One of the main discussion points of the last weeks is certainly the Game Economy & Reward Updates. Here, many opinions collide. But all opinions have one thing in common, each of the participants feels either strengthened or restricted in their way of playing. That restrictions endanger the fun of the game has already been shown to us in many other games. It's not pretty and requires a certain amount of flexibility and adaptability from the players. But are overly extreme changes the only reason why player populations decline in games like World of Warcraft as a current example? I don't think so. Often it's a composite of unwanted changes, lack of communication from publishers, lack of attention to the will of the playerbase, and increasingly toxic players as a result of these combined problems.
How do I even get on this topic?
Readers who only hang out and inform themselves on Splintertalk/Peakd may not have noticed it to this extent. The discussion culture here is different. Often discussions don't take place at all, and when they do, they are usually constructive. However, this is not the case on other platforms. If you take a look at the Splinterlands Reddit topic or the Discord group at the right time, you can't avoid a lively discussion culture. And as often as I have been able to participate in lively discussions on various topics and ideally all parties have learned something, I have also often experienced toxic discussions. On reddit, it is currently, and was especially after the last major update to the game, hardly possible to read 5 minutes without encountering a discussion in which the parties either talked past each other, the opinion of the other party was consistently ignored, or/and the participants in the discussion became insulting.
The fronts harden
In the end, the goal of the discussion should ideally be a joint result. Because let's face it, big investors can't get along without the interest of small players. On the other hand, the game would hardly be long term attractive if investors were not favored over F2P players. Both sides have their points and arguments, and both sides need to be considered. But that also means that both sides should be able to express their voice, their complaints and ways to improve the game without being categorized or insulted. After all, the only result of insults etc. is a stronger Toxic within the player community and that does no good to any game or player without exception.
"ROI-Boiz"
How often was I allowed to read about this term or a variation of the term on reddit in recent weeks. This refers to people who, according to the writer, are only concerned with getting their initial investment of $10 back and then only making a profit.
But why is the term itself meaningless in this context? Every gamer who has dealt with Splinterlands has also dealt with the Play2Earn aspect of the game. Many players didn't discover Splinterlands because they were just looking for a trading card game. After all, it is still currently a game that many people come across who want to make money from games or already have a connection to crypto per se.
So money and owning NFTs plays a direct role when players start playing Splinterlands. In doing so, everyone fundamentally strives for the greatest possible success for the smallest possible capital investment. Anything else is pointless and irrational. If I have a choice between a $10 and a $10,000 investment to get $100,000 out of it, I would logically choose the $10.
However, the ROI is fortunately not designed in favor of the Bronze 3 players in Splinterlands. Now less than ever. Because what you save in financial investment in Bronze, you pay for it in time investment. If I want to achieve the same financial successes of Gold players as Bronze players, I need 10 or more accounts or 10 times more seasons. Unless I am a bot player, I would also need 10x time.
So we are all equally ROI-Boiz, except for those players who buy the game for 10$ without any financial expectations and who only want to have fun. However, this is probably the opinion of the fewest players.
Keep calm and discuss on (only constructive and friendly please)
You have to admit it. There are several discussion parties with different opinions, which all have a right to exist. This is also perfectly natural, because not all of us have the same opportunities and background (whether financial, time, family, etc.). However, since the blockchain is supposed to be an advancement towards a free and democratic financial system and Splinterlands is coupled to it, all opinions should be accepted and discussed. Exclusion and toxicity are completely out of place and unfortunately remind me a lot of negative examples in politics.
So come all once down from your mountain of anger and accept the opinion of the other. You can achieve so much together, if you are not constantly tempted to make the other person bad.