After playing this game for two years now, I have seen quite a few changes, additions, bugs, errors, flaws, illogical reasoning, over extension, superfluous add ons, been inundated with unnerving pop ups, lied to by GGE, conned on occasion and now have a much better understanding as to the true nature of the mindset of the developers of Good Game Empire.
In a nutshell, GGE operates for one reason and one reason only and that is greed.
At one time, the developers of this game really had a good idea. It is no small wonder the GGE has been the most popular game of its type in the world for 7 or 8 years running. Unfortunately, the game programmers and system developers are suffering from one fatal flaw in their reasoning.
They do NOT know when to stop making unnecessary changes, adding on features, continually find ways to manipulate new players into spending ridiculous sums of money just in order to learn how to play this game well. It may be a form of entertainment and everything appears to be on the up and up, but when one takes a long hard look at what has been developed in the past 14 months, there are some serious flaws to both the logic, ethics and in some cases one could even say the morality as to why some of the changes have been introduced.
Do the programmers who work for Good Game Studios even have an inkling of what really happens out here or are we supposed to do all the test marketing for them ? Get serious ladies and gentlemen, so you think we really care to help GGE find new players? Some of us perhaps. But not many. Do we have a choice as to which pop ups we see while playing, which undoubtedly appear during times when we Alliance leaders in particular are sending messages which are much more important the seeing some silly ad for a bunch of ruby troops which only players who spend over $100 per week playing here are even remotely interested in purchasing. I don't see any incentive for stock options being offered as part of the incentive, so why should I care ?
Do we really need to be bombarded by nothing but Nomads and Foreigners month after month when for the most part they are a waste of time and energy and prevent players from developing in a logical progression simply because we are coerced into focusing our time on some obsessive idea that has been passed along by a whimsical airhead who really has no concept in his or her little mind of just how mature adults really think ?
The NEW and Improved Berimond ? Get serious here now shall we. Another ruby grab and that is all there is to it. Waste of time and energy. Much like many of the so called New and Improved features.
Do we have a choice in what we see on our screens ? No we do not. Are we all 8 to 10 year old children who have graduated from playing Farmville ? Uh, I don't think so. Does GGE mention anywhere that this is not a kids game and that after level 25 or so it is too difficult for players under 16 years of age to grasp the complexities in playing here and really should not have been allowed to begin playing in the first place? I have never seen anything claiming - or should I say disclaiming this point. Are parents made aware just what is involved and the kind of emotional trauma and potential psychological damage can be brought upon a child PRIOR to opening up an account for the child ? The answer is most definitely a NO on that one.
And why is this not being made clear to the general public beforehand ?
Can you say "Lack of Ethics" - or am I being too direct here for the "adults" of Good Game Studios to even bother responding.
Perhaps my being a Canadian of half German heritage is a drawback in attempting to understand the whys and wherefores of just how a Good Game like this one has become a bastardized adolescent of its former self. Or is because as I approach the ripe old age of 60 I see the world a bit more realistically than the twenty something's and thirty something's with all their new fangled toys, fancy self driving automobiles, high tech devices and multitude of letters on their business card showing just how many years they have spent in academia with little or no real world experience to back up their "logic" who for the most part have forgotten how to spell, add or subtract and in many cases cannot even tire a pair of shoes. That is if they even learned how to do these things in the first place.
When the executives from Good Game Studios wake up and smell the sauerkraut one day - which will inevitably occur when GGS stock takes a plunge, maybe just then the system designers and programmers will go back to the beginning and clean up all the messes they have created for themselves and begin to remove some of the features that are not being used by all but a small % of the players and are in reality nothing more than a complete waste of time and energy in even considering to add on to GGE. Rather than continually screw things up here, just develop a new game and leave this one set the way it is or was with the best features as they were so we can continue to play the game as it was designed before all the ludicrousness arose and the insanity took over.
But wait ? We have games like that. chess for one has not changed in centuries,
Hmmmm ......... I wonder why it is still so popular ? Beats me ?
Out of curiosity, I wonder of anyone from Good Game Studios will actually read this post and better yet, if one of the founders actually had the integrity and strength of conviction in his own personal beliefs to respond in directly, even better.
Somehow I doubt it.
As I mentioned before, I'm a Canadian - which I guess must mean I know absolutely nothing about what I am writing here.
Or do I ?
Dave Hooper
-CoA-Simple Fun
1. I completely agree.Dave Hooper (US1) said:
In a nutshell, GGE operates for one reason and one reason only and that is greed.
Hmmmm ......... I wonder why it is still so popular ? Beats me ?
2. Even I don't know why and I've been wondering . . .
honestly i dont think its even that popular anymore. most people dont spend nearly as much time or money on the game as the top elite .1% of the game, so its really maybe a few million accounts over all the servers, but maybe a few thousand across them that actually play actively and buy tons of rubies. GGE just likes to boast the number of accounts (even though at least 20% of them are still listed even though they are in ruins or past that stage.)
I would like to thank the 5 of you for responding in kind.
It's good to know that there are reasonable adults out here who can perceive more than just what is on our Empire Screens.
There needs to be a way that we can reason with Good Game Studios rather than just have a public outcry. If we offer possible practical solutions which would be beneficial to both players, the staff of GGE and the company overall then I believe we could actually make a real difference here and all of us could continue to enjoy ourselves playing. The people of Good Game Studios, who are in reality are probably just as mystified as are we with the negative reactions they are receiving recently in that players are leaving the game in droves; who have been playing for well over 3 years in many instances; could be becoming even more desperate than the players considering that this game and others determine the livelihood for a substantial number of programmers, testers, developers and so on worldwide.
The market for this type of computer game may still be growing, but the competition for that market has probably outgrown the actual population growth in players so that GGS itself is under tremendous pressure from its shareholders to continue to find ways to increase profits.
As long as their ethics are in place, the morality is within reasonable bounds and there is no supposed bribery being offered to employees by some of the wealthier players out here, then I would like to think that there is hope that we can actually make a real difference in helping the development and continued success both for the players and the staff of GGS.
Unfortunately, there is no Canadian office for this company or I for one would be more than interested in assisting with a major overhaul and serious critical analysis of the current game delving further into the details of the actual programming and algorithms myself.
I do have an analysts background going back some time in a manufacturing application environment, so it is possible that a real contribution could be made here.
There are probably quite a few of us out here who deep down wish we could help out more. The complexities involved do not allow for this to be an effective reality.
But then we get to the ultimate question : Why do this kind of thing for free ?
well currently the most i can think of doing to help people is suggesting other free-to-play games, ones that dont have a pay to win scenario in themDave Hooper (US1) said:There are probably quite a few of us out here who deep down wish we could help out more.
Additionally all these so-called "improvements" have another drawback - persistent lag getting worse as the keep improving and add unasked for features. The system systematically degraded in the past 14 months so you get stuck with screens like this. People don't even bother supplying their support with info as they all het served with a copy-paste answer, and denying any problems...
However I disagree that nomads and foreign castles event is a waste of time as they are a way of getting free troops without the need to spend rubies. If you do the achievements you get 200+ rubies for free. Plus its a fun way for young players and older players likewise to get at each other by looting, looting other foreigners, trading khan tablets for unique items that would otherwise require 40k+ rubies to be purchased. So yes there is a chance for non-ruby buyers to advance in the game. Yes I have bought rubies in the past and will never do anymore because of ridiculous prices, but the events allow players who are fed up with buying rubies a chance to enjoy the game to the maximum capacity.
Additionally I am young and I do not suffer from trauma or any of what you said so I don't agree with you there
The benefits of nomads and the like really only pay off for newer players in larger alliances.
It is to difficult for higher level grinders to go back and re-build or reap the benefits our last responder commented upon.
Being a player in an alliance is completely different than leading one. The levels of responsibility are completely different when one needs to consider every other player in the alliance in addition to oneself.
A younger person would not understand this aspect due to life inexperience.
Sure the updates are not up to scratch, they know that, and they don't care because they know we wont quit until the point its unplayable.
The longer you smoke the harder it is to quit, even if the cigarettes get tackier, they still have the nicotine.
Items introduced like the wheel of fortune, I mean its gambeling pure and simple. Yes GGE like to hide behind the fact its not gambeling as its not real money, well thats a bit like saying gambeling in a casino is not real gambeling as you ue chips not cash. But of course you use rubies, and rubies have a very real cash value. So legally GGE may have a stay out of jail card. But ethiclally and morally? putting a gambeling game into a game played by players of any age really?
Misrepresentation of ruby offers, not paying out things to players that they have paid for, calling players liars, the list is endless. Claiming personal ruby offers are totally random and are not linked to ruby purchasesd at all, again total lies. We all know it. But obviously GGS dont like it to be common knowledge that they give better discounts to players that dont buy rubies often than to those that do buy rubies often!!!!
On the plus side, they came up with a great concept, a really great concept, and hit the market just at the right time. And they deserve the rewards for that. I am a business man myself, I understand GGS is not a charity and needs to make money, as does any other business. So the line is a fine one to walk over what is acceptable or not, and I am sure that the GGS board mentality is one of well no one is forcing you to pay or to play. And of course that is true, the decision of ethics is a purely personal one, for every player that plays the game we will all have slightly different views on whats acceptable and what isnt. The truth is whilst ever the statistics show that players are prepared to pay for the new features in the games be it GOD commanders or whatever, they will keep introducing them, and keep inflating the prices until they reach the level where by players stop paying. Until players close their wallets and do it together unified, then the increases and changes will continue to happen.
Do i think they should be more transparant, and more honest in their descriptions of things yes absoloutly. Do i think they should pay out items they promise, yes of course, and should when they make a mistake should they respond with humility and grace and quickly and efficiently sort the problem. Then again yes.
But unfortunatly it seems the game's evoloution is being based on only the quantifiable aspects, by that i mean the data that comes back and tells GGE on what players are prepared to spend ruby on, and how much they are prepared to spend, and clearly the answer to that is on events, players are clearly prepared to spend the most on events, which is why we get non stop events, often 2 or even 3 events at once, (currently thorn king, nomads, and the alliance tournement). What GGE are forgetting is the non quantifiable aspects of the game, the player enjoyment, the player involvement, the team aspect. ETC. Basically the things that made the game popular in the first place the importance of haveing ruby and non ruby players. Of course they know this but at this point of the games life cycle they dont care.
Is it right? well i think Empire in the eyes of the GGS execs is in the final phase of its life, and they are going to milk it till it runs dry. simple as that.
Agree and disagree ...
I disagree on the added bonus...........I disagree because it is a total and if people cant add up go back to school ....the % is part of the total so I disagree with your argument completely phil....if 10% is over 500%...................you get 10/500=2% of a total but 10% of a value?...
I agree completely on your point about these troop deals where you get the lame 300% bonus worth £300....that for me is illegal and false advertising and I will state it as a fact ....gge need to explain how these offers are worth the price stated or more importantly stop talking absolute garbage and give people deals with an honest representation of the value....you are breaking the law...you are false pricing with inflated valuations.((explain the value)).
Also agree with phil on the wheel,it is gambling and encourages gambling.............if they are breaking law and you win I would like to think judges will follow suit and make them pay on all.............as it is more expensive to employ a barrister than to pay..........(( injury on parity)).
I love the sams cast....the granaries to counter the 6 waves..........I don't like the offers...........don't tell me deals worth 300 when its worth less........people are not sperm donations for a bank..they pay your wages so start listening do not make a fool of people.
Another gripe of mine why are so many players on 550k plus when they are as much use as wallpaper paste to a mother needing inseminated.
see you soon veng ;-)