I hope you're prepared for a long post without a tl;dr, because that's not my style. If you want to read, read. If you don't, don't. No one is making you do anything. Anyway, to get to my post.
I remember when I first came to these forums. It was an early, early, morning just after I’d received an invitation to play-test the alpha. I expected it to be like all the other video-game forums I’d visited over the years, not a place of discussion but a place of complaining. Low and behold, I witnessed almost none of that. Puts on rose-tinted glasses
I witnessed a large amount of posts that were constructive. People helping each other, people bouncing ideas off each other, people open to conversation, open to discussing things that skirt the edge of what would “fit” in this game. It was a vastly different place. Seeing that alone was making me excited for the game, a community unlike other communities.
In the back of my mind I always thought about how that would change as the game grew, as the community grew. I hoped that it would maintain that “core”; that friendliness and respectfulness that once dominated. And that people would soon learn “our way” of doing a community forum. But, in the back of my mind the prevailing thought was that it wouldn’t turn out the way I would hope.
And, ofcourse, things don’t always turn out the way you hope. Slowly I saw the forums turn in to a forum just like all the other forums; filled with people complaining that their vision of the game isn’t being realized and that unless they change it according to their wishes the game will "fail".
Slowly but surely, I stopped posting less and less and started lurking more. I was sad to see that our Community Pirate Code, in bright green letters above this post, seemed all but forgotten. A code that RARE employees now have to constantly remind people of, something which didn't use to be the case. Seeing a moderator step in used to be a rarity.
The forums changed into the very thing that made me weary of visiting forums in the first place. It became one of those forums, a forum filled with people complaining/demanding that the game should fit their vision rather than RARE’s vision. Filled with people who are so stuck in their own narrative, they can’t think outside it and try to understand what RARE is trying to accomplish.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying everyone should love the game or be continuously infatuated by it. But there is a very large difference between constructive feedback and demanding/complaining about things that have very clearly never been part of RARE’s vision for this game.
That, to me, is frustrating. Why some people just “get it” and why others can’t seem to let their ideas that clearly don’t belong in this game go. It’s a question I often ponder; Why some people, rather than enjoying Sea of Thieves for what it is, continuously waste their energy trying to make it into something it never wants to, or ever will, be.
Giving constructive feedback is great, but those posts seem to be few and far in-between. Instead there’s players who constantly try to push the same feedback point, a point that is in clear contradiction with the vision for Sea of Thieves, over and over again. Players who make blanket statements without any reasonable thought behind them.
Before you start calling me a fan-boy, a care-bear, or whatever realize that I don’t think Sea of Thieves is perfect. If it was perfect I wouldn’t have lost my interest playing the game. I can already feel people jumping at that statement but hold your horses.
I “burned out”. For the first time in 8 months, when I woke up yesterday I really didn't want to play Sea of Thieves. I didn't want to go on an adventure, explore the sea, swim for days, stowaway on other ships or any of the nonsense that make this game amusing to me. But, is that such a bad thing?
I don’t think it is, you know why? Because Sea of Thieves will be waiting for me when I return. I won’t be behind my friends who have progressed to Pirate Legend. Nor will I be behind in the most elite equipment that is needed to do the higher “level” content. No, I’ll be able to jump in with one of my friends and play like nothing has changed. And yet, things will have changed.
When I decide to return new things will have been added, mechanics that add to the game. Mechanics that will hopefully add some new incentives to try a different approach. Perhaps a mechanic that will decrease the “Kill on Sight” mentality that some feel dominates this game.
Mechanics that make the journey to Pirate Legend less tedious and feel less like the insurmountable “grind” that it feels like. That “games as a service” will ensure that even if I take a break for a while, this game will be waiting for me with new things to explore.
And that is my request to all the players who continue to stick around and continue to point out their frustrations with Sea of Thieves falling short of their expectations. Take a break. Go do something else with your life. Stop wasting your energy trying to change this game into something it isn’t. Instead, go play a game you do enjoy. Play that game until you feel ready to come back. Until, if at all, you feel the urge to come back to Sea of Thieves.
The urge to sail the sea, to brave the storms, to fight (a slightly disappointing fight) Karen. You don’t owe this game anything, you don’t owe this community anything. If all you can think of when you think of Sea of Thieves is “missed opportunity”, I really recommend you take a break.
Because I assure you, that type of mentality is only sucking energy out of you. It’s only going to make you feel like you’re continuously wasting your time. It's going to make you like the game less and less. And you’re never going to climb out of that hole you dug for yourself, because you are unable to step outside of that mental cage of negativity you built for yourself. Take a break, climb out that hole, break that cage, and go dance in a field of flowers.
My request to the people that stick around, let us try to make the forums like it once was.
Actually, no. Let's make it better, with a more diverse array of opinions. A place of open, honest, respectful discussion. A place where we can discuss without immediately slamming down any idea that contradicts our, interpreted, vision of the game. And yet, a place where we also try to work with RARE’s vision for the game. A place where we can compromise and openly discuss without needing to retort to namecalling, or disrespectful behaviour.
And that’s not just aimed at the people who constantly “complain” or whose views I disagree with. This is just as much the case for the players who I know are super passionate about this game, and yet are unable to consider any opinion other than their own opinion on what the game is or should be. We all have a part to play. “Fanboys” and “Haters” alike.
I truly believe that if we want to make Sea of Thieves into the best game it can possibly be, a big step in the right direction would be to try and bring back the forums of old and improve upon it. To try and recreate a forum where reasonable discussion can be held, where players help one another rather than laughing in each other’s faces for not knowing an answer. A place of mutual respect.
Why? Because Sea of Thieves is unlike any game I’ve ever played, it’s hard to define and categorize. That is partially why there’s so much agitation in my eyes. And yet that is also why there is so much room for creativity. It’s a unique game, let’s try to continue keeping it that way without trying to make it a copy of another game.
And I can assure you that developers are much more likely to listen to a reasonably constructed argument or feedback point, than they are listening to a bunch of people trying to scream the loudest in order to be heard. Or a bunch of people who are like a cassette tape; constantly repeating the same “songs” over and over again. They're also much more likely to listen to a compromise, than a system that is entirely contradictory to their vision.
You might be thinking, who is this guy to tell us what to do. And you’re right. I have no right to tell you to do anything. But I do have the right to speak my mind, as does everyone on these forums. Positive posts, negative posts or otherwise.
I’m not saying all negativity should disappear, as it never will and that isn't productive either. All thoughts help build a better game, but the way we go about wording those thoughts and writing them down is what counts.
All I’m asking is for a return of respect. When someone complains about something others have complained about, respectfully explain why it is/isn't a good idea. Try to respect differing opinions, to respect and work with RARE’s vision. And respect in trying to discuss how we can deliver on often mentioned feedback points, yet still respect the vision RARE has for Sea of Thieves.
All I ask is that you please try step outside your own personal thought-box and consider more than your own thoughts and your own perspective. We're all human beings here, none of us is better than the other.
It’s up to you to decide if that (AKA this disheveld post I've written, re-written, deleted, started over many times over the last few weeks) is a thought worth listening to. Perhaps this post will fall on deaf ears, perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree. But if I can convince even one person to open their mind, it's a success in my eyes.
