Post by JustVine on 2021-09-02 09:30:06
We have not received permission from akabear to share the quoted post.
Most people don't care about sport. Especially when your core game design is centered around power and greed. Games that rely on merit and fair play tend to be less popular. See fighting games relative popularity, see casual tilted mmos vs hard core, see fortnight vs battlefield.
Ashes designs into these greed and power driven behaviors so that they will 'be more popular.' Their target audience is people who think of themselves as a hardcore gamer, not the casual. Sure they give casuals lip service, but the core design isn't geared towards the casual. Promises based in greed and power are the easiest to attract such gamers with and catches enough casuals that it boosts their numbers.
So it's in their interest to attract as many of the people who can be attracted by the most broad of base incentive. They must give them goals and mechanics that reward such audiences time spent and try to design around the problems that causes.
But greed and power type audiences do not typically tilt towards merit and 'sport'. It's anti-thetical to what they look to gain. See any thread about RNG or action combat. A vocal chunk of the community are full throatedly for a very different experience that is less likely to attract the type of people who won't Zerg because they want mastery more than power.
Zerging is a mindset based in an incentive system. Make people afraid of not having as much power as someone else and you will inevitably find yourself surrounds by a bunch of people against a pllboss. Promise them riches and a place to rule 'if they just get big enough' and they will go 'sounds do able' just like everyone else.
Rules of Acquisition #87: Learn the customer's weaknesses, so that you can better take advantage of him.