Post by jimbus in Figment comments

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if the help forum is not closed to new threads, perhaps you can clear something up for me.

this is a screenshot of the Introductions forum. there's a blue button that says "create thread" at the top

this is a screenshot of the Help Center forum. there's no option to create a new thread. if the forum is not closed to new threads, how do i make one?

not having a timeline or devlog available means we can only go off of what you say is going to happen. a devlog would allow the players to see what's been done in the past, and get an idea of how long it takes for work to be done. it can also be used to alert people to any problems or delays in development. itch.io allows developers to host a devlog on the game's landing page, so why not do that? the lack of transparency is the most troubling aspect of this

and an alpha is not the same as a proof of concept. a proof of concept is like a sketch in drawing, it's there to prove a concept is possible. an alpha needs to have more features, an actual gameplay experience for example. if i'm being generous this could be considered a minimum viable product as it's far more bare bones than an alpha should be

i was really excited for this game, that's why i'm so concerned about how things are being handled. all criticism has been deflected with promises of better things in the future, but with no devlog, no timeline, and the only available communication being thru discord or the comments here, how are we to know you all will deliver?

Deleted post4 years ago

Deleted 3 years ago

dragonamazon4 years ago(+4)(-5)

Alright, first of all, I want to apologize. You were right, actually, on the Help Center forum being closed. It must've been closed accidentally, since none of the staff seems to be aware of it, but still, you were right. And I apologize. And I also thank you for bringing it to our attention! We'll be working on fixing it as soon as our programmer comes back from his job or is available in general.

As for the timeline or devlog-- we're new to Itch.io, as we created this page in order to participate in the bundle for racial justice two days ago, as you can see if you click "More Information" at the bottom of the posting. I personally wasn't aware of the feature, and I'm not sure if my team was either, though it is interesting and worth checking out. From what my team and I talked after receiving your feedback, we are open to doing it. The thing is that it consumes manpower that we honestly don't have. Most of our staff is quite overworked from real life, and that leaves a very small window of where we can or should put the energy we do have. But I will say it really isn't a bad feature to have and we're definitely considering it.

And, when it comes to delays on development and problems, that's what we use Discord for as well. We wouldn't and haven't used Itch.io simply because we haven't had Itch.io outside of participating in the bundle so far.

And regarding whether or not an Alpha is a proof of concept or not: (forgive the text in Portuguese, as that is my native language and what PC is set to)

The Alpha does also have gameplay features. It doesn't have all of them, though, and, yes, you're right, it is a very bare bones site as it is. I won't deny it. I don't want to excuse it, either. However, from what I can understand, and forgive me if I'm wrong, you seem to think that we're selling the game as a finished product, which is not what we are doing. We're selling the Human Avatar Set and the Critter. The key is intended as a free add-on so you can redeem your codes.

And, as for criticism being deflected with promises, I have no intention to deflect criticism, but I also can't show you content that isn't ready to be shown, and therefore I can only promise you we've been working on things behind the scenes. You also aren't addressing the critcism that I did reply to without promises, namely: the one where we are a dress-up game as well as a petsite, both points on the issue with the sudden wipe of new accounts, and whether or not the screenshots on this page are true or not.

It seems your biggest issue with our team is our lack of transparency, but I don't think I could've been more transparent outside of creating a devlog right then and there. I've explained our team's situation and why development is behind, and our intentions with the game. When it comes to our players knowing that we'll deliver, it's because we have, and will continue doing so. We have had contests, a Winter Event, Game Nights, and several handmade custom pets that were delivered properly and on time.

I have a question, too, actually: have you gone into our Discord? We talk very openly about what's going on, and try to answer all questions as much as we're able. We have very much been open about how development has been going. If you'd like to ask our userbase about our transparency, you're completely free to do so.

Even though our game is unfinished, we have done what we can to engage the community, and we want to do even more. I'm happy to hear you were excited about our game! And I assure you we're as communicative as we can, otherwise I wouldn't be here trying to respond to your concerns.

jimbus4 years ago(+5)(-8)

why didn't you make it clear on the game page here exactly what you meant by "alpha"? when i hear "alpha" i think there is a playable game available but not quite finished. there's quite a few alpha games in this pack and this is the only one where i've been completely confused as to why it's unplayable

the only things you can do in this game are click on things to explore and grind feathers, and get clothes for your avatar. if this is the alpha that implies that's all we can ever expect. if that's true why would anyone want to stick with this game?

i didn't address your reply to my comment about it being a dressup game bc i felt pointing out the fact that the forums that i guess aren't necessary(?) are broken was more important. but i am glad you reminded me! neopets was not just a dressup game. when i saw "inspired by neopets" i remembered a game with lore(available to read), games(available to play), and forums with people posting and interacting with one another. none of those things are available here.

why don't you explain what exactly is available on the page here on itch.io? if you had a publicly available devlog you'd be able to let people know about the issues you've had with the server and your employees. it's also concerning you don't seem to have an internal devlog... how are you keeping track of what you've done and what is to come?

"However, from what I can understand, and forgive me I'm wrong, you seem to think that we're selling the game as a finished product, which is not what we are doing. We're selling the Human Avatar Set and the Critter. The key is intended as a free add-on so you can redeem your codes."

yes, you are wrong. nothing on this page mentions how broken the site is, mentions nothing about the apparent issues with devs and coders, mentions nothing about servers being wiped, nothing about server overload. hate to sound like a broken record but that is literally what a devlog is for. you can't blame people for not knowing what's going on when you refuse to make that information publicly available

based on what you're saying, it seems you all bit off way more than you can chew. think about it this way: imagine if your game gets super popular tomorrow. do you think i'm the only person who will have these concerns? how long do you think "just wait, it will be good, trust us" will work to assuage these fears? i want this game to succeed because i want to play it lol. what about people who are far less invested and just want to fuck with you? how are you going to handle that if you can't handle a person only asking for transparency?