An Open Letter to Gaia from the zOMG Community (UPDATE)

[Catalyste]

Rya Dracosin

Catalyste

*disconnects zOMG's lifesupport*

Give it a prayer and let it rest in peace.


Everytime zOMG gets a message that people are being pulled, the zOMG fanclub comes around saying that they've been giving their undying support and money towards it. They fuel their posts with anecdotes of how much they love it, how much it means to them, and how much they believe Gaia staff are scamming them because they reached fundraising goals.

Well if it hasn't occurred to you guys now, zOMG's been hanging on a thread for years. And for years you guys have been told that it's in danger of being shelved. And everytime you guys come out pleading for it to be saved.

Well it's time to hang that up.

You guys have to realize that zOMG is basically dead weight. No amount of pleading with the staff if going to save it because you guys can't and don't rally enough outside support. zOMG doesn't and can't support itself. Throughout these years it's been mishandled and Gaia has been working ways with you and themselves to see if there's anything to salvage, if possible. Unfortunately zOMG has more content and server space than the revenue it manages to pull in from time to time.

Nothing you do will be able to save it. So just brace yourself for the day it's officially gone.

@what I bolded:
The users should not have to be responsible for finding more players. That's Gaia's responsibility. The money they raised should have HELPED to advertise it elsewhere. I'm sure you wouldn't ask customers of a store to go and get more people to shop at a store if it was in danger of being shut down. You, as a store owner/operator, would make the effort to get the word out there, IF you cared enough. You'd dig into your own pockets to make some advertisements. Gaia didn't put enough advertisement out there for this game. All the other MMOs i've seen have TONS of advertising. Good and bad MMOs. This one? There was some at the beginning...but where'd it go? Advertising can't just stop once people start using it. Imagine if PepsiCo, or Coca-Cola Co. stopped advertising after people started drinking their product. Would they be around to this day? No, they heavily advertise.

Moga is advertised EVERYWHERE. That is why it recieves so many players (that and it's a facebook whore game (meaning people whore out friend spaces and whore out invites to play the game)). Yet gaia, and even some users, expect other users to advertise?

I hate to say this, but i'm dissappointed. Not in just you Catalyste, but in user base who thinks that the users didn't try hard enough.

@what I underlined:
Gaia has been trying with the users. But if they knew that those users couldn't be enough, then why the hell didn't they try advertising more? Off site advertising. Plenty of it. I see Moga ads everywhere (when i'm on my phone). There's TONS of moga this and moga that. But where's zomg? once in a while? And just to the users here?

They should have done a minigame that related to zomg as a facebook game, With a link to the actual zomg game.

I'm ashamed at Gaia, for only pretending to care. For giving possible staff members and users false hope that zomg would remain as a functioning feature that at least got patches here and there.

I still play zomg. I can stand 10 minutes of zomg over 10 minutes of booty grab. I don't even play the other games anymore, because I don't get enough gold from them for the time and effort i put in. At least with zomg, i can choose about how much gold i get, roughly, by choosing proper difficulty, and choosing to crew or not to crew.

Don't worry about it, I'm not offended.

My statement, the part you partially bolded, in context is saying that no matter what the users say & do, zOMG cannot drum up enough support to keep going. Users have come here trying their best to keep it alive, however it's gone on long enough. Nothing they say or do will help it.

zOMG is dead. Unlike Moga, zOMG's old development plan was to release it in chapters. However what they did not plan was a) the recession, b) how lengthy the time to develop the next phase would be, c) how fast the players would finish the first chapter and eventually lose interest, and d) revenue vein. zOMG was an experiment and Gaia worked on other games to pick up the slack zOMG left.

We know it's not up to users, therefore I'm also disappointed to see users react as though they're surprised and shocked that zOMG is put on hiatus. It's additionally disappointing when I think of the day Gaia actually pulls zOMG and the throngs of threads that will follow about how shocked the zOMG community is.

I'm sorry, but that's bull. zOMG's demise has been spelled out during the years. It should be of no surprise by now that it will one day be taken off.

No one's saying or implying they didn't enjoy zOMG when it was young and different. However there are too many disjointed features within the game, as well as it being too old, that it cannot be marketed like MoGa can.

Gaia didn't advertise zOMG anymore because of the costs. I'm willing to bet another reason why is because Gaia considered the fact that zOMG doesn't pull in any revenue to spend advertising costs on, therefore it's a high risk. If the point to pull in users is to get them to eventually spend money, then they need a vehicle to help them keep spending. zOMG didn't offer that. Just buying healing potions and orb bundles was far from enough. It was hardly worth it. It wasn't till recently that the staff straightened up and tried again with the tickets, amulets, gems, and summons. However even with those, we now have areas that aren't marketable. If you're gong to sell a game, you sell the whole thing. Selling only a portion of it would be misleading to those who joined just to see it. They would need to go through the entire game in order to qualify for something like DMS. And Buccaneer Boardwalk? It's a no-go. It's an under-developed area. You definitely cannot market that. Only users who've been on this site and have played zOMG would understand why an area like that and DMS exist outside of the main storyline. Could you imagine explaining that to a new user who wants to spend money on the game but has no clue what the significance of those two areas are?


Whew....sorry for that. It's a bit of a rant.

[Rya Dracosin]

Catalyste

Don't worry about it, I'm not offended.

My statement, the part you partially bolded, in context is saying that no matter what the users say & do, zOMG cannot drum up enough support to keep going. Users have come here trying their best to keep it alive, however it's gone on long enough. Nothing they say or do will help it.

zOMG is dead. Unlike Moga, zOMG's old development plan was to release it in chapters. However what they did not plan was a) the recession, b) how lengthy the time to develop the next phase would be, c) how fast the players would finish the first chapter and eventually lose interest, and d) revenue vein. zOMG was an experiment and Gaia worked on other games to pick up the slack zOMG left.

We know it's not up to users, therefore I'm also disappointed to see users react as though they're surprised and shocked that zOMG is put on hiatus. It's additionally disappointing when I think of the day Gaia actually pulls zOMG and the throngs of threads that will follow about how shocked the zOMG community is.

I'm sorry, but that's bull. zOMG's demise has been spelled out during the years. It should be of no surprise by now that it will one day be taken off.

No one's saying or implying they didn't enjoy zOMG when it was young and different. However there are too many disjointed features within the game, as well as it being too old, that it cannot be marketed like MoGa can.

Gaia didn't advertise zOMG anymore because of the costs. I'm willing to bet another reason why is because Gaia considered the fact that zOMG doesn't pull in any revenue to spend advertising costs on, therefore it's a high risk. If the point to pull in users is to get them to eventually spend money, then they need a vehicle to help them keep spending. zOMG didn't offer that. Just buying healing potions and orb bundles was far from enough. It was hardly worth it. It wasn't till recently that the staff straightened up and tried again with the tickets, amulets, gems, and summons. However even with those, we now have areas that aren't marketable. If you're gong to sell a game, you sell the whole thing. Selling only a portion of it would be misleading to those who joined just to see it. They would need to go through the entire game in order to qualify for something like DMS. And Buccaneer Boardwalk? It's a no-go. It's an under-developed area. You definitely cannot market that. Only users who've been on this site and have played zOMG would understand why an area like that and DMS exist outside of the main storyline. Could you imagine explaining that to a new user who wants to spend money on the game but has no clue what the significance of those two areas are?


Whew....sorry for that. It's a bit of a rant.

You're alright. I think we're all ranty about this, no matter what side of the fence we're on, even if we're sitting on the fence itself.

The biggest issue is that Gaia made this game. It may have been as an experiment, but perhaps it should have been a smaller release. Maybe the first two areas. Building up to the other areas being unlocked later, as more people played and were interested. But they goofed and made a nice feature. One that many (not everyone, maybe not a full majority) users enjoyed and used and still use, despite the troubles it has. It's not just another Frontier Skies, where the usage showed hardly anyone used it. There's a full and dedicated section of the userbase that's mostly zomg-ers.

They were given false hope, shame on gaia for that, that if they purchased enough, if they rallied their friends to purchase, that they'd make enough to get some more updates. What Gaia failed to mention, was that it needed to be steady, shame on users for not fully grasping that, constant income. Something that a majority of the users can't put out, because there are other things in life that come first.

However, Gaia should have created more items like the amulets. That you could wear, and offered an in-game benefit. I think that would have helped sales on stuff. And they should have taken consideration to soloers, and maybe even created an area JUST for soloing. These things likely could have brought in more users, seeing as most other MMOs have items you can wear visibly and show off, and have a use within the game. Gaia could have tried, they just...half-assed it. Like they wanted the users to see they were trying, but behind the scenes, behind the developer's backs, they were trying to sabotage it so that other games could be brought to life, because that's just how Gaia is. Out with the old in with the new, not, lets try and salvage the old and merge it with new.

It's hard to explain to users about zomg. A lot of the plot that drove it in the beginning has been removed. That was the first stab, i think. So that can't be something used to explain it. Go around chopping down monsters? Ok, that sounds fun, but what for? Loot? What's the loot for? Alchemy and formulas, oh, but only the level 1 area gives alchemy loot. So there's no real reason to continue. Gaia stabbed again there, because they didn't incorporate most if not all zomg loot into alchemy (at least as far as i'm reading into it). That would've brought a bit more stuff to zomg.

There were so many things that zomg could have been and done, but now that future is shaky.

Gaia, as in a singular account that can represent the one or many persons responsible for making these decisions, needs to come forward and be blunt and be honest. Brutally honest. Like you mentioned before, if they're gonna pull the plug, then pull it. With both gaia and users tiptoeing around this situation, we're waiting for more heartache. So those responsible for the decisions need to take a moment, and explain some things to the zomg user base. Maybe explain what needs to happen, in detail, in order for zomg to resume production. It shouldn't be up to one developer to break the bad news, with out any other answers for the base.

And before I end up straying completely off what I am trying to say, I shall stop here...before I end up drifting off into the subject of I haven't a clue what....

[Miss-dark8607]

I am beyond pissed off and I don't even play ZOMG regular. I have seen what you ZOMG have done for this site and I know each and everyone of you have done MORE than your fair share to help improved ZOMG. This isn't just a slap in the face to ZOMG players but to the whole Gaia community. All that build up, all that planning, and for what for a few years down the room it will end up like ALL the other games. A few updates and then back into the gutter! HOW DARE THEY!

I read this thread last night when I was beyond tired, I re-read it again today, and because of this thread I felt the need to bring back two of my zombie SF thread about the importance of the games and the exchanges. Yeah s**t just got real....

[WideEyed]

LabTech Kestin

Wow...
How did I miss this?
Beutifully done Kestin.
Thanks so much for such a wonderful letter!

[Rabid-Turtle]

Surprising? No. Disappointing Yes!

Especially after going through that whole campaign getting users to buy a $9 item just to access the new content and now giving us that swift kick to say all our efforts and spending were pointless. Oh but they will gladly keep taking our money, no worries there.

[LabTech Kestin]

I have updated the first post with my feedback on a recent development.

[Mademoiselle Kit]

*claps* Bravo. And now that HQs lies have been exposed, I give you double Kudos.

WHAT HAVE YOU TO SAY TO THIS, GAIA? emotion_donotwant

[MistressMinako]

Quote:

- zOMG never received a proper marketing campaign due to high costs associated with marketing an MMORPG, which is understandable. However, users have been constantly blamed for the failure of zOMG by not making the game a success solely by word-of-mouth.
- The first real revenue push in 2010 "resulted in a quarter of a million dollars of revenue in 2011". This is far more than enough, by Gaia's own numbers, to support zOMG's development. The game is in fact paying for itself and more due to the efforts of the community.
- The zOMG development team has been spread out across multiple projects, and manged to add several features and open a completely new area in four months.
- zOMG development has not been constant for at least two years. If it had a dedicated team, the game would be in far better shape.
- zOMG has always made more money than it costs to run the game, even on months when there were no buddies, amulets or headstart tickets.
- Over a year, Gaia has only lost out to Rally in terms of actual users. This means that zOMG is more widely used than Fishing and Towns, both of which are never in danger of being shut down.
- DMS was developed in four months with a four-man team.
- The costs associated with the development of DMS is STILL less than the previously-mentioned quarter-million brought in at the start of 2011.
- "DMS has raised the typical monthly revenue amount and that will continue to bring in extra revenue without additional development." This means extra money for the ENTIRE SITE. As money raised though zOMG goes into a collective fund which the staff uses to fund the entire site's development.

Made bullet points of swarf's post. Anyone care to add/edit before this goes into the GCD?

[Lucca the Inventor]

I'm glad swarf came forward, but I am absolutely disgusted with the people who lied about this.

From the excuses they gave, it's like they went over the speculation from the folks in favour of the game closing and put that forward as the true scenario just because it was already out there and easy to have believed.

How dare they say the game wasn't profitable when it was while constantly holding it ransom to it's own players. How dare they claim they did "all they could" for the game when they did all of jack and s**t to give it a fighting chance.

This is a new low Gaia. Your credibility is officially in the trash and deservedly so for your snake in the grass actions.

[Almandaragal]

I don't suppose anyone considered the possibility that swarf isn't being entirely truthful either? I saw no mention in his thread (I'll largely leave the NDA issues alone, that's HQ turf) of the initial investment for the enormous team (compared to most Gaia projects) to create the game in the first place.

I don't think or propose that he's lying through his teeth. However, blindly taking what he says over what multiple other staffers have said seems like grasping for straws. This whole "I got answers from 3 or more paid staff regarding zOMG, but I'm going to take one other person's word as gospel instead despite a likely lack of full disclosure" thing is a bit over the top.

Again, I'm not overly happy with all that's happened to the Battle System (so should have stuck with 'Gaia Battle' ). However, this seems like the start of another stereotypical zOMG community overreaction.

[MistressMinako]

Almandaragal

I don't suppose anyone considered the possibility that swarf isn't being entirely truthful either? I saw no mention in his thread (I'll largely leave the NDA issues alone, that's HQ turf) of the initial investment for the enormous team (compared to most Gaia projects) to create the game in the first place.

I don't think or propose that he's lying through his teeth. However, blindly taking what he says over what multiple other staffers have said seems like grasping for straws. This whole "I got answers from 3 or more paid staff regarding zOMG, but I'm going to take one other person's word as gospel instead despite a likely lack of full disclosure" thing is a bit over the top.

Again, I'm not overly happy with all that's happened to the Battle System (so should have stuck with 'Gaia Battle' ). However, this seems like the start of another stereotypical zOMG community overreaction.

You have to admit, it is suspicious.

Personally, I would like to keep it from being an over-reaction.

[Captain Croissanto]

Out of everything that Swarf wrote, the thing that absolutely killed me about his thread was this line:

"I'm told there was a meeting to discuss the path forward for zOMG before the ATA. I wasn't invited."

[Pilfer von Durem]

Almandaragal

I don't think or propose that he's lying through his teeth. However, blindly taking what he says over what multiple other staffers have said seems like grasping for straws.

Apparently, you aren't aware of people trying to keep their jobs. You tow the company/party line (even when it is a lie) so that you continue to have a paycheck. Standard practice. If you don't believe in it, then you are naive. Swarf may have committed career suicide by saying that the company is incorrect.
It'd be nice if you were being a devil's advocate and nothing else, but I have my suspicions about you.

[Almandaragal]

MistressMinako

Almandaragal

I don't suppose anyone considered the possibility that swarf isn't being entirely truthful either? I saw no mention in his thread (I'll largely leave the NDA issues alone, that's HQ turf) of the initial investment for the enormous team (compared to most Gaia projects) to create the game in the first place.

I don't think or propose that he's lying through his teeth. However, blindly taking what he says over what multiple other staffers have said seems like grasping for straws. This whole "I got answers from 3 or more paid staff regarding zOMG, but I'm going to take one other person's word as gospel instead despite a likely lack of full disclosure" thing is a bit over the top.

Again, I'm not overly happy with all that's happened to the Battle System (so should have stuck with 'Gaia Battle' ). However, this seems like the start of another stereotypical zOMG community overreaction.

You have to admit, it is suspicious.

Personally, I would like to keep it from being an over-reaction.

Oh no doubt that say, some of Lanzer's numbers were a bit off, fuzzy, or not fully explained. However, I cannot take swarf's statements at 100% face value either. Gaia as a company (and thus most paid staff) have a vested interest in making the company look good as a whole, yes. However, swarf, or any human being, has their own vested interests as well. I don't blame him for wanting more attention paid to zOMG. However, I'm not going to take his word as the gospel truth when it conflicts other staff members and has at least one obvious bit of info left out. Would I love the statistical truth? Most definitely. Will we get it? Not likely. I just want people to remember that the truth is usually somewhere in the middle when there are two opposing answers. It's rarely the case that one side is completely right and the other completely wrong.

Pilfer von Durem

Almandaragal

I don't think or propose that he's lying through his teeth. However, blindly taking what he says over what multiple other staffers have said seems like grasping for straws.

Apparently, you aren't aware of people trying to keep their jobs. You tow the company/party line (even when it is a lie) so that you continue to have a paycheck. Standard practice. If you don't believe in it, then you are naive. Swarf may have committed career suicide by saying that the company is incorrect.
It'd be nice if you were being a devil's advocate and nothing else, but I have my suspicions about you.

You removed the other sentence of my paragraph. I'd really appreciate it if you'd keep the context. That sentence was talking about swarf, not the other staff members. That aside, yes, I'm aware of just how much BS goes on in terms of making the company seem blameless. However, swarf seems to feel some personal affront here, and emotion often taints facts when it's driving things such as the creation of that thread. He even says "A few of the things which were said in the ATA reflect very poorly on me directly." I'm not sure what they said that he's referring to, as frankly I didn't see anything that reflected poorly on any of the staff that worked on zOMG. Saying zOMG doesn't make enough revenue doesn't mean the devs suck, so I'm not sure where he got that.

As for whatever suspicions you have about me, that's your deal. If you want to take such things up with me, my PMs should be open. Not sure what you think I am, but I just want people to consider the facts and all sides as I mention in my reply to MistressMinako, and not just take one person's word as the gospel truth.

[Silent As Shadows]

Catalyste

*disconnects zOMG's lifesupport*

Give it a prayer and let it rest in peace.


Everytime zOMG gets a message that people are being pulled, the zOMG fanclub comes around saying that they've been giving their undying support and money towards it. They fuel their posts with anecdotes of how much they love it, how much it means to them, and how much they believe Gaia staff are scamming them because they reached fundraising goals.

Well if it hasn't occurred to you guys now, zOMG's been hanging on a thread for years. And for years you guys have been told that it's in danger of being shelved. And everytime you guys come out pleading for it to be saved.

Well it's time to hang that up.

You guys have to realize that zOMG is basically dead weight. No amount of pleading with the staff if going to save it because you guys can't and don't rally enough outside support. zOMG doesn't and can't support itself. Throughout these years it's been mishandled and Gaia has been working ways with you and themselves to see if there's anything to salvage, if possible. Unfortunately zOMG has more content and server space than the revenue it manages to pull in from time to time.

Nothing you do will be able to save it. So just brace yourself for the day it's officially gone.

Unfortunately, it's been proven that zOMG -has- been making enough money to support it's own servers, and more. It was proven that Gaia HQ was blatantly lying to us about how bad the game was doing. Swarf posted a thread about it, and he's one of the people that worked directly on the zOMG project, so....