Blogs - Muntaqim_313

"Solomon's using the PLR...He is an overseas asset, and he has been for years... He used me! He uses everyone, and he said, get the bombs... Eighty thousand dead... We can avert war between our nations... Well, the blast yield matches Russian suitcase nuke specs... We've secured what appears to be a WMD... Wait, there's room for two more... HOW MANY PORTABLE NUCLEAR DEVICES DID YOU SEE IN THE BANK VAULT?!...Where the hell are the other two?!... The fourteenth of, this month... We've got maps of Paris, New York... He's using public transit to move the weapons... Suleiman will... Strike!"

To the worst company in the United States,

Hello EA.

I have recently tried a diplomatic approach toward your corporation. But other than giving me false hope, you've done nothing. Nothing, but trying to bribe me with fifteen percent discount on two games and a Battlefield 3 medal.

Obviously you don't care. You think that we, the gamers, will always be ignorant enough to buy any game you throw at us. But as the Americans say "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

We've been fooled enough. Battlefield is half-way dead. The gamers are angry, and you stand to lose one of your most valuable franchises. What are you going to do about it? What can you do about it, other than winning back our trust?

The gaming community is mad as hell at you. But among all the hatred, I've decided to at least try and get a dialog going between you and the gamers. I lost my friends on Emulator Nexus, only because I tried to convince them to bury the hatchet with you. Yes, I am a hostage negotiator at this point. You have taken the talented studios and the games we love hostage, and I am trying to negotiate their release.

You need to start listening to us and acknowledging our feedback. I mean for real. Former president George Walker Bush said "You fool me, I can't get fooled again.". We won't buy it this time. Yet I hate to see a company and franchise I grew up with die like this.

Lastly, I will quote the legendary TV series, Prison Break. When Haywire, a mentally challenged prisoner was taken to Michale Scofield's cell, the CO, Brad Bellick, told Scofield that if he has an objection, he can feel free to voice it in Bellick's suggestion box. He then pointed at the cell's toilet. So by ignoring us, you are doing the exact same thing.

This would probably be a good place to start your recovery. If you are reading this (which I hope you are), leave a comment. Hopefully my fellow gamers will be kind enough to give you another shot.

awaiting your response,

-Muntaqim_313.

I am sure you are all aware of the recent changes in game developer giants' policies. They have ruled out mods in favor of DLC's and short lifespan for their games. Why is that? Well, obviously, mods can replace DLC's and newer games, which means less profit for the game developers.

Not that they need all that profit. To them, loss means less profit. This is pure greed. And they are not willing to give it up. I myself tried some diplomacy with EA, but other than giving me false hope, they did nothing. They are way beyond recovery, and are rotten to the core with greed.

But let's not generalize. There are still developers like CryTek that provide us with the SDK of their most powerful engine, free of charge for non-commercial game development. And their prices are very affordable for financial game development. That's not the point, though.

Other than a large number of employees, high budgets, access to military personnel for information and weaponry for scanning, modelling, and sound recording, DICE have no advantage over indie studios like Black Sand Studios. Still, that is not a problem.

To compensate for a low number of people in each indie studio, they can cooperate and create joint projects. There are many independent developers who are just as talented as DICE, maybe even more. And if they work together, DICE are no match against them, because unlike DICE, who view game design as a job, the indie devs see it as a labor of love.

Budget. If the indie studios create a well designed game, I, for one, will gladly pay for it. And if they don't want to charge for the game, they can request the people to pitch in on the costs of game development. Those of us who can will surely pay our share of the costs.

There is enough information available on the internet to create models and textures for any kind of weapon. Many even have access to weapons. For example, my brother has a registered Glock 19, handcuffs, OC spray, a tactical flashlight, a stun gun and a pistol belt, which he uses for his job, as limited authority law enforcement. I have enough skills to model them.

Lastly, we need to design a proper gameplay. With all the brilliant minds among us, we can think of something even better than Battlefield. I've already come up with some ideas, and I'm willing to share them with those who will hear the call.

Maybe we need to remind the likes of EA that without us, they are nothing.

I have recently talked to an EA customer support representative, and told him that I am planning on boycotting EA, and he implored that I do not. So I have made a list of suggestions to EA, and sent it to them in their survey.

I think it's best if I share them with you, just to get your feedback. If you agree, then help me spread the word. It is our right to speak, and be heard.

1. EA needs to stop its greed. If EA gives us the games we want, then we will pay them their effort's worth, and maybe more. If this was the case, we wouldn't mind any reasonable anti-piracy system (i.e. not one that requires browser launch of the game). A well developed game is a game well worth paying for.

2. They should stop working their developers so hard, and setting strict deadlines. This will leave them with incomplete, poorly designed games that will only damage their reputation. But if they make a well designed, moddable, LAN/private server friendly game (not forgetting to mention the singleplayer AI), it will live a long and healthy life. If an effective anti-piracy system (like DEGRADE) is implemented into the game, we will pay for every single copy, because it would be worth it. Mods will not kill profits for the developer, because we will still pay for their DLC, if they put enough effort into it. And when the next iteration of the game is released, we will throw money at its feet.

3. The technocracy of EA is unbelievable. They want a firm grip on the gamers, and if they want to regain their reputation, they need to stop that.

Did you guys know that EA was recently voted the worst company in the United States? That just goes to prove how much they are hated. But if they make a move to win back our trust, we will be with them all the way. But we need to see an act of faith.

Please comment, and tell me what you think.