Coming Together

[Celeste]

Hi everyone. I wanted to post this as an effort to show support to the game and its staff. And most importantly to Amy. She posted to the tumblr account yesterday why she hasn't been keeping up with it lately and it was very disheartening to read. If you haven't read it yet, here's the link. If we love Myvmk and want it to continue, we need to show Amy some support and compassion for what she does. I haven't been here very long so maybe my voice doesn't matter. Regardless, I still love this game and its players, and would be devastated to see it close again. If you agree comment on this, or go send Amy a nice message on tumblr. Let's come together as a community to support this game

 

[Expect]

I am grateful for the opportunity to keep playing this game. Thank you all staff involved both in game and forums and also Amy herself. I appreciate all the time and effort that has gone into making this game stay afloat. This game has helped me relief of stress in my life.

 

[Tinker Blue]

I just read her message and was on my way over here to post. Thank you for starting this, Celeste. I too just found MyVMK after so many years without the game. I understand the stress and pressure of doing something gratis as Amy and the Staff must do. I know there were some glitches this past month but I found December a lot of fun with the Staff events and releases that did make it out. The float competition was great fun while the ride a thon and the Christmas crates were real enchantment for me. Something as simple as toddling along the Jungle Cruise still tickles me. I really appreciate the effort that Amy and the Staff have put into this little haven from real world cares. Programming and running a game requires time and a lot of commitment. That these folks do it voluntarily for love of the game is quite wonderful and I do wish the community would cut them a little slack. I know there have been issues in the past. I deliberately ignore the drama as I don't need more in my life. However, just stop and think, those of you who played the original, just how sad we all were on that last day of the original game. Tears were shed and not just by the youngest players. So Amy, you called your post a rant. Yes, it was but I suspect you feel a lot better for getting some of it out. You put up a post a couple of months ago about what we would like to see in the game. Perhaps, it is time to ask how we the players can help make the game enjoyable for you again? I don't know what I can do but I stand ready to help in any way that I can. Thank you so much for creating this delightful corner of cyber space for us.

 

[Cowboy_Pirate]

Well I'd like to personally thank all admin, staff, forums staff, and designers for everything! I do coding and such for a living and I understand how hard and frustrating it can be Amy. For everyone calling me a suck up, I'm not. I just understand exactly how much work goes into this game. Everyone wants to say "if you dont wanna do it then just give it to someone who does" but in reality it's MUCH more work then anyone would want. Everyone wants all this stuff to happen but don't realize all the excess work that comes along with it... Amy my heart is out to you and there are still players who appriciate you and this game!

 

[RockStar_PoohBear]

I agree with everyone. This song sounds perfect for this situation:

I have been on here since opening day. I love my fellow players and all the people involved. I also love the new things that came. I will never forget my time and made a ton of new friends

 

[Angel]

This is the kind of stuff we love to see. It's honestly what keeps us going. So thank you everyone for the kind words, we all really appreciate it!
- Angel/Nala

 

[goobie]

I'll be the first to admit that I participate in the complaining from time to time. However, some of the stuff I read goes too far. Complaining about the game is one thing but personally attacking Amy is another. There's a difference between feedback and harassment and that line is frequently crossed. Hopefully, we can learn to be kinder and criticize without offending. I really do think an improvement in communication between the players and staff would reduce (not eliminate, we know that will never happen) the problem.

 

[Peasy]

I don't see a tumblr update?

 

[HOST_Duchess]

I don't see a tumblr update?

Here you go!

 

[arvinarvin]

I really appreciate Amy and all the staff who run this game, and I understand why they're feeling the way they are now. If I was running this game and received all the criticism that they get for no return I would've shut down the game a long time ago, I'd slap this game on my resume and then be done with it. But I don't like sugarcoating things. I also understand the frustrations that the players have and I share a lot of the same sentiments that a lot of them have, the quality of the game has definitely gone down, I've only been playing since April 2016 and I've definitely noticed my expectations of the game decline. My questions went from "I wonder what the new items will be?" to "I wonder how late the new items will be?" to "I wonder if new items will come out?" and that's fine, I know real life gets in the way, there are a lot more important things going on in people's lives than this game. But I think the thing most people are frustrated about, are promises and propositions that do not get realized. Nobody likes to get let down, especially by something that they enjoy like this game. There are a lot of reasons why people are unhappy, but this is definitely one of the more prominent ones.

One thing that I believe should happen to remedy this is that Amy needs to lessen her workload, she's coding the game by herself which is enough work as is, but having to design items on top of that in addition to her real life? That's a lot for anybody. I'm sure A LOT of people want to contribute to this game. I think that the playerbase should be allowed to contribute their ideas for items.

An idea would be to let the playerbase know a few weeks to a month in advance the theme of the next month, let the playerbase know what's needed: hats, clothes, pins, furniture etc. and have them submit them and vote on them. Let players know what are the requirements for submissions so that it isn't a hassle to deal with, let them know what filetype it needs to be saved as, what resolution/size it needs to be at, how many different angles of the item need to be made (if it's a rotatable item/clothing) etc. whatever needs to be done to make the workload less for Amy.

I do appreciate everything that the staff and Amy is doing regardless, I've really enjoyed my time in the game thus far.

 

[FlowerChildx]

I honestly love VMK, it was basically my childhood. I was so happy when I found out MyVMK exists. It's a nice way to escape the complications in our lives and a fun way to relieve stress. I'm thankful to have the opportunity to play VMK again thanks to @Amy, and I'm grateful for everything all admins, staff, and hosts do (in game and on the forums). They don't have to do anything that they do, they choose to do it - it's all volunteer. If you were to put yourself in their shoes, you probably wouldn't have the time to do everything they do, so although things can be frustrating at times, try to have more patience because we're already so lucky for what we already have.

 

[VMK_Kida]

Thank you everyone for showing us support. And thank you to Amy who is strong enough to endure it all. As Angel said, these kind words really do keep us going. We strive to be the staff you all would like us to be and will always try to make the game the best it can be for you all.

 

[Fotogirl]

I am very thankful to @Amy and all the staff for their time and effort put into bringing back a game we all loved and now can love again. One thing I do agree with that Amy said is that this can be a very toxic community. I have met people from both ends of the spectrum within this game and I understand what she is saying. If I volunteered as much time as she has put into it only to have people attack me for no other reason than they aren't happy with their virtual trinkets I would have shut it down long ago. Thank goodness Amy didn't cave to the negativity. Personally, I was able to reconnect with a dear friend I lost track of when vmk closed and for that I will be eternally grateful to Amy. For the most part the people here are good people, but unfortunately the toxic ones are the ones that make the most noise the majority of which is not positive and will, in the end, ruin it for us all if Amy decides it just isn't worth the effort anymore.

 

[meggo]

I'd like to thank Amy for bringing back my favorite childhood game and I also want to thank her, mods, staff, designers and forums staff for everything they do and for all of their hard work they put into the game. I really do appreciate it. When I read Amy's new tumblr post, I honestly felt disgusted by the things she said. Harassment? Death threats? Unbelievable. No one deserves that! Like Amy said, this isn't a business. Her and staff volunteered to keep this game up and running and they try very hard to make each month fun. The negativity and the toxic people in this community just isn't helping. Like morgan, I admit I complain sometimes too, but I've never been so ungrateful or disrespectful towards Amy or staff for any reason. We all just need to relax, be patient and be thankful for what we have and whats coming.

 

[Wonder]

Much love and respect to the staff

 

[waterfallglow]

Reading the post on tumblr just now.. my heart is broken for the staff! No matter what staff do for us.. it seems like it's never "enough" for many of you! This community is expecting perfection out of staff and that is not fair. It's like there is no room for error. The moment one thing goes wrong... whether it's a glitch, delay, or whatever it might be.. the complaining starts and the blame immediately goes to staff. Sometimes things just happen and it's nobody's fault, it's just the way life is. Staff are doing their best and I think many are too hard on them. I have a question to ask all of you. No, seriously... I really want you all to ask yourselves this and take it to heart. Instead of asking so much what staff can do for us and how they can improve.. let's ask ourselves.. what can WE do make this community better. How can we improve ourselves and be the best we can be as players and contributors to this community. Think about how many staff there are compared to how many players there are. Anyway, with all that being said.. I want to thank ALL staff (both present staff and former staff) for their time, efforts and everything in between that they give. You are appreciated!

 

[Peasy]

Here you go!

Oh man, I totally understand where Amy & the staff are coming from. I have only been here a few months but the constant negative feedback and whining made me wonder why anyone would want to be at the helm of it. I have no control over anyone but myself. I try to remind people to be courteous and thank hosts & mods when I can. I didn't know until recently who the designers were but thank you. I made a joke at the raffle that the prizes were baguettes & buckets - and that wasn't a knock at the designers, it was the sheer volume of them, that I know a lot of us had. I am in awe of what you all do and am very grateful for it. That being said, I wouldn't blame you one bit for shutting it down. It seems like a very lopsided/thankless chore to me.

I would love to see it keep going and will do what I can to support those putting the time & effort in, as long as it is here. Maybe take a step back for a few months and take a breather? Then come back when you are fresh and scale back on items/events. Maybe if this game is shut down for a bit, those that gripe & whine will get a better perspective that it is a free gift, provided by those that put in the time & effort.

Hugs!!

 

[CoralHibiscus]

I'll be the first to admit that I participate in the complaining from time to time. However, some of the stuff I read goes too far. Complaining about the game is one thing but personally attacking Amy is another. There's a difference between feedback and harassment and that line is frequently crossed. Hopefully, we can learn to be kinder and criticize without offending. I really do think an improvement in communication between the players and staff would reduce (not eliminate, we know that will never happen) the problem.

I couldn't have said this any better. I also complain from time to time, but it's because I want to see the game progress and thrive. That why I try to give ideas on how things could have been handled or dealt with better. I hope I haven't offended any of the staff when I've criticized them. It was never my intention to offend anyone while trying to help give suggestions or critiques.

 

[PixieLizzieA]

I haven't been here all that long, so maybe it's me having to get into the mind frame that this isn't the original VMK run by people who do this for a living. I definitely have, from time to time, wondered what's been going on with the game and I have complained. Though, the fact there have been death threats/harassment to Amy is ridiculous. We are not children. (At least, from what I'm aware of.) So let's not act like it. I hope that whoever those players are that sent the threats have been banned completely. There's no excuse for that behavior. With everything in life though, there will always be frustrations and criticisms. Maybe we, as a community, can make sure that they are constructive. Instead of saying "this is wrong" maybe we can turn it into "I don't like how this is, but here's a solution that could help make it better" and brainstorm together.

I think Arvin's right in that most of the time when frustrations are vocalized it's because we really don't know what's going on with the game/releases/etc. He's right in saying this is something we all love and we want to see it thrive. When we can't do something first hand to help we get frustrated. I think it'd be helpful to know what we [as people who maybe can't be designers/coders/etc] can do to help MyVMK thrive. Can there be official player hosted games listed on the Event Calendar? Can there be official player hosted quests? Delegation is very difficult especially when you've got something so near and dear to your heart. (I started a club on campus my sophomore year and I wanted to do everything to make sure it was "perfect" until I realized it was too much for one person... It's difficult. I understand that.) Is there any way that we as a community can take some of the weight off of Staff's shoulders?

As for the staff and Amy, thank you. I've met some incredible friends through this game (and it's made me 150% more excited for my DCP coming up). It's nice to have some nostalgia back and it's nice to actually have interactions with the Staff. [That was never something you could do on VMK unless you stayed up for the closing party... and that was 2am here so I digress.] You can't find any RPG online anymore that are near what VMK was, so I'm glad I found MyVMK. Please do not get discouraged and know that the supporters outweigh the naysayers. At the end of the day we all want what's best for the game and the community that's been built. Thank you for the hours and sweat you've put into the game.

 

[Peasy]

Speaking of the threats (seriously, what is wrong with some people?), I hope Amy reported them to the police. It's illegal and punishable here in the U.S. Not sure about England.