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LeuchtbojeConny wrote:
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...
I'm pretty sure she was being ironic. ;)
For the record, I do play didgeridoo. 8)mhazelip wrote:
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.
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 rel 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?
Maybe I have a higher opinion of my fellow players than you have, but I do not think that the envy you describe is part of the equation. There are so many threads here where heartfelt congratulations were offered to those who got a prize.
Speaking for myself, I've always been happy to hear that getting Shary or the faberge egg was still possible. ;)
I am completely with you on the question of reward. There was far too little incentive and reward in this event. Like I've said before: one reason I'm playing this is that every action is immediately rewarded. (okay, I've waited three month for Dubya...) I do not want the grind of my daily life in a game.
Someone posted in another thread that be felt like a guinea pig during this event: doing exactly what EA wanted him to do. I feel the same and have posted so before: I entered the game more often, I stayed longer and I spent more donuts. Did I get more out of it? No, I didn't even get the same level of satisfaction ordinary gameplay is giving me. So I think you are right in regard of rewards/gratification.
Thank god there was this forum! I had more fun here than ingame. :)ultimatechick wrote:
LeuchtbojeConny wrote:
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...
No, no. The whole purpose of this thread is complexity, not simplicity. YOU'VE GONE AND SPOILED IT!
I'm so sorry.
Must have been all that bunny zapping that fried part of my brain...LeuchtbojeConny wrote:
Someone posted in another thread that be felt like a guinea pig during this event: doing exactly what EA wanted him to do. I feel the same and have posted so before: I entered the game more often, I stayed longer and I spent more donuts. Did I get more out of it? No, I didn't even get the same level of satisfaction ordinary gameplay is giving me. So I think you are right in regard of rewards/gratification.
Thank god there was this forum! I had more fun here than ingame. :)
https://i.imgflip.com/8rnjy.jpg- Great post!
As soon as I learned about persuasive UX I recognized several techniques EA is employing in this game. Of course recognizing the ways I was being manipulated didn't stop me from spending 200 donuts on eggs. So far I managed to "win" everything except Shary Bobbins.- Scarcity and Exclusivity: Trying to be one of the elite who got Shary Bobbins.
Closure/Completing a set: Trying to get all the characters/buildings/decorations in the event.
Breaking Coherence: Using in game currency to stop people from thinking about donuts as real money.
Partial Reinforcement Schedule: In B.F. Skinner's experiments with rats and pigeons, sometimes withholding the reward for a correct behavior led to the animals continuing to exhibit the behavior for longer. Unlike Pavlov's dogs who pretty quickly stopped responding to the bell if no food was given to them, Skinner's rats and pigeons would continue at the task for much longer if they thought there was a vague possibility of a piece of food.
For additional reading take a look at Evil by Design by Chris Nodder. 57 persuasive design patterns showcasing how companies manipulate us.
http://evilbydesign.info/
If you have a Lynda.com subscription, check out the Persuasive UX courses by Chris Nodder. Interesting stuff.
http://www.lynda.com/Chris-Nodder/1401548-1.html j1320 wrote:
Great post!
As soon as I learned about persuasive UX I recognized several techniques EA is employing in this game. Of course recognizing the ways I was being manipulated didn't stop me from spending 200 donuts on eggs. So far I managed to "win" everything except Shary Bobbins.- Scarcity and Exclusivity: Trying to be one of the elite who got Shary Bobbins.
Closure/Completing a set: Trying to get all the characters/buildings/decorations in the event.
Breaking Coherence: Using in game currency to stop people from thinking about donuts as real money.
Partial Reinforcement Schedule: In B.F. Skinner's experiments with rats and pigeons, sometimes withholding the reward for a correct behavior led to the animals continuing to exhibit the behavior for longer. Unlike Pavlov's dogs who pretty quickly stopped responding to the bell if no food was given to them, Skinner's rats and pigeons would continue at the task for much longer if they thought there was a vague possibility of a piece of food.
For additional reading take a look at Evil by Design by Chris Nodder. 57 persuasive design patterns showcasing how companies manipulate us.
http://evilbydesign.info/
If you have a Lynda.com subscription, check out the Persuasive UX courses by Chris Nodder. Interesting stuff.
http://www.lynda.com/Chris-Nodder/1401548-1.html
I've read through some of Nodder's book, but I've not seen those Lynda vids. I have a sub and will check them out!- 4junk3000New SpectatorGreat post and some great replies as well. I agree with this perspective too.
These topics are why i like forums most. For me it is easier to get over an emotionally distressing event if i covert it to a logical discussion like this. Use my head instead of my gut.
I was just thinking about this, that whatever the reason this event was so much more frustrating than previous, the underlying truth is that it was very likely with intent and followed expectation as well.
EA knows what they are doing, and they most certainly use the science available (science!) to generate profit. It's all about the metrics, and the data is available real time. But no changes occurred mid event, the gold eggs becoming available sad said here to be pre coded, and no corrections or extensions followed.
So like what you described above, it all has got to be part of a plan and a direction they wanted to go. I'm assuming today they are celebrating another successful event, while so many of us feel like we just came back from a virtual battle and lost.
They know how to shake us upside down and get the cash. It makes much sense.
Fortunately, when we stop letting our impulse feelings dictate our actions, we are able to act thoughtfully instead. (I didn't buy eggs.)
Insert appropriate Vulcan gif here! - Excellent thread! Very thoughtful! I remember the damn wheel and trying to get plowman etc. I could feel my blood pressure rising every time i played it. I spent money on doughnuts trying to get everything! The game was on my mind practically all day, worrying about what the wheel would give me this time! When this Easter event started the main thing I wanted was egg guy! Rising blood pressure again! My son and hubby got him early but all I got was the rubbish! I had 150 doughnuts and thought about buying eggs. Then suddenly I think a switch went off in my brain and I thought 'what are you doing!!' 'Does it really matter?' So I stopped worrying about it. I didn't spend any doughnuts and I didn't get egg guy but do you know what......it doesn't matter. :)
4junk3000 wrote:
So like what you described above, it all has got to be part of a plan and a direction they wanted to go. I'm assuming today they are celebrating another successful event, while so many of us feel like we just came back from a virtual battle and lost.
I want to believe that in some dev meeting there will be at least a passing discussion of the undercurrent of disappointment many loyal fans are feeling.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. :-)
:shock: seriously??? Sorry, I don't mean to be rude but I think its you thats been smoking something!!! :P
I don't know whether you're an idealist who's world is just so perfect but try and think practically here... EA are a Business first and foremost. They don't make games for any other reason than to achieve their bottom line, and most of us know what that is. I think to this end, the Easter update had been very well thought out and executed to achieve such. If this wasn't so obvious to some, then it certainly should have become evident when they started selling Gold eggs a few days before the deadline. This decision had been taken a long-time previously imho, as it had been in the code all along. After weeks of frustration many people were primed to buy these eggs. One of the main aims of a business is for demand to exceed supply and they created this in many ways already covered by the OP and others, so no point going over old ground so to speak... After watching players all whip themselves into a frenzy over certain prizes, and maintaining their usual silence on the subject, they very kindly 'gifted' us the opportunity to fill our demand, knowing full well what the result would be.
As for Whacking day, I agree it was the best event by far but think that time, unfortunately, has long gone. The prizes were best yet imo, so much so that EA released some of them to buy straight after the event; they obviously rued their missed opportunity to fill their coffers by letting us win such prizes. Since then each event seems to have been an attempt at finding the right formula to push us into parting with as much cash as possible but the last update was a stretch too far imho... Hopefully they'll realise that in the long-term they're missing out on potential revenue with players leaving or hacking their games and Premium players, such as myself, refusing to pay another penny on this game; I will wait and see what the next event is like and if its similar, with a heavy heart, that will be the end of this game for me.
Great post by the OP with some very valid points; very well structured. Apologies if my thoughts lacks the same clarity and structure but its been a very heavy 80-hour work week with only a few hours sleep in total... :?
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