Open letter to Gree

[Bravo Zulu]

First- lets try something. If somebody trolls, posts a nasty comment, attack you in this thread, just ignore them. Don't post back, don't defend yourself. Bypass it like it doesn't exist. Trolls and naysayers need to stir. We should not reinforce their behavior no matter how angry it makes us.

Dear Gree,

You need a psychologist. Don't laugh, I'm not suggesting you are having mental difficulties. But you do have a problem. Industrial organizational psychology focuses on psychology's contribution to making the company/product better, but that's not what I am suggesting. I want to point out a relatively new area of psychology, media psychology. Media psychology studies the effects of media influence on people. I should be clear this is not my area of psychology. The research is fascinating, though, and after reading an interview with the man who runs Gree I thought I should suggest this. I forget his name, sorry, but he said Gree was trying to make the games more interesting and evolved rather than just a tap app. You guys really are off to a great start, but you will miss the boat of something doesn't change- and I don't want you to think it was because you guys had bad ideas. Contrarily, factions and WD events are great and that's why you are having so much trouble. I will use myself as an example.

I wasn't attached to the game before factions and WD events. It was a way to kill time, keep my mind active. Now, I really have fun- which is something I did not expect from an app game. Also, I spent some real money- which I never do, on any game. Many are like me in this respect so score 1 for your business. Fast forward to 5 months into the new WD game concept.

People are revolting. I know customers always complain- but you have to have noticed this is reaching a boiling point. I'll tell you why. Most of us don't want to give it up, but we are going to have to. Most of us are ok with the amount of money we spend, but see a time when it won't be enough. Most of us were ok with how much time this WD stuff took, until we realized there was no end in sight.

We simply can't keep up this pace. To afford you we have to go to work. To play well, we need a balance between real life and the game- and we can't play a game that interferes with real life. We did for awhile, thinking one weekend a month can't hurt. But then two weekends a month. Plus events. Oh, the burnout. A vault of gold for 60$ turned into a vault for 80$ then for some more and more vaults just to play. You know we want to win. Winning is fun too. When does it slow down? That's what most of us want. We don't want to stop, we just want to slow down.

You know why it's so important to us? Aside from the trolls and general pessimists, most of us are reasonable and we know this: if it doesn't slow down we will have to stop playing. We are frustrated and upset because we don't want to stop playing- we have invested time and effort and yes money into this game we like. Some people for over a year.

Gree, these games are your livelihood, but not ours. You are going to force the hand of many people because we feel backed into a corner where if we do take time off we get behind. Not a little behind- but far behind. Far far behind now that we have the new LTEs. So we want to go on vacation, we have a family crisis, or we just want to save up a bit and it's ok with us to buy a bit of gold. But we can't- you have put us in a pressure cooker. People don't do well with that. Media psychology can explain it better. I'm not being sarcastic or anything. If the guy doing the interview was sincere- it's something to consider.

If it doesn't slow down I will have to stop, as will many others. You have made it an either or choice, because if we just slow down on our own we get far behind in units and stats that it isn't fun to play. Remember- we all like to win and if we can't be number one we still like to feel like we are getting ahead. That's people 101. I don't want to stop, not because I am addicted as some people like to accuse others of being on this forum. I don't want to stop because I am having fun. But I can sustain this pace, so instead of watching as others get stronger around me while I balance life and gameplay, I will have to quit. It's coming soon for me and others like me.

I for one want you to fix it not because we threaten, demand, or throw general temper tantrums. I want you to fix it because I like to play. I enjoy the people in my faction and most on this forum- regardless of whether some say we can't be friends we are. We are game friends. I know about their kids and jobs. They are great fun.

Just think about it. We would have time, Gree would have time (for all of our tickets and such, we are smart and a lot to manage). I'm just sayin'

[possum]

Actually, I think the psychology they are employing, intentionally or not, is good from their perspective. "Keeping up with the Jones'" and the pyramid scheme they are fostering by introducing LTQs and pitting us a against each other touches on both our pride and vanity. They just take it to the extreme.

With that said, their measures, their motives, our pride and vanity--all of which serves as the foundation of this game--is a rather fragile house of cards. It doesn't take much to pull the rug out and once those cards start tumbling, by either boredom or a gust of wind named pressure, there's really no stopping it. A few players bankrolls this game and they stand upon us, the many, the disenfranchised and if we go, they go as they won't have anyone to be prideful or vain over.

[DME]

This type of game isn't supposed to stand the test of time. It's made to be easily reproduced just with a new skin on and marketed as a new game with minimal investment.

[Muse_boa]

I support this open letter, and i really hope that gree reads it (well they will) and understand it. I enjoy my faction, working together, the fact that you can meet up here for information or mw history, but after just two wd's i am already exhausted.

[KFH]

Bravo i enjoyed your letter, you said a bunch of things that i have been thinking. Just not able to express in writing as well as you :)

[Bravo Zulu]

Bravo i enjoyed your letter, you said a bunch of things that i have been thinking. Just not able to express in writing as well as you :)

:). I am pretty wordy friend. Enough for us both!

[Bravo Zulu]

this is from a great thread started by War Priest: the thread was about frustration

I agree with this thread, and it is mounting fast. Honestly, I am not complaining about Gree. I understand Gree. They don't want to stop these events, the money is huge. But- we are all beta testers at this stage. They will keep going with back to back events until it is not profitable, at which point they will look at all of their stats over the past 6 months and structure the game accordingly. Fine.

That being said, what I am complaining about is that they are going to miss what has happened to our personal games, and as brilliant of the idea as factions are I worry that they don't realize we aren't playing for the game but each other. The frustration would have outweighed the pleasure if not for my faction.

Which brings me to the rat race post of this thread. The more pressure, the faster this goes, the more we are seeing factions implode. It's too much, and players are turning on each other as the pressure mounts. We have to have a break, yet when gree offers none we feel compelled to participate. Not even money wise, but the time this game takes now is not fun leisure time. It's work.

If Gree would just slow down, fix things as they arise, address the questions and concerns (like I still want my bush Hunter from the first WD chain event instead of being told sorry about my luck- and that was literally what I was told) and reinvent these events at a slower pace they would find us all much more patient and less angry.

I think they are really trying to find a way to make these games better for us, if for no other reason than it makes more money from them. But they should have listened to the #1 complaint. The granddaddy. SLOW DOWN. It's overwhelming. I have never been a "gamer." I am a 40 year old mother of two. But I really like this, and I even think it's ok to spend some money for the entertainment. But not too much too fast. I'm not going to take my ipad to my child's birthday party to play. But if the wars came every 8 weeks- I might schedule around it. As it is, some used to take off work for the start, or the end. We can't keep doing that at this pace. Which then makes us enjoy it less, get less excited, get more frustrated.

The answer is easy. More time is better all the way around. Time for them to get things straight, time for us to muster up excitement. Time to build up, time to strategize. Time to save up for gold to spend on war. I wonder if they think sometimes that if they don't ouch we will lose interest. Maybe we should make it clear more time will foster more interest. We won't feel pushed or forced. Most people not at the top are not complaining about the amount of money spent- we don't spend tons anyway. Maybe instead of the Cartel, where the focus is on not spending money, we need to bring it to them another way. Why not start participating in every other event? And I mean the whole buildup too. When the next one comes out, maybe we shouldn't do the LTE, the boss event, the ? Event, and the war.

Not as a punishment to gree, but as a way to say look- this is what works for us. Not with angry posts to gree, but to show them what we are saying is common sense and we won't lose interest- and maybe even we will all relax and have fun again. Maybe we should quit plowing ahead and give them the time to answer us, our tickets, our concerns. Just some thoughts.

[Poppa]

Good read. Tybravo

[DFI]

Awesome post. I fully agree. However, Gree is a listed corporation. My gut feel is that they've done the analysis and have determined that they can maximize income at the current pace of battles and in between games like the LTQs. Lets not under estimate the foe, they didn't get there by being stupid. Cold, calculating and impersonal. Just what you need to be to be successful.

[DME]

Cold, calculating and impersonal. Just what you need to be to be successful.

Not true, but it's the path most travelled, as it's easier to navigate.

[possum]

Actually, I think you're wrong and naive'. It takes courage to be an a-hole.

[ProudClown]

All great thoughts, but I suspect their business model defies conventional wisdom on the VLC proposition, in as much as, player retention is not as important over the long term! Addictive behavioral business models rely on more predictable short term behavior and thus ROI!

[possum]

Conventional wisdom? That's a good thought.

[skywrap]

the game becomes a joke

[ProudClown]

Eddie,

Are you suggesting they operate much the same as a casino?

[Bravo Zulu]

Sorry Zulu baby, there is no fixing...Gree people are not able to read an article of that length..they understand
Numbers...simple numbers...money...money laundering...altering statistics and probability with "adjustments"..
devaluation of course..well...long story short...they know how to lie, cheat and steal.

But as a friend has showed me, we have to keep trying. Standing up for what is right. He may be gone, but he is still here with us. We must always try for what is right. Seeking Justice.

[Vballmadam]

Yes Bravo, my good friend is with us...as are many other good people such as yourself..we will never stop.

Amen to that!

[DFI]

To be clear, I was talking about some companies, but upon retreading, I can see that it sounded like I meant it as a general fact.

[Bravo Zulu]

To be clear, I was talking about some companies, but upon retreading, I can see that it sounded like I meant it as a general fact.

As with everything in this forum, your intent is clear to some and others pick out a statement and pounce- and instead of commenting generally they dissect.

I have thought about what your gut is saying, but business wise they seem too smart for this not to be a beta test. They could have run sustainability on their end, but not with us as consumers. According to the interview someone posted (wish I could find it again, I'll look) the head of Gree was trying to take this app game stuff in a new direction. Makes sense, everything is interactive these days, including "checking in" at Walmart on Facebook. Lol. Whether we like it or not, "social" has become the mode of delivery. According to him they are looking for. Ways to make Gree games stand out, and become more than a tap tap tap game. In Canada they released a game similar to MW that battles in factions like us but costs no in game money. I was surprised to see that. The no money part wasn't specified by Gree, it was in the comments section by customers. If they can find ways to engage us long term, it is more profitable now. I mean, with all of the trouble and bugs and whatnot, we are all invested in what we have built through over a year of gameplay.

It would be interesting to see if anyone else out there has played an app game with as much attention as we play this. A loyal and invested customer base always means more revenue. I don't think they will so easily replace this game, they just need to figure out where it can go given the confines of an app. Look at all of the new levels etc.

Again, slowing down might be the answer to long term money for them, fun for us. Just look at the top factions. When you are at the top where else can you go? And when you have been at the top since day one, you have to play just to hold on. That can't be as much fun... Or maybe it can- lol. I wouldn't really know that! Either way, sometimes you have to slow down to see clearly. Gree and us. :)

[Bravo Zulu]

Here is one of the interviews I have read.

http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2013/02/interview-gree-on-social-games-were-not.html

[Wave]

If they are a corp with stock they deserve a class action suite for destroying their customers base. I am done spending money. Once my gold is gone I am taking a break. It was a complete waste of money spending money on events this time. The players that did not power up are still beating me with the lower defenses. It sucks to play a game when it keeps changing. You can not have a strategy because their strategy is money, and ours is enjoyment. The two do not work together, hopefully some other game company will pick up on their dissatisfied players and put something out that we can play and have fun with. I do not mind spending money just want to know what it does for me and how it improves my game. We just give money to gree for no value. It's time to smarten up.

[WI(AusNz)]

I don't necessarily agree with the thread. You are entitled to a point of view and your argument is persuasive to thise who already thinking what you are thinking. Where i agree is 4 weeks between battles not tge current 3 weeks but this is not going to happen. Where I don't agree with your argument is that the game has a short life and will eventually die because people are burned out. Of course individuals Like yourself (and me) will become disenfranchised and bored with this eventually. So what? Their is a new gamer born every minute. For every person leaving, there are 2 taking their place. I still like this game and like the fast paced and changing nature of each event and new buildings etc. I do share your thought of spacing faction battles (because that is where the $ are spent) but as I said, it ain't going to happen.
Evelve or get left behind

[Tito89]

If all go's according to plan, modern war could be app of the century. Some new events could be made also, so we are not totally focused on world domination.

[DME]

It sucks to play a game when it keeps changing.

Online games have to keep changing or they grow stale and their lifespan is severely reduced (the ever moving finish line). The trick is for them to make the right decisions, as the wrong ones or poorly implemented ones can also reduce the lifespan.

[ProudClown]

Interesting! Thanks for posting.

[Bravo Zulu]

Yes, we will keep trying...just lost an Eddie...again. We will never lose this fight...How? Never stop, never lose.

We lost an Eddie? Awwww. The only consolation is knowing Eddie will always be with me. Seeking Justice.

[Dutchie]

I don't necessarily agree with the thread. You are entitled to a point of view and your argument is persuasive to thise who already thinking what you are thinking. Where i agree is 4 weeks between battles not tge current 3 weeks but this is not going to happen. Where I don't agree with your argument is that the game has a short life and will eventually die because people are burned out. Of course individuals Like yourself (and me) will become disenfranchised and bored with this eventually. So what? Their is a new gamer born every minute. For every person leaving, there are 2 taking their place. I still like this game and like the fast paced and changing nature of each event and new buildings etc. I do share your thought of spacing faction battles (because that is where the $ are spent) but as I said, it ain't going to happen.
Evelve or get left behind

A better game is just around the corner... otherwise we would all still be playing Pong!

[Zandeko]

You think spacing out the events will help close the gap between high gold spenders and yourself? No.

There is no reason for GREE to slow down, these events are pulling in tons for them.

On another note,
I do wish they stopped focusing on making so many events and improved game play. I'm dissapointed to see all our spent money resulting in the laying off of 30 GREE employees. The best reason to stop spending gold is to protest GREEs lack of improvement on game content while getting rid of staff as profit increases.

[Captain Peter]

I agree with the open letter. We need time to rebuild our armies and to upgrade buildings and organize our factions. The battles should only happen every five weeks and they should only run 48 hours.

And something has to happen to all the cheaters and to better curtail the super strong players.

The current trajectory isn't sustainable.

[glitters]

You can just sit out if you're too exhausted.

[ProudClown]

You think spacing out the events will help close the gap between high gold spenders and yourself? No.

There is no reason for GREE to slow down, these events are pulling in tons for them.

On another note,
I do wish they stopped focusing on making so many events and improved game play. I'm dissapointed to see all our spent money resulting in the laying off of 30 GREE employees. The best reason to stop spending gold is to protest GREEs lack of improvement on game content while getting rid of staff as profit increases.

Good point!

[Muse_boa]

See you tomorrow as Eddie something or other...see you whenever I choose.

You don't like even numbers, i guess? Hope to see you tomorrow

[Muse_boa]

Poof + some characters

[Muse_boa]

Have you heard something from gree, bravo zulu, or are they just busy fixing the problems?

[Bravo Zulu]

Have you heard something from gree, bravo zulu, or are they just busy fixing the problems?

Honestly I wasn't expecting an answer, I didn't really ask. I just wanted to put it out there and I'm pretty sure they read it. I don't think this will change anything by itself, but I feel better having said my peace, and hopefully giving some a place to say theirs. This wasn't a demand. This was just what I thought, and what I heard from others.

Thanks for asking. If I do, I don't think I'm allowed to say am I? Lol. Just a tease.

[Muse_boa]

Honestly I wasn't expecting an answer, I didn't really ask. I just wanted to put it out there and I'm pretty sure they read it. I don't think this will change anything by itself, but I feel better having said my peace, and hopefully giving some a place to say theirs. This wasn't a demand. This was just what I thought, and what I heard from others.

Thanks for asking. If I do, I don't think I'm allowed to say am I? Lol. Just a tease.

I was just thinking about retracting the post, because i don't want to cause trouble. I was just thinking, there are better things to do than chasing flying eagles. Only thinking, not questioning. Good night to you

[119276513]

attacking erro dose hurt a lot of ppl

[Bravo Zulu]

I was just thinking about retracting the post, because i don't want to cause trouble. I was just thinking, there are better things to do than chasing flying eagles. Only thinking, not questioning. Good night to you

I think the post was fair. It would be nice to hear what they think about what I said, I'm just not expecting it ya know? I hope more of us do thinking like you- and all we can do is say what is on our minds. :)

[senex morosus]

Here is one of the interviews I have read.

http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2013/02/interview-gree-on-social-games-were-not.html

sounds like a decent guy that wants to know what customers want. I wonder if he knows GREE has a forum running called Funzio.com/forum/
Can someone email him and tell him this place exists? Thanks in advance

[I am a cow]

We lost an Eddie? Awwww. The only consolation is knowing Eddie will always be with me. Seeking Justice.

So many eddies! just give up GREE honestly eddies gonna bring the fight to you so you might as well surrender

[mu2222]

was worth a try

[Bravo Zulu]

Hi Eddie. ;)

[Trebor]

Boycott wars do the LTQ much much cheaper

[groovdog]

Their is a new gamer born every minute.You are entitled to your opinion but history shows in all MMOs that this is not true. Games peak and then die. I have the feeling we are seeing the death phase of one of the Big 3 Gree games, just not clear which. CC is 2 week cycle again (3 in basically a little over a month) so my bet along with FB CC being shut down is CC...

[Dilligaf13]

I agree with your letter Bravo Zulu. We all have a real life and if you are not constantly playing you fall behind. I would love to be able to play all the time but working 6 days a week it's impossible so I keep missing out on some things, have yet to complete any of the events. I'm not complaining about that, that's life. I've gotten to the point that I just skip some of the events to give me time in real life with family instead of playing the game constantly. Don't get me wrong, I really like playing the game but am not going to let it take over my life. I've played other pvp games and seen how it can. This game is nothing compared to some as far as demanding your time.

[Alpha dog]

Good read Bravo Zulu, I fully agree with everything your saying.

I hope they will listen to us and slow down on the events. But i fear they won't and many of us will burn out and the game will die with the masses