- Sep 19, 2020
- 10
- 59
I'm really with Gearless on this and I hate to admit it. Anger doesn't accomplish anything.
So here's an appeal to Koda, as level and fair as I can possibly make it:
You are a talented writer working with a talented artist. You guys have made some great products and the ambition on display is clear, even from an almost entirely outsider perspective. New mechanics are frequently on display and their complexity has ramped up. It's easy to see how much you guys want to implement different ways and modes of playing your games. That's great.
But on some level, it's impractical for what is (essentially) a two-person team with a bit of help here and there. People don't get upset because you're delivering sub-par content or even over-promising. People get upset, at least the people I've spoken with in the past, because there is no consistency to what we get. Many, many months ago a seventh floor was next on the agenda. But instead, we've gotten at least two (maybe all three?) complete side projects, each with their own style and world apart from what drew us in. At least one of those (WG) also has content teased that may or may not ever come, though it looks more and more unlikely as the number of games increases. What's more, there's a whole ToT side-story now that has a mysterious ending we may never get to see AND a completely new new game with voiceover, which means even more coordination.
Meanwhile, there's not even a central collection of information on any of these projects, save for a couple pinned messages in the Discord. No way to really confirm if we have or have not seen all of the content we want in what we have short of grinding out RPG battles in the hope that some arbitrary combination of win and loss will result in something new. I don't know how others feel about this specific point but: the worst part of ToT is the grind. There's so much faff to it, separating the parts that show off yours and Bo's abilities with an ancient engine being held together with tape and gum. It's amazing that you guys have pushed RPGM so far, nobody can take that away from you. But the lack of clarity both in development and the game itself is very, very frustrating as a consumer and, yes, a fan.
As so many have pointed out throughout this incredibly long thread, you guys are making a game that is unlike anything else in the community. That inspires a lot of confidence and patience. But all of this back and forth stuff, including little systems that seem counterintuitive and more like they increase the game's complexity for the sake of it (anyone remember Cobra's nickname system?), has eroded so much of that in so many of us.
We don't want you to change the way you're making games, not really. Basically all we want you to do is get a PR guy. Someone who takes news from you two and translates into something for the rest of us. Because what direct communication we have gotten does nothing to soothe the frustration or ease the wait. The primary issue here is one of communication. It's clear you take pride in your work, you absolutely should, and some responses here have been less than kind. But at the end of the day, it's still people expressing a frustration that they are getting no balm for. And they certainly can't express it in the official Discord server without incurring an absolute wrath.
