they didnt listen, by the way. because of course they didnt. theyre hiding domo ai from the member list and forcing them into private and public servers. use
/ban user:1153984868804468756
to get rid of it.
if you're interested in the Colorful support post i made regarding this, its under the cut. i'm livid.
Free service with ads: Well, if I'm not paying for it they have to foot the bill somehow.
Paid service with no ads: Well, if they're not funding it with ad revenue, they need to charge us something.
Paid service with ads: Well that's bullshit.
"We used to be a paid service without ads, but now we're putting ads in it! If you want the ad-free version you have to pay more for preeeeemium": Fuck you fuck you fuck you
If I were found in a 'night at the museum" situation, there would be no wacky hijinks, let me tell you. I'd kill myself instantly. The wax figures wouldn't even be alive yet and I'd be dead.
I’ve always felt the core role of this blog has been one of information. We make a lot of choices in design, and I try to use my various communications, including Blogatog, to walk the players through what we were thinking when we made key decisions.
The challenge with this approach is that it’s very logic-focused. It uses intellectual justifications to explain actions. But the problems I’m often responding to are emotional in origin. I have a good friend who’s a psychologist. He refers to this (using the words of author Robyn Gobbel) as an owl brain solution to a watchdog brain problem.
When someone is hurting, hearing about why the thing that is causing them pain is the result of intellectual decisions falls flat. That’s what has been causing some tension lately here on Blogatog.
It’s clear that for some Question Marks changes over the last few years represent the loss of something key to what makes Magic special to them. To them, the game is losing its heart.
While I can’t necessarily do anything about that, I want to better understand what you’re going through. So I’m using this post to ask players who are concerned with the recent changes to help me understand their feelings. Let me hear your stories about how your lives have been affected by these changes.
Magic the Gathering IS an emotional experience. There isn’t anything “logical” about playing it, or enjoying it. We don’t need to play magic to survive, to learn, or really in any way. There is only pure logic when it comes to marketing, finance, and sometimes card balancing.
“This design is fun” and “the best way to express this concept is through this ability” are just as emotional statements as “I don’t like this setting” and “I feel sad that the magic setting is beginning to take a backseat in its own game”. As a game designer, I’m sure you’re aware that players like things that aren’t “logical”. Why do players not like cards with downsides? They “feel” bad. Etc.
Magic is wonderful from a game design perspective with extremely fun rules. I don’t think UB will change that. I’m sure every single person who will work on the sets will give it their all and create genius card and ability designs. I have faith that you all will continue to revolutionize card games for years into the future. I’m sure you’ll have extremely passionate people who care deeply about the IPs you collaborate with.
And it won’t be enough.
When I play magic, a huge portion of the reason I play it is for the flavor of it! I’m not using “resource card 1”, I am calling upon the well of deep magic within the plains. Channeling the fundamental power that represents “Justice” and “Peace” but also “Stasis” and “Oppression”. Even in settings like Ravnica where the lands are city scapes, that SAYS something about the world. “This,” Ravnica whispers, “was once an island.” New Capenna tells me “my wilds are Not, and the soul of nature has been restrained”.
Spider-Man will have islands, but they won’t mean anything. Spider-Man does not have “Blue Mana, the essence of knowledge and curiosity and the pursuit of perfection!” Perhaps it will represent islands with a library or similar, but even then it would lose the Primal Power of drawing arcane energy from lands.
To be clear, I think that magic can explore any genre and theme it can set its mind to. Neon Dynasty proved that. MKM was a bad set, but not because “magic can’t do a noir setting.” To be clear, I think Magic can absolutely do superheroes. It has! The Gatewatch were absolutely superheroes! And I loved them!
But I loved them because it was Magic’s lens on the genre. I loved it because of how it was different to Marvel or to DC. It was asking “what does a superhero mean in the worlds of Magic?” I hate the cyberpunk genre, but Neon Dynasty implemented it in such a way that I was captivated by it! Zombie Plagues are boring as all get out to me, but Phyrexians? PHYREXIANS? I think they might be some of my favorite villains in any media ever.
It’s the difference between “a spider themed hero” and “Marvel Comic’s Spider-Man!”
Implementing UB SETS as often as actual Magic IP sets is looking directly into the camera and saying “The worlds of Magic mean absolutely nothing to us. Every word of flavor text written, every piece of artwork, every character that we have made. They matter less to us than a crossover with whoever we can get our hands on.”
I’ll believe you when you say that the community wants this. I’ll believe you when you say that the people who are against it are the vocal minority. I’m not speaking for the community when I voice my displeasure. I am speaking for myself. And I think that this is embarrassing.
You measure success by player growth and retention. And that’s a valid and understandable metric. Extremely useful, even. But really, the only metric that matters to any single player is “how much do I care?” And to me, this is the biggest failure in Magic’s history.
What’s really fucking funny is that they’re printing 3 in-universe sets a year now. So, if this didn’t cause me to quit, it almost would have been what I wanted! Three sets a year that I care about.
Cube is now the only good format. Just, have fun getting 8 people together for like 2-4 hours.
marcille is NOT an animal crossing cozy gamer girl she is a fucking spreadsheet warrior. maybe she plays stardew valley but she runs that farm like the navy
