TinySpeck
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Glitch's creator on the game's failure: 'Too foreign of a concept'
If you're looking for just one reason why Glitch is sunsetting, you're out of luck. If you're looking for many, many reasons why Glitch failed, then all you have to do is pull up a chair in front of Tiny Speck's Stewart Butterfield and listen to him talk. Butterfield spoke with Gamasutra about the myriad of reasons why Glitch didn't take and ultimately had to be shuttered. "Ultimately if I have to identify one thing as the problem -- I don't think there is just one -- but if I had to choose just one," Butterfield said, "I think the game was too foreign of a concept for most people." He pointed out that while there was a devoted fan base who "got it," marketing the title presented severe problems throughout most of the game's lifespan: "There haven't ever been other non-combat MMOs that are based on absurdity, humor, and whimsy. I'm not sure anyone has the specific expertise in making this thing work." Other failures that Butterfield identified was a lack of fun gameplay until recently, the decision to do the game in Flash instead of for mobile platforms, large expenditures of money, and Tiny Speck's big team drawing salaries.
Free for All: Justifying the subscriptions I maintain
Subscriptions are a funny thing. For as long as I can remember, they've represented a level of quality to many gamers. To those players, only those funny Eastern MMOs didn't have a sub. Granted, I loved a lot of those funny Eastern games and didn't care how a game monetized itself. Watching Western players spin on a dime about subscriptions has been a pretty weird experience. The Western developers have changed as well, providing tiered services and other models that would have been seen as suspicious only years ago. I've been known as a free-to-play guy for a while. Heck, I was originally hired here at Massively to cover free-to-play games. Now that there are more free games than not, this column has spread out a bit, covering multiple topics. Payment models do still come up, as they did this week. I thought it'd be cool to examine the subs I do maintain and why -- not press accounts or accounts from long before I began working at Massively, but accounts that I choose to pay for with my own money.
One Shots: This is the end, my friend
What do you imagine the end of the world looking like? I'm willing to bet it's nothing like the following technicolor nightmare ripped straight from the finale of the first version of Final Fantasy XIV. Reader Focant delivers this haunting image with a description of the videopocalypse: "The Garlean forces held nothing back in their battle against us, and attacked with their most destructive weaponry. The most powerful enemy we saw on the battlefield that night was the level 100 (the player cap is 50) Imperial Juggernaut, an enemy that is only seen one other time in game. I made sure to include a player character in the shot as well for size comparison. These things are massive!" And with that we're off to another wild and wooly edition of One Shots! Please put your tray tables in their full upright and locked position.
MMObility: Why the closing of Glitch matters
When it was announced that Glitch was closing, I felt a blend of shock and sadness. Glitch is one of my favorite MMOs, but it's special for a number of reasons. The game achieved a lot in a crowded market that is filled with the same gameplay, same lore, and same stock characters that we have seen for years, and it achieved all of this within a Flash-based browser environment. The official announcement gave us a lot of clues as to what happened, but it looks like the money was just not enough to keep the game afloat. It's also very possible that the money was enough, but just barely. Running a business is hard, and running an MMO that is so unique and unusual can be the same as living paycheck to paycheck. It's stressful and scary when the future is never certain... sometimes it's easier to call it quits.
The Daily Grind: Do sunsetted games owe us refunds?
When Tiny Speck announced last week that Glitch would be shutting down come December 9th, the studio simultaneously did something that few closed MMOs do: It offered complete refunds for past subs. Sure, some companies have offered free game time or bonus cash-shop currency for their other games, but that's usually small consolation. NCsoft grudgingly provided refunds for unused timecards and long-term recurring subs when it set City of Heroes' closure date, but virtually no one provides a complete refund of all the subscription money you ever paid for the game. On Black Friday, it seems as if half the world is out shopping, looking for a good deal and with money on the brain, so today's an appropriate day to ask: Do sunsetted games owe us refunds? And if you were offered one, would you take it? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
One Shots: Out in the cold
Closing down a game like Glitch is like beating up the big-eyed orphan from down the street for his last two cents; it just feels wrong to anyone with a soul. Massively's One Shots department did its best to counter the situation by taking an angry protest nap, but nothing doing. The next best solution is to ask all of you with great Glitch screenshots to send them our way. Reader Jeremy submitted this haunting picture that works on a couple of different levels in light of the recent announcement. "Kids," he warns, "this is a warning of the harmful effects of No-No Powder. One day, you're sitting in your pleasant home street, admiring the view. Next, you're waking up naked in a tundra with nothing but your quickly diminishing dignity." Let's go on a cold, naked adventure together through the rest of this week's player-submitted pictures!
Glitch closing down, cites limited audience
The word is out and it is sad: "Glitch is over." Tiny Speck delivered the shocking news today, saying that the 2-D browser title will be closing forever on December 9th. The team said that it is "heartbroken" to have to announce this, and apologized for letting its fans down. Apparently, the game simply could not find a critical mass large enough to be financially viable. The developers explained it simply: "Unfortunately, Glitch has not attracted an audience large enough to sustain itself and based on a long period of experimentation and our best estimates, it seems unlikely that it ever would." While Tiny Speck will continue with a smaller team working on other projects, many of Glitch's developers are now looking for work elsewhere. The studio posted a closure FAQ that included reasoning behind the shutdown and information on how to obtain refunds for money spent on the game. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
One Shots: Beautiful balloon
Massively logically selects for readers who aren't necessarily playing World of Warcraft -- if you were, you'd probably be reading our sister site WoW Insider, not this column. But I am still a WoW fan, as is this week's One Shots submitter, William. He sent in a freshly snapped pic from Mists of Pandaria with this note: This screenshot is a little bit of a spoiler, so I won't actually say much about what's in it, but needless to say, this is one of my favourite scenes from the Pandaren starting area. The art design is fantastic in Blizzard's new expansion! Also, panda in a balloon! William's color image is tucked after the break along with a few more of your One Shots-worthy images.
MMObility: Glitch's change log describes a very busy Tiny Speck
Glitch has quietly been working its way through beta, adding new content and tweaking exisiting content while many wanna-be players await their turn in the world of Ur. I love the fact that I can log out of the game for several days or a week and log back in to find some newer, better way to play. I'm a bit shocked that the game is taking as long as it has to "re-launch" because it has been a very wonderful and airtight experience for a while. I have a feeling the team at Tiny Speck is a bit on the obsessive side. How many updates have there been? If you aren't following @PlayGlitch (or @GlitchLog) on Twitter or reading up on the official blog or forums, now is as good a time as any. But I thought it'd be a good idea to round up some of the best for you.
The Perfect Ten: Ways MMOs explain infinite resurrection
Why? Why do we die in MMOs and receive an infinite number of resurrections? Are we in a type of hell defined by endless combat and suffering, doomed to never escape the cycle? Is this a cruel experiment being performed by supreme alien beings from afar? Does that make us the living undead, immortal Highlanders, or something even more significant? If you're looking at me with that look you have in your eye right now, I'd like to remind you that asking these questions is more in line with the core of RPGs than just mashing the 1-2-3 buttons. The rules that make up and dictate our virtual lives should have both meaning and sense, yet so many of these games expect us to just blithely accept that we can come back from the dead over and over without nary an explanation. Well, I like explanations. Even if it's just polite nonsense, a thought-out reason as to why our characters are death-proof tells me that the devs treat their game with a higher degree of integrity than others. So here are 10 MMOs in which the endless cycle of death and resurrection gets at least a backhanded explanation instead of "shut up, just accept it."
One Shots: Still got it
Runes of Magic was a F2P game before the cool kids joined the F2P party, but it's been a little neglected by MMO players. Massively reader Andrew wants us to know that it's got some spark left in it: While Runes of Magic may be three years old, the graphics are still looking great. There's some awesome vistas in RoM that appear when you take the time to control+z your interface and look around. This shot is from Southern Janost Forest. In fact, Andrew sent us two pics, and they're both behind the break along with a few more of your One Shots!
Glitch status report discusses the impending relaunch
Once upon a time, there was a game called Glitch. This game launched, and it made several people very happy, but it made its designers sad because it didn't feel ready for launch. So the designers called backsies on launch and took the game back to beta for more development and refinement. It's been nine months since then, and according to the latest developer update, the game is almost up to the point it should have been during its first launch... but not quite. The blog post explains that there were three core things that the design team wanted in the game before the official relaunch: a better introduction for new players, imagination and upgrades as a core advancement system, and a better land and housing system. While those features are in place, they've just brought on new challenges for the designers and new updates that need to be added. The overall takeaway is that if you're not playing now, you will be able to soon, as the game is almost as the designers want it, and then we can all live happily ever after.
The Daily Grind: Do you log in for chance-based daily activities?
Daily quests are a fixture in MMOs. Whether a game is subscription-based or free-to-play, it has a vested interest in cajoling you to keep coming back (and spending money). F2P games in particular have latched on to a very specific type of non-combat daily "quest." In Free Realms, for example, players can spin a wheel once per day to receive a chance at random prizes and rewards. In Glitch, you can shuffle your upgrade cards for a new batch every game day. And the RIFT mobile app provides "Lootables," virtual lottery scratch-off tickets that you can play a few times per day for a chance for, well, loot in the real game. These types of "dailies" can sometimes put players who play in a few long bursts at a disadvantage to those who play in many short bursts. I know I'm annoyed when I constantly feel as if I need to log in and perform routine maintenance on a game so that my "real" playtime is enhanced. And that's without mentioning that some games will happily sell the equivalent of wheel spins to those players who didn't like the results of their freebie. Today, Massively's wondering what you think of non-combat daily quests transparently designed to keep you thinking about the game even when you're not playing it. Do you log in to spin wheels, shuffle cards, and scratch off virtual lottery tickets? Or do you ignore those daily activities? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Why I Play: Glitch
As I began to write this column, it struck me that there are some people who do not actually want to play Glitch by Tiny Speck. I wanted to change the usual title of this column to "Why, of course I play Glitch!" but then I thought about my editors glaring at me from across an email. I guess I should explain my love for Glitch, the type I normally reserve only for certain wonderful titles like RuneScape, Dark Age of Camelot, Mabinogi, Wurm Online, Ryzom, MilMo, or even World of Warcraft years ago. I apologize, but it's a bit hard to explain something that seems so obvious. Some people probably consider Glitch a game for younger players or for players who are not as serious about their digital lifestyle. Why Glitch would not be taken as seriously while a game like Darkfall or (ironically) World of Warcraft is considered a more serious gaming venture is beyond me. But then, I think all gaming is silly... that's why it's wonderful.
MMObility: Glitch's beta grows, charging along the way
If you have been fortunate enough to be included in the Glitch beta, then you might be aware that the developer, Tiny Speck, has really been tweaking, twisting and pushing the game into shape over the last few months. Not only was housing recently redone, but fantastic new housing pieces have come along as well. You can now craft store booths, cash registers, and signage. This means that styling your personal space has become one of the most popular pastimes in the browser-based sandbox. There are new hairstyles, new skills, and ways of showing off your wonderful new profile, including "snaps" -- snapshots taken from in game to be shared, social-network-style. There's so much going on in the game, I am beginning to wonder a couple of things. First, why aren't they inviting new players in yet? Second, why are they charging for this "beta"?
The Daily Grind: Are you a fan of offline-leveling?
By my count, EVE Online and Glitch have exactly two things in common: They're both sandboxes, and they both have offline-leveling. Yes, whether you're harvesting tears in EVE or milking butterflies in Glitch, your skills are all raised offline while you're sleeping, working, or playing some other game that actually requires your attention. I love offline-advancement systems, not because they themselves are so exciting but because they usually signify a game that's focused on letting you play a game rather than making you grind it out. Still, I know the system comes with a ripe crop of problems for newbies, who are often crippled in competitive games until they've spent enough time not-playing to effectively play. What about you -- are you a fan of offline-leveling? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Glitch dev Google Maps all of World of Warcraft
What do MMO developers do on their days off? If you're Tiny Speck co-founder Cal Henderson, you engage in huge projects concerning other MMOs. The man partially responsible for the sleeper hit Glitch spent a gob of time recreating World of Warcraft in Google Maps, and the result is awesome. Henderson was inspired by an earlier attempt to provide a comprehensive map of the game but felt that he could vastly improve upon the project. He details in his blog how he went about converting the entire world of Azeroth into Google Maps, including the dungeons and several off-the-grid areas unseen by most players. Henderson also shares a few interesting tidbits that he dug up in WoW's files, including earlier names for areas. World of Warcraft is a popular target for such crazy projects. We reported earlier this year that a player was working to create a Minecraft version of the entirety of Azeroth.
MMObility: Parallel Zombies, Glitch's new butlers, and a new space MMO
It's been a great week for mobile MMOs. That's a wonderful thing to type up, especially considering how few mobile MMOs are released when compared to standard browser- or client-based games. This week, I found myself logging in quite a bit of time with a few titles, but I still want a lot more time to explore some of these games. One you can't play yet, another you have played probably quite a bit already, and the last one promises to suck up a lot of your time in between meetings. It's neat to see another iOS MMO. iOS doesn't seem to get as many MMOs popping up in its market as with Android, but things are slowly evening out. The imbalance right now might be due to the fact that Android phones feature larger screens and sometimes more power than the latest iOS phones, something that is simply appealing to gamers. I wonder whether we'll see a larger iPhone screen anytime soon? Probably so -- and that would mean more MMOs!
MMObility: Glitch's new updates stretch players' imaginations
When Tiny Speck, maker of the wonderfully odd browser-based sandbox Glitch, announced that it would be taking the game back to a beta state in order to retool many of the game's most essential systems, I was skeptical. Heck, I've remained skeptical. I stopped streaming the game due to time constraints but continued to log in and enjoy it. More specifically, I didn't feel like continuing to stream it until the new releases were officially released. I tend to enjoy betas but want to hold back my opinions until games are actually open, and this return to beta made me feel the same way. Lately, however, the changes being tested and implemented into the game have just been too cool to stay hushed about. Housing is receiving wonderful, wonderful updates that will allow for complete creative freedom that is rarely seen in MMO housing. The UI is transforming as well, and new skills and creatures are being introduced. Beta or not, there is some crazy-cool stuff going on in the land of Ur. In fact, check out these brand new patch notes!
Glitch swaps out XP for imagination, tweaks UI
It's a happy day if you've been yearning to scratch that browser-based sandbox itch. Yes, Glitch has returned with an overhauled user interface and the new imagination system. What the heck is imagination? Well, glitches now have imagination (iMG) instead of XP. You gain iMG by questing, crafting, and collecting (i.e., by playing the game), and you can spend it on upgrades and various other gizmos still in the works. In short, iMG allows you to "create, grow, and customize the world and your character." It also serves as a nifty way of explaining new game abilities as opposed to boring old XP. TinySpeck has authored a FAQ on the imagination changeover. Give it a read-through before you log in, as both the level curve and your character's accumulated XP have undergone significant changes. [Thanks to Halldorr for the tip!]
