Someone should sue Evony for their untrue declaration on their home page "It's a free browser game and takes only 5 minutes to learn, and is extremely fun".
We gamers know that there is no real way to play Evonyfor free.
Second you never learn all the strategist in 5 minutes.
That doesn't even start touching on amount of time and life you need to spend on playing the game.
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leveling in steps, serenity, sponcys, sponsors, exercise, and sleep, (sanity has been downsized) sober from all electronic games since 11/19/2010
There are so many hidden costs to everything, to just even play the game properly.
I used to complain about my addictive game costing me $15.00 a month to play (everything else in game was free); which is cheap compared to the "free" games that cost everything $$$$$ to play as intended to play.
Just glad I am not gaming today. Glad my addictive gaming was almost two years ago. Glad I don't spend more money on new games, hardware, software, mouse, keyboard, screen, new computers, etc. I spent $$$$thousands on gaming equipment.
Ugh.
All those games that say they are free to play are truly free. You can't really sue them for that. My game was free to play too, unless you wanted to excel in the game. Then you would see that, unless you paid real money, you would be left in the dust by the people that spent money. That's how they trap you. You get addicted and then NEED to spend money to feed your addiction. It works! I'm so glad I'm not caught in that trap anymore.
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. ~Maria Robinson
We gamers know that there is no real way to play Evonyfor free.
I am a Gamer
WE Gamers know it's about a fair playing field.WE Gamers know in Evony that there are 2 types of game - Premium and free.WE gamers know that in games like Evony that TIME>MONEY.
Second you really learn all the strategist in 5 minutes.
Well thats not true.
That doesn't even start touching on amount of time and life you need to spend on playing the game
Thats why real Gamers DONT play games like this. It's not fair. I use to spend upto $80 bucks a week on a game similer to this - if the game was still up i could show you my 6 week blog on it.
True story - I payed the most, was able to play at work, slept with the laptop next to me, played the most - and was good. Had so much fun.
Simple put - anyone who is able to be active longer than you wins. Thats not a game.
Glad I don't spend more money on new games, hardware, software, mouse, keyboard, screen, new computers, etc. I spent $$$$thousands on gaming equipment.
Ugh.
Maybe I don't understand this yet as I am in the process of quitting - But i don't regard my purchases on the computer to be a waste of money? The software yes - the gaming prices in Australia are the highest in the wolrd for PC - 2 years ago for a new release you would be paying $130. and OFC you buy them the day they com out. (can't lose that edge ;))
However the Personal computer has many many uses as a media centre - quick use computer - big screen etc.
It can be played free -- just not well. lol
Twelve miles into the forest, 12 miles out.
Left my poisonous game July 4, 2012. Left online communities June 4, 2013.
Would you have a chess game that both players are allowed to spend $10 to buy back per piece?
Would you play starcraft 2 that you could spend money in the middle of the game to buy extra solders?
It's extortion.
leveling in steps, serenity, sponcys, sponsors, exercise, and sleep, (sanity has been downsized) sober from all electronic games since 11/19/2010
If there was ladder points on the line - and it was a pay2win game and that was my current gaming fix - then yes. I will play any game as long as it is fair.
Man i don't think you have an issue with the balance or fairness of the game - both examples have both players/all players on an equal footing.
You have an issue with spending money on a game. thats your issue.
Most of the free-to-play, pay-to-win games rely on this approach, selling power to anyone willing to pay for it. I found that this model relies on people's inherant megalomania, that many people have supressed to become functioning, responsible members of society. Freud said so himself, that children desire to rule everything and have every whim satiated, but once the child realizes they are powerless, many supress that urge in favor of adapting to the acceptable ways of society. These games seem to have tapped into that hidden, supressed state, that many of us may not even know we have, and offer to the player a way to dominate over others. Many people who do want to be adored/feared can appreciate this offer of the game. I think also there is another aspect - Conspicous Consumption. I didn't learn about this concept until recently, but I could really relate to it when I did. Conspicous Consumption is the act of acquiring wealth in the game to such an extent that the wealth is no longer useful to the player, due to there being so much of it, but the player will continue to acquire more and more wealth to impress other players in the game. They may buy HIGHLY expensive items that serve little actual use to them (example; a rare armor skin that offers just as much protection as any other armor, but looks different) just so people around them can be impressed, or sometimes, even the player can be impressed with themselves over their incredible wealth, a feeling they may not be getting in the real world.
A single step is all it takes to begin a long journey...
As a recovering gamer, why would you care?
Liz Woolley
A case against the gaming companies in this regard will not go far. Gamers did not have to pay-to-play.
HOWEVER, as an industry, who logs in the AMOUNT OF TIME spent & played in games, the companies have social responsibility to know that IF THEIR PRODUCT PRODUCES DYSFUNCTION, i.e. if their average gamer is putting in 40 to 60 hours weekly, AND they continue to do NOTHING about this.. no screening for addiciton... no help with addiction... then there is an issue. They have data that show gaming is harming people, and if they continue to do nothing, then a class action lawsuit is a serious threat to the industry.
12 million Americans addicted and with chronic "mental health issues" as a consequence of gaming, i.e. needs continual therapy for their addictive behavior.
Average cost is 10 therapy sessions at $150/session = $1500 x 12 million = $27 Billion dollars.
300 million addicted world-wide= $675 Billion world-wide fiasco!!!
Why do you think the gaming industry that is only a $25 Billion dollar industry wants this problem to be ignored, not acknowledged, and to go away.
THE PROBLEM?! Video game addiction is real and isn't going away. The data do not lie!
Andrew P. Doan, MPH, MD, PhD
My Gaming Addiction Videos on YouTube: YouTube.com/@DrAndrewDoan
*The views expressed are of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Navy, DHA or Department of Defense.
I'm with Liz - why would I care? As for the long list of things that concern me these days, Evony's pricing isn't on it.
Acceptance. When I am disturbed, it is because a person, place, thing, or situation is unacceptable to me. I find no serenity until I accept my life as being exactly the way it is meant to be. Nothing happens in God’s world by mistake. Acknowledge the problem, but live the solution!
I think it helps me to see how manipulative the game systems can be with their energy bars and push-pull return time systems and their other schemes. My wife was the same about tobacco companies manipulating nicotine when she quit smoking.
Do you think there's a downside to it?
Twelve miles into the forest, 12 miles out.
Left my poisonous game July 4, 2012. Left online communities June 4, 2013.
My issue is that it is a lie. The statement is that the game is free. Free is one way to play the game, however to be competitive the game is not free.
Please to not tell me what my issue is or isn't as that is not polite.
I have a problem with deceit, and false tactics which mislead people, and fail to speak with integrity. If the players end up spending money on the game why don't they state such outright? Because they want the player to invest a amount of time in the game before they think about spending money.
To Liz and Mudpud what is my point as a recovering gamer? The question is better than the answer. While in legal Court there may not be much recoverable damages, in the public court human opinion these tactics should be tried and their owners held accountable. Also, when as gamers we (I included) saw the lie but didn't call it out, that was a part of the insanity.
You would play the game, and I understand that. However unless both players have the same amount of money then it is no longer a fair "game".
leveling in steps, serenity, sponcys, sponsors, exercise, and sleep, (sanity has been downsized) sober from all electronic games since 11/19/2010
We've had a lot of discussions on this site that are of interest to recovering gamers:
1. social media
2. texting
3. money spent
4. games violence/violence in the news
5. game developers manipulation
6. money spent on gaming
7. money spent on hardware
8. ages of players, whether to allow under 18 to play
9. facebook
10. news articles and movies.
Each one is of interest to different posters. This thread made a comment on the type of gaming I was unaware of (free initially but costing $$ when playing competitively), and it is of interest to me.
(when I quit smoking I was very interested in the fact cigarette companies added chemicals to increase the addiction of cigarettes so I would stay addicted and spend more money on them.).
I like all kinds of information about gaming/games/gamers. And I'm glad Hirsh brought it up, along with the other posts by other posters on the above list.
As for games being silly, maybe so, but when we have a gaming addiction, it does not feel silly to me. If I could just say no, I wouldn't be an addict. And, I do not think it funny to want to know more about the product we were addicted to.
My issue is that it is a lie. The statement is that the game is free. Free is one way to play the game, however to be competitive the game is not free.
You would play the game, and I understand that. However unless both players have the same amount of money then it is no longer a fair "game".
as i said, thats why real gamers don't play Evony. and a real gamer is a competetive gamer.
And the 2 examples you gave were based solely on adding money to the equasion. Your forgettting one thing about games like Evony... the issue of balance has nothing to do with money... as time>money. No amount of money can save you from inactivity.
This is an interesting topic. As an ex-evony player I've paid to get ingame packs and items (not worth it). The difference is either you don't pay and are an average player, yes you can be good if you put in the time. Or you can coin and become good quickly which is a requirement to get into a decent alliance and make more of a dent in your attacks (upgraded heros and gear). To coin or not to coin...a big issue for the players on that game BUT now that I'm an ex evony player, I shouldn't care, it is my own fault for being sucked in, tho it would be nice if evony or other games had some accountability to time/money spent on there (instead of real time, maybe a paused game where you didnt have to feel like you have to play 24/7)...or better rates for pricing. Evony is a company, they want to make their money and who cares about the players or if the servers are down.
Point, thanks for your thoughts.
A part of me is still a gamer, and the way they took advantage of us still makes me a little mad:)
leveling in steps, serenity, sponcys, sponsors, exercise, and sleep, (sanity has been downsized) sober from all electronic games since 11/19/2010
I need to say this. They did the same thing with the Sims game on facebook. To get anything decent, in a short amount of time you had to buy it. Of course, I refused. So I did not have a lot. But some of those people had EVERYTHING or spent hours and months getting things. So, after a year and half, they have decided to discontinue the game. I don't really care, because I was no longer wasting my time there, but I think this is extortion.
Liz Woolley
I am not trying to defend Evony, but it is free though up to 2 cities. We all know with 2 cities (up to 3 free cities with Facebook trick), you won't build much. And, if you don't mind getting rape and being slaved daily, it is such a torture....that is why most people would spend the money just to be competitive.
Agreed with the learning part, you won't learn Evony in 5 minutes especially in Age 2.
Good to know that you also played Evony, hirshthg :-).
It's good to have goals and dreams, but while you're waiting for things to change, waiting for promises to come to pass, don't be discontent with where you are. Learn to enjoy the season that you're in--Pastor Joel Osteen
Moved.
"But if I ran the zoo," / Said young Gerald McGrew, "I'd make a few changes. / That's just what I'd do..."
Dr. Seuss