The Economist ~ Coda I

Day 2,559, 10:18 Published in Poland United Kingdom by Spite313



Dear friends,


Last night I landed in the UK after returning from RL Romania, a trip I’ve wanted to make for over five years. Whilst I was there I thought a little about the game, as the date of my last login (18/12/2014) approaches. It really was one of the most novel ideas, and revolutionary products in the history of MMOs. I remember at one point we worked out that a significant percentage of the population of some countries have played this game. Something like 2-3% of the population of Serbia have logged in at some point statistically, for example.


The concept is still a great one, but the major problem is that the game has no opportunities for new players anymore, catering as it does to existing older gold buyers. A few months ago we were asked by the admins whether or not we’d play a second server if one was introduced. At the time I was strongly opposed to this, as in my eyes it would divide the community and leave most older players here alone. Now, from near the grave, I’ve changed my mind.


When a change is embraced by everyone except the oldest players, that change is a good one. The purpose of the game shouldn’t be simply to continue to extend the lead of a minority, it should be to be dynamic and changing. Look at the top levels of government, alliance leadership and MU leadership and you see a lot of old souls. People like myself who have played for years, or younger players who have bought old accounts.





This is simply because retention in the game is so poor. New players have nothing to play for, and it’s something everyone involved in the game at any level is aware of. A second server, reset to base, would provide the opportunity for renewal, allowing new players to start afresh. What’s more, with eRepublik’s vast previous membership, they can contact old players to let them know about the refresh. I’d guess a lot would come back to give it a go. I’d be surprised if the active number of players didn’t double.


The main opposition to this is that old players, namely “customers”, have spent a lot of money getting where they are in eRepublik and if they left the game would lose revenue. There are two responses to this as I see it:

Firstly a refresh wouldn’t necessarily kill revenue. Many new players who are potential gold buyers join every day. That’s why there’s such a brisk trade in buying accounts, because these gold buyers want to have a strong account to make it worth it. With a new game these players would have a chance to be in the lead from day 1. Older players advantage on the battlefield is significant now, but still a 100k strength tank will always do more than a 100k strength non-tank. So their advantage in that regard will be unchanged.

Secondly, eRepublik 2 or whatever the second server is called shouldn’t be a carbon copy of the game as it exists now. If the game is sufficiently different, then it will be possible to get enjoyment from playing both games. There are key concepts which must stay the same: real life countries, media, political elements and economic ones. A battle module of some sort. Those are very broad parameters however. A lot can be done within those kind of boundaries.


A small, talented team could build a game like this in half a year, with minimal direction. At present, eRepublik’s team have to spend a disproportionate amount of time managing the existing game. With the kind of customer base we have here, doing so is a massive job. Problems rise left right and centre- as we all know. Most of the time the team is fixing problems rather than anticipating them, and there is certainly no time to code a new game. That’s why it needs to be an entirely new project, with a team separate from the main eRep team. They can be merged later when the new server launches.


It’s the kind of thing that might even tempt me back.


Just a thought


Iain