What if Gaia just got rid of all the extra frills?

[Robert Ramos]

With all the talk of Tentacl, zOMG!, Heralds of Chaos, Frontier Skies, etc. shutting down due to either not having the people technically capable of programming them or not bringing in enough money to warrant keeping those features, what if Gaia got rid of Rally, Towns, etc. and went back to basics?


Before coming to Gaia, I was on GameFAQs, which was one of the most bare-bones message boards there was and it had a huge following. However, GameFAQs was known for having Nazi mods. You couldn't even curse. It was nice finding a site like Gaia where you could speak more freely + having the cute avatars was a nice addition. This was all before the creation of zOMG, the movie theater, and whatever extra stuff. It was nice and we all enjoyed it.


Could Gaia go back to basics in 2015 and keep it as strictly a message board/roleplay site with cute avatars or is more expected of Gaia in 2015?

[Yen Quest]

Animal Crossing. emotion_dowant But the whole loan thing though. emotion_donotwant

[Jayce Reinhardt]

But what "frills" does Gaia have that it could cut?

[Elinoi]

I feel like we as a user base expect more now a days.
Yeah, originally all there was was forums, towns was hot s**t too.

But we've been spoiled with some really nice games, even if the fun only lasted temporarily.
So I hope they've something epic in store :v
as zomg is gonna leave a bit of a hole I feel...

[Myrielle]

Avatars are still the biggest draw for me so I'm stuck here. There are some features I rather not have. I'm too preferentially lazy to attend to them.

[Jayce Reinhardt]

Elinoi

I feel like we as a user base expect more now a days.
Yeah, originally all there was was forums, towns was hot s**t too.

But we've been spoiled with some really nice games, even if the fun only lasted temporarily.
So I hope they've something epic in store :v
as zomg is gonna leave a bit of a hole I feel...

I think Users expect more as well but that isn't exactly a bad thing.

When other sites offer more than what Gaia does, People are going to make comparisons.

[Creeped]

id be happy with having avatar, forums and a flash space there the things i use most often lol

[Elinoi]

Jayce Reinhardt

Elinoi

I feel like we as a user base expect more now a days.
Yeah, originally all there was was forums, towns was hot s**t too.

But we've been spoiled with some really nice games, even if the fun only lasted temporarily.
So I hope they've something epic in store :v
as zomg is gonna leave a bit of a hole I feel...

I think Users expect more as well but that isn't exactly a bad thing.

When other sites offer more than what Gaia does, People are going to make comparisons.

Definitely.
I wonder if gaias owners or w/e. have fallen into a state where they feel like they don't have to provide more considering there isn't a lot of established competition to "beat".
A potentially ignorant oversight by them if thats something thats crossed their minds.

And I agree, its not wrong to want more, hopefully didn't come across like that sweatdrop
I meant it more as a: we are spoiled by past features/games and going to good old "vanilla" gaia without something to fill the void isn't the right direction.
I feel like they should spend more resources developing features for this site, and not only items..
The god-forsaken inventory arranger, general updates to existing games, and development of new and exciting things should be stuff we users expect and ask for tbh. >w<;;;

[Sand Dancer Shaka]

I don't think it'd work. This is 2014, people have much more access to the internet with a short fuse for attention, unless something is updated regularly (and a decent amount) it'll fall into disrepair and be abandoned. Just look at all the game apps we all abandon after a while. Unless it's updated in a way that engages we just don't bother to keep using it!

In order for Gaia to survive it has to develop and change or it'll be usurped faster that MySpace.

Back in the day when Gaia first started there wasn't Youtube, there wasn't Facebook or Twitter, there weren't many social places to hang out. Now you can practically wave your arm and hit something new.

Competition. Out-dated features. Lack of mobile functionality. Consumer engagement. These are the things that Gaia must develop to survive.

[May_Mau]

i guess it depends on what is considred "basics". i think some form of towns is a basic for this site. but gaia does have a bad habit of making to much junk/games while more "basic" stuff breaks down like arenas and houses.

[M00NDR0PS]

" A Houngan is wandering, away from its swarm. "

||| I don't go into towns at all, and I rarely ever go into MTV or rally these days. Honestly, the only reason I come to this site is the forums, and secondly to dress my avatar. I don't play any of the games, I stopped playing Booty Grab a long time ago. Really, the only thing I actually do on this site these days is post. I don't use any of the other features outside of the forums and avatars.

I'd be just fine if Gaia reverted to a similar state of how it was back when I joined in 2004, but I know that's not fair to other people who like the additional features.

" The wandering Houngan logged out "

[AsterKurayami]

I don't know if they should worry about "frills" so much as "failed attempts at launching new things"

At some point someone had to have been looking at all of the things that have been planned ~
heralds of chaos, monster galaxy, frontier skies, tentacl, aquariums, Zomg, pet systems,
the list can go on...
and said "yeah lets go ahead and attempt that project"

Quantity isn't better than quality the phrase exists for a reason.

Someone has to be in charge of dialing it back and actually work on prioritizing the features
instead of half working on something that seems like a good idea,
getting everyone excited, and then killing said thing.

[Sheshira]

I don't know if this is the issue (too many features or not enough or whatnot) or the fact that Gaia has a history of neglecting features. If anything Gaia needs to first deal with the features it currently has such as games, homes, inventory arranger as well as improving its customer service, its relations with the staff. They've started somewhat but they do still need a long way to go.

I feel as if they would give a solid effort in making the features it has now work, give a good update and upgrade the features then maybe it can concentrate on branching out.

[Jules_The_Mayfly]

You know I would actualy do that if this was my site.

-Scrap the shops, and redesign/combine them to have a lot fewer, so it's not as confusing.
-Lower the number of NPCs, use plot/event/user input for this.
-Make plot updates regularly, and tie it in better with the items/events/general mood of the site, have shop NPCs talk options change based on it etc.
-Leave only one towns, and if you are going to keep bugs/trash/flowers make the resulting items be worth it and new and shiny.
-Better split between cash and gold items, like 7 colors of an item are gold, one extra sparkly is cash, plus some extra special items are just cash only like evolving items and such of course.
-Tone down cash shop anouncements, items and make less, but better items with more poses, evolutions.
-Scrap alchemy and gofusion, and create ONE item crafting mechanic that is actualy ******** possible but still a challenge. Tie it in with trash/flowers etc too while we're at it.
-Scrap cars, make aquariums a bit better/bring back all fish.
-Use the map for SOMETHING or toss it.
-Scrap all games, and make a few good ones that are worth it and actualy fun.
-Scrap the tokens and gambling unless you make it worth it too.

Now granted these are only based on what I experienced in the week since I came back from a 3 year hiatus so I might be off the mark. It's pretty much just a streamlining of things.

[The Hell Tutor]

Jayce Reinhardt

But what "frills" does Gaia have that it could cut?

EVERYTHING
BURN IT ALL DOWN
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or...
Rallies.

The biggest cesspool of human dejects EVER.

I abandoned that place never to return.

the people from the rallies alone, increased the value of an mc that has a "oiled body" pose.

Jersey Shore hive mind. i would have killed rallies and lose Sam's shop gladly if it somehow it could fix whatever was wrong with zOmg!