I caved to my curiosity about the 6.0 update and after a long shower, I have thoughts...
The server is back up now and the "coming soon" is officially removed everywhere. The empty spaces that once promised a 6th LI are so much more prominent and heartbreaking.
Am I still somewhat hopeful that Infold/Paper Games silence and pulling ouy of BilibiliWorld last minute means that this isn't over? Yes. But that is only because despair is expensive and I have bills to pay.
I'm just looking at this from the macro now and thinking about how sad it is that one of Infold/Paper's selling points as a global game was to be an ambassador of Chinese culture. It was an incredible tool that built soft power. As Love and Deepspace threatens to sing its swan song, its final Chinese cultural export will be their weak will and weak mindedness.
The Valko-Anti's, that used valid critique to remove a planned love-interest, are inherently weak-minded. Yes, Infold/Paper carry most of the blame for this mess becayse they are greedy and flawed, but how weak minded must you be to believe that in-app purchases amounts to voting shares? Buying the same $120 in groceries every month, but doesn't give me the power to stop my local grocery store from selling kale just because I don't like it. Nor does bringing new food products to the store will somehow lessen my appreciation for the items that have always been and always will be on the shelves. But that is exactly how the Valko-Antis think and act. I would pity fools that cut off their nose to spite their face, but I simply don't. Their misery is self-inflicted and deserved.
Infold/Paper are just as pathetic as the vocal minority that they apeased with this move. It cannot be overstated that their management holds most of the blame as they are the ones who made the decision to sacrifice the hard work of the creative teams. Hard work that is/was the beating heart of this game.
They betrayed the core of what the story of Love and Deepspace was about by turning a hunter into a housewife. MC was multi-faceted, showing women that being powerful and being vulnerable are not mutually exclusive. That you can love stuffed animals, be clumsy, be a badass, and through it all be deserving of unconditional love. Now, with the tainted version of the 6.0 update, I only see how they want to put that beautiful complex character into the kitchen.
Maybe I'm falling for the sunk-cost fallacy, but I'm not giving up the fight just yet. I am going to do what I can to keep the faith and be louder than the weak-minded. I want to read the story the creative teams wanted to tell, I need to believe that change is still possible. And if it does course correct, I will bring my near-whale spending back to Linkon City.
Sadly, the same cannot be said for everyone and I understand. For many the trust has been broken, immersion is shattered, and even if Infold/Paper brings Valko back, their legacy is tainted.
Their final export of Chinese Culture will be cowardice.