Hello Bin Weevils!
It's kaushik2 here, with a post on Bin Weevils Rant Central! I haven't done a lot of posts on here, as I've been mainly updating the Rants section of the site.
On Bin Weevils, for the past year, there have been numerous torrid updates every month, representing childish and capitalist content; which has played a crucial role in the players' dissatisfaction of the game's current state. If the intent & passion from the Bin Weevils Team gave them the leverage to push and receive more support from their players for the yearly BAFTA Awards, they have mislaid it somewhere.
Not only is this very apprehensive, from my point of view, but Bin Weevils being able to deal with the demands they set, is also proving to be an inevitable problem, as proved last year from the team. In the January highlights post from 2015, here's an overview of what was promised:
On Bin Weevils, for the past year, there have been numerous torrid updates every month, representing childish and capitalist content; which has played a crucial role in the players' dissatisfaction of the game's current state. If the intent & passion from the Bin Weevils Team gave them the leverage to push and receive more support from their players for the yearly BAFTA Awards, they have mislaid it somewhere.
Not only is this very apprehensive, from my point of view, but Bin Weevils being able to deal with the demands they set, is also proving to be an inevitable problem, as proved last year from the team. In the January highlights post from 2015, here's an overview of what was promised:
Fair enough, the majority did come through in the end, but the achievements and updated player profiles, plus the Bin Badges that were promised on Twitter were never released. Unfortunately, for Bin Weevils, the fabrications used by players & staff alike does more to arouse the situation with regards to Bin Weevils not meeting their promises, breaking our trust. These updates should not be a complex job, and it is difficult to defend yourself, especially when you set the demands and you cannot heed to it yourself.
Feedback is also an element that plays a massive role in a game's development. If you analyse Bin Weevils in 2011-2013, you could see the reason why the game was so successful and acclaimed by fans was due to the game's growing magnitude in player feedback. The game is in an inept situation, and surely, in this scenario, you would think: Shouldn't they be paying attention to players? A prime example of a perfect opportunity to review player feedback is the site Pixel Ideas, which a community member runs. This is the perfect icing on a cake, and all Bin Weevils have the job of doing is to spend time reviewing them to see whether they are viable. But no, they waste time on other events such as flash mobs & blogs, without even seeking feedback from their players, as it is evident in-game and on social media that the majority of the players are livid with the recent perception towards updates, creating conflict in the community.
Flash mobs; they were also attempted back in the day, and even then they weren't a success. Flash mobs are a repetitive feat on Bin Weevils; and this does not have the traction to work. A flash mob a month, keeps the pain away. The perception of which Bin Weevils execute their flash mobs to simply doesn't work. Organising a flash mob and not communicating to their players reduces the excitement in the game, and the event.
The blog is also something which evidently, Bin Weevils spend a lot of time preparing content for. Most of the content, which is supplied on the blog, consist of promotion posts, discount sale updates, WPCs, and nothing original or new, such as a weekly report perhaps, or something to get us excited about, rather than a predictable puzzle or a lifeless promotion update. (with the expection of this month's Weekly Dig Report). Implementing a backstory into certain posts, such as weekly scheduled but creative ones, on the blog, makes children more anticipative, giving an extra edge to what we think the Weevil/character is going to experience in society, and adds a new layer to the story, than a bland series of posts.
Feedback is also an element that plays a massive role in a game's development. If you analyse Bin Weevils in 2011-2013, you could see the reason why the game was so successful and acclaimed by fans was due to the game's growing magnitude in player feedback. The game is in an inept situation, and surely, in this scenario, you would think: Shouldn't they be paying attention to players? A prime example of a perfect opportunity to review player feedback is the site Pixel Ideas, which a community member runs. This is the perfect icing on a cake, and all Bin Weevils have the job of doing is to spend time reviewing them to see whether they are viable. But no, they waste time on other events such as flash mobs & blogs, without even seeking feedback from their players, as it is evident in-game and on social media that the majority of the players are livid with the recent perception towards updates, creating conflict in the community.
Flash mobs; they were also attempted back in the day, and even then they weren't a success. Flash mobs are a repetitive feat on Bin Weevils; and this does not have the traction to work. A flash mob a month, keeps the pain away. The perception of which Bin Weevils execute their flash mobs to simply doesn't work. Organising a flash mob and not communicating to their players reduces the excitement in the game, and the event.
The blog is also something which evidently, Bin Weevils spend a lot of time preparing content for. Most of the content, which is supplied on the blog, consist of promotion posts, discount sale updates, WPCs, and nothing original or new, such as a weekly report perhaps, or something to get us excited about, rather than a predictable puzzle or a lifeless promotion update. (with the expection of this month's Weekly Dig Report). Implementing a backstory into certain posts, such as weekly scheduled but creative ones, on the blog, makes children more anticipative, giving an extra edge to what we think the Weevil/character is going to experience in society, and adds a new layer to the story, than a bland series of posts.
I feel the lack of large updates/new features being introduced is leading to stodgy monthly highlights, in terms of the content itself. New player profiles & Bin Badges is exactly what Bin Weevils need; these haven't been updated for a few years, so a new contingency plan needs to be introduced. If everything on the game stays the same, what's the point of the game itself? You could play the game for 10 hours & not get bored, whilst the majority would stop after 10 minutes, if they aren't updated regularly like this situation. The players like big updates (we haven't received one since 2014), as it gives you something new and creative to do each time you log in.
With regards to advertisements - some are scattered around the map, which I don't particularly like, but some of the promotions are very interactive for all players, even older players, so we shouldn't be complaining. An example of the Tom Gates promotion is that it involves your real life literary skills, so there is a small but subtle hint of an educational ebb there, even though the promotion is aimed largely at children aged 7-12, like the game itself.
As for the game not looking like a bin - I've complained about this several times on social media to the team, solely because I think the team need to keep focus on the context of the game, and not switch the game's ambition suddenly, without raising awareness of this, at least. However, I do agree with your point about this encouraging litter in real-life and potentially poor hygiene, which is a blight on this day's geographical & global society. But, this is a game, so you could put a counter argument and say, okay, let's make this game unrealistic as it should be, & introduce a new fantasy level in this game. But, some children won't be open to recognise the dangers in this, especially younger children, but parents & guardians who monitor the child's activity on the game could discuss with the child about littering, in more detail, and perhaps raise an interest in this, for the child. The game doesn't have to be realistic, as it's a kids' game, but, it's important to obtain a credible and consistent business model as a company, which Bin Weevils are trying to do right now, and time will tell whether they succeed in this.
As for Bin Tycoon, I can understand the frustration from the players with regards to the lack of content available to non-members. Bin Tycoon Membership not only raises the level of enjoyment to paying users, but also provides Bin Weevils with stable income, which needs to be succeeded. They are on their way to doing so, but the content for members can be improved, and once the content is suitable (from the players' point of view), they can go about making more content available, but not too many, for non-members. They are not ready for this phase for a game yet, though. If they finally do grasp good feedback from their players with regards to Bin Tycoon features, they can execute this contingency plan for non-members. If not, it's back to square one, simple.
Giving it to Bin Weevils though - advertisements do provide Bin Weevils with vital income & revenue towards their company's financial growth, so we can't complain about there being advertisements at all - removing them all isn't an option as it'd leave Bin Weevils with less financial income & revenue than before. Same with Bin Tycoon. Less money, it'll leave Bin Weevils with less resources to develop apps such as Crater Craft, due in the upcoming future. However, more must be done to control the advertisements, to make sure they are being utilised appropriately, and they have a purpose to them, rather than an out-of-the-blue promotion hunt in-game.
With regards to advertisements - some are scattered around the map, which I don't particularly like, but some of the promotions are very interactive for all players, even older players, so we shouldn't be complaining. An example of the Tom Gates promotion is that it involves your real life literary skills, so there is a small but subtle hint of an educational ebb there, even though the promotion is aimed largely at children aged 7-12, like the game itself.
As for the game not looking like a bin - I've complained about this several times on social media to the team, solely because I think the team need to keep focus on the context of the game, and not switch the game's ambition suddenly, without raising awareness of this, at least. However, I do agree with your point about this encouraging litter in real-life and potentially poor hygiene, which is a blight on this day's geographical & global society. But, this is a game, so you could put a counter argument and say, okay, let's make this game unrealistic as it should be, & introduce a new fantasy level in this game. But, some children won't be open to recognise the dangers in this, especially younger children, but parents & guardians who monitor the child's activity on the game could discuss with the child about littering, in more detail, and perhaps raise an interest in this, for the child. The game doesn't have to be realistic, as it's a kids' game, but, it's important to obtain a credible and consistent business model as a company, which Bin Weevils are trying to do right now, and time will tell whether they succeed in this.
As for Bin Tycoon, I can understand the frustration from the players with regards to the lack of content available to non-members. Bin Tycoon Membership not only raises the level of enjoyment to paying users, but also provides Bin Weevils with stable income, which needs to be succeeded. They are on their way to doing so, but the content for members can be improved, and once the content is suitable (from the players' point of view), they can go about making more content available, but not too many, for non-members. They are not ready for this phase for a game yet, though. If they finally do grasp good feedback from their players with regards to Bin Tycoon features, they can execute this contingency plan for non-members. If not, it's back to square one, simple.
Giving it to Bin Weevils though - advertisements do provide Bin Weevils with vital income & revenue towards their company's financial growth, so we can't complain about there being advertisements at all - removing them all isn't an option as it'd leave Bin Weevils with less financial income & revenue than before. Same with Bin Tycoon. Less money, it'll leave Bin Weevils with less resources to develop apps such as Crater Craft, due in the upcoming future. However, more must be done to control the advertisements, to make sure they are being utilised appropriately, and they have a purpose to them, rather than an out-of-the-blue promotion hunt in-game.