i still play zomg and love it but wish we had our devs back mav we miss u and miss jk thank you for all the work you did
I really appreciate it dragon craft. biggrin I hope Gaia can find a way to take over the game without the original devs, and give it more attention in the future. 3nodding
Anyway, since now I can't stop thinking about this...more scattered thoughts.
...a big wall of scattered thoughts o3o
Possibilities:
Bones: that is forever nag Gaia for wtv spare they can afford, getting lil'updates/fixes/references here and then, hopefully. Problems:
Unsatisfactory
Unlikely, increasingly so:
First, Gaia's had a major defensive change lately, times aren't merry, spares aren't plenty. I'm not expecting that to change soon. Gaia Online is in a contracting phase and will have to either reinvent itself (more on this later) or turn into a small niche thing. That's my guess anyway. Note, it's unlikely to die soon, no worries there ¯3¯
Second, further time passes, further the tech issue grows, and the further zOMG! falls by the wayside. Arguably, zOMG! could have already achieved its long-tail stable core populace of people who'll play forever no matter, that it can't really fall further, but that won't address the tech issue.
Aren't we annoying enough as it is? xP
All in: imagine you're that "Higher Up", responsible for the livelihood of dozens in times quite uncertain. You have these limited resources, capabilities, possibilities and must read the state of things, of the ever-moving world/industry to make the choices that'll best ensure survival and maybe success.
That is not reality, things are fudgier, see it as a Litmus test but that is the guy you must walk up to and speak with utter confidence that we have V W X Y problems and should address them by doing Z ( as I alluded to earlier, Why first because Why is key! How is secondary! ), so to steal from Seth Godin, that it's worth doing (and that we can do it too). Z being a new zOMG! for our purposes.
I can't do that, I can't speak with that confidence, can't provide bloody good enough reasons that'll make me go "YEAH!!! LET'S DO THIS!!! We'll rolll in golllld bros >>>>: DDDD" . Why? 'cause these are hard questions, questions I'm not equipped to answer. I can sorta say what it would bring to the site but, despite what I said above in the Bones section, I can't really tell what the site needs and if it's not needed...
But who can? Let's get cynical and pretend whoever has that role or profession is a hoax reading fish-guts N'bones, no special skill whatsoever. When things are chaotic anyone's guess is right anyway, right? ...They still have a much better view of how Gaia is and what it can do ¯3¯
Anyway, if anyone here has that kind of confidence, well I think you're either delusional or seeing things I'm not ( things that actually exist :U )
Either way, if you think you've got the pitch, don't keep quiet.
Fudge factor: Now let's explore the fudge. Gaia is a special place.
Understatement emotion_awesome
"Wouldn't it be cool?" "Because they asked (don't even need to ask nicely IMO xD)" has some grip here. It blurs the line between a big corporate and friendly indie corner bar.
Now that creates friction, confusion, not always knowing how to run itself, and stuff. Regardless, that Indie side, purposefully or not, gets some of that budget. Indie means riskier things can be...hmm.. risked. At the cost of scope however, if you're feeling like playing a small new zOMG! ...
Note that GOnline has shrunk with I think the last two restructures, and that I'm expecting it to further shrink for a bunch of reasons. Thought don't forget that these are scary times and Gaia is on the defensive. Right now, I don't think "Let's try something crazy" would be well received :U
Speaking of reception, a guess, but I'm sure red lights turn on in Gaia's command structure heads whenever zOMG! is named. So first convince them of building a new MMO, using zOMG! to some degree sort comes out naturally after that.
I'm rambling. Let's refocus.
Oh wait forgot to talk about reinvention: aye, going all MMO is such a way. Is it the right one? Who knows. Sure thing is that it's very risky.
Borgs: So, yes, zOMG! is the dream, as interpreted by starry-eyed Gaia at its prime. They overdreamed and that bit them in the A* algorithm :U
Those circumstances are unlikely to ever show up again.
But they're still pursuing that dream, Towns the Second being Attempt the Third:
Narumi Misuhara
Today the site has many features but lacks a sense of identity, and that is something the current staff at Gaia are trying to bring back. The Towns housing project is one of those initiatives we started to tie the “Gaia world” together. [source]
Very annoying not to know the plans, RRRAAAHHH!!! Dx< anyway~
In their current state it's what they can do. No, I'm far from pleased with it, regardless.
Maybe things from zOMG! can be brought to it, since they're ultimately about solving the same problem.
Now I made a lot of noise about "Whys"; now is about time I/we/you looked at our own. Why all the fight and fuzz?
Gameplay? I doubt anyone loves it that much :V but it probably can be brought in reduced form to T2. Story/world? They killed off Gambino ( Gambino, die? Maybe. But stay dead? HAHAHA--), I'm not sure who's in charge but I don't think they're inclined to go back. But I really don't know what their plans are on the fiction level, I'm not even sure they have a plan, who knows ¯3¯
They do have a map:
Narumi Misuhara
One of the first things I requested from the artists when we were starting on Towns 2 was an updated world map that we could use as a guide. I have on my desk that completed Gaia world, with just about every flash space we've ever created in it. We are using it as our guide to creating Towns 2. We do not have any intention of releasing this map until Towns 2 is much farther along. [same source as above]
It's a new map:
Narumi Misuhara
panoptes
i uh, i put the official map screenshot of the marketplace on there? as can be found here? you see it? right next to the pinball version?
and i realise that the pinball features are not the official map, but you have to bear in mind that is an imagining of the marketplace as found on the isle that predates towns 2, and is closer to the world map version than the towns version, so thats what we, as users, have to go off of when we see it
Understood, the current map in terms of what we doing to flesh out the world is obsolete. Outside of using it as a reference for about where the towns should be located, nothing else about it is being used. We created a whole new world map that we're using as a reference, but it's not detailed enough to put on the site as-is. Also since each town is meant to be walked through, it was best to update them and flesh them out.
I did say there were other reasons for not doing it. Sorry.
When you originally said the job wouldn't take much work, I kind of took what you said and ran with it xD
You said you were going to add all the different towns like Durem and the rest, right?
I didn't know if you were going to include zOMG!'s map at some point further down the line. Are you? Outside of Barton, I mean? Are you updating Village Greens/Bills Ranch/Zen Gardens/Bas'ken Lake/Otami for us to hang out in for Towns 2.0? o.o
Because while updates for zOMG! would be great to get people back into it, I still can't help but see such untapped potential for also being able to hang out in the map like we would the other virtual spaces. As an extra option if you don't feel like playing the game 3nodding
I'm sure what you're doing with Towns 2.0 is going to cover a LOT, and I'm looking forward to it!
But this is just an extra thing to think about when Towns 2.0 is complete. Perhaps one of the first things on your 'what we're gonna do next' to think about. When we reach that point, this could make your huge world even BIGGER OwO
Just tossing ideas out there, you know? xD
Edit: I'll edit my first page to make it clearer that you didn't say 'we're doing this before Towns 2.0!' Sorry if that's what it seemed like! Trust me, I would wait to have this feature. Name the amount of time it would take once Towns 2.0 goes gold. I'd love to hang out in a bigger Gaia world, including all the things zOMG!'s map has to offer >w<
Reply here or there, wherever you want.
Hope we can get on the same page for what we're talking about, I know you've got a lot on your hands ^ ^
While it is true that I didn't say we were doing it before towns, I didn't say we were doing it at all. There are many reasons, which I am not at liberty to say, why we can not add the zOMG map to towns.
But, again, not sure. Maybe I should sneak in and steal that map...
Or Snortyllam could animate one of her plush she sneaked in to do so. They're spies, right? :U
Anyway, I'll repeat that T2 is making z!'s world "obsolete".
People? Are they still here? Would they move there? blabla
Running out of steam, let's conclude (for now, still have stuff in mah head (it's large for a reason emotion_awesome ) )
Can't rebuild zOMG! standalone outside of Gaia: that tie defines it.
Only here and only they. Brings us back to the trust issue KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN-- brought up, to which I'll only add that they did reach for outside help in some occasions.
That won't convince anyone :V
And only then. Obviously zOMG! is a mix of things, all of the above and much more, but all those gathered in a certain context.
And I'm afraid all these stars won't align anymore.
Things just will never be the same.
...this means they could improve, eh emotion_awesome
I also believe that the potential success of the game might not occur in a straight line. So Gaia might create an event, game or a change on the site that brings in new people or old people that left and be a huge success.
One thing is certain: for the game to see continued updates it must be center of the attention, which puts it in direct competition with the other major features on the site.
Now yes, attention could be driven to the game by updates outside of it. I doubt enough could be gathered that way, but assuming as much there'll come a point where they'd want to do changes in-game ( which is what we wanted to begin with) but hit upon the tech wall, that is talent is gone, tech is old, can't do sheet.
In other words, I doubt they'd drive attention to something they can't support, or at least I'd advise against it xP
Now the interesting bit is that Towns was in a similar situation. (Guilds are too)
They realized it was popular but couldn't, practically speaking, respond to that attention (they also figured it'd fit wtv strategy they have for the site).
So they built a new one before driving attention to it, and it's shaping up to maintain a lot of said attention, being a hub to a host of features, games, sponsorships, and the ever-important events.
The worry-some-est-bacon bit is that Towns is, or could/will be, I get a sense that's Narumi's plan, a Gaia world, as in the Gaia world, in a very different style but nonetheless making zOMG! obsolete in that aspect, losing that thunder.
I've a long simmering rant about why T2 is shaping up to be a worst world than zOMG!, but I'll save that for another day ¯3¯
However, there are a few other things that only zOMG! still has that I think the website could still benefit from...
Anyway, competition is though and if zOMG! is to ever receive significant attention, it'll have to be rebuilt first :U
I've never really considered it much before this current conversation, but maybe a remake for zOMG! would be the best course of action. I recently saw the screenshots from Gambino Island that Gaia made for the summer event, and it looks really nice! They must have new artists to spare to do so much painting that we didn't have as an option while making zOMG!. There are actually many assets I saw taken straight from zOMG! backgrounds and painted over to use as assets in Gambino Island too. eek
Maybe they could piecemeal add back the world zone by zone using what exists in zOMG!. The biggest hurtle would be, do you merge Towns 2 and zOMG! in some way to make one "Gaia World", or keep them as separate products. I like the idea of having one central game or location to visit. Maybe they could designate some zones as "battle" or not like MMOs have PvP areas and non-PvP, sometimes them being the same locales but just different servers.
From Gaia's perspective, a zOMG! remake would mean they could start fresh and don't have to worry about figuring out code from people not working there anymore. One reason why they almost had to remake Towns into Towns 2 was that Gaia laid off the creator of Towns many years back. gonk But technology also changes too, and from what I've heard, the new version of Flash allows it to access your PC video card, meaning MUCH better graphics ability and speed! biggrin The original idea for zOMG! was to have free scrolling rooms like Towns, but we were limited by the tech at the time, and it couldn't be done realistically. Even HTML5 now could make an amazing zOMG! or Towns with what it can do!
Gaia has all the hard work already done for a new zOMG!. All the assets are created, you'd just have to port them to a new engine. If they'd want to repaint some graphics or rewrite some bad dialog etc, they could do that too. The toughest part would be remaking the ring system, AI, path-finding etc, but these would all just be more features that could make the entire experience better for events, sponsorships and the like. Maybe someone could finally make movable and damaging collision like we never got the time too! xd
One thing I just hope they would do if they could make a full interactive Gaia world from Towns is to give it a new name! scream The name "Towns" was terrible enough, but "Towns 2"?? emotion_puke Even worse! They need to come up with a more all encompassing title that does the whole world of Gaia justice! biggrin
I've never really considered it much before this current conversation, but maybe a remake for zOMG! would be the best course of action. I recently saw the screenshots from Gambino Island that Gaia made for the summer event, and it looks really nice! They must have new artists to spare to do so much painting that we didn't have as an option while making zOMG!. There are actually many assets I saw taken straight from zOMG! backgrounds and painted over to use as assets in Gambino Island too. eek
Maybe they could piecemeal add back the world zone by zone using what exists in zOMG!. The biggest hurtle would be, do you merge Towns 2 and zOMG! in some way to make one "Gaia World", or keep them as separate products. I like the idea of having one central game or location to visit. Maybe they could designate some zones as "battle" or not like MMOs have PvP areas and non-PvP, sometimes them being the same locales but just different servers.
From Gaia's perspective, a zOMG! remake would mean they could start fresh and don't have to worry about figuring out code from people not working there anymore. One reason why they almost had to remake Towns into Towns 2 was that Gaia laid off the creator of Towns many years back. gonk But technology also changes too, and from what I've heard, the new version of Flash allows it to access your PC video card, meaning MUCH better graphics ability and speed! biggrin The original idea for zOMG! was to have free scrolling rooms like Towns, but we were limited by the tech at the time, and it couldn't be done realistically. Even HTML5 now could make an amazing zOMG! or Towns with what it can do!
Gaia has all the hard work already done for a new zOMG!. All the assets are created, you'd just have to port them to a new engine. If they'd want to repaint some graphics or rewrite some bad dialog etc, they could do that too. The toughest part would be remaking the ring system, AI, path-finding etc, but these would all just be more features that could make the entire experience better for events, sponsorships and the like. Maybe someone could finally make movable and damaging collision like we never got the time too! xd
One thing I just hope they would do if they could make a full interactive Gaia world from Towns is to give it a new name! scream The name "Towns" was terrible enough, but "Towns 2"?? emotion_puke Even worse! They need to come up with a more all encompassing title that does the whole world of Gaia justice! biggrin
If I won the powerball and could buy gaia, this is what I'd do, totally redo zomg. With a ton of new areas and quests.
I remember Scully trying to rally us about advertising zOMG in RL by passing out flyers and putting up posters.
that was cleosomba. (not sure if i spelled it right) but she had a thread all about advertising. what i was doing was tweeting and trying to make #GAIAzOMG a popular hashtag as a way of showing more support for the game. but yeah, public advertising was probably a good thing too during that time. ^^
gataka
But, again, not sure. Maybe I should sneak in and steal that map...
Or Snortyllam could animate one of her plush she sneaked in to do so. They're spies, right? :U
Anyway, I'll repeat that T2 is making z!'s world "obsolete".
sorry i giggled when i read that and also sorry to tl;dr a lot of posts. when i am on here longer i will read throught completely.
now, yes there is a new map but you know, towns 2 looks like zOMG. i don't see why the game can't be combined with towns. but the excuse will be all about the backside coding. of course. always about coding. but, don't we all see those pigeons in durem? that's from zomg. how about how they are making pets? reusing artwork from within zomg. heck if they can easily rework that stuff, by all means you can rework zomg. and i already asked codemonkey if he can change the towns link within zomg to be for towns 2. sure, something small to ask but it is worth it. so, even though towns 2 is all new and shiny, i still like the artwork in zomg more. and, is anyone noticing how really annoying it is that towns 2 lags????????? i mean, lag in zomg was something to get use to. but for towns 2 to even be worse lag than in zomg, it tells you something. and i feel that something is about the backside coding and structure (wild guess).
and i think you are right gata. your comment right there about towns 2 making the world of zomg obsolete is correct. and you know, it sucks how gaia does things when they mess up something so bad and abandon things. here hoc is another casualty to gaia's endless mess ups. even moga is on that list since gaia can't even get the outsourced company to try and 'fix' the game so it can be played on this site.
and yes, gaia has made a lot of mistakes in their 10 years of life. but, you shouldn't go and shrug it off and move on. at least try to make some closure first. like, ocean party for facebook was fun. and the incentive for gaia gold payout was the only reason why people played it. there always have to be something there to entice your audience to play and keep coming back for more. with hoc, i saw no incentive on playing. i know there was a lot of thought put into creating the game but for me, who sucks at card games and fails at strategy games, i wasn't a part of that audience gaia wanted to bring in. so here, zomg's audience was for ALL OF GAIA. it is gaia's mmo and ALWAYS WILL BE. but because of all the things happening behind the scenes, yeah. this is all we can have. we are lucky that mav, bron, jk, swarf, mlos, halzy, they were able to stay around so long. to give us after endboss, the coliseum challenges, boardwalk full, and dms. at least they were able to give us that even if these parts of zomg may be glitched/broken.
so... yeah... it is a shame gaia won't put more effort with the game. they are stuck worrying about events for the entire site, taking care of users and thinking about everyone overall, not about one small part of the gaia community. not thinking a lot about the zomg community. then again, i can be wrong. like... why are fluffs the feature of the easter event? why here they are a part of the summer event? why is blaze in the mini comic to kick off the event? gaia may be, in their own little way, trying to show they support us, the zomg community. it is little steps, but it should have been happening back when zomg went out LIVE in 2008.
gaia... is like an indecisive... teen. he is in high school and doesn't know what crowd to be a part of. he wants to be popular but is actually a band geek. he wants to fit in so much with everyone.. anyone.. by past ceo decisions, gaia lost his own identity.
"gaia is a social network like facebook. let's make gaia more facebook looking." - fin, ceo
"gaia should be hip and cool. let's try to be this by making facebook games and maybe go into mobile stuffs." - muumuupie, ceo
"let's try to go back to our roots." - gary, new ceo
the downside... we don't know what this new ceo thinks about zomg. we don't know what real intentions he has for gaia and its future or even, for us. i wish there could be an ask the admin with gary. we can flat out ask him questions and might as well ask him if he would like to play zomg with us. it never hurts to ask a simple question. and so... no one should give up on zomg. honestly, no one should. gaia may be trying to, but they can't. there are so many of us here that love this game and a lot of people only log in to gaia because of this game.
so... who thinks we should have dev meet in barton and make sure to ask sisky if she can come? xd might as well lol.
(sorry went off on a tangent so you can skip my whole post if you want since i was deep thinking >>;; )
last day of school is screwing with me. I keep thinking it's Friday.
But it is Friday! Oh. Time zones.
PM 2.5 today: 140. Unhealthy for those with breathing problems.
I've been reading up on PM 2.5 since I wasn't very familiar with it, and it's pretty crazy how much the world's population is affected by it. Apparently, about 80% of people in the world breathe what is considered polluted air by the World Health Organization. eek
Here is a satellite map by NASA of PM 2.5 levels globally back in 2006. Deserts contribute to the high levels in northern Africa and the Middle East, but eastern China takes the cake as far as the worst location in the world by far. gonk
ANYWAY now i got your attention;
got some nice news.
You were the one asking me CENTURIES ago about the prize that came along with the zOMG Avvie contest.
Well JK pmed like begin May, saw it on the 16th, but I can say, its a work-in-progress.
Saw the sketch and he will continue once he is back smile
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