Forum Discussion
- Good Post.
I think one other aspect to add onto this would be the desire people have to collect everything in a set. Sometimes we have a compulsion to own everything that's part of a set, to complete it. I often read about people calling themselves "completionists" on here.
I know when I play video games I want to get 100% completion even if that means collecting every feather in Assassin's Creed III, collecting every hidden package in a Grand Theft Auto game, or learning every recipe in a profession in World of Warcraft. I want to see that 100% completion, own everything, and am willing to spend hours to do it. I'm not willing to spend extra money though.
I get the same compulsion in TSTO but have stamped it out because I see how the game makers have rigged the game and am not willing to spend real life money on games of chance. It annoys and frustrates me that I won't get everything from the Easter event, even after hours of tapping bunnies (my bunny electrifier didn't work), keeping all characters that could give eggs on those tasks, visiting all 100 friends everyday and trading eggs. I miss the old events like Halloween where spending that much time in the game would result in getting every item, all that time spent would result in completing the set. All the time spent on this event only resulted in drudgery and a slim chance at winning everything.
Not being able to "complete" this event, to collect everything, to be left with tons of fences, gates, egg piles, ponds, trees, and blankets/umbrellas I don't want is just annoying, when the things I need to complete are right there, spinning past every time I open a box.
I think EA knows many of us want to get everything and will spend money even if it only gives a slim chance of "completing" the event, and take advantage of that. jcunning_1974 wrote:
Good Post.
I think one other aspect to add onto this would be the desire people have to collect everything in a set. Sometimes we have a compulsion to own everything that's part of a set, to complete it. I often read about people calling themselves "completionists" on here.
I know when I play video games I want to get 100% completion even if that means collecting every feather in Assassin's Creed III, collecting every hidden package in a Grand Theft Auto game, or learning every recipe in a profession in World of Warcraft. I want to see that 100% completion, own everything, and am willing to spend hours to do it. I'm not willing to spend extra money though.
I get the same compulsion in TSTO but have stamped it out because I see how the game makers have rigged the game and am not willing to spend real life money on games of chance. It annoys and frustrates me that I won't get everything from the Easter event, even after hours of tapping bunnies (my bunny electrifier didn't work), keeping all characters that could give eggs on those tasks, visiting all 100 friends everyday and trading eggs. I miss the old events like Halloween where spending that much time in the game would result in getting every item, all that time spent would result in completing the set. All the time spent on this event only resulted in drudgery and a slim chance at winning everything.
Not being able to "complete" this event, to collect everything, to be left with tons of fences, gates, egg piles, ponds, trees, and blankets/umbrellas I don't want is just annoying, when the things I need to complete are right there, spinning past every time I open a box.
I think EA knows many of us want to get everything and will spend money even if it only gives a slim chance of "completing" the event, and take advantage of that.
Great points. So many players are as much about the collecting aspect as town building, or money accumulation. And the pathology of the collector can be just as compulsive as the dopamine-fueled Skinner player.In recent years, so-called Buffalo nickels, minted for 25 years starting in 1913, have fetched prices a thousand-fold their face value, with rare 1916 coins selling for as much as $50,000. Likewise, comic book fanatics buy first edition issues of The Amazing Spider-Man for $40,000, and fine art collectors pay millions to own a Van Gogh or Jackson Pollock painting. But Bakkom believes that these prices are as much about how scarce an item is as they are shorthand for the value that collectors place on their community and hobby.
"These aren't worth anything unless someone confirms their value," he notes.
Collecting is ultimately about "the excitement of discovery and the satisfaction of living life looking for things. It's a way of looking at the world."
Source: http://nationalpsychologist.com/2007/01/the-psychology-of-collecting/10904.html- Nice thread, some very interesting posts that people have obviously taken quite some time over.
Nice to see here on the forums. Igcognita wrote:
drumnman wrote:
andrewsworld1 wrote:
Interesting but have you thought that maybe the team just thought this was a cool idea and didn't care about sales as whatever they put out people buy... You never know one of them might have been outside smoking and saw a bunny and thought that it could be cool to zap bunnies and make it all funny by having them lay eggs. The prize system could just be something fun they thought they would try. :-)
These are good points. I've mentioned previously on this forum that I don't think EA is a giant, nefarious corporate monster looking to suck the will out of their players; however, that said, I'm sure profitability remains very high in their internal corporate messaging.
I do also believe that devs are continuously on the look out for new ways to keep the playerbase engaged, and you have to hand it to them - this event has certainly engaged us all!
I personally think that the original idea was to introduce a new element to the game, because players were starting to feel the events were becoming repetitive and mundane. But unfortunately, I think the new system must have been so financially rewarding for EA, that they decided to overhaul the game completely. I am also disappointed in the direction the game has gone, but I also feel it was inevitable. I still enjoy the game for now, but if it becomes like some other games, that make it impossible to enjoy the game without spending money, then I'll move on.
Edit: typo
Agreed. I too will move on and the game will wallow away in my iPad trash pile along with Real Racing 3, Clash of Clans, Jurrasic Park, and many other "successful" games I've invested in, yet whose free-to-play business models were ultimately deal breakers.ultimatechick wrote:
This is a superb, cogent discussion of the gamer/game creator dynamic which I've very much enjoyed reading.
What the HECK is it doing on this forum?? ;)
Lol. Thanks! My undergrad is in music history and if it taught me anything (and it did!) it taught me how to research and write papers. :)ultimatechick wrote:
drumnman wrote:
ultimatechick wrote:
This is a superb, cogent discussion of the gamer/game creator dynamic which I've very much enjoyed reading.
What the HECK is it doing on this forum?? ;)
Lol. Thanks! My undergrad is in music history and if it taught me anything (and it did!) it taught me how to research and write papers. :)
Heh, mine is in ancient history. I see your Handel & Brahms, and raise you Aeschylus & Thucydides. Just don't, please, ask me what I ended up actually doing with that. ;)
lol
I've got a M.A. in medieval German and history of drama/theatre.
It seems that an academic education in history and related sciences makes you prone to TSTO. ;)LeuchtbojeConny wrote:
ultimatechick wrote:
drumnman wrote:
ultimatechick wrote:
This is a superb, cogent discussion of the gamer/game creator dynamic which I've very much enjoyed reading.
What the HECK is it doing on this forum?? ;)
Lol. Thanks! My undergrad is in music history and if it taught me anything (and it did!) it taught me how to research and write papers. :)
Heh, mine is in ancient history. I see your Handel & Brahms, and raise you Aeschylus & Thucydides. Just don't, please, ask me what I ended up actually doing with that. ;)
lol
I've got a M.A. in medieval German and history of drama/theatre.
It seems that an academic education in history and related sciences makes you prone to TSTO. ;)
That's brilliant!
My Masters is in jazz performance (I'll give you one guess on the instrument :)), so I see your Aeschylus & Thucydides and raise you a Joe Morello, Milt Jackson, and Bobby Hutcherson!ultimatechick wrote:
Hm, I want to say the saxophone, but I feel like it's not esoteric enough. Oboe? Didgeridoo?
So close! It's the hurdy gurdy.ultimatechick wrote:
Hm, I want to say the saxophone, but I feel like it's not esoteric enough. Oboe? Didgeridoo?
Seriously? You guess saxophone? He is called drumnman.
I would like to hear a didgeridoo jam session though...- The post is very much appreciated.
I do believe one point of differentiation that EA is missing is the freemium vs premium aspect in TSTO.
This paticular event frustrated both camps. Freemium players that were used to being able to achieve the same rewards of premium purely through additional work and Premium players that were used to being able to achieve awards purely through the use of donuts. Paying no longer equaled reward and playing no longer equaled reward. Playing now equaled the chance of a chance at an award while paying equaled the chance of an award.
To be fair, I see no issues with EA making money or even inducing players to spend money. Separation between freemium and premium somehow has to exist. If not, the game will be unsustainable.
This game will always have players who will never spend any money and it will have players who will always buy whatever new decoration is released. The target should be moving those on the fence about parting some money to spending and those who have parted with some money to become repeat spenders. That is sustainable.
Much like casinos with their slot machines. The have the big reward posted to draw you in. The odds are very small. But you have multiple ways to win. To keep you playing. But imagine that you just put in $10 bucks and have been constantly winning a little and losing. You have had fun, wasted 15 minutes. The machine next to beins to flash its lights, horns go off, they just won the $1,000.00 jackpot. Great! Except....they were a freemium player. You spent $10 and have some ponds, fences, and if you are lucky maybe number bunny. They have blocko store, the characters, and spent nothing. How likely are you to feed the slot machine again?
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