Sodder (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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soddersays2018-04-30 12:46 am
sodder) wrote in soddersays2018-04-30 12:46 am
Entry tags:
Feedback/Complaints
FEEDBACK AND COMPLAINTS
If you have any feedback on recent plots or events that have occurred in the game, this is the place for them! If you have suggestions as to how better improve the game or certain aspects of it, please let us know here. This can also include suggesting events if you feel events have grown stale or you're feeling like the game could benefit from something in particular.
All comments have been left unscreened to encourage open communication within the game.
If you have a more private complaint, please feel free to message one of the mods! Thank you for all feedback and criticism.
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I'm a bit new to the game, so I know there's a lot to learn, but the more I look into lore and events to adjust and get into the setting everything comes off incredibly overwhelming and a detriment to actual participation. It's super important to keep to game themes and the horror (as that's what this game is about), but it feels like a lot of things are present just for the sake of something being present. Events seem to be like this consistently- certain things that happen in event posts don't seem to match with the rest of the event. For instance, this month's event was largely about doppelgangers and the continuation of the food shortage. However, there were prompts for SAW style torture and an Animal Crossing-esque video game, neither of which fit into what was happening right then. Compounded with all the prompts from last month, and the teams and their effects, AND plot reveals coming from different characters lead to an absolute information overload without even considering the backlog. Not to say that different things can't happen- the baked goods sale completely made sense with the overarching food shortages and forgetting who you are as copies of yourself rise- but there's a lot of "fluff" that makes it feel complicated for a character to know what's going on at any given time or interact with the setting properly. I know this game runs quickly, but it feels impossible to keep up with everything that goes on in even a single month.
On top of that, the lore of the actual game is just as extensive. There's over 50 locations on the locations page, all of which have individual supernatural effects. There are also over 30 types of housing, and the Great Sleep page clocks in over 6 thousand words. This isn't even to mention information about character jobs, organizations, items, and more. While I know you want to be able to explain yourself in a way that gets people excited and into the setting, for a game focused on mystery and unraveling the plot it's hard to figure out what hasn't already been covered, piece together progress, or determine what's actually important. This is especially compounded by the fact that events come out with tons and tons of new lore every month which is already difficult enough to make sure you're on top of. This isn't to say I dislike the lore or plot in any way- I really love digging into this sort of thing, so much so that I made a 30 page lore document for another game of mine just out of excitement. But there being so much, it's not only overpowering, it feels cluttering to the actual point of what's being uncovered.
Of course, it could be that there's a lore reason or otherwise set reason to having all of this extra stuff, at which point I'd love to hear it! But right now as much as I enjoy some of the more "strange" options, having so so so many really feels like it's burying the lead of a really interesting game.
Thanks for listening!
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We’re sorry that the amount of information provided can feel overwhelming. Deerington is a plot heavy game that has been open for over a year and a half; because of this, much of the information you see in the pages was rolled out over the time that the game has been active. The locations have grown as new places were unlocked or created by player request. The length of information provided has helped to limit the number of questions that are asked about how certain aspects of the game function as many of our players want to know the intricate details without having to do a heavy amount of guess work on how settings such as the Great Sleep function. To new players, this certainly will come across as information rich and feel daunting to comb through, which is why we make sure to make every aspect of the game 100% optional so no one feels like they have to learn everything about the setting in order to jump in and start playing.
Deerington is a dreamscape; dreams inherently tend to not make sense 100% of time. We use this aspect to give a wider variety of options to our players during events. Not everyone in the game wants to have completely horror-focused options at all times, just like not every player wants to have completely plot-heavy focused events at all times. To balance the needs of everyone, we try to offer a variety of options, with light, slice-of-life worthy aspects to break up the intense horror that people often have their characters face. This allows for players to have breathing room and to give characters a chance to not be completely re-traumatized with every event if that isn’t what a player wishes to do. Given that there are multiple aspects of dreams that feel random and chaotic, it’s not unnatural for something “fluffy” to feel out of place and confusing to characters. Likewise, we try to balance rolling out intense pieces of plot with having long stretches of time that lack plot; i.e. July & August were plot heavy but not necessarily horror-driven, September is not plot heavy and offers lighter event options, October will be heavier in horror, etc. This is a pattern that has helped to keep the game balanced for the majority of players. We make sure that any aspect of the events can be ignored by anyone and players are able to pick and choose what they want to focus on in any given month. This is true of both temporary events as well as the overarching plot.
The game is also meant to hold a certain amount of mystery; no character can realistically obtain all information nor will they be able to figure out what information is useful and what is not. In order to keep the plotline interesting and to keep players from figuring out the core of the story, we make sure to give a mix of functional and useless information without clarifying which is which, as not everything discovered in any investigation will ever be completely useful. We have no intention of changing this aspect of the game as we feel it gives the best function for creating a mystery that isn’t easily solved by any one player.
We appreciate your feedback and are happy to take suggestions on how to improve consistency in the provided story elements and are happy to improve on how plot-relevant information could be revealed in a way that is perhaps less overwhelming for new players, but overall, we intend to continue to use the function of the dreamscape to provide sometimes strange or random options to players to avoid bogging people down with constant, non-stop horror and mystery.
Thank you for reaching out and we hope that this gives a better explanation of the mechanics of the game.
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As for IC resources that have been compiled your character would likely have to begin investigating and asking for information from other characters. It is possible to ICly track through past DeerFeed posts as well to see any of the potential important information that has been posted there. We like to leave it up to our player base for any appropriately compiled IC information and how their characters choose to delegate that information. Many characters have been keeping thorough records of the incidents within Deerington (ie; Chloe's Journal) while other characters have done thorough reports on findings on the DeerFeed network to share their information with other characters (ie; numerous posts like these can be publicly tracked by characters ICly for information).
Since this is a mystery-heavy game we have left it up to the players for whether their characters would compile thorough IC-kept notes about the incidents of Deerington as we feel it helps create a more realistic atmosphere of a group of people struggling to find a conclusion. We also feel that the organic sharing of information like this helps to avoid accidental infomodding.
We can lead you to some of the more noteworthy informational pages and expand a little more on them so that you may at least know a more specific IC direction your character might go in!
The Death Certificate Page: This page outlines all of the characters who have died in the game, but more importantly you will be able to find pictures of the statues that are scattered around town. Most character deaths happen in public spaces so many of the statues can be viewed by most of the game publicly. Unless your character has a penchant for being able to detect traces of soul there is usually nothing specifically telling about the statues that give away who they have been erected for.
The Non-Playable Characters: This is a good reference page to the types of NPC that are found throughout most of the town and the events. The Townsfolk are consistently in the game and they intentionally do not like Sleepers and tend to avoid them if they can. During strange events Townfolk are often indifferent to what's going on around them, and usually don't seem to react much beyond potential violence/aggression at Sleepers (usually stated in events). The Townsfolk often seem very "hollow" to characters, and most of the time many people with certain abilities can determine that the Townsfolk aren't quite regular people.
The Mayor has made one sighting alone so far. He is nearly impossible to contact.
Sodder has made one group message on DeerFeed as well that can be tracked.
A good way to potentially investigate the metaplot of the game is to send a letter to the Dog Keeper. You may address the letter to Sodder or the Dog Keeper himself. Responses from either may take some time, and certain questions will lead to more/less detailed answers.
It is important to note that many characters have ICly played out the consequences of their characters breaking the law, and therefor have made the Authority's presence in town a prominent one that actively does help to maintain the law. It would be fair game to say that it would be generally easy to discover that the cats absolutely do punish criminals if they are caught.
The Blessings Basket: You have probably already checked this out, but the Blessings Basket is a fairly important aspect of the game as it is how many characters gain their immediate information (such as the map and Sodder's letter as well as their Fluid which includes detailed instructions as to how the Fluid works). Characters also gain (items that can fit) AC rewards through the basket or by the basket.
Sodder's Heart: This is arguably the most streamlined aspect of the entire game. The experiences of Sodder Heart strictly deal with the primary plot of the game and nothing else. This is probably where you'll be able to enjoy exploring the true lore of the game above all else. The heart can be seen by everyone, and it is possible for all people to gain drachma in order to visit the Valves. The Valves show relevant memories/experiences that will help to explain the story of Deerington piece by piece. This feature was recently introduced and so far only One Valve has been opened. There will be more Valves in the future though and we will always let everyone know when they have been posted both on the game Discord and Plurk! New Valves will always be posted to Deerington's main log community. Valves can be explored any time which means you don't need to feel like you're not in time for the experience. This is a very optional aspect of the game for those who want to explore the direct plot a bit more thoroughly.
We hope that some of this has helped point you in a direction you feel confident with! If you have any additional questions or wish for further clarification on anything, please let us know!
Additionally if you would ever like to ask deeper questions about the general plot you can always feel free to contact Milk, the head mod who oversees the plots and events of the game, and ask them for further information.
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