November 02, 2017

AQWorlds, Feedback, and the Future

Reposting from Twitter to share with everyone

I've seen a lot of feedback screenshots going around lately. When in Rome (or on Twitter), do as the Roman Tweeters do. 

One of the best things about our community is how close all of you guys feel to the team, and how much we get to directly interact with you. I remember how I felt back when I first started playing AdventureQuest in 2006. The direct responses from the game makers was crazy to me; I'd never played a game where the devs talked to me directly, and considered my ideas.

We've always said that we make our games for and with you guys - it was true then, and it's still true today. (With as many ideas as you guys send in, we could make 5 different games... if we were also able to bend space and time). 

We care about all our games, and the feedback you give for them, as much as you do. And we know you care a LOT. The passion and dedication we see on our Twitter feeds is awe-inspiring. 

When you send specific feedback, we read it and internalize it... even if we can't act on it immediately. And sometimes (ok, maybe a lot of the time), the plans we made a year or two ago need to change because the game, the community, and the internet itself are changing. WAY faster than most people (or programs, or browser plug-ins) can keep up with.

But that doesn't stop us from coming in each week and doing everything we can to make the best (aka funny, punny, grand, and slightly insane) games we can. Every day, we strive to do our best, and our best is almost always bigger and bolder than what we did the month before. 

One hurdle our teams face right now is "scope creep" and managing expectations. AQWorlds is 9 years old; many of you have been playing our other games even longer than that. Making new content each week that feels as fresh and as "grand" as what came the week before would only be possible with a team 20 times as large as we currently are.

For as long as we've been around, we are still an indie company.We don't have investors; we're able to do what we do because of your support, and because we love the games we make and the community we make them for. 

What we all do here, together, is my life, and Artix's. That's true of all our developers and designers. It's what we do to feed our children, (and/or) our pets, and our cars (gasoline is like car food, right?). 

That's true because you -- and all our players -- care about our games. A lot of you want to see a lot of things in AQWorlds, AQ3D, AQ, and all our other games improve. So do we.

That's what we will keep doing, every week, incorporating as much of your feedback and suggestions and ideas as we can, because WE are Artix Entertainment.