On 9/10/19 1:10 AM, Aris Merchant wrote:
No comment on the specific proposal yet, but a general comment. I think we should wait a while before having another mini-game. The last few we've had have died, not because they were bad ideas, but partly because of bugs and most of all because there wasn't enough interest.
These problems are related. The reason I didn't play Politics when it was reenacted was because nichdel (I think) found a loophole and prevented literally anybody else from having any interaction with the minigame.
We've literally just given up on space. Before that, we had politics, which was interesting and relatively light on bugs, but no one played that either.
I respectfully opine that Cheques and Balances is not comparable to full-fledged minigames like Spaaace and Politics. Calling it a minigame even is a stretch. It's only slightly more of a game than the current coin economics.
I think it's time we took a break.
We are taking a break. We have been for the last month. And it's boring.
I think the Agoran public has expressed its collective disinterest of adding layers on top of the base game (or, rather, its collective disinterest in engaging with those layers).
Involvement in Spaaace and Politics, was never required. This system forces a minimal level of involvement if you intend to make money. It requries one extra sentence ("I claim a reward of 1 cheque. I cash in the cheque for 5 coins" vs "I claim a reward of 5 coins"). This is another reason Cheques and Balances can't really be compared to a minigame, and another reason I have confidence in its success.
That'll change again someday, but I don't think it has yet. I'd like to ask that the option of letting things stay still and doing basic game development be seriously considered.
The game has been in a standstill for weeks. Months if you count the time minigame rules were still in effect but went unutilized. No development is occuring. C&B will make things slightly more interesting. I think C&B has the potential to spark development.
Just to make this very clear, I'm not saying that focusing on the base game and focusing on mini-games are mutually exclusive. There might even be times when they can even compliment each other. However, given current conditions, it seems to me like focusing on a new mini-game *right now* would be a continuation of a pattern of moving from one thing to the next, rather stopping to slow down and consider areas for improvements to the core system.
I don't know what you want to improve about the core system. The most change that has been enacted in the past few months to the core system are minor fixes that clarify things. Sure, we find a broken bit sometimes, but those are fixed relatively quickly and with little fanfare. At this point, all the interlocking cogs that turn Agora into a well-oiled machine are turning fine. And unless you or anyone else can find an area where the rules could use significant improvement, I don't see the core system improving at all. Not outside of minimal wording changes.
My opinion is that the best way to get Agora out of its current rut is through something like C&B. Maybe it will turn into a full minigame at some later point, and we may have to start talking about Agora's treatment of minigames as of late. In its current, minimal state, however, I think C&B would be the perfect thing to revitalize the game, given some revision.
-- Trigon
