Mindark's First Ever Video Interview About a New Version Update! Community relations manager My Antonsson meets two of the product owners of Entropia Universe in an informative interview to talk about the upcoming version update release 17.2. > Who knows if this will continue as a series in the future? Source
I guess the crowd is cheering but imo this is exactly the type of communication that EU doesn't need, top down corporate propaganda videos. And isn't it weird that these type of interviews are what MA could have for free for many years if they hadn't ignored all our requests but now let the community pay a full-time employee to do that stuff. But hooray, "communication"...
I think you are answering your own question there. Of course a company will pay to be 100% in control of its own self-image. Criticism they already know they get for free, or any kind of review they can't order which way it will turn out. I'm not implying any judgement of right or wrong, but it's a business decision one should understand. It would have been cool to have had them, yes, but these are two different things.
The video in 5 phrases : "We take everything very seriously" "The community is the major part" "COVID 19 was here" "New item info system" "A Storyline might come" *applause* My: This is a new attempt, we are doing videos for the 1st time. Please be gentle. Reality: Mindark has already done videos and interviews 15 years ago. Even quite professional ones, Id say. ;) Then it all stopped in 2009. So calling this "a new way of communicaton" feels completely embarrassing, after torturing the community with 11 years of silence. *but it works* As much as I tried to SEE the positiveness in these 3 minutes of "Hi, something will happen", the video felt more like beeing made by a small (innocent) kickstarter team, for a game that just started and is missing everything. *but it works* Keeping in mind there is one oldskool Entropia gamer in this clip "Essexboy SX-BoY Racer (Ex-Cons society)" aka. Justin Sorrell., that turned into the Planet Calypso product owner...I expected a bit more...did I ? Naw, I did not. *but it works* Well, thats what Entropia has become over the past 11 years anyway. A big empty sandbox, filled with gamble addicts. Thank you CryEngine 2, thank you Explosive Blueprint 4 & Strongboxes...so innovative...thank you, Mindark. And now everything will change and become better, because of a 3 minute video ? After 11 years ?! Look closely who is already posting "woohoo and faith restored" on the other forum and youtube. Allways the same addicted hardcore gamblers. They do this everytime Mindark repeats their standard "Hi, something will happen" just to get dissapointed again and again and again. Their addiction is stronger, no matter the cost. So Mindark always uses the cheapest way / lowest effort to keep their loyal wallets depositing. In the swedish tradition of...idk anymore. Ok, Im ready for some : "Oh noes, McCormick, beeing negative again ? Why dont you leave the game ?" x'D
On the contrary I'd say ,"oh noes McCormick being truthful again". Its always nice to read your opinion especially when you explain it with text otherwise i struggle to understand your point sometimes.
Working past the moral outrage, I am thinking it would be irrational not to tap into this resource, i.e. people just willing to throw away their money. If they enjoy it, who are we to judge. And if you don't do it, someone else will. What I am more worried about is that the whole business becomes dependent on them and will collapse if/when legislation comes cracking down on it. Personally I'm on the side of freedom, but one has to be realistic enough to notice when public opinion moves against.
Yes, it's a business decision. And like in almost any business decision the key is to utilize resources efficiently. And again they've failed. Like they always fail. Always 5+ years behind the trend and when finally imitating the others they underperform, always. So what's point in doing it at all? The fanfolk is cheering, the criticizers are criticizing and the excusers are excusing. Nothing changes, as always. Are they in control of their image? Doesn't "you cannot not communicate" apply to corporate communication too? What's sent and what's received? "Seasoned swedish gaming company hires sister of product owner without any camera experience or video skills to record corporate propaganda videos looking cheap and amateurish and all of that about 5-10 years after everyone else has started doing videos"? If the plan was to do these type of videos why didn't they hire someone with camera experience and video skills? Oh, yeah, she's the sister of the guy she interviewed first but of course no nepotism involved. There are dozens of people on fiverr who create better intros/outro for 5 bucks. Pretty much every somewhat successful YouTuber or streamer could have done this better and 95% of these people are up for these kind of jobs. Several people registered here on EntropiaPlanets come to my mind who would have done this better. Last year a medium sized MMO gaming site & YT channel planned to relaunch with one focus on actual gaming, they wanted to organize guilds in several games, live stream these games, record videos, interviews, guides etc. They've contacted MA multiple times for this but MA never replied, so they took their community of 30k MMO gamers to Star Citizen and other games... Business decisions...
And the observers keep observing. They cannot be unaware of the typical beginner's awkwardness in this production. What if it's exactly as planned? Maybe they want to create the image of a mom-and-pop shop and wash off the suit-and-tie smell of the banking environment they originally came from. Fishing for sympathy points while the world around erupts in riots against corporatism. There could be more foresight in it than we want to credit them for. The writing is on the wall that the stereotype of a professional is seen with increasing hostility. Observing...
I wouldnt want to call it professional to play innocent and rob from the blind and addicted. Even if thats how the real world works...and I was hoping Virtual Reality could be different. ;D Controlling a dozen of gamble addicts isnt actually hard work. That is what this "innocent" video reflects. Not a professional video, but a "nice" way to mess with the psyche of their loyal patrons. Mindark (since 2009): "CooooOooOOOoomeee OooOooooOon, this time we really mean it, it will get better ! *lol*" Addicts : "Awwww look, they did it again !" "A nice way into positiveness !" "Well done, looking forward to your next..." O'Really ? Just face the truth and dont interpret some magic into this company. They have a decade of experience in scamming their loyal patrons. Yes, Mindark is doing a great job at making poor addicts (in)wasting (lulz) their money. Yes, Mindark is doing the worst job ever in maintaning a sci-fi MMORPG, in the swedish tradition of getting raped hard. So, who cares for your AMA and your "Wishlists", if they dotn have to change anything...as the money keeps flowing. A game sponsored by a dozen of wallets. Sad but true, as I grew up inside of a different Mindark project.
SEE, how easy it is ? This huge mess is no longer Mindarks fault, but the fault of the community now...*lol* Taming, CLD Landplots, DeepToken, Green Fund Finance, blah etc...its all the communities fault...of course...holy f00k... Even pissed Kerham got fully manipulated by 3 minutes of nothing...it works. :) http://www.entropiaplanets.com/thre...scammed-calling-mindark-greedy-a-holes.22260/
Sure can, but then someone else needs to pick up the bills for all the infrastructure needed to run our pretty fluffy anti-commercial phantasies. Out of all, what made you ever think this particular VR would? With a big R, a big C, and a big E in its core concept? And would you rather not have had the experience of getting a unique prize to sell for filthy lucre equivalent of a worker's salary for a year? Or where would that come from otherwise? I can understand how some things contradict people's expectations. But I often don't understand where people get their expectations from.
I geniuinely thought this was one of McCormick's videos for a moment when looking. MA have product owners... zheesh what an embarrassing job to have... edit: wow.... they turned on comments... that's... brave...
God I'm such a troll... "Seriously well done for this initiative. It must have been hard work to get it approved so I take my Atrox skinned beret off to you for that one! If you can pull this off again (or, dare I say, multiple times) please do the developer, sound person and artist in the next 3. If you want any ideas for good questions, give me a poke and I'd be happy to help. If you hire a tester in the future, they'd be good for video 4." (yes I really do own an atrox skin beret... and what's that? my word... it's... no... it couldn't be... a vote booth?)
