game maybe a year or two. Content can be queued, be entirely original outside of the media, and still last a long time and engage with the fandom at large.

The point is to say, even if you make content and enjoy a piece of media, you don't have to actually be playing/reading/listening/watching it constantly. In fact, normally modern fandom culture makes that pretty easy to do, though it can sometimes make us feel like we're still engaging directly with the media even if we're technically not. But it's good to take a step back and acknowledge that. A lot of younger fans in fandom have a hard time with this, which is why I'm taking the time to point it out. A lot of young fans will hyperengage in a fandom because they want to be involved in this fandom they love, only to burn themselves out and be turned away by their frustration. It's important then to acknowledge this scenario to encourage better, healthier involvement with fandom. Still, in this situation, you can easily bow out of a fandom if you need to take a break and then come back when something new happens in it, like a new release or update. This may feel like a fandom "dies" when a piece of media ends, but for active media, it's a normal and healthy thing to do.

SSO on the other hand does not encourage the ability for people to take a break, or at least it does it at the detriment of the player. Because of the weekly updates, players are constantly checking for the chance that there is something interesting coming out. This is somewhat addressed by the monthly roadmaps the team has been putting out, but that also just extends the period of time people are waiting for news and they're still staying in the release cycle for more clarification. For instance, we know Silverglade Village is getting an update at the end of the month, but knowing SSO's release cycle, are they going to tease some more of the changes? Are they going to reveal how wide the area of update is going to be? Will any NPCs get updates with it? This is still in the weekly cycle and it keeps players from building up actual suspense for updates if we know when content is coming out. It also takes away a lot of suspense when the content isn't main content, like new areas or story. While the suspense for the Fripp quests I would say were quite large, I wouldn't say that any of the other updates have shared the same attention. This is why most companies will release roadmaps for quarters or for a year.

And this isn't to say that SSE as a company shouldn't be releasing media content weekly, they should. That's good social media. But there are ways to engage with fans that don't drag out a reliance to engage weekly, things like community contests, highlighting fans, or promoting fanmade content. But when every update is super in the eyes of social media, fatigue and apathy are going to start to kill actual excitement unless it's something major.

I don't think it's a secret that I think the weekly updates aren't good for the game on the development side. I think it creates a pseudo-crunch culture on the developers so that they can't work on larger projects that players are asking for, like an engine overhaul (it took FFXIV two years to do theirs, when are the devs supposed to have time on SSO to switch now). But, I also don't think it's good for the players. Yes, there's something every week, but how are players actually engaging each week and how much time can we build up anticipation or get excited when each week that gets diffused by something that's not super exciting the majority of other weeks? Which doesn't mean that that content is bad, but it clearly builds frustration in the community to have "filler" content. When's the next story quests, when's the next map expansion, when's the next major mechanic being added, etc. We're constantly discussing the next big thing and then finding reasons to be excited in the meantime. This does not spark joy.

But in order to take a break, either you need to be on top of your Stable Care (likely to pull you back in), or just stop caring about your horses while you're away (unlikely considering the horse girl is strong in this community). The first requires Star Coins, which is arguably saying "You have to pay real money to take a break," and the second is actively punishing you mechanically for not being committed to playing. Neither of those allow the player to take healthy, normal breaks from the community to engage in other things. And that's an issue.

Yes, MMOs need regular engagement. Active servers and participation are a part of what makes them more marketable. But there are ways to do that without penalizing players. And I'm not suggesting that the care system needs to be entirely removed, but it does need to be entirely reworked so players can leave the game without coming back penalized. Things like the care system not affecting stats, but increasing your RNG for finding doubles of crafting items, or doubling your shilling rewards from dailies. WoW's inn system rewards players for taking breaks by double your exp gain longer depending on how long you were away. Others like Guild Wars 2 will give you log in rewards that build up to bigger prizes over time. There are ways to do this.

And I understand that a lot of folks like the current care system because it's realistic. But there has to be a line in game development where enjoyment in a game is prioritized over the realism of the game, not to mention the health of the player. Yes, the daily care system is more realistic, but if it is developing an obsessive habit of play to enjoy content that is, realistically, months to years down the line, that's not good for the player and should be changed so players can break from the game without coming back to punished controls. There are better systems that can still be realistic, things like crafting feed schedules to recover health boosts faster instead of having to see the vet, increasing how often the mood goes up so it doesn't take a whole week, changing it so when taking a horse for a ride the mood will increase every 10 or so minutes by engaging with a horse you like. Rewarding players for getting on and playing the game instead of making them dread missing when they should be coming back with excitement for the game.

All of that said, I want to encourage all of you to play more games where you can. I know there are system limitations, restricted budgets, and sometimes regional limits because of limited languages or just straight regionlocks. But in the same way reading makes you a better reader and writer, gaming makes you a better gamer (and developer/designer if you go that route). It helps you identify what you like in games and in the same way that reading other things makes coming back to your favorite all that much better, so does playing other games. I'm going to reblog this in a bit with some games I'd recommend with links to Steam and Epic and I'd encourage you all to do the same.

The takeaway I hope to give is that it's normal and healthy to take a break from games. You can still engage with media without directly engaging with it through fandom. SSE can do more to not penalize players for wanting to take a break, and should. And where you can, you should play more games and break for the health of your relationship with a piece of media you like.

#sso #star stable online #star stable #starstableonline #starstable #woj analysis #ssoblr #sso blr

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invenblocker · 5 years

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My Smash Ultimate DLC predictions

Just thought I’d list the characters I’d mark as my predictions for the remaining four slots on the DLC fighter pass so that when they’re shown, I can look back at this list and laugh at how dumb I am.

I’m running on the assumption that having a spirit is a hard deconfirm, since the Fighter Pass was locked in at latest in November and that means that all of them were known by the dev team before release, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to include the spirits if they had plans for them as fighters (sorry Shantae).

This list is heavily subjective and only loosely rooted in realism, so yeah, I wouldn’t hold my breath (I certainly am not).

PRIMARIES

The four primaries are the ones I find the most likely / want the most. I doubt it’ll be these exact four, but I do believe/hope that at least one of them makes it in.

Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney series)

The fact that Ace Attorney has yet to receive even a single fighter, stage, item or even spirit is surprising to me. I’d have assumed that someone from the series would at the very least drop in as an assist trophy, but so far, Ace Attorney remains entirely outside of Smash. Phoenix Wright would be an obvious pick for the spot, but Apollo Justice could also work greatly.

Phoenix would mostly fight using punches and kicks. His sidetilt could be him making a finger point, and his fsmash could be him shouting out a “HOLD IT!”, “OBJECTION!” or “TAKE THAT!” bubble depending on how long it’s charged. He could create shock waves that look like wind with either his side- or neutral-B and his down-B could be him pulling some evidence in the form of some sort of weapon or throwable object.

His default costume could either be the original or the modern blue suit (but having both might make telling the two apart a bit difficult), with alternatives including his AJ design, his TT flashback design, a suit that looks like Furio Tigres, a red suit to resemble Edgeworth, a grey suit to resemble Mia and perhaps a black suit to resemble Ryūnosuke Naruhodō.

Spyro (Spyro series)

I see a lot of people calling for Crash, but maybe it’s just me being an Insomniac fan, but I feel that Spyro is a far better addition. Spyro would have great air mobility and would have access to multiple different elements, either by just using different specials for different elements, or by having a dedicated special to switch between them. Spyro has also technically had his own game for the DS, so he has been on Nintendo hardware (even if that restriction has been shattered by Joker).

Edelgard von Hræsvelgr (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

I am a Fire Emblem fan, but I’m still in camp “we don’t really need anymore Fire Emblem fighters”. That being said, Edelgard is less based on what I want, and more based on what I find highly likely. From what the trailers show, Edelgard is a jack of all trades, boasting proficiency in swords and axes, having access to weapon arts and even seemingly having access to magic. Edelgard is a likely addition on account of Three Houses being set for a somewhat early 2019 release. She also has an easy way around the spirit barrier. For most other potential fighters from a series already in Smash, if a spirit for them was left out, it’d be a bit obvious with other spirits from the same game still being in, but since Fire Emblem likes to switch up its entire roster inbetween games, that’s not an issue here. While I’d prefer an older character like Celica or Hector, they have both received spirits, and I doubt they’d be relevant enough to make it in.

Filia (Skullgirls)

As a complete out of the left field wildcard, I suspect that them announcing Filia would be one hell of a move to pull the rug out underneath us. Skullgirls is coming to Switch, and what better way to promote it than a fighter in Smash? And who better to represent the series than what is probably the strongest contender for the title of main character? Bayonetta being in means that she wouldn’t be too outlandish in terms of mature design. Filia would fight with Samson’s help and potentially the power of a slightly lengthened skirt. If not Filia, Parasoul is a pretty cool character and Cerebella is my favorite fighter, so there are the two I’d root for.

SECONDARIES

Still likely / wanted, but not as much as the four primaries.

Sly Cooper (Sly series)

I’ve previously joked about wanting Ratchet, but while I might be a huge Ratchet & Clank fan, I doubt Ratchet would be a good addition to the Smash roster. Sly on the other hand is pretty much made for Smash. The moveset writes itself. Tether grab with the cane, a dive attack with command grab on the side-B, counter with a smoke bomb on down-B, juggle strike as uptilt, sneak attack as back throw, silent kill as down throw, rising twister attack for the up smash or up-B, paraglider as the up-B or just when you hold down the jump button. Also, just a great all round design. With Joker breaking the must be on Nintendo barrier, Sly can comfortably sneak his way in.

Hershel Layton (Professor Layton series)

I don’t know much about Professor Layton, but I do know that it’s popular, and I doubt a Smash inclusion is too outlandish. Can’t say much because limitted knowledge though.

Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot series)

I’ve already made my stance on Spyro over Crash clear, but yeah, Crash for Smash would be sure to bring some cash.

Scorpion (Mortal Kombat series)

I’m mostly listing Scorpion because other people who argue for Scorpion potentially making it in do make somewhat great points for his inclusion. Although I doubt that he’d make it.

TERTIARIES

Might make it in or I just really want them, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Jak (and Daxter) (Jak and Daxter series)

Ratchet I find has the issue of just having way too much stuff. Even if we cut him down to only his most iconic weapons, that’s still too large of an arsenal with too many possibilities to be properly condensed into a moveset. Some of the most iconic gear is also from completely different eras of the series, so that’s also a problem. Heck, even the Final Smash would be debatable for which R.Y.N.O. would be a better fit.

Jak on the other hand has a set list of eco types he can use and a singular morph gun that can function as multiple different types of weapons, which is still a much shorter list, which seems far more workable to me. Light Jak is an easy Final Smash too, so there’s that.

Now, it might just be me not being that big on Jak & Daxter, which prevents me from seeing an obvious problem with this inclusion, but I actually do believe that he is a better fit than Ratchet is, as much as setting aside that heavy bias hurts.

Kat (Gravity Rush series)

Now here I am hoping for a Switch port of Gravity Rush or Gravity Rush 2 (GR mostly because it’d open the gate for a GR2 port). Gravity Rush was a huge part of the reason why I even got a Vita in the first place (another one being Little Big Planet), and not having a PS4 to play Gravity Rush 2 on has annoyed me, so please get on to porting that big N.

Either way, Kat I feel would be a great fit although I doubt it’d happen unless they decide to port her games, mostly because I’m very interrested in how Nintendo would handle her main mechanic of gravity shifting. Hopefully, they can nail her free flying hit and run feel without making her too broken.

The Last Dragonborn (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)

More specifically, a heavy armor variant who uses swords, perhaps a bow, and definitely shouts, since that’s the one mostly used in promotional material. While Bethesda has very much fallen out of the gaming community’s favor, one cannot deny how popular this game still is.

Master Chief (Halo series)

I see a lot of people campaigning for him with various reasoning, but I just think he’d be a hilarious addition.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

I would love to see them in Smash, but I am very well aware it’ll never happen.

Charme (Recettear)

Chell (Portal)

Last of Order (TowerFall)

Soldier (Team Fortress 2)

Warmage (Orcs Must Die)

#super smash bros #super smash brothers #ultimate #super smash bros ultimate #super smash brothers ultimate

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