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eRepublik - What a Wicked eWorld

Long was my way in eRepublik from an idealist, who wrote an article like this:
eRepublik - What a Wonderful eWorld, to a realist that I have become today...

It has been a long journey, 13 years to be more precise...

Although, I have taken quite a lot of time off from eRepublik in those 13 years, focusing on my family, as well as on my carreer in the Game Development industry and as a professional C++ and Unreal Engine developer in other fields, not limited to game development solely.

So when I see an article like this:

youtube usefull links; game improvement

Or this:

some thoughts about game mechanics

Or even the ones written by myself, like this one:

Complete eRepublik Economy - Quo Vadis, Plato?

It triggers all the frustration, negativity and traumas in me as an eRepublik player...
Now, don't get me wrong, I would like, just like the majority of all of you, the eRepublik player community, to see positive changes in this game...
However, as I have realized, and as I have gained more experience in the game development industry over the years, we have been missing the target all the time...

I mean, as a professional programmer and a professional game developer, I understand that it might be good for business, even if it's the game development business, to listen to your customers, in this case, the player community. And the most of the studios and publishers which succeed on the Game market do that and are reaping rewards for that.

But there is always the other side of the business...
Those who don't listen and those who fail in their business...

Then, there is still only the hope that they learn from their mistakes, and some unfortunately, never do...

And there are also some, who are there only for the short-term goals and for the short-term goals only...
And we had many opportunities to meet those on the Internet as well...

This is how James dealt with some of them:
Scamalot - Toaster

This is what happens when you reply to spam email l TED

But, I digress...

It's not only about the articles by my fellow eRepublik journalists... No, no, no... On occassion it's a shout on a wall from my friends as well...
Anbd it is perfectly understandable to vent your frustration on the wall, I get that...

So today I was triggered by a post on the wall by my friend Maitre Nico, asking:

Maitre Nico 2 hours ago
Do you want to remove Plato from office?



So here is my answer to him and to all of you who might ask the same or similar questions. I understand, I really do... Perhaps it might be worth it to spread the word, to raise the awareness on how these problems might get solve😛

@Maitre Nico
1st: Plato is not Plato, and it definitely is not a very active account:
erepublik.com/en/citizen/profile/2
Therefore, Plato is not relevant in any decision-making.

2n😛 eRepublik is a game created by Erepublik Labs and privately owned by the Stillfront Group
https://www.erepubliklabs.com/about
https://www.stillfront.com/en/
Therefore, they are responsible only to their shareholders.

3r😛 As a player and a citizen of eRepublik you are obliged to the eRepublik ToS:
erepublik.com/en/main/terms-and-conditions
Please, read it, especially sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 12...
"the eRepublik.com Service is provided on an “as is” basis"
Therefore, your influence on decision-making as a player is limited and restricted.

4th: The players have already tried to change things in eRepublik, the most significant attempt took place in 2011, that's 12 years ago:
https://wiki.erepublik.com/index.php/2011_eRepublik_Rebellion
The biggest change in it was mass banning of players who initiated and supported the rebellion...

5th: Since then 90% of the players voted with their feet, therefore left the game.
And this what we have now is the result of that. Only the most addicted, the most corrupt, the most idealistic, the most ego-boosting player whales, and/or the most naiive players stayed or occasionally return to the game...

6th: If you want to change anything significantly in this game, the most logical solution would be to restrain from eRepublik payments or boycott them massively and invest in Stillfront shares instead.
https://www.stillfront.com/en/the-share/
That would give us voting rights in this and other games owned by the Stillfront Group.

The only better alternative than that, that I could think of, would be what we did out of frustration by incompetence of the DayZ team.
The result was/is the SCUM Game.

The result was a huge success, a game that got sold in over 1 million copies only in the first month of its release, its userbase has been constantly growing and the business was also a great success:

Jagex Acquires SCUM Developer Gamepires (Business Wire, December 2022)

Gamepires launched SCUM to great critical and community success in 2018, with over 3 million copies sold and a consistent place in Steam’s Top 100 most played games. Gamepires’ and Jagex’s community-driven approach will enable SCUM to realise its full potential with a multi-platform 1.0 release in the future.

All you need for that to happen is a team of game developers frustrated by the other game developers team of the game they liked to play, but can't take anymore to watch how a good idea keeps getting more and more ruined by incompetence day after day, month after month and year after year...

You need someone with experience and a vision of how a good game should look like, you need a team of dedicated game development professionals who like what they do and do it with passion, and who can show and demonstrate how the game development should be done properly in communication with its gamer community, and of course you need (to build) a gamers community itself, listen to them and communicate with them regularly. Discuss and implement some good ideas that come along and follow the vision of creating a game that we'll all enjoy instead of getting frustrated...

That's how you create success in the Game Development industry.
The money that comes with the success is only a by-product, but if you do it right, you'll get rewarded bountifully.

Sincerely yours,
Janko Fran