New modules. The good, the bad and the ugly

Day 850, 03:03 • Published in Romania Romania • by MoonlightShadow

I would like to make it clear that the following article is just a personal opinion concerning the upcoming modules and eRepublik's future game-play. Regardless of how personal it might be, I'm still trying to blend both optics, citizen's and developer's ones.


The good.

I really think that there are many “the goods”. One of the coolest I'd say is the diversity which is to come. It will be pretty hard to find two identical products, be that food, or guns or whatever. The diversity means that I can buy what I need in a particularly day. Add to that the increased variables, like not having to care about just health, but also happiness. Add the wider variety of jobs, from carpenters to project managers, from builders to fitters.

“This sucks, it's Sims-like” one might say. Well, what can I say.. I for one have never been so much enthusiastic about the two-clicks real-world simulation wannabe. And also I`m one of the tens of millions which turned the Sims into one of the best selling product in game industry's history, because I was fascinated about “growing” a virtual me. For sure I wouldn't have been as fascinated about an alter-ego with 2 attributes and a couple of clicks. Apart from the increased diversity and variables able to keep me interested, I would say that the slight move toward graphic is also a good thing. Eye-candy is not for kids, is for every one. Had Avatar been just an “average” movie when it comes to its special effects, it wouldn't have overcome the stupid story-line and turn into such a box-office money-vacuum.

Time-management gives me control. This is something that any game tries to do: offer the feeling that you have the control over your character. Most of us know that almost all the time this is an illusion, as you have to follow some predefined and linear paths (get there, take the key, open the door, move to next level, etc). eRepublik actually manages to pass me the control over my e-life, and let me decide my own fate by sliding towards whatever direction I want.

And war module... I think it's freaking cool. I mean, c`mon, after one year of hating the stupid senseless wall, I'm offered with a PC-like complexity (in the good sense) on a daily web-game, which has the advantage that it reaches the “saturation” level much harder, if ever does. I mean, I just love RTS games, but after a while I get bored, the multi-player being what keeps them alive a little longer. But the stupid wall-like war managed to remain “attractive” even after 1.5 years, which only proves the addictive power of eRepublik! I like the maps, I like the region's being divided into smaller tiles, I like the PvP, I like the introduction of terrain's advantages. There's no way to compare the going to war by fighting blindly a wall and actually get involved personally into the battle, think, choose, fight.


The bad.

For the cool stuff above I can see the reverse of the medal. Managers are going to have a harder (and time consuming) job, so they're not gonna like it. But on the other hand, if you want more money, then work for this, instead of spending 10 minutes/day in eRepublik, spend 30. I don't think it's better now, when almost any citizen reaching level 16 creates a company. This is highly unrealistic.

Change-resistance is also a factor. When you've played a game for 1.5 years, it is hard to accept a completely new one, even though you have screamed for 1.5 years that the game needs “more stuff to do, more complexity, a more realistic military module, not just 2 clicks, etc”. The question would be: for each “dinosaur” that dislikes the “sims-panzergeneral-like” eRepublik, and even chooses to leave it, will there be 10 newly born citizens who will find this game interesting and complex enough such that they'll remain in game? If yes, we have a winner. The community. I think this is how it's gonna be.

But the increased complexity and the multitude of paths to follow may turn the newly born citizens into overwhelmed/confused ones. They can learn alone what to do, but the involvement of the existing community is essential.


The ugly.

Lana-concept. Actually the poor girl is a pretty one, but is associated with the darkest feelings. Not by everyone, but by a minority which happens to be the most “loudly” one. This is something like going to a car shop where you are offered a free car but hate the fact that others chooses to add extra-options like leather trim. From part of community's perspective Lana is the ugly. For the game is like the gasoline for the car.