Letter to the @LoadedLions_CDC!
I think @LoadedLions_CDC and @ManeCityGame should start focusing on the community again. We were and still are its strongest part.
Socials:
While Manecity improved slightly with the last expedition update, it is still far from its potential. The mobile version only managed to gather around 3,000 players, of which 2,000 were probably already existing ones. As painful as it is to admit, I don't think they have achieved what they thought they would.
The game is still not fun enough to rely solely on gameplay to attract players. There is zero in-game communication and social interaction, which most games leverage. Just look at @OthersideMeta. There isn’t much to do in-game, probably even less than Manecity, yet the bubbles single-handedly brought activity back to the game.
Gamers want to interact. And no, a Discord server is not the same; far from it.
It doesn't help that the massive layoffs @cryptocom recently introduced affected the team and they lost valuable members. Updates have been slow, and communication has been lacking. This will probably get even worse.
Gameplay:
I personally think the updates are coming slowly but still adequately. We do not have the luxury of picking the wrong paths. Creating a copy of the game on mobile without connectivity to desktop was a major mistake, and I wish they hadn't done it.
All it did was split players between mobile and desktop. I haven't logged in for days on mobile and I'm still hovering around 100, the same place I was. Clearly, activity is lacking and probably won't improve. There are many more fun games out there with better interactivity.
Even on desktop, it’s basically the same few players milking the blitzes repeatedly, while around 1,000 players are trying to grab a share of the pie. Everyone seems happy once the blitz is over because it was not fun. They take their profits and everyone goes on their way, never to discuss it again. This is a problem. We should be sharing experiences, fun, and joy on the timeline, but we don't.
Solution:
First, @cryptocom really needs to start listening to players and involving us in decision-making (DAO was on the roadmap). They could have saved a lot of time and money simply by asking us what we want or what would be better for the project long term. Not because we think we are smarter, but based on recent directions the team has taken, it's clear they could use some help. We are here to help. There are players with literal MILLIONS invested in your Loaded Lions ecosystem. We have skin in the game, while most employees do not, and that is often evident in the decisions made. Many times I feel like decisions are made without proper consideration. A perfect example is $LION. Not a single #Crofam in the top 150 holders, and the token is completely forgotten. Another Millions down the drain, which should not be the case.
Second, I do believe the community and social side of web3 gaming is underestimated. There is zero communication in the game, no guilds yet, and hardly any parties. There are some players on the ManeCity Discord, but that won't replace in-game life. I think Daphne was doing a great job with @ManeCityGame before she was let go. We need these kinds of interactions. We need great community managers who are actually with the community all the time, dedicated, and act as a link between you and us. We don't have anyone currently for this.
Again, Discord is nice for our tiny little bubble and for responding to tickets, but that won't replace social interaction.
Third, regarding current active Loaded Lions. While I understand you may be a bit tired and that the project hasn't performed as you wanted, or maybe you feel neglected, we as players have a role to make Loaded Lions great again. Even if @kris and @ericnode have given up on it or underestimate the strength of the Lions, we should not.
We, the players, know best how much this community could contribute to the whole ecosystem. We've seen the highs and experienced the lows. So if you care about the Lions, buying an NFT shouldn't be your first and last contribution. We are a community, and we need to talk and express our opinions as loudly as possible until we are heard.
So in short: Please start communicating with us properly and involve us in decision-making. Opening a ticket on Discord and forwarding it to the team is not a conversation and no one feels involved in anything. That's a corporate strategy, not community engagement.
Thank you for reading!