Worried about the future of the Watch.

Hey all.

By nature, I am a pessimist.
I mean no disrespect from what I am about to write. I mean no evil.
I write this from what I vaguely remember of Rpgwatch’s birth in ages past to today.
My vision might totally be different from many but this is how I see things now.

Walking back home from work, I was thinking about this virtual hangout that I like a lot.
The poll about the decline of the quality of the discussions was pestering me.

When I got home, I looked at the current structure of the staff members, I see the names of 7 users that I haven’t seen in a very long time. Namely, Aries100, Drhuin (I consider him ‘’out of commission’’), Garrett, Icefire, Magerette, Skavenhorde and Woges. Why are they still in the staff members list if they are not active?

Hence, only 6 staff members are left : Jaz (has her book made her famous yet? We don’t know since she never spoke of how well or not the sales went), Corwin, Couchpotato, Fluent, Myrthos and Arhu.

RpgWatch is on artificial life support.
I am concerned.
I remember Myrthos asking for help a few months ago for reviews and such.
I don’t remember anyone accepting anything that was offered (There might have been some but I have missed it. Sorry if I am wrong).
I didn't offer because I can barely manage the will to go to work. Other than that, I procrastinate. Hence, I do not want to hinder the Watch.

The Watch is now, from my perspective, in ruins. It is not yet crumbling but it’s barely holding in place. From the once glorious Castle that it was, standing tall and proud, shining across the valley, its stones are now bleak, cracked and covered with moss. It’s once crowded court is now only visited by curious trespassers who climbed over the abrupt palisades built to keep unwanted intruders at bay. Now, one can only hear the passing wind and the shrieks of yonder crows under the threatening cloudy welkin.

I, alone, sitting on a lose rock, do not want to leave my once dynamic abode.

After reading myself a few times, I think that I shouldn’t post this but I still will because I want to let you guys know that you are an important part of my day.
I appreciate your work. All the time and effort you put into this place.
You guys rock. Always there. Even if your day at work was tiresome.
Having to deal with ‘bots and haters is not easy.
From the original crew that is left, Couch and Fluent are the newbies.
It’s like you have always been here all along.

Keep on rocking you guys.
I trust in your will to rebuilt this place and bring it to the levels of nobility it once possessed.

Yours truly, an admirer.

PS : Having read this again and again, I feel like a sissy now...

As long as members like you (old and new) are here everything will turn out good.
(I'm an optimist )

We lost a few old members, because they had new priorities in real life - this happens.

Like you I'm happy to see that the new generation (Couch, Fluent, Wisdom…) continues what the old RPGDot generation started.

Thank you for the kind words Wanderer.

I had a poll up to ask opinions till the codex hijacked it. I also agree with HiddenX as long as the old guard, and new members stick around the site has hope.

As for reviews we still have a few games that need to be reviewed/previewed, but no one took the offer yet. Myself I prefer to just do interviews.

List of Games

1. Heroes of Steel.
2. Jagged Alliance : Flashback
3. Shadows: Heretic Kingdom

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We also have a few new editors, but only Wisdom has posted on the site. I know I post to much news so maybe I should take a break, and allow them to post more news.

So thank you also Wisdom.

PS: aries100 is still alive and posting

Couch is a hero in most eyes for his dedication and quality (even on sunday). So many people come and read but do not comment or even register. I know RL people that keep coming but have no incentive or desire to post. A lot of people I know from other communities never created another acct after theDot. Also that group has aged some and different priorities are bound to happen as members age and the demographic shifts it's midline.

Of the list of old staff you posted, Magerette is the only one who doesn't occasionally post. Others have RL issues which take up the majority of their time. The problem with say news posting is that it is time consuming WORK!! People come along who are keen to help, but when they've done it for awhile they discover it's all work and little play. In fact, as couch will attest, they often get attacked by regular posters for their choice in news articles. It often feels like a lose/lose situation. That's why Magerette left. I'm a thick skinned old man, but it says a LOT for Couch and earlier for Dhruin that they've stuck at it for so long. They are much appreciated!!

Corwin said:

Of the list of old staff you posted, Magerette is the only one who doesn't occasionally post.

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Oops. Sorry. I didn't want to sound too accusing when I said that.

Others have RL issues which take up the majority of their time. The problem with say news posting is that it is time consuming WORK!! People come along who are keen to help, but when they've done it for awhile they discover it's all work and little play. In fact, as couch will attest, they often get attacked by regular posters for their choice in news articles. It often feels like a lose/lose situation. That's why Magerette left. I'm a thick skinned old man, but it says a LOT for Couch and earlier for Dhruin that they've stuck at it for so long. They are much appreciated!!

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I would really love to help out but the thing is that I am a hyper sensitive little bitch who does not have your rugged old man's skin.
I take things personnaly and in need of much practice as to how to properly write a review - preview. I hate judgement. Hence, my hesitation to even start this post.

Also, I have a yearning to write. As I have told you in the past.

Writing here would be a win - win situation on both counts.
I'll just have to figure out a way to embrasse all of it and make it a habbit to include it in my daily schedule and to gradually make it a part of my life.

Try writing a preview of an early access, or beta release game where you simply give your thoughts and opinions on its strengths and weaknesses. You could either post it in a thread, or submit it to the site. Start small and gain confidence; it doesn't take too long, and the staff here are always willing to help newbies.

Corwin said:

Try writing a preview of an early access, or beta release game where you simply give your thoughts and opinions on its strengths and weaknesses. You could either post it in a thread, or submit it to the site. Start small and gain confidence; it doesn't take too long, and the staff here are always willing to help newbies.

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Working something out with our resident Potato man.
Thanks for the kind words.
Will do.

I wanted to say in that other thread, I'm not worried at all. In fact, I think the forums have gotten A LOT more civil.

I used to dread coming here and seeing the P&S forums plastered on the front page taking up the actual discussions. One of those guys who posted there daily took to insulting me personally. and fortunately he's gone.

—

We are getting older but we do attract new users quite regularly. Anyone who's looking for more civilized discussion seems to come here and as long as there's this great news coverage there'll be interest.

Activity on these forums has declined drastically. I see this place going the way of the Dot, unless preventive measures are taken.

Firstly, you guys need more content, to draw rpg gamers (who are your primary audience). You also need exclusive interviews. I would suggest you target hot upcoming games which have a large fanbase already awaiting more news about the game. Examples include pillars of eternity, torment tides of numerena, grimrock 2, basliskgames (eschalon series) latest secret project, Larian Studio's next move after D:OS, etc etc.

Perhaps this is all a little premature? After all, summer is always a slow time. The college kids are out, families are often going on vacation, and outdoor activities are in full swing. Give it a few months for "PC gaming season" to kick back in. Then we'll get a better feel for our situation.

Ultimately, working for the site is exactly that--a lot of work. It requires a certain passion and a metric shitload of dedication to the task. The sort of folks that you'd want to make such a commitment are also the sort of folks that won't make a commitment they don't feel confident keeping. Right now is simply a bad time to get folks to sign up for that sort of situation.

Lucky Day said:

I wanted to say in that other thread, I'm not worried at all. In fact, I think the forums have gotten A LOT more civil.

I used to dread coming here and seeing the P&S forums plastered on the front page taking up the actual discussions. One of those guys who posted there daily took to insulting me personally. and fortunately he's gone.

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Perhaps an absence of conflict is making things boring?

I haven't been here that long.I am active member since 2012 and lurker since 2010 so I don't know what was like before, but in 2014 there has been more interviews and articles than any other time since I started lurking.Also since Couch took over there has been LOT more news.

The Wanderer said:

I am concerned.
I remember Myrthos asking for help a few months ago for reviews and such.
I don’t remember anyone accepting anything that was offered (There might have been some but I have missed it. Sorry if I am wrong).

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I can only speak for myself but here are two main reasons why I didn't take any.
1)I am not confident enough in my writing skills and in my English for anything "official".
2)Reviewer should be someone who's opinion is valued by majority here and I am not sure how much mine is.

I am not sure how many people feel same way but I am sure I am not alone.So some of us won't take them not because we don't want to contribute, it's because we don't want to do something with questionable quality.It's better to have few good reviews that lot of mediocre/bad ones.

That said watch does need more reviews imo. Ghan's review of Conquistador was great I am sorry he doesn't have the time to do reviews regularly.

I mostly come here for news and as some sort of morning ritual. In this aspect things are rather improving. Things are more objective, presented in a simple and intelligent matter and I enjoy reading peoples analysis. It is now the only gaming site I regularly visit and I don't even play that much RPG games.

Time to make me a simple breakfast and head to enthusiastically to my work!

It's still one of the best forums on the net

And Couch has been doing a fantastic job of posting news... it has never been better in that department!

I'm not really seeing much of a problem. Certainly, you can't force people to be here.

What you can do is contribute and provide the kind of posts you want more of. That's what I'm trying to do, to the best of my ability.

As it turns out, a lot of people don't like serious discussion - and they prefer short little amiable reponses. That's cool - but that's not me.

Some people DO enjoy my contribution - so that's nice.

All I can say is that you should set an example and lurk less.

DArtagnan said:

As it turns out, a lot of people don't like serious discussion - and they prefer short little amiable reponses.

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Thanks for trying. I'm just not in the mood.

DArtagnan said:

All I can say is that you should set an example and lurk less.

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I know.
I started this thread knowing damn well that someone would say something like that.

And I'll still be posting impression/review threads about most major RPGs that come out, practically right after they're out. Those threads tend to have good discussions, and a lot of questions asked/answered about the specific game.

The next big one I'm likely to write about is DA: I, so that's certainly going to be.. interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up seeing quite a few polarized views on DA: I, given it's a BioWare game.