For awhile, people have been going and going, with these debates. What will ruin a game and what will save the game. That Kingsisle's has fallen in their glory and that they're letting Hardcore players run the game. I look at these posts for months and I finally get membership (crowns still rock though) and I try to put in my input. I'm always wondering "Why are people putting up such a fuss over a game? It's just a game. Not life itself or the key to political power or something like that." And I sit down and think. And I think some more. Think a little more. And then I eat and then keep thinking. And then...I watched a Pixar movie (yeah, yeah. whatever. Hey they make good movies!) And then I...I get it. Why people, casuals, hardcore, people-who-simply-like-the-game, are always getting on here fighting and getting frustrated. People asking themselves "why the heckhound do I even bother?" And then I get it. The reason is... Random Guy: We wanna see some dog-on changes! What? No...Well, yes, that's a factor but no. It's because we love -no, LOVE- this game. We love everything that happens in it. The things Kingsisle has brought to our homes is immeasureable. You can't weight it. It just brings our families and friends closer. It 100% has with me. When I see all this and people calling this game 'broken' and I keep thinking "It can't be that bad"
'May have been on this Message Board only one weekend but I have been and seen this game since Grizzlehiem came out to today right now. It has been litterally the only game I have played my whole Middle-High School life and I love it! The story. The art. The hard work that has been put in here is just kickin'. I can't stand it to come on these Boards and keep seeing the same thing over and over and over. Debate and fight and heated conversation. Don't you guys ever get tired of that and just call it a day? And sometimes I wonder "Why am I getting sucked into this?" '2nd Arc's been hit the hardest out of anything. Many think because of this this incredible game is going to fall and cease. No it will not. That Icon will stay right there on your screen. Many think hardcore players rule the game in the shadow. Uh...news flash, KI's will do whatever they feel will aid the community, but it was not in Mr. Coleman's or Mr. Hall's plan to make another hardcore game. I came across this. Todd Coleman's words: Please understand that we went to great lengths to craft and balance the difficulty and "fun factor" [fun is up to you] of our game. We spent thousands of hours pouring over spreadsheets, implementing, testing, and then repeating that process until we got it right. We planned for players to have "easy" fights and "hard" fights. We planned on solo areas, and areas where we wanted them to ask other players for assistance, fostering social connections. Some of this is player behavior to me. And maybe with KI we all need to change...
For awhile, people have been going and going, with these debates. What will ruin a game and what will save the game. That Kingsisle's has fallen in their glory and that they're letting Hardcore players run the game. I look at these posts for months and I finally get membership (crowns still rock though) and I try to put in my input. I'm always wondering "Why are people putting up such a fuss over a game? It's just a game. Not life itself or the key to political power or something like that." And I sit down and think. And I think some more. Think a little more. And then I eat and then keep thinking. And then...I watched a Pixar movie (yeah, yeah. whatever. Hey they make good movies!) And then I...I get it. Why people, casuals, hardcore, people-who-simply-like-the-game, are always getting on here fighting and getting frustrated. People asking themselves "why the heckhound do I even bother?" And then I get it. The reason is... Random Guy: We wanna see some dog-on changes! What? No...Well, yes, that's a factor but no. It's because we love -no, LOVE- this game. We love everything that happens in it. The things Kingsisle has brought to our homes is immeasureable. You can't weight it. It just brings our families and friends closer. It 100% has with me. When I see all this and people calling this game 'broken' and I keep thinking "It can't be that bad"
'May have been on this Message Board only one weekend but I have been and seen this game since Grizzlehiem came out to today right now. It has been litterally the only game I have played my whole Middle-High School life and I love it! The story. The art. The hard work that has been put in here is just kickin'. I can't stand it to come on these Boards and keep seeing the same thing over and over and over. Debate and fight and heated conversation. Don't you guys ever get tired of that and just call it a day? And sometimes I wonder "Why am I getting sucked into this?" '2nd Arc's been hit the hardest out of anything. Many think because of this this incredible game is going to fall and cease. No it will not. That Icon will stay right there on your screen. Many think hardcore players rule the game in the shadow. Uh...news flash, KI's will do whatever they feel will aid the community, but it was not in Mr. Coleman's or Mr. Hall's plan to make another hardcore game. I came across this. Todd Coleman's words: Please understand that we went to great lengths to craft and balance the difficulty and "fun factor" [fun is up to you] of our game. We spent thousands of hours pouring over spreadsheets, implementing, testing, and then repeating that process until we got it right. We planned for players to have "easy" fights and "hard" fights. We planned on solo areas, and areas where we wanted them to ask other players for assistance, fostering social connections. Some of this is player behavior to me. And maybe with KI we all need to change...
Forcing anyone to ask for assistance is assuming we are all available at the same time is just not acceptable for adult play. I just answered a question about the hardest boss I had fought. I had to do Trial of Spheres solo... for months I tried to find help. Due to being an adult and working, my time to play is limited. No friends were ever available (the ones that remain anyway - many, many have left the game) and no one was ever around. So according to KI I was supposed to foster social connections. By what, not moving on in the game? No. It doesn't always work as planned. (FYI, I tried and ended up in limbo for months)
And there is nothing wrong with people posting opinions; like yours, we are all entitled to ours. KI needs feedback in order to grow the game.
I do love the game, but KI needs to pay attention because after a certain point, the game is not fun anymore for those of us that must solo or have limited play time. I have 45 mins in the morning; if the dungeon is designed to take over an hour, what am I supposed to do? seriously.
Forcing anyone to ask for assistance is assuming we are all available at the same time is just not acceptable for adult play. I just answered a question about the hardest boss I had fought. I had to do Trial of Spheres solo... for months I tried to find help. Due to being an adult and working, my time to play is limited. No friends were ever available (the ones that remain anyway - many, many have left the game) and no one was ever around. So according to KI I was supposed to foster social connections. By what, not moving on in the game? No. It doesn't always work as planned. (FYI, I tried and ended up in limbo for months)
And there is nothing wrong with people posting opinions; like yours, we are all entitled to ours. KI needs feedback in order to grow the game.
I do love the game, but KI needs to pay attention because after a certain point, the game is not fun anymore for those of us that must solo or have limited play time. I have 45 mins in the morning; if the dungeon is designed to take over an hour, what am I supposed to do? seriously.
So according to KI I was supposed to foster social connections. By what, not moving on in the game?
You are correct. You're not suppose to just sit around and do nothing. That would be against the whole point of KI even making a new world. If they followed that method, the would have just found it better to shut the game down or announce "No more update shall be applied to Wizard101 ever." What you could've done back at that point, was ask someone new. Let's say you had problems with that area. Then let's someone you don't know is having the same affect. With similar interests in wanting to complete the dungeon, one of you could have asked for help, allowing for both of you to be each other's aid, and developed a friendship. "I hated this guy the most" "I know right! He was impossible for me alone!" That was the better intent of KI. This day-in-age we are stuck on "Who's in my list? Who's on? No one. Ok, I'm gone." Instead of creating more of this, KI wanted players to branch out and tap the shoulder of someone we don't know and create some kind of bond.
Now, like the world, we should already know not everyone is going to have the time to play. This should have been apparent in KI's mind, and from people who have college degrees, this would have been apparent. Whether or not someone has the time, that's out of everyone's control. I don't know what you're doing at that moment just as you don't know what I could be doing, but it hasn't killed someone to ask (or do we have a TOTH for that too? lol). I think that's all KI wanted to do. Just get people to be like the new kid in school looking for a friend or something like that.
Remember that this is primarily for the Family or for kids. Some families use this for Friday Game night. Kids, Preteens, Tweens, and Teens don't have as stressful a life as adults, thus allowing them to spend an hour or more doing things like games and not worrying about things. Adults, however, with so much scheduling and doing this and that, need quick things to meet the very small amount of time they have from what I've heard. Unfortunately, this game can't meet such demands. Even if things, 2nd Arc wise, continued the 1st Arc difficulty, we'd still have 20,000 bosses that would take at least 15-20 mins (not the 25-45mins I sometimes take) to defeat.
In the case where you don't have time for a dungeon, I wouldn't stress it or try to complete it at that moment. If I only have 30 minutes in the morning, I'm not going to try to spend an hour I don't have. It's best to wait whenever you do have the full out time for it. Sometimes I just take a long break from the game until I feel ready to take on the challenge. This happened once back in MooShu where I didnt want to finish a collect quest and I was gone for months.
Either way, my post was suppose to ask the questions: 1.) Does KI still create a Pixar Affect something everyone can enjoy? 2.) Why do we put such a fuss over a game?
So according to KI I was supposed to foster social connections. By what, not moving on in the game?
You are correct. You're not suppose to just sit around and do nothing. That would be against the whole point of KI even making a new world. If they followed that method, the would have just found it better to shut the game down or announce "No more update shall be applied to Wizard101 ever." What you could've done back at that point, was ask someone new. Let's say you had problems with that area. Then let's someone you don't know is having the same affect. With similar interests in wanting to complete the dungeon, one of you could have asked for help, allowing for both of you to be each other's aid, and developed a friendship. "I hated this guy the most" "I know right! He was impossible for me alone!" That was the better intent of KI. This day-in-age we are stuck on "Who's in my list? Who's on? No one. Ok, I'm gone." Instead of creating more of this, KI wanted players to branch out and tap the shoulder of someone we don't know and create some kind of bond.
Now, like the world, we should already know not everyone is going to have the time to play. This should have been apparent in KI's mind, and from people who have college degrees, this would have been apparent. Whether or not someone has the time, that's out of everyone's control. I don't know what you're doing at that moment just as you don't know what I could be doing, but it hasn't killed someone to ask (or do we have a TOTH for that too? lol). I think that's all KI wanted to do. Just get people to be like the new kid in school looking for a friend or something like that.
Remember that this is primarily for the Family or for kids. Some families use this for Friday Game night. Kids, Preteens, Tweens, and Teens don't have as stressful a life as adults, thus allowing them to spend an hour or more doing things like games and not worrying about things. Adults, however, with so much scheduling and doing this and that, need quick things to meet the very small amount of time they have from what I've heard. Unfortunately, this game can't meet such demands. Even if things, 2nd Arc wise, continued the 1st Arc difficulty, we'd still have 20,000 bosses that would take at least 15-20 mins (not the 25-45mins I sometimes take) to defeat.
In the case where you don't have time for a dungeon, I wouldn't stress it or try to complete it at that moment. If I only have 30 minutes in the morning, I'm not going to try to spend an hour I don't have. It's best to wait whenever you do have the full out time for it. Sometimes I just take a long break from the game until I feel ready to take on the challenge. This happened once back in MooShu where I didnt want to finish a collect quest and I was gone for months.
Either way, my post was suppose to ask the questions: 1.) Does KI still create a Pixar Affect something everyone can enjoy? 2.) Why do we put such a fuss over a game?
im not sure if you have actually realized this but celestia and up are praticlly ghost worlds. i understand trying to get people to work to together and make friends but(when i wasnt as skilled) i ended up waiting for days just for someone to come by and help me with a dungeon i was stuck on and as we all know friends are more busy then ever in these higher level worlds. also what about those that dont have text chat? its literally 5 times as hard to get a group(i should know i didnt have text chat untill after dragonspyre). i understand that this is an mmorpg but if you dont keep up with the bulk of the population in the game your gonna get left behind and life (in the game) will be that much harder for you.
so ya as long as im in the bulk of the population why should i care? why should i argue for less hard core mobs or better gear and lets face it everyone wants better gear even those that want the worlds to be harder. well i care because im not thinking about whats right in front of me im thinking about the long haul, what these kind of updates are gonna do in the long run(we could use some of that thinking in the real world right now). so what do i think will happen well let me tell you.
1. the worlds will keep getting harder and harder untill only the teen/hard core gamers ramain 2. most people who are looking for a hardcore challenge right from the start will go to WoW not wizards 101 as you need to get all the way to celestia for things to pick up 3. what people say about the game will not nessasarily be good, families will stray away from it as word will get out its down right brutal in difficulty, hard core players who hear about it will ask there friends and they will tell them that it trully is insane but they have to get to level 80 to get to the really difficult stuff and to me my first thought would be, well man i dont wanna go through all that little kid stuff just to play a hard game im gonna go play WoW or something else really hard from the start.
hopefully i made sense enough to get you to at least see it from our point of veiw.
1.) Does KI still create a Pixar Affect something everyone can enjoy?
--> I assume not. Lots of people don't like Wizard101. Its not going to appeal to everyone.
2.) Why do we put such a fuss over a game?
--> The people posting on this forum represent a ridiculously small portion of Wizard101 players. No generalization regarding the overall wizard101 community can be made from this. As a forum that is administered to maintain threads on topic posts will be primarly (a) game questions (b) game suggestions, (c) game feedback.
--> Most gamers who do not like Wizard101 will not waste time posting on this forum. People posting on this forum like the game enough to post their thoughts and have a desire to do so. Some players feel they have a vested interest in the game, especially after months or years playing it. Money, time, enjoyment.
1.) Does KI still create a Pixar Affect something everyone can enjoy?
--> I assume not. Lots of people don't like Wizard101. Its not going to appeal to everyone.
2.) Why do we put such a fuss over a game?
--> The people posting on this forum represent a ridiculously small portion of Wizard101 players. No generalization regarding the overall wizard101 community can be made from this. As a forum that is administered to maintain threads on topic posts will be primarly (a) game questions (b) game suggestions, (c) game feedback.
--> Most gamers who do not like Wizard101 will not waste time posting on this forum. People posting on this forum like the game enough to post their thoughts and have a desire to do so. Some players feel they have a vested interest in the game, especially after months or years playing it. Money, time, enjoyment.
Well, I appreciate your input. I disagree that Kingsisle doesn't create a Pixar Affect anymore. You have look at both of their games and see what goes on (something I do). Over in the Wizard101 side of the Spiral, I only see anger and hatred and no doing anything but this and that within these Message Boards and a mass amout of opposition to KI's choices. That's nothing to say there could be a good 20 million who still love this game. And even how do we know lot's of people don't like Wizard101? Until an official poll is to be set, I can't see it, sorry. In the future we could see 40 million players, would that still mean KI's lost the interest of people with this game? In Pirate101, players are loving every moment of it. The Story, the battles, the NPCs, oh my gosh! Have you not heard them? They're hilarious!, it's amazing at what they can do. Even in Azteca, I find a humorous tale at every corner. I love the references and many more aspects of the game. KI's got me hooked. Before 4 years ago, I was calling this game for nerds and it wasn't going to be any good. Then came that Summer where I saw my brother cast a Blood Bat and just from that, I wanted in. Now here we are leading into another Summer and I keep remembering where they were with but 5 Million players, to 30 Million players and new graphics, story, activities everything! And I've loved every addition after the last. So I mean, even if 29 Million just truly dislike this whole game, I will stay with the 1 Million that do. And I think that's all that matters; that I'm happy and enjoying this game.
I'm becoming aware now that everyone isn't going to like everything. That's just a fact of life. This is something I was hoping I could change or at least change the mindset of one person, but as I think about it, I'm using a pickaxe to cut a diamond. So at this point I think I'm over it. I can't make everyone happy nor should I bother. If someone didn't have as great an experience as someone else, what am I suppose to do? What can I do? I unwaveringly lend a helping hand in tight situations but I can't do anything else but place opinions. I still don't think it makes sense to get into all these/those flame wars over a game. I do think KI should put in consideration of the minority and act on it how they see fit (to their liking or not) and move on. All I can see that will die-hard work for casual players, if they are the ridiculously small portion, is more side arcs that focus around the first arc difficulty and shift up the story quest. I can't see much more based off of any context they've disclosed.
But I do feel like I need to say Thank You to you. I dunno why but I just want to lol. Thank you!
im not sure if you have actually realized this but celestia and up are praticlly ghost worlds. i understand trying to get people to work to together and make friends but(when i wasnt as skilled) i ended up waiting for days just for someone to come by and help me with a dungeon i was stuck on and as we all know friends are more busy then ever in these higher level worlds. also what about those that dont have text chat? its literally 5 times as hard to get a group(i should know i didnt have text chat untill after dragonspyre). i understand that this is an mmorpg but if you dont keep up with the bulk of the population in the game your gonna get left behind and life (in the game) will be that much harder for you.
so ya as long as im in the bulk of the population why should i care? why should i argue for less hard core mobs or better gear and lets face it everyone wants better gear even those that want the worlds to be harder. well i care because im not thinking about whats right in front of me im thinking about the long haul, what these kind of updates are gonna do in the long run(we could use some of that thinking in the real world right now). so what do i think will happen well let me tell you.
1. the worlds will keep getting harder and harder untill only the teen/hard core gamers ramain 2. most people who are looking for a hardcore challenge right from the start will go to WoW not wizards 101 as you need to get all the way to celestia for things to pick up 3. what people say about the game will not nessasarily be good, families will stray away from it as word will get out its down right brutal in difficulty, hard core players who hear about it will ask there friends and they will tell them that it trully is insane but they have to get to level 80 to get to the really difficult stuff and to me my first thought would be, well man i dont wanna go through all that little kid stuff just to play a hard game im gonna go play WoW or something else really hard from the start.
hopefully i made sense enough to get you to at least see it from our point of veiw.
I have noticed a somewhat decline of the higher worlds compared to the lower worlds. But yes overall compared to questing in Krokotopia and questing in Avalon there are not many people around. For some reason though, I feel that this is unfortunately unavoidable. If the 2nd Arc were to move in the same style as the 1st Arc with a constant range of Mob pips and gradual difficulty increase, we'd still see these ghost worlds because many have said the casualty ended back in MooShu and Dragonspyre. Maybe the majority of people would go as far as Zafaria but the challenge (in terms of health and spells Mobs know from Celestia to the first half of Azteca) is pretty much on point and many would still get bored or uninterested. All the Collect quests can be made easier but I still feel that the 2nd Arc wouldn't get as many people over all. Even back when it was just the first arc, I didn't see many player reaching level 50 and still don't believe everyone will go that distance to 100.
Now on to your first point. As of now, Wizard101 has 35 Million Players and I'm sure they'll reach 40 Million later this year. What I'm hearing from you is that Casual Players (mostly the older players playing) fear that the challenge will get to be so much or that the 2nd Arc is so difficult that the game will loose it's "fun" and could lose 30-50% of it's players and may have to be shut down (Did I get that right?). This will go on until the teens and hardcore players are left right? I can't really see this.
I can't see KI wanting to drop a whole group of people for just one. That's practically game suicide. I think of the matter in 2 ways: KI is trying to appeal to 2 different major groups with the 1st Arc for "Casuals" and 2nd Arc for "Hardcore." This however makes little sense as "Hardcore" players must play through the 1st Arc to get to the challenge. My second thought is that the challenge was made to create more social bondings thoughout the game. Unfortunately, this intent may have been severely twisted by the community over all looking as though KI completely abandoned casual players to look at hardcore players like a mother with a baby and 5-year-old.
I think KI wanted the 2nd Arc to be challenging enough so it fits with levels 50-60, 60-70, 70-80, and 80-90. If mobs still used 1 pip, maybe that may not have been difficult enough as they'd most likely pass and by then be dead by us. It'd probably feel boring. They did do hours, hours, and hours of careful testing and I guess this was the option they liked. I don't know. But I don't believe J. Todd Coleman and Josef Hall wanted another Hardcore game; 1st and 2nd Arc. I feel that they want to make so everyone had something to their preference. I dunno if this was the best way to do that, but it's better than 4 years of no updates. I think there's something for everyone to enjoy and things some people just arent. Whatever happens, well we'll see.
im not sure if you have actually realized this but celestia and up are praticlly ghost worlds. i understand trying to get people to work to together and make friends but(when i wasnt as skilled) i ended up waiting for days just for someone to come by and help me with a dungeon i was stuck on and as we all know friends are more busy then ever in these higher level worlds. also what about those that dont have text chat? its literally 5 times as hard to get a group(i should know i didnt have text chat untill after dragonspyre). i understand that this is an mmorpg but if you dont keep up with the bulk of the population in the game your gonna get left behind and life (in the game) will be that much harder for you.
so ya as long as im in the bulk of the population why should i care? why should i argue for less hard core mobs or better gear and lets face it everyone wants better gear even those that want the worlds to be harder. well i care because im not thinking about whats right in front of me im thinking about the long haul, what these kind of updates are gonna do in the long run(we could use some of that thinking in the real world right now). so what do i think will happen well let me tell you.
1. the worlds will keep getting harder and harder untill only the teen/hard core gamers ramain 2. most people who are looking for a hardcore challenge right from the start will go to WoW not wizards 101 as you need to get all the way to celestia for things to pick up 3. what people say about the game will not nessasarily be good, families will stray away from it as word will get out its down right brutal in difficulty, hard core players who hear about it will ask there friends and they will tell them that it trully is insane but they have to get to level 80 to get to the really difficult stuff and to me my first thought would be, well man i dont wanna go through all that little kid stuff just to play a hard game im gonna go play WoW or something else really hard from the start.
hopefully i made sense enough to get you to at least see it from our point of veiw.
I agree 110% If by what I hear is correct, this game was made to be a family stress relieving game, (once you got into the swing of things) and what I mean by that is, when I first started Wizard101 I was like whoa this looks complicated, but then as I went on I realized, in order move on in the game I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO UNDERSTAND :D All I had to do was enjoy and fight things, I barely cared about stats because it was so fun and easy. Now the difference between the 1st arc and 2nd arc is you have to understand all this "critical rating" stuff that looks insane to understand, and once you understand how it works your like... Uh what? How do I get 150 critical rating? Then you learn you have to earn it by completing impossible 3 hour long dungeons and annoying collecting quests, which are extreamly frusterating and totally cancels out the 0% stress related part. I don't know if KI was just trying to make this a chellenge for Celestia+, but in my opinion, something needs to obviously be done if half of the community of the game has a problem with the difficulty, it honestly seems to me that KI has forgotten who there target audience is, which is supposed to Kids, Teens and Adults, that just want something fun to do on a rainy day or boring day, not something that at some random point gets frusterating... I'm sorry if you don't agree but that's just my 2C.
--> Pixar Affect: I did not say the game isn't great or magical. I said it does not appeal to everyone. Lots of people don't like the game. People who don't like RPGs, computer games, or magical stuff will certainly not like Wizard101.
--> Less Players in Higher Worlds: Obviously there will be less players in the worlds as you progress. Its linear game play. Everybody must go through Krokotopia to get to Mooshu, but not every wizard will go to Mooshu. There will always be more level 20 wizards than level 80 wizards. Also remember that many of us have multiple wizards, and they all start at WC.
--> "foster social connections" is a bit odd. Those of us who don't have real world friends playing Wizard101 learn that 'friends' come and go. If you are playing with your first wizard most people have lost their original friends by the time you reach Avalon. Wizard attrition rate. (But its in Avalon and Azteca where you really need those good friends!).
--> "foster social connections"...in some ways its quite depressing. Standing outside a dungeon at 2:00am asking strangers for help. In a weird way Wizard101 teaches us to become good at asking strangers for help. (and for crowns, treasure cards, & girlfriends! lol).
I agree 110% If by what I hear is correct, this game was made to be a family stress relieving game, (once you got into the swing of things) and what I mean by that is, when I first started Wizard101 I was like whoa this looks complicated, but then as I went on I realized, in order move on in the game I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO UNDERSTAND :D All I had to do was enjoy and fight things, I barely cared about stats because it was so fun and easy. Now the difference between the 1st arc and 2nd arc is you have to understand all this "critical rating" stuff that looks insane to understand, and once you understand how it works your like... Uh what? How do I get 150 critical rating? Then you learn you have to earn it by completing impossible 3 hour long dungeons and annoying collecting quests, which are extreamly frusterating and totally cancels out the 0% stress related part. I don't know if KI was just trying to make this a chellenge for Celestia+, but in my opinion, something needs to obviously be done if half of the community of the game has a problem with the difficulty, it honestly seems to me that KI has forgotten who there target audience is, which is supposed to Kids, Teens and Adults, that just want something fun to do on a rainy day or boring day, not something that at some random point gets frusterating... I'm sorry if you don't agree but that's just my 2C.
Stress relieving...I would not consider this the primary creation for Wizard101 in the least. From any article I have read, after finishing up with their game Shadowbane, J. Todd Coleman and Josef Hall wanted to create an MMO RPG that they could play with their kids. That's when it came to the point of making a Family Fun game. It becomes "stress relieving" apparently from the simplicity of the 1st Arc. Or, if you're an adult with a family, you find it unwinding to go play with your kids. I get this same affect when my brother and I are playing on either of their games and any challenge is pretty enjoyable. Something KI has now set out to do is try and bring people and/or the family closer together.
I don't agree with this ongoing statement that Kingsisle has forgotten their target market. Where in the world is this coming from? How is it at Celestia Kingsisle has forgotten their target market? If they forgot about their target market then why try and release Wysteria and re-release Crab Alley, areas that are of that lower difficulty and weren't part of the original 6 worlds? I don't think Kingsisle has forgotten their target market at all.
Who is to say that with this 2nd Arc, they what to create a little more challenge to appeal to some just like they appealed to people who liked the easier realms? Who is to say they we want to go ahead and finish what they started so they can put some focus back into the lower areas or target market? Who is to say they would have taken us through 4 worlds and not give us a huge unexpected reward at the end?
The thing I'm getting at is Kingsisle is trying to give a little something to everyone (if you could little as a 5 world Arc). They have such a large variety of people that it's hard to give one thing and expect everyone to be happy or at least mildly pleased. 2nd Arc may have been a way to give families and players who want a challenge to have a challenge. Side Arcs for the 1st Arc difficulty will probably continue to be added or another 5 World side arc just for them. But it takes a lot of time and, I'm afraid, not close to enough patient by the community. It's like everyone is fixated that their needs outweigh everyone elses. Why is it that if Kingsisle decides to focus on one group for the moment so that in the long run they would have given everyone something they could enjoy, it's the complete end of the world and the destruction of the game?
The overall affect of Kingsisle's games, in my eyes, is to bring the family, friends, just people closer. Originally the game was only targeted at the Kids, Preteens, and Teens, but adults got interested in the game and found it enjoyable too, which isn't a bad thing at all. We get an unexpected variety of people and a different branch of players to meet. It brings a lot of things together, which I think is pretty nice.
--> Pixar Affect: I did not say the game isn't great or magical. I said it does not appeal to everyone. Lots of people don't like the game. People who don't like RPGs, computer games, or magical stuff will certainly not like Wizard101.
--> Less Players in Higher Worlds: Obviously there will be less players in the worlds as you progress. Its linear game play. Everybody must go through Krokotopia to get to Mooshu, but not every wizard will go to Mooshu. There will always be more level 20 wizards than level 80 wizards. Also remember that many of us have multiple wizards, and they all start at WC.
--> "foster social connections" is a bit odd. Those of us who don't have real world friends playing Wizard101 learn that 'friends' come and go. If you are playing with your first wizard most people have lost their original friends by the time you reach Avalon. Wizard attrition rate. (But its in Avalon and Azteca where you really need those good friends!).
--> "foster social connections"...in some ways its quite depressing. Standing outside a dungeon at 2:00am asking strangers for help. In a weird way Wizard101 teaches us to become good at asking strangers for help. (and for crowns, treasure cards, & girlfriends! lol).
Well I don't disagree on you're first 2 points at all. That's pretty much something I'm beginning to think. Sorry for the misinterpretation. When you said "lot's of people don't like the game" I thought you met it like "practically the majority don't like the game." Again, my bad.
Your last two points...I really don't know how to explain it well. Um...ok well you're last point well actuallly the "In a weird way Wizard101 teaches us to become good at asking strangers for help. (and for crowns, treasure cards, & girlfriends! lol)." line, I agree with you completely lol. I've been through that 100 times over. Handing out treasure cards, gifting, even the girlfriend part (it was a really weird month for me lol It always played out like a movie or something).
I dunno about standing at 2 in the morning just to complete a dungeon. That seems kinda much but I have a brother who will play Pirate101 from sunset to sunrise just to finish is quests so...go figure I guess lol. Personally, I simply got the idea of creating better social aspects again from that article snibbit. I thought that made pretty good sense when it comes down to the really hard fights. We can meet new people or reestablish bonds with players on our list we never talk to to help with the hard fight (with 35 Million players can't have everything "soloable"). But what happens after the difficulty or dungeons KI builds, is out of their hands. The idea of standing in front of a dungeon until someone comes a long like a praying mantis waiting for it's fly to buzz by, or spending countless crowns for Henchmen, group playing, or just pleading for help desprately is all player behavior. Some these ideas of Pay to Win to me is the majority going with an idea that works but isn't to everyone's liking. Overall I don't see any of this as something KI intented. Unless they wanted to fool us and give us a huge shocker in the end.
--> Pixar Affect: I did not say the game isn't great or magical. I said it does not appeal to everyone. Lots of people don't like the game. People who don't like RPGs, computer games, or magical stuff will certainly not like Wizard101.
--> Less Players in Higher Worlds: Obviously there will be less players in the worlds as you progress. Its linear game play. Everybody must go through Krokotopia to get to Mooshu, but not every wizard will go to Mooshu. There will always be more level 20 wizards than level 80 wizards. Also remember that many of us have multiple wizards, and they all start at WC.
--> "foster social connections" is a bit odd. Those of us who don't have real world friends playing Wizard101 learn that 'friends' come and go. If you are playing with your first wizard most people have lost their original friends by the time you reach Avalon. Wizard attrition rate. (But its in Avalon and Azteca where you really need those good friends!).
--> "foster social connections"...in some ways its quite depressing. Standing outside a dungeon at 2:00am asking strangers for help. In a weird way Wizard101 teaches us to become good at asking strangers for help. (and for crowns, treasure cards, & girlfriends! lol).
lol, right on.
"pixar effect"
oddly enough, i'm not into any of the above (the exception is my love of harry potter novels); i don't care for other books in the genre, and i'm certainly not a gamer by any stretch. but i love this game~ why? because of the people i've met and the fun we've had together. my potter obsession certainly helps, though.
even though this is a "family game' and is targeted to familes (d'uh), most of my in-game friends are like me~ adults over 20, with no kids. the beauty of wizards is that it transcends age and appeals to a much-wider audience than the one they market to. but you are correct, in that *most* people who don't appreciate the above won't like the game. less players in high-level worlds
sad, but true... and you're right, when you say that avalon and azteca are when we most need good friends and are hard-pressed to find any. while i do have lots of good friends now, such was not always the case. foster social connections
yeah, i get that. but we should not be forced to rely on others; real life teaches you that people are fickle and it's quite rare that your in-game friends will be with you forever.
i've started playing in feb. 2011, and my first wizard (now level 90) has lost most of her original in-game buddies. that said, she has made several others~ people from these forums, whose awesomeness surpasses description (here's looking at que, beanie, goldendragon, and many others whose acquaintances i've had the pleasure of making along the way).
that all said... i work graveyard shifts. 3pm (the time here right now) is my 3am, so it's rare that i run into any of my friends in the middle of the day (because they're all adults with lives, and our time zones don't always sync up).
fortunately, i am not above standing outside a dungeon at 2 am and asking people for help. ki has taught me well enough, i suppose.
) and I try to put in my input. I'm always wondering "Why are people putting up such a fuss over a game? It's just a game. Not life itself or the key to political power or something like that." And I sit down and think. 
) 
- this game. We love everything that happens in it. The things Kingsisle has brought to our homes is immeasureable. You can't weight it. It just brings our families and friends closer. It 100% has with me. When I see all this and people calling this game 'broken' and I keep thinking "It can't be 
Have you not heard them? They're hilarious!, it's amazing at what they can do. Even in Azteca, I find a humorous tale at every corner. I love the references and many more aspects of the game. KI's got me hooked. Before 4 years ago, I was calling this game for nerds and it wasn't going to be any good. Then came that Summer where I saw my brother cast a Blood Bat and just from that, I wanted in. Now here we are leading into another Summer and I keep remembering where they were with but 5 Million players, to 30 Million players and new graphics, story, activities everything! And I've loved every addition after the last. So I mean, even if 29 Million just truly dislike this whole game, I will stay with the 1 Million that do. And I think that's all that matters; that I'm happy and enjoying this game. 
go figure I guess lol. Personally, I simply got the idea of creating better social aspects again from that article snibbit. I thought that made pretty good sense when it comes down to the really hard fights. We can meet new people or reestablish bonds with players on our list we never talk to to help with the hard fight (with 35 Million players can't have everything "soloable"). But what happens after the difficulty or dungeons KI builds, is out of their hands. The idea of standing in front of a dungeon until someone comes a long like a praying mantis waiting for it's fly to buzz by, or spending countless crowns for Henchmen, group playing, or just pleading for help desprately is all player behavior. Some these ideas of Pay to Win to me is the majority going with an idea that works but isn't to everyone's liking. Overall I don't see any of this as something KI intented. Unless they wanted to fool us and give us a huge shocker in the end
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