In French, Raison D'etre refers to one's reason for existing. And in this case, this game. For this very game, my Raison d'etre is fading.
Granted there has been about the same amount of players for this game as there has always been, there is one stark exception that most regulars of this game will have immediately noticed had they remained active for this game over the past 3 weeks. Nearly all of the players online are new and inexperienced. I will not question why this is the case, nor will I delve into the matter as to provide an expedient explanation with which to satiate the doubtful minds of this community. No, for you see, I only pointed this fact out to explain that I am very exhausted. I have sold plat items at the same prices I purchased them just to keep the economy running, I have been continually adding and deleting new players from Grim's town, among others. I have sacrificed my personal time and projects to explain concepts and the systems of this game to newer players. So much so, that I have placed my Elysium project largely on hold so that I may redirect my attention to managing Kjh's zoo and personally guiding new players. So the question begs to differ, why would I do this? Why would I press myself to sacrifice the pleasure I derive this game which clearly holds me to no obligation as a player to help others? Because, this is my Raison D'etre. And it has always been. I want to make a difference in this game.
A year and a half ago, I started playing this game. I was a multi-account botter for an entire month. I was never caught, and I have said this to only a handful of people. The reason for this is because I was no simpleton at cheating the system. I knew most moderators only log in at certain times, and check only the most frequented areas of the game for bots. Furthermore, I realized that moderators had the ability track the IP of accounts, so I scrambled the IP of certain accounts and never botted in the same areas for more than several hours. Because of this, I was able to acquire the funds for a publicpad, a townstone, and the construction of my entire Fareast temple on a nigh endless income. So why did I stop this paradise? Because SapphireCoyote gave me an additional townstone and publicpad. Because Xerp discounted his plat items when he saw my constructions. Because kjh787 gave me a free expansion to a quest town along with a 3X expanded pocket. Because every player who knew the game better than I did treated me with more respect than I deserved. It was at this point I had developed the heedless and reckless ambition to pay the community back more than they can ever repay me.
And so months went on. I built, I helped, and I became personal friends with moderators through this game. But the game you see, The game is dying. It is dying not because there are fewer people or how people's tastes have moved on to more sophisticated graphics and gameplay. Not at all, the game is dying because it is faced with neglect. It is dying because there are massive problems with this game that have festered so extensively that it is eroding the very foundations that this game has stood upon. I will not sugercoat any of what I am about to say at this point, because not even sugar can make what I am about to say any sweeter.
RobbyZ tells new players to ask for a new town fresh out of the tutorial without first suggesting to complete Draco's quests first, so they are oftentimes dismissed as optional achievements. The game boasts a Free-to-Play motto but players must constantly scramble to scrape gold for townstones, publicpads, and linkpads, none of which are readily available because the items themselves still must be purchased by someone in the market with real money. The market is dead, there is no high-yield plat items that can be found in this current market. The very fact that a single player has sustained the entire economy from his own pockets is nothing short of appalling. The entire notion of a creative sandbox is insulted by the sheer lack of aesthetic decor in this game. And the most disdainful fact, is that none of these problems require any extensive background in programming or coding to repair. Mystery boxes can include keydoors, buyboxes, password doors, fake floors, and left-handled doors. Other high-cost plat items can be made purchasable with a gold conversion that suits free-to-players and at the same time, appeals to market stimulating wealthy contributors such as Kjh. The dialogue of the NPC's can be corrected to appeal towards a more practical approach to the necessary knowledge of the game. Adding simple blocks I presume, would also be a simple matter.
I refuse to believe this game has stagnated because Mr. Zinchak is the only developer. I refuse to believe this game deserves any less than the best treatment for all its players. And I refuse to believe any of these changes take more than a day to implement. I'm sorry but I can no longer contain my aggression, because I am no longer depressed for the state of the game. I am infuriated. Yes I made a negative review on steam. Yes it was I who personally convinced Chris_Ramos to write his now-popular steam review. Regardless of whether players consider these reviews a fair or accurate representation of the game, I would sooner quit this game than recommend it to the common player. Not because I want to see this game fail, but simply because the state of 8bitmmo has decayed that much. It is quite honestly a waste of the common player's time and energy to play and discover that the game itself cannot even uphold its own values.
It's just a game. It's nothing more than a game. As such, I will treat it as one and continue to enjoy it at my leisure. But my Raison d'Etre is fading. One step forwards and two steps back on a road that doesn't end. It is fading because I can no longer find any long term solution to repay the community. I cannot provide any consolation to the players who have grown discontent of the game because quite frankly, I cannot even provide adequate consolation for myself. It's outright disgusting when I see new players speak out of first impressions for how wonderful this game seems, and seeing them leave so soon each time. I would like to be a game moderator so that I could further help this community but I personally believe this game no longer needs more game moderators. And so at the end, I have as much power and influence on this game as I have started with. So my only request is this: Give me back my Raison D'etre. 8bitmmo, give me some indication that as a player, I can still make a difference.
