LabTech Kestin
(?)Community Member
Offline
- Posted: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:02:31 +0000
11/7/14 UPDATE: Bumping this up for relevance. Gaia, I'm not mad at you for the loss of zOMG itself. I'm mad at you for the way you've handled this situation from day one. I'm mad at you because I can no longer trust or respect you. This may be an old thread, but most of what I said applies now. You did this to yourself. Is it worth the price you pay?
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2/25/12 UPDATE: Further information has been given from all sides, but I will no longer be adding to this post with every development. There is a useful timeline here that will be updated as the issue continues to unfold.
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2/23/12 UPDATE: Here is the most recent Ask the Admin thread. Now, I know it's hard for the staff who attend to read and answer every post in the limited time frame they have, especially if said posts are longer than a few sentences, but the response to the zOMG issue was clearly precomposed with the main goal of placating us. This in itself isn't so bad, but apparently it's incompatible with actually telling us the truth, as detailed here* by a particularly courageous developer. Gaia, you can't just avoid the consequences of your actions. Positive or negative, there will always be users with something to say, and hiding from that is a very bad move. We could all tell that there were inconsistencies in the story you tried to give us. We are not stupid. Lying to us will always make things worse.
*As of 12:15 AM PST 2/24/12, the thread has been taken down, purportedly of swarf's own volition. Screenshots of his posts are available upon request from the OP of the timeline thread, linked at the top.
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Tonight, a large number of Gaians received a very unfortunate piece of news: all development on zOMG is being halted indefinitely.
This is troubling information, but nonetheless corroborates with previous treatment on the subject. We may not be the majority, but it has been acknowledged before that zOMG players have been steadfast, die-hard supporters of our game. For years, we have been in a continuous rally for the administration to focus more attention and resources on zOMG. We have spread our feedback to this very forum, taken our efforts to your wallets by consciously supporting zOMG cash items, and been persistent in Ask the Admin sessions despite receiving the same answer, again and again, which is basically that in order for something to happen, more support must be shown. What have we not done? How have the efforts of millions failed to re-spark the interest in what was once its pet project?
Gaia had been talking about "the battle system" since its very beginnings, in 2003. Today being the ninth anniversary of Gaia Online, one can also assume it has been approximately nine years since the concept was dreamed up. On its own anniversary, we receive the news that it is being boxed up and shoved into a closet, to return "maybe sometime in the future" under unspecified circumstances. We aren't that naive, Gaia. We understand that our efforts have been brushed off, ignored, and deferred, and that unless we manage to get through to you guys, this project will never again be picked back up.
For a website that generally does a remarkably good job of listening to its consumers' feedback and requests, this is the only subject I can recall that has received so much indifference in return. When users complained that there wouldn't be an Easter event one year, you put one together in record time, even managing to please almost everybody with the long-awaited return of the 2004 zombie skin. Items, events, even plot has been influenced by those in charge paying attention to what we, the members, want from them, even if it means a little bit of improvisation from time to time. This disregard for zOMG, and for those who have not been shy about voicing our support for it, is no less than out of character.
There are countless members on Gaia right now who would not have joined if not for zOMG. There are just as many others who would have left long ago. People have formed a community around this game. We have made lifelong friendships. We have spent hours and hours playing, exploring the world, slowly but surely increasing our strength and skill, and getting plenty of enjoyment out of zOMG and all it has to offer.
We understand that recently, new projects have surfaced, pushing zOMG out of the spotlight. However, we do not consider this to be an adequate reason. No other game on Gaia is as thought-out, in-depth, or unique as zOMG is. From the very beginnings in the sewers of Barton to storming the undersea laboratory and battling a living mecha at the very end, zOMG has proved to be an engaging and innovative experience that nothing thus far has managed to hold a candle to. The gameplay is like no other, firing solar blasts or sword-slicing using nothing but mystical rings. The story fit together like a flawlessly-designed jigsaw puzzle to tie up not only the entire game, but four years' worth of questions from all the action on the rest of the site. And what other MMO runs on the concept of inanimate objects rising up against us? zOMG is one of a kind, and we will not be sated by telling us there are and will be new games to play.
It has not gone unnoticed that up until recently, we have been caught in a vicious cycle. We were told that the reason zOMG was not the focus of development is because a dwindling minority of users played it. As we made sure to clarify, the reason people had stopped playing is because there had been no new content in ages, due to the lack of support from administration. Months ago, against all odds, the game was updated; not with a full-fledged Chapter 2, but with a whole new area, new enemies, new NPCs, even a new type of orb and a higher level cap -- and it looked like it had made a difference. The old players, bored from having done everything so many times over, came back to tackle the new content. New players had their interests sparked. And some of us thought that, if a ragtag team of two or three could put that together, there was hope beyond our wildest expectations.
We were let down. As of today, we now know that what was once Gaia's greatest dream has been officially shelved. I presume there are deeper issues behind this decision, ones we do not fully understand. But if you would simply be more straightforward with us, and try and help us to understand, who knows? Compromises can be made. Solutions can be discussed. And, most importantly, trust can be gained, because we will feel like you are treating us with respect as a legitimate support base and collective client, rather than giving us vague deferrals and hoping we'll stop asking. We do not aim to make things difficult; we do not want to be demanding. We just want our game back. We just want zOMG to have the chance to become the great and powerful dream it once was.
We have been fighting for zOMG for so long, and we will not stop now. When the already tiny team was torn apart by retirements and reassignments, we kept protesting. When we were constantly rebuffed with the same vague answers over and over, we kept pushing. And whether or not you intend for zOMG to die, we will not let that happen. There may only be a few million of us, but we love this game. And we urge you to take a closer look at your priorities, and at our conviction as the zOMG community. We urge you to remember that we have a voice, that Gaia was once about the users and what they wanted to see more than anything else. We urge you to reconsider.
-------------------------
2/25/12 UPDATE: Further information has been given from all sides, but I will no longer be adding to this post with every development. There is a useful timeline here that will be updated as the issue continues to unfold.
-------------------------
2/23/12 UPDATE: Here is the most recent Ask the Admin thread. Now, I know it's hard for the staff who attend to read and answer every post in the limited time frame they have, especially if said posts are longer than a few sentences, but the response to the zOMG issue was clearly precomposed with the main goal of placating us. This in itself isn't so bad, but apparently it's incompatible with actually telling us the truth, as detailed here* by a particularly courageous developer. Gaia, you can't just avoid the consequences of your actions. Positive or negative, there will always be users with something to say, and hiding from that is a very bad move. We could all tell that there were inconsistencies in the story you tried to give us. We are not stupid. Lying to us will always make things worse.
*As of 12:15 AM PST 2/24/12, the thread has been taken down, purportedly of swarf's own volition. Screenshots of his posts are available upon request from the OP of the timeline thread, linked at the top.
-------------------------
Tonight, a large number of Gaians received a very unfortunate piece of news: all development on zOMG is being halted indefinitely.
This is troubling information, but nonetheless corroborates with previous treatment on the subject. We may not be the majority, but it has been acknowledged before that zOMG players have been steadfast, die-hard supporters of our game. For years, we have been in a continuous rally for the administration to focus more attention and resources on zOMG. We have spread our feedback to this very forum, taken our efforts to your wallets by consciously supporting zOMG cash items, and been persistent in Ask the Admin sessions despite receiving the same answer, again and again, which is basically that in order for something to happen, more support must be shown. What have we not done? How have the efforts of millions failed to re-spark the interest in what was once its pet project?
Gaia had been talking about "the battle system" since its very beginnings, in 2003. Today being the ninth anniversary of Gaia Online, one can also assume it has been approximately nine years since the concept was dreamed up. On its own anniversary, we receive the news that it is being boxed up and shoved into a closet, to return "maybe sometime in the future" under unspecified circumstances. We aren't that naive, Gaia. We understand that our efforts have been brushed off, ignored, and deferred, and that unless we manage to get through to you guys, this project will never again be picked back up.
For a website that generally does a remarkably good job of listening to its consumers' feedback and requests, this is the only subject I can recall that has received so much indifference in return. When users complained that there wouldn't be an Easter event one year, you put one together in record time, even managing to please almost everybody with the long-awaited return of the 2004 zombie skin. Items, events, even plot has been influenced by those in charge paying attention to what we, the members, want from them, even if it means a little bit of improvisation from time to time. This disregard for zOMG, and for those who have not been shy about voicing our support for it, is no less than out of character.
There are countless members on Gaia right now who would not have joined if not for zOMG. There are just as many others who would have left long ago. People have formed a community around this game. We have made lifelong friendships. We have spent hours and hours playing, exploring the world, slowly but surely increasing our strength and skill, and getting plenty of enjoyment out of zOMG and all it has to offer.
We understand that recently, new projects have surfaced, pushing zOMG out of the spotlight. However, we do not consider this to be an adequate reason. No other game on Gaia is as thought-out, in-depth, or unique as zOMG is. From the very beginnings in the sewers of Barton to storming the undersea laboratory and battling a living mecha at the very end, zOMG has proved to be an engaging and innovative experience that nothing thus far has managed to hold a candle to. The gameplay is like no other, firing solar blasts or sword-slicing using nothing but mystical rings. The story fit together like a flawlessly-designed jigsaw puzzle to tie up not only the entire game, but four years' worth of questions from all the action on the rest of the site. And what other MMO runs on the concept of inanimate objects rising up against us? zOMG is one of a kind, and we will not be sated by telling us there are and will be new games to play.
It has not gone unnoticed that up until recently, we have been caught in a vicious cycle. We were told that the reason zOMG was not the focus of development is because a dwindling minority of users played it. As we made sure to clarify, the reason people had stopped playing is because there had been no new content in ages, due to the lack of support from administration. Months ago, against all odds, the game was updated; not with a full-fledged Chapter 2, but with a whole new area, new enemies, new NPCs, even a new type of orb and a higher level cap -- and it looked like it had made a difference. The old players, bored from having done everything so many times over, came back to tackle the new content. New players had their interests sparked. And some of us thought that, if a ragtag team of two or three could put that together, there was hope beyond our wildest expectations.
We were let down. As of today, we now know that what was once Gaia's greatest dream has been officially shelved. I presume there are deeper issues behind this decision, ones we do not fully understand. But if you would simply be more straightforward with us, and try and help us to understand, who knows? Compromises can be made. Solutions can be discussed. And, most importantly, trust can be gained, because we will feel like you are treating us with respect as a legitimate support base and collective client, rather than giving us vague deferrals and hoping we'll stop asking. We do not aim to make things difficult; we do not want to be demanding. We just want our game back. We just want zOMG to have the chance to become the great and powerful dream it once was.
We have been fighting for zOMG for so long, and we will not stop now. When the already tiny team was torn apart by retirements and reassignments, we kept protesting. When we were constantly rebuffed with the same vague answers over and over, we kept pushing. And whether or not you intend for zOMG to die, we will not let that happen. There may only be a few million of us, but we love this game. And we urge you to take a closer look at your priorities, and at our conviction as the zOMG community. We urge you to remember that we have a voice, that Gaia was once about the users and what they wanted to see more than anything else. We urge you to reconsider.
