So LaDS has been tanking as a game. Let's talk about it (please read the whole thing, I slowly make my point and want justice for Valko)
Many of you know me as someone who randomly wrote 2.5 Caleb fics for fun, and then I disappeared. Why? Because the characters got boring, and I don't like that nobody's willing to talk about it.
No new story update, no new lore, no new character development or arcs within their released cards. Everything was recycled or fleshed out in the form of tropes, and that's when content started dying. No one's character was growing or getting better or more complex, and no new substance was being added to the MC's "relationship" with the characters because the cards offered no new information and stagnated. People began logging in for the sake of clearing dailies or getting weekly gifts and then logging out. Even paying players (myself included) slowly began to lose interest.
Valko was a breath of fresh air who was finally going to be Rafayel's rival/counterpart within the main storyline, and before anyone argues with me about him being 'introduced out of nowhere', he has been teased in the game for a long time now. Be it the red hood that 'could even make the Big Bad Wolf jealous' description, or Zayne asking about a specific redhead we were speaking to, or the abnormally high heat signature found on the uppermost floor of Eontech's building that secretly invested in EVER. All mentioned within the lore of the game, if you look for it.
Not only that, but Valko's personality from the recent trailers also seemed wonderful. He was playful and made the MC laugh while also making her feel secure, and so many people love to see that kind of dynamic (including me, who was so excited because he's exactly like my irl boyfriend and soon-to-be fiancé, who was planning to download the game because he also loved Valko's teasers so much).
As someone who cares about the main storyline and its updates, asking for Caleb and Sylus story updates when it is very clear that the story's advancement depends on Valko's inclusion is bizarre to me. You can't get to the stairwell if you haven't entered the building, and you can't learn more about the other 5 LI's without having Valko be introduced.
We always knew a new LI was coming soon. He was even teased in lunar new year arts, and there are 6 types of stellactra, one matching each LI, which we already knew. Could he have been better introduced if Infold had communicated better and placated everyone by updating the game's quality of life and clarifying ahead that Caleb and Sylus were getting story expansions in September and November? Absolutely, and I still hold them accountable for that. But people taking it out on Valko is unacceptable.
The voice actor and motion capture actors, the development team, art team, music developers, scriptwriters, all of these people spent two years developing and perfecting Valko as a character, same as the other love interests. Deleting Valko from the game is not only disrespectful to the fans who are so excited to have him, but also to the potentially hundreds of people who ended up working on this project and have to watch all their hard work get scrapped not even 2 weeks before its debut. It's abhorrent.
I need you all to understand that this isn't just about liking Valko as a character, but that it goes beyond that. This not only affects real people's livelihoods and work (which apparently so many people don't even consider), but also you. Your precious story expansions will be changed and retconned if Valko is kicked out. Lore will become unreliable and inconsistent. The game will fail, and will declare end of service by the end of the year. So stop for a second and really think about what all of this means.
Do what you can to help us bring him back. Use the tags Bring Valko Back (#BringValkoBack and #BringBackValko), email Infold/Papergames, submit customer support claims, don't log into the game, and sign petitions that are gaining traction to bring him back. We have to do this if you don't want everything to disappear. You might not care for Valko, but you care for your main, right?
There will be no Xavier without Valko. There will be no Zayne without Valko. There will be no Rafayel without Valko. There will be no Sylus without Valko. There will be no Caleb without Valko. Let it all register for a moment. If the game is gone, so are they all.
Save Valko, save your favs. Petition link is HERE
And if any of you wanna discuss or inbox/message me to air your grievances, then please don't hesitate to reach out. I will listen. I understand your frustrations and share them too. We can do this.
theartofmadeline
gracieabrams
amandla
gummygunk
stormborns
