Dear Trisha,
The recent “Funsockets Livestream” left me feeling like some of my main concerns were not addressed. I’m wondering if you or someone else from the company would be happy to address them directly?
1/ Security: there was a lack of detail in your discussion of security on the Livestream. Could you further elaborate with some more technical details as to exactly how security will be handled in the future so we can have confidence about having financial transactions with your company?
2/ Cost: a price of approximately $85.00 USD for the full game has been widely discussed. This price seems very high when compared to almost all equivalent games. If this is to be the price how do you justify it? I am concerned that a price this high would be a massive barrier to more casual player experiencing Dominion and learning to love it (I don’t think free access to the base set is enough). Does Goko have reasons for thinking that the casual market will bear pricing at this level?
3/ Gokoins: there is discussion you will be introducing a new form of currency to pay for Dominion with. I think these “Gokoins” (at least based on the information that has come out so far) seem infantile – like something you would invent if your market was grade three children rather than adults. Why exactly were these considered a good idea instead of just telling people how much money in USD we needed to pay to buy the game? Does this added level of complexity add anything to the player/customer experience in any way?
4/ Microtransactions: there is a lot of talk about microtransactions being included in the game in some form. How will they be implemented (if at all)? My personal opinion is that microtransactions are frequently a dishonest way of extracting money from customers that are not well versed in the ways of modern technology. If you intend on implementing them will you instituting any safeguards to ensure the money you make is made fairly and in an “above board” manner?
5/ Communication: some people are disappointed that you do not have a regularly updated blog to ensure you potential future customers are kept in the loop about progress with the project. Is there any reason you don’t have something like this?
6/ Playability: the Goko implementation of Dominion is currently buggy and poorly designed in parts. It does not have all of the cards are implemented. It was thought that it was to be implemented in iOS but that is not currently the case and it doesn’t support off line play. If there is a justification for a new implementation of Dominion (apart from profit) it must be to improve the interface and make it more accessible to more people. Could you speak to these issues specifically rather than just saying that these are issues that you hope to improve in the future?
The final point is seems the most important to me. I have a relatively small amount of free time. I like playing dominion online. I happy to pay for Dominion but I think I should be able to play the currently best possible version of the game (and I don’t feel I should have to apologize for wanting to play the best version of the game to DXV or anyone else) and by "currently best possible" I mean the best available interface and all of the currently available cards). My playing experience is currently suboptimal because I can’t play with the Dark Ages cards on Isotropic (apparently at the insistence of Goko). I am concerned that when your product is launched my playing experience will get worse not better. Let us make this 7/….
7/ What is the justification for Goko insisting that we play without the Dark Ages cards on Isotropic now? Is there any justification that relates to players experience or is it only an expedient decision based on Goko’s perceived financial best interest? I think a lot of the resentment towards Goko is based on the perception that we are/will be playing a second rate version of the game based on Goko’s financial interests. Could you address this point directly? Do you think it is reasonable to expect player to be supportive of Goko and it’s attempts to implement Dominion if Goko is not committed to players having the best possible playing experience?
Obviously many people on these forums have invested a massive amount of time not just to playing but to thinking about, writing about and otherwise promoting the game and many people are genuinely distressed by the thought that the Goko implementation of Dominion will do irreparable harm to the community that has been built up with so much time and effort. I would be pleased if you could provide some direct and full answers to these questions to allay these fears.
Thanks for your consideration (and patience),
<actus.
