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    RuneScape TL;DW 461 - Monetisation Q&A

    November 06, 2019

    RuneScape TL;DW 461 - Monetisation Q&A

    TL;DW 461 - Monetisation Q&A

    Posted: 05 Nov 2019 11:03 PM PST

    Vod | FAQ | TL;DR of the TL;DW

    Buff Bars

    We think we have a fix but aren't fully confident in it. So we are deciding if we can get it on a test service for everyone (wouldn't be this week) or just increase our confidence in it and push it live.

    Discussions

    • Decant this stream in a FAQ blog in better chunks.
    • Dev blog next week around the Premiere pass system and it will be free for club members.
    • Livestream to follow it up in the next months based on when Parliament have responded.

    Intro

    • Perfect storm of negativity in the past few months:
      • Lack of game content, TH promotions issues, Parliament Report, Kotaku article, BBC lootcrate article.
    • We have some work to do on the care front. We are building a strategy to address what we aren't doing correctly.

    Parliament Details

    Parents of an adult player who were concerned about their son spending $60,000 on the game sent a formal complaint to the committee. The committee's conclusion was that the evidence presented to them was a lot lower than what the complaint was about.

    • We wrote to the committee what are intentions/recommendations are not just for Jagex but for the industry.
      • This will be discussed and they will come back with recommendations and then we will share it with you.
      • There's a general election in the UK so it may take sometime to get those recommendations.
    • Rather than waiting for them to tell us what we need to do, we will look at what we can do to bring it back ourselves in line.

    Debunking Myths

    Does any RS3 MTX fund, in any way, OSRS?

    • Indirectly. It drives income into the business allowing us to develop new products and invest into existing ones.
      • It also pays salaries all across the company.
    • Over the last 5 years we've become a larger company and we've probably doubled our employee cost.
      • This means we're investing into our employees and spitting out new initiatives and growing.

    Is the money made through MTX re-invested back into the game?

    • Absolutely, it's invested primarily to pay salaries, we brought new employees into the companies and new skill sets, we've increased the size of our teams/initiatives. Primarily employee cost.
    • We operate as most companies do.
      • Revenue streams from MTX and also forms of investments from our parent company support us.
      • We show growth potential, and if we want to expand we have to justify those stuff.
      • My team we have to get continual buy-in from higher ups based on roadmaps and expectations to key targets.

    Membership vs MTX

    • Subscription % - MTX % ratio:

      • The typical ratio is 45%-55%.
      • Some games are 50%-50% or even 60%-40% but never beyond that.
      • Runescape is currently 50%-50% but we are looking to grow to 60%-40% (not necessarily our target).

    • When we look at our MTX revenue split, a portion of that MTX revenue is variable since it can come from prior years as we can only recognize on the books when a certain set of actions happened. (Cosmetics and Bonds).

    • We want players to absorb the value of cosmetics for a longer enough period to recognize the value so we don't claim the revenue completely.

    FAQ Topics

    Below are topics where I've quoted/partially quoted Jmods on stream. I've done this to give more insight on these topics while also to remove clutter.

    • Is Jagex milking their players?
    • Direct XP vs Bonus XP
    • Being reactive on a bad promotional schedule?
    • Why as a community should we trust anything you say to us in the past promises have been made and yet nothing has been done to keep them and what indicates this time around will be any different.
    • What would you say to pay more money for no more MTX?
    • Can we have an "opt out" option for MTX in its entirety?
    • MTX Free World

    Jagex Teams

    3 Main Teams: Core Experience | Live Ops | Episodic Content

    Live Ops Team

    • Newly reformed team of content developers, artists, testers, and designers.
      • Operate in a similar fashion to other teams with 2 week sprints and then reviews.
    • Developed TH, SGS, time limited events (DXPW), Premier club, twitch prime, and the charity events.

    Values

    We've never been clear what our philosophy is or what we are aiming to do with it. We've just added bits here and there and that's probably why it's created a bit of fictions. There are a few things, establish some ground rules/values...

    Value Description
    Subscription based services Make sure we deliver on this first and foremost. Make sure everyone (Members, F2P, Premier club) are getting a good deal.
    About Engagement Having reason to play the game not just quests, but things that make people get together in game and give reason for you to participate in events and take part with your clan, etc. Change in activities, Alternative engagement.
    Does it belong Crossed this numerous times. Bad MTX strategy feels it's layered on top. When we started we essentially did that, we struggled to make them fit with the game.
    Generosity Make certain content available in the game through non-pay methods such as elite skilling outfits. It's not quite right yet and it took ages and came with a lot of caveats. We want to make a better and more transparent system but also ensure if you pay for something that doesn't mean we will make it available immediately for free. Also talking about the integrated design and publishing drop rates. We already do it on mobile, no reason not to do it elsewhere.

    Strategy

    • We currently develop strategies that are independent of each other (episodic isn't related to live ops)
      • We need something that's more cohesive and aligns with each other and supports each other.
    • 2020 Plans - It's not as concrete as I'd like it yet.
      • I'm (Warden) looking for a budget for a roadmap that we are currently working on still and haven't finalized.

    Double XP Weekend

    • We've wanted to experiment with DXPW for awhile, and attempted it back in May (VoS), but failed.
    • We want a way for players to enjoy DXPW and it's social aspects without feeling forced to be attentive.
    • We went back and forth on 36 hours. A weekend is normally 48, but DXPW are usually 72 hours.
      • According to data only 1% of players play for 36+ hours on the weekends so it felt like a sensible cut off point.
      • We may try looking at a different cap in the future. We want the right amount without it feeling punishing.

    Treasure Hunter

    RNG on Treasure Hunter

    • It's about experimenting and trying new things.
    • There are still daily keys and players who are wanting to take advantage of progression/speed advantages.
    • RNG element needs to take a different shape without the lootcrate.
      • The industry is also deciding if there needs to be RNG at all.
    • We need to be transparent about the RNG, it should not be the negative aspect of our models.

    Treasure Hunter 2.0

    • Past: We've explored different designs but it took us in a direction we aren't comfortable with (more lootboxes).
      • This was also around the time when there was a big kickback around lootboxes in the industry.
      • We should have been more transparent.
    • We have since looked back at things we could change and do differently.
    • Will be things in the next couple of months (starting end of this month) to show we are looking to change it up.

    Item/Combat Rewards on Treasure Hunter

    • We don't have a hard set of rules/agreements but we take a lot of advice internally on what's fair/balanced.
    • We will always continue to avoid providing the best in slot combat gear.
    • Virtus armor concerns - we haven't done these types of promotions for years, and players have asked for more.
      • We didn't increase the max tier, and it isn't the best in slot.
      • We have no current plans to do the other armors. Doesn't mean we won't ever, but tell us what you think.

    Cosmetics vs Normal Promotions

    • The Cat-walk promo was received really well.
      • In terms of income it was nothing new and did similar to the Flames of Rei Ti promotion back in July.
    • Cosmetics on TH don't get as much engagement. More players who use TH are wanting the progression.
      • We could put them on SGS as we know roughly what engagement that drives.
    • Time-limited events that tends to focus on cosmetic awards do really well however.

    Promotion Rotation

    • We do cosmetic promotions more often than people think.
    • We try and balance out the types of promotions to cover all the bases: cosmetic, functional, bonus xp, direct xp.
    • Let ourselves down in the past when we recycled stuff since it was an easy win since due to the lack of support.
      • We've addressed that now and invested into the team just as we've done to all out teams (not just MTX).
      • We can do more experimentation and innovation that we've lacked in the past

    MTX Stores

    We want to combine all the stores (SGS, Loyalty store, Rare Item, Oddment, Action bars/Presets, etc...) and have a whole rounded system. Have a clean up that makes it less confusing less complex but bring them together in a way that's more interesting.

    Store Combination

    • I'd like to use a unified currency or maybe allow players to exchange currencies for others to unlock these things.
      • Collating it together is a huge undertaking.
    • The interfaces/systems have been around for awhile and would requires a lot of UI/UX work.
      • The UI/UX team have been building up and developing their capability.
    • It's better to do small steps and test them to get feedback than one large update where the progress isn't seen.
      • Example: Oddment store change - We weren't sure how'd it go down, and now we can build upon it.

    Auras

    • Loyalty Store - has been an issue for quite awhile
    • We want to make certain auras (high level combat auras) available via in-game methods.
      • Plan with Osborne on how to do that.
    • Some that fit well with Premium auras that would be sold as bonds like the Mahjarrat Aura.

    Oddment store

    • We want to experiment more with it, with direct purchase of items that are normally reserved to TH.
      • It's quite contentious, but there are other ways to do it
      • Other games are experimenting with this as an alternative.
    • The next step to look at what stuff we can make available and what quantities and how do we limit them.
      • Plans are already in place. Changes made within the next few months.
    • Could look at making oddments easier to obtain. Maybe an interaction with bonds.
    • Look to possible shift the focus away from the conventional TH promotions/Loot crates.

    Solomon's General Store

    • It's out of date, clunky, discoverability is terrible.
    • It's on our road-map to fix but it's a big task.

    Runepass

    Pilot Test - July, 2018

    • We were disappointed on how we handled it. We didn't:
      • Put enough time in planning it and executing it well.
      • Communicate it well enough and explain what we were trying to achieve.
      • Deliver enough content in there.
    • The value is way under what you'd expect for both the premier track and free tack.
      • Tasks were grindy and dull.
      • We should have made it free to premier club members.

    Upcoming

    Blog - Next Week | Update - End of the month

    • We are planning to look at those systems and something around that.
    • The main thing is that it really has to deliver the right amount of content and rewards.
    • We are working with a pass system that sits well with the game which can run as events throughout the year.

    Runepass Alongside Treasure Hunter

    • It's about achieving a balance.
    • If we suddenly turned off the income from System A we'd need to be guaranteed that it would come from B.
      • Since System B is brand new we don't have that guarantee.
      • Therefore, if System B brings in a certain amount of income then we can do less of System A.
    • We're a business we got commitments to make. If we can prove out new systems that are successful then we can decrease the reliance and the frequency and intensity of other things in this case TH.
    • I do want to change up Treasure Hunter to test out new systems/mechanics to replace the lootcrate system.
      • There will be a period where we will run something different on TH to see what happens.

    Communications

    Communication - Scheduling

    • We've done a rubbish job of conveying our development roadmap, not just MTX but through out Jagex.
      • Better internal road-maps, knowing dependencies, leadership and player communication,
    • People are okay if things are delayed as long as you tell them and there are good reasons.
    • We are building a solid road-map for 2020 to prevent excessive promotions with a lack of game content.
      • Hit more of things players asked for such as with the player survey. (For current and newer players).
    • A lot of the reason for a lack of communication with the monetisation portion of the game is because we haven't had the vision/support/strategies to do that. Now that we have it we are more than happy to do it.

    General MTX Discussion

    Membership alone is not sufficient to keep the game healthy and evolving.

    Intrusive MTX - Shadow Drakes

    • We shouldn't be doing things that are intrusive and spoils people enjoyment of the game.
      • In the past where we've probably crossed that line, but that doesn't mean we should do them again.
    • You can't take things away once it's done since it's a real live game, so you have to move carefully.
      • We did an update with the Combat Academy and how you can't take shadow drakes in there anymore.

    Free Runecoins

    • Obtaining Runecoins via in-game activities is a cool idea, and we want to clean the currency system to do that.
      • Runecoins can be tricky to work with (internal reasons), but it works with oddments, keys, etc.

    MTX Content Suggestions

    • Combat animations - Counts as cosmetics, sits well in those systems.
    • Bank Presets - If people want them.
    • Retro Overrides - They are cool and have a place, things we can do for special occasions.
    • Interface colors/themes - Problematic of how the game is presented on different formats like mobile.
      • Adding complications and complexity to stuff we don't need to. It's probably not something I'd want to add

    Refer-A-Friend System Alternative

    • Currently players exploit it by creating alts.
    • It deserves a bit of an overhaul to something more modern where it can have tiers of rewards.
      • It's up on the board.

    Pop-ups

    • We don't want to be intrusive and we haven't always got that right
    • We do and try to make sure those messages are only targeted at players who would get the benefit from them.
      • We probably haven't done a good enough job of that

    Nerfs

    • It is conflicting that we are nerfing game content yet continuing to release OP XP promotions into the game.
      • We need to sync up between teams which we've started. We don't always get it right, or it's done in silos.

    Updates and Game Info

    Lack of Updates

    What are we doing?

    • Not hitting beats/delivering on the commitments. We're not the best at looking at all the knock-on effects
    • Currently we are doing our best to hit the dates we said at Runefest. We haven't taken our foot off the gas.
      • Added more production and product owner support to each of the teams.
      • Visibility and awareness are going up, hitting more of our objectives so it's very promising.

    OSRS vs RS

    • OSRS is the nostalgia driven version of the game and it needs to be preserved so it only changes if players are 75% behind it.
    • RS is more of a theme park where we try new and exciting experiments to keep it alive and fresh and keep people interested.

    Free Players

    • We want to make the game more welcoming to free players.
      • We've done it in the past but we need be more accepting.
      • Data we get from partners tell us the same thing that we have to make a better effort on your free model.

    Halloween/Seasonal Events

    • The Live-Ops team looks over this.
    • I like to see these season events to be more of a thing and plan them more in advance and build content that helps build it out into something more meaningful. I'd see that as a key change for 2020.
    • You can recycle content but it can get boring/fatigued and it can go wrong if we don't change them up.
      • Example: The Beach - It became dry since no new rewards/activities so we decided not to revisit it.
      • We can still do the Beach again in the future.

    Runescape

    • We see RS around in 5 years, but our current view is about quarters, 6-12 month view then 2021 and beyond.
      • We haven't been well equipped on the longer term but we intend to.
    • I'd like players to love it. Re-kindled love. We want to know the next generation of RS players.
    • The game is bright, optimistic, whimsical. RS is special because of the avatar, not many games do that. EVE does with spaceship avatars and that's a unique piece and we should explore it. RS has meaning to players and is multi-generational. We should make games that support those ideas.
    submitted by /u/ImRubic
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    "Others are worse" is a terrifying mentality for Jagex to have presented itself with. As long as there is a company which is .01% more predatory, they can justify raking us over the coals in any form.

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 11:11 AM PST

    If you are here reading, I assume that it is because you are also disgusted with MTX practices and the continuing patronization of our community by jagex. We have all heard "just quit/omg whining 2019/can't beat Chinese overlords/blah blah blah". If you don't care, we've heard that you don't care, and don't care that you don't care. The goal of this post is open ended discussion into our legitimate options as a community.

    We as a community are in a very dire place. The current paradigm at jagex, toward literring the game we love(d) with avenues further into our wallets to grind out every cent we're worth, is one that has historically presented itself as dangerous.

    First off, I think it is essential that we make a simple distinction. It has taken place over the course of the last few years and been discussed plenty of times. Whether or not it's obvious "duh they don't care China blah blah blah", it's important to see where we stand in the big picture.

    To jagex, we are no longer the eager players of a game it is excited to share.

    We are now non-human potential financial opportunities to a bunch of people who probably couldn't figure out how to open a door in the game.

    This distinction ultimately has dehumanized us as players. Jagex has fully abandoned the morals and mission that it was founded on. Anyone who played RuneScape and was a part of the community then can attest to this.

    It is visible in the quality and types of content being released, it is visible in the internal turmoil at jagex and in those who have left, and it is most visible on the faces of mods mic and warden who are our Bill Lumberg to understanding and communicating with the community. (If you don't get the office space reference, it means they're just keeping us on a treadmill, professionally)

    The current leadership, who remain off screen, have taken the skin of what Jagex was and used the once pristine brand to lure people into its arcade.

    The Livestream was gut-wrenching. It cemented exactly how out of touch Jagex' ideologies are. They used the opportunity they had to show an ounce of respect for the game's integrity to make it clear that they intend to shove their monetization down our throats one way or another. It also became very clear that the questions they were really looking for were in the spirit of creating a giant euphemism for blatant usury.

    What now? There's a few avenues left for us to take but we need coordination and the drive not to burn out.

    If jagex will not respect the player base as its customers, we have the option of trying to interface with the people they do see as their customers: the shareholders of Fukong interactive. I do not have any fraction of a clue how to do this; that's what the community is for.

    We attempt true activism in the form of a mass-unsubscribe day or something similar. This has been suggested and discussed before. Major pros and cons of that particular example include:

    Pros: You can un/re-subscribe right away and still have the data that you unsubscribed recorded. This is a more tangible way to get the level of seriousness across to a corporate employee who is only looking at subscription numbers.

    Cons: Premier club undermines this for many players. Concerns about loyalty point accrual.

    There are better ideas out there, we just need to put them together.

    Or we do nothing and it stays the same. It's a very realistic possibility. Most of us will probably keep playing but it won't be the home we had in the game we grew to love. Either way every opinion and idea is helpful. Please share what you can and maybe we can, as a community, come up with something a little louder than a few angry Reddit posts.

    submitted by /u/muzau
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    Days since last JMOD Left

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 01:16 PM PST

    I found the real identity of Mod Mic

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 01:27 PM PST

    On the topic of MTX, find it ridiculous that we have to pay to have at least an xp per hour counter, on top of our members subscription. £40!

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 03:19 AM PST

    Another JMod leaves - Mod Kelpie

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 03:21 AM PST

    It do be like that

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 04:44 AM PST

    Today is the first day without a MTX Promo since the 24th of July

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 08:38 AM PST

    105 days....

    Thorughout the months of August, September and October they had Mysteria Wednesdays where the Mysteria promo came every Friday. This was on top of 2nd chance Tuesday and the regular Thursday-Monday Promotion.

    Hopefully the trend continues and we get at least one day free a week

    submitted by /u/WasV3
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    Literally no one asked for Virtus to be in the TH. Just because one individual mentioned it, doesn't mean the whole playerbase wants it. This stream was a shit-show in my opinion, I'm sorry. ��

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 02:11 AM PST

    MOD MIC didn't help

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 04:37 AM PST

    I set my membership not to auto-renew based on the MTX in Runescape. Depending on Jagex's response in the livestream, I might renew again. I have even less faith in Jagex now.

    ​

    I will start off about Mod Warden: He came across nervous, but for being in-charge, seemed heavily overshadowed by Mod MIC. I know that he's new, and whilst I'm still willing to give him a chance, There wasn't anything concrete in this stream other than trying to re-assure us that they will be doing something.

    ​

    MOD MIC: He doesn't show up very much in the community. The thing most of us will know him from is the talk that he did about monetisation which was posted on here at the height of the outrage. The way he sits and talks, it just comes across as marketing jargon and slightly sinister.

    ​

    He did more bad than good on stream and I want to highlight some of the notable points.

    "But I know from experience and I'm sure Mod Warden does as well, that there are many companies that are far more aggressive than Jagex is with MTX"

    - There are many, many companies which are far far less aggressive than Jagex is. It is no excuse for your behaviour.

    ​

    " A lot of players value their time more than anything else. "

    This is their justification to offer "time savers". They will sell Gold, XP and items because they know people who will pay to speed up the game. I believe with Runescape in particular these players are in the minority.

    From my experience, a lot of players value their achievements, their XP and the base experience. To please that one group of players with time-savers, you are devaluing other players achievements, XP and ruining their vanilla experience.

    ​

    " So, by making it optional I don't think it's be feasible because then it would mean we would need to fund it in different ways like with a subscription or something else. "

    Earlier on in the stream you literally said "Compare that to Microtransations, which are genuinely optional, you don't have to buy them". Which is it? They are not optional. You need them to prey on the vulnerable and the susceptible. If you had an option to turn them off, these are the people who will no longer pay. If there are players who value their time, they can choose to keep MTX turned on. And those who have no intention of buying MTX don't have to be bothered by them (which would be no loss to Jagex as they weren't going to get revenue from them anyway). That is the reason you won't have the option to turn off MTX or have MTX free worlds.

    ​

    "Want to make the game more welcoming for those who are playing for free. Particularly as we're moving out into the mobile space. We need to be much more accepting of players who are used to using that kind of free model

    This is the point where my hopes were crushed. It shows the true intentions. Mobile is a hellscape of Microtransaction garbage. Runescape wants a piece of that pie. It doesn't want to join mobile as a beacon of how much better regular games are. It wants to stoop to their level. It wants to streamline its stores so that it can have one prominent currency with which to buy everything. It wants these players who are mobile only, that can't compete with their desktop counterparts and so can easily buy their way in.

    There are many things that retain players. New content, fun experience, time invested, money invested. Runescape used to be about regular new content and fun experience. Now it has an older experienced player base, they can prey on time and money invested and have less of the content or the fun (more grinds).

    ​

    Mod MIC by coming on to address the MTX situation, you only confirmed some of our worst fears.

    submitted by /u/gluepot1
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    I watched the VoD and well.. I worked out Mod Mic's true name

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 05:24 AM PST

    Idk how they think they're not the worst company when I can't say I have played any other game that has 8 different types of mtx, and those that do have predatory mtx are completely freemium. Even most mobile games arn't as bad as Jagex, Hell even EA games Charge-em4Everything is NOT as bad as Jagex Monetisation wise.

    I realised Mod Mic's true name is

    Mod Mic-rotransactions.

    submitted by /u/Nolifedemon
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    I don't have anyone to share this with, but after playing on and off for 19 years I finally maxed!! So excited!

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 11:11 AM PST

    Just watched the VOD - Can we give credit to the guy asking the questions?

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 07:40 AM PST

    I haven't seen anybody mention this but that dude is a real champion of the community. He didn't pull any punches asked REAL questions (even if we didn't get real answers). Mentioned "Milking" mentioned "why should they trust you", mentioned the MTX bingo, forced them back on track when they snaked away from the questions ("I think what the players mean is...")

    He could have cherry picked shitty questions to please his superiors, he could have re-worded them to be nicer and he didn't. Kudos.

    submitted by /u/scoops22
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    Won't be renewing my 3 accounts for another year of premier due to MTX

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 11:30 AM PST

    Take note Jagex and Mod MIC due to the nature of your greed with the egregious monetization of runescape and your evasive corporate answers to every question regarding MTX and the health of the game I have decided to not renew my membership on my 3 accounts for another year unless some permanent changes are made.

    I'm not expecting a response or even a change of any kind but it's nice to hope.

    Goodbye.

    submitted by /u/-Sansha-
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    I don't think this will get noticed amongst the MTX tirade, but I lost 5 costume-skipping tickets (140k ea) because talking to Uri without doing your second emote first will consume a ticket each time you speak to him.

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 06:48 AM PST

    So I just tried harvesting energy whilst holding a delivery package...

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 05:38 AM PST

    New lute mod. "Harmony" from Runescape

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 06:31 AM PST

    Jagex, you paid out 96% of profits in dividends in 2018. Admit it, RuneScape doesn't need MTX; your overlords do.

    Posted: 05 Nov 2019 06:44 PM PST

    43M GBP btw

    submitted by /u/v8jet
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    This didn't age well

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 12:07 PM PST

    Shauny was not the only one that left... Banking Goebie also resigned.

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 12:02 PM PST

    Mtx= more staff= worse service?

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 04:23 AM PST

    Jagex you claim to be throwing all the money made through MTX into hiring and paying for more staff because " you're a bigger company" And yet with all these new staff members we are still swamped with stuff like dead clicks and a buff bar that just does not work, Patch notes and lies Your mtx livestream was a joke

    submitted by /u/ImPureEVill
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    Large Floor with all rooms and boss in the left corner

    Posted: 06 Nov 2019 04:24 AM PST

    Jagex, the MTX stream was bad. Here's how you can do better.

    Posted: 05 Nov 2019 08:35 PM PST

    I'm going to write this on the assumption that the Jmods actually want to do well by both the players and their shareholders. That being said, today's livestream was not what any of us were hoping for and that's almost worse from a PR perspective than not saying anything at all. Here's how you can do better (in general and in future streams):

    1. First and foremost, when dealing with this kind of backlash, you need to come at us with something solid. During the stream there were a lot of ideas, speculation, "we're going to experiment with X," hypotheticals, soon(tm), and overall everything seemed to be an exercise in theorycrafting. It may sound great on paper, but words are just words and quite frankly the community no longer trusts your words. What you need to do is tell us exactly what you're actually going to do and when you're going to do it. We need to hear from you what you're doing to properly address the issues raised by the community and when we can expect progress. We didn't really get any idea of your plans for the future and that was sorely needed.
    2. At this point, I'm not sure you guys are capable of truly holding yourselves accountable. I don't think it's intentional or that you even realize it, but deflection seems to be a trend with Jagex. A good solution to this would be to have someone guest on the livestream as a community/player advocate via Skype or Discord. This can be really anyone who's knowledgeable and passionate such as a content creator or other influential figure in the community. Ideally, they'd hold your feet to the fire, ask the tough questions and demand real answers. It's going to be uncomfortable for you. I get it. But in the end, you'll get some insight into the minds of the players and your community will respect you for it.
    3. This is a bit of a mild thing but Mod Warden, you've gotta try to relax. I could tell you were nervous and at times, I think that resulted in you articulating your points poorly, which REALLY doesn't help in this situation.
    4. I felt that you guys didn't actually take the livestream very seriously. This is not a devblog where you discuss new content and try to build hype. This is a response to community backlash. Stay on-topic and keep the joking around to a minimum when people are pissed at you. Treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves.
    5. You guys really need to focus on keeping the content updates consistent and properly QA testing everything. If the dev costs have gone up so much, shouldn't we have something to show for it? Honestly, I don't think the outrage would be nearly as bad as it is if we kept getting good content like we used to. Yes, Anachronia and the bank rework were great, but those were the only two real updates we've had for months and the bank rework was more of a UI update than actual content. Plus, the spaghetti code is really showing and it seems like even tiny patch weeks break something. How long have deadclicks, crashes, and buff bar insanity been in the game? These are serious problems for any game, much less one that requires an active subscription. If you guys are doing serious engine work to try to detangle that hairball of code, at least let us know about it.
    6. I don't believe you guys honestly considered the perspective of the average player. Part of the reason people are so angry is not just the fact that you can spend money in-game. People dislike how getting boatloads of xp devalues the achievement factor of skilling, especially post-99. People dislike how it seems like every time we log in, we get a popup for some new promotion even for people who like me have never once bought keys. People dislike how MTX promos break immersion more often than not. Most of your players just want to play the game, have fun, and accomplish things. At times it seems like the MTX systems, particularly TH interferes with that and I don't think you understand this.
    7. Your MTX strategies always end up being supplementary rather than alternative, which makes me think that you just don't get why people are upset. A good example of this is Runepass. Now, I think the battlepass system is one of the healthiest ways of introducing MTX into any game and I actually really want to encourage you on this. However, if it's just going to be another thing on top of all the crap we have now, is it really solving anything? The real problem with the original Runepass was not that it wasn't worth the price (though that was a factor). The real problem is it was just another layer of MTX tacked on and you didn't even consider backing off of the MTX strategies that are more exploitative or harm the integrity of the game. Look, Runepass could be a great opportunity, but it NEEDS to come alongside some other changes if you want it to be well-received. Adding a decent MTX option and not removing or altering the ones that people are pissed about won't make them any less pissed.
    8. You've gotta do something with Solomon's, man. You said it yourself, it's clunky and dated. You could do good things with it and had you actually approached it well, it could have ended up being the primary MTX of Runescape, and I don't think many people would be upset. Other games are able to thrive solely on cosmetic MTX revenue. Take a look at League of Legends. They're not only self-funding, but they just announced a half-dozen other games that are in full development and most of that money is coming from MTX (though I won't ignore that their thriving esports presence is also a good source of profit). This is because they have a system that is accessible, smoothly integrates with other systems, and does not affect gameplay (which makes the average player much more willing to support it). You could have gone that route instead of the "selling xp" route, but I don't think it's too late to actually work on it.
    9. I've been as polite as possible so far because I truly am trying to be productive here, but I have to be blunt here. Saying that you would not even consider an MTX opt-out for financial reasons is fucking scummy. There are people out there who are gambling addicts and cannot control themselves when the opportunity is placed in front of them. There are people who compulsively spend money on YOUR game and that $1,300/week cap on MTX spending is doing nothing to stop people from ruining their lives. Denying people the ability to opt out or even to set a cap on their spending because you don't want to lose a whale is evil. In the real world, you can easily put yourself on a worldwide casino blacklist. They do this to help people who have addictions they cannot control even though they want to make money just like you. Get your fucking priorities straight.

    Look Jagex, when I watched that stream, I left disappointed. I got my hopes up and once again I was let down. At this point, I'm more angry at myself for getting hopeful than at you. I miss the Jagex of my childhood, the ones who actually seemed to give a shit about the game and its players, who wanted to do and accomplish more than simply line their pockets. You guys used to be one of the best dev studios out there, and it hurts to see where you've ended up. Please, for your sake and for the dumbass optimists like myself, do better. I know you're capable of it. I've seen it. I don't want to see this game, which has been a part of my life for more than half my life, crash and burn. Do better.

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