Storm8 layoffs and dragon story

[marathon2615]

So some of you know already but I had to look it up. Apparently S8 downsized their company by over half their employees. Any thoughts on how this will effect Dragon Story? Guess that answers why they have been money hungry. This is kind of a spin off from the GPD thread but I felt it deserved it's own.

Thoughts? Comments? Rude gestures?(not really)


Edit- KP

Hey all, I'm still here and will be trying my best to continue delivering quality content to you and your dragons. I'll pass on the kind words to my friends who lost their job.

[FireballFarm]

Maybe if they actually listened to the customer feedback, they wouldn't be in this predicament. Many companies pay good money for the kind of feedback S8 gets here for free...but they disregard all of it. Smh. I definitely won't spend another dime on gold because who knows if they'll suddenly drop the game? Not worth the risk, imho. They've dropped games in the past with no notice, and that was without mass lay-offs.

[marathon2615]

Many companies pay good money for the kind of feedback S8 gets here for free...but they disregard all of it.

Yeah checking a forum that gives excellent real life use reviews is way cheaper than putting together multiple focus groups

[starship412]

Maybe if they actually listened to the customer feedback, they wouldn't be in this predicament. Many companies pay good money for the kind of feedback S8 gets here for free...but they disregard all of it. Smh. I definitely won't spend another dime on gold because who knows if they'll suddenly drop the game? Not worth the risk, imho. They've dropped games in the past with no notice, and that was without mass lay-offs.

Agreed. It happens in business - when the business ignores the customers then the customers leave that business to go to another.
I feel for those at S8 who actually cared and lost their jobs which I have a feeling outnumbers those that don't - that's just speculation, however.
I hope this action makes S8 take a long look at itself and what they did over the last year. Having events back to back to back on all platforms, Dragon Story, Castle Story, Fantasy Forest, etc., did more harm than good. Creating events with no chance of winning such as Leaderboard did more harm than good. Taking gold out of tournaments and making the champion dragons harder to beat did more harm than good. Making the points for the final dragon in the World Events almost impossible without spending gold did more harm than good. Slow response to bugs and issues did more harm than good. Gold producing dragons did more harm than good. Bingo, retooled, can do more good than harm. Bringing gold back to the tournaments can do more good than harm. Finding a way to keep the game from crashing all the time can do more good than harm. Changing breeding procedures can do more good than harm. Listening to the people who play the game instead of focus groups that more than likely don't will do more good than harm.
To be honest, I'm hoping things will be better but, as some say, "hope for the best but be prepared for the worst". Good luck and Godspeed to the good Storm8 employees who lost their jobs. May your experience land you bigger and better in the future.
Please don't delete this comment as this is honest criticism and not an insult. Thanks in advance.

[JustKay]

....Gold producing dragons did more harm than good...

Didn't think anyone would say that...

But on topic, yes, I do see how their recent actions certainly hint at money issues. I do hope they find a way to prosper and all the best to the employees who have moved on. I would speculate that a reduction in employees would translate to a clearing of their roster of games. This has happened before and I think Dragon Story and FFS and Castle Story will probably continue as they have huge followings. Just look at some of the crazy points numbers being reported already in the new LB and it's clear DS is still drawing in good money. In the past they did send a notice to all players that a game was being discontinued, but there are plenty of games that I've gotten goals to install, play, and then I've not felt compelled to continue playing. Those are the type of games that will go.

[katali119]

Honestly I don't understand the business decisions. We're talking the stuff in this game is not real, it's pixels, that cost them nothing to give away. It wouldn't be hard to have a huge number more satisfied customers than they currently have, just by reading through the forum and responding. Businesses with poor customer service simply don't last long in industries with a lot of competition, because when what your offering is the same as everyone else customer service is what sets you apart. Reading the article about the staff losing their jobs, they are clear that the industry is very competitive and they are struggling, but they have at least part of the answer being told to them over and over again, and instead they keep doing the exact opposite. Having happy customers also means when you google search the games, the top 5 answers don't include anyone slagging the game off and telling people to play a competitors game instead. Unlike now. Sure it's hard to keep everyone happy all of the time, but when you run a forum full of people not only moaning, but repeatedly pointing out that they've been moaning about the same things for years, it doesn't exactly give a good impression, does it?! So I'm not putting a penny more into this game, because, like any investment, I'd like to be sure I was going to get a return, and at this point, I'm not sure the company will continue for another 5 years, let alone the game. Which is really sad, because there's great stuff in this game! Maybe they'll sell some of their catalogue and forum members can buy it and make all those changes they want lol.

[FieldsLikeB]

I'm hoping it does not affect DS at all. I've played off and on for years. I'm a senior an losing my game would make me very sad. I've worked hard collecting my dragons.

I've only had one actual problem with DS since it began that was not resolved fairly imo.

Sure there are aspects right now that are frustrating like not being able to finish event and conflicting events. But there's far more that I enjoy.

I love the tournaments most and yes I may not get all the milestones in this LB but I'll probably be playing DS until I'm gone.

[JustKay]

Honestly I don't understand the business decisions. We're talking the stuff in this game is not real, it's pixels, that cost them nothing to give away. It wouldn't be hard to have a huge number more satisfied customers than they currently have, just by reading through the forum and responding. Businesses with poor customer service simply don't last long in industries with a lot of competition, because when what your offering is the same as everyone else customer service is what sets you apart. Reading the article about the staff losing their jobs, they are clear that the industry is very competitive and they are struggling, but they have at least part of the answer being told to them over and over again, and instead they keep doing the exact opposite. Having happy customers also means when you google search the games, the top 5 answers don't include anyone slagging the game off and telling people to play a competitors game instead. Unlike now. Sure it's hard to keep everyone happy all of the time, but when you run a forum full of people not only moaning, but repeatedly pointing out that they've been moaning about the same things for years, it doesn't exactly give a good impression, does it?! So I'm not putting a penny more into this game, because, like any investment, I'd like to be sure I was going to get a return, and at this point, I'm not sure the company will continue for another 5 years, let alone the game. Which is really sad, because there's great stuff in this game! Maybe they'll sell some of their catalogue and forum members can buy it and make all those changes they want lol.

Pixels may be virtual, but serving them up isn't free. A lot of money goes into the systems that make this game happen, and the people who work long hours to keep things running 24/7. Then you have to pay the designers to make new dragons/habitats/decors. On top of that, you still need a team of developers cracking away at the next great feature. Even this forum that is free to voice your opinion on is costing them money.

Giving people what they want for free, is never a great business model unless you're secretly getting something back in return. In DS we're not really generating any useful content for S8 (like on FB or IG), so money is pretty much it. For 4 years now, they've been creating dragons we all want to have so for the most part I think they have that part right. Yes, there have been days where I've felt that the game is designed a little unfairly, but for the most part, playing for free hasn't stopped me from building up a really nice island with a lot of hard work. I think DS is one of those games that does well toeing the line between making money and providing a good playing experience for free, but that line moves depending on how well the the economy is doing.

[FireballFarm]

Pixels may be virtual, but serving them up isn't free. A lot of money goes into the systems that make this game happen, and the people who work long hours to keep things running 24/7. Then you have to pay the designers to make new dragons/habitats/decors. On top of that, you still need a team of developers cracking away at the next great feature. Even this forum that is free to voice your opinion on is costing them money.

Giving people what they want for free, is never a great business model unless you're secretly getting something back in return. In DS we're not really generating any useful content for S8 (like on FB or IG), so money is pretty much it. For 4 years now, they've been creating dragons we all want to have so for the most part I think they have that part right. Yes, there have been days where I've felt that the game is designed a little unfairly, but for the most part, playing for free hasn't stopped me from building up a really nice island with a lot of hard work. I think DS is one of those games that does well toeing the line between making money and providing a good playing experience for free, but that line moves depending on how well the the economy is doing.

I like to make regular purchases to support the games I play. But, out of all my favorite games, DS gets the smallest number of purchases. I want to support the game, I want and need gold...but the prices are just too high. Value does matter. A lot.

I think one of the places where S8 really missed the boat is in their valuation of items and, consequently, the prices on the so-called 'value' packs. Compared to my other mobile games, the dragons are overvalued and the gold is overpriced. That is not a winning combo. One, single pixel dragon does not have a real monetary value of $70. Sorry, S8, but that is simply ridiculous. Are we really supposed to believe a complete set of pixel dragons on a mobile phone game has a real money value of over $50,000? Really?

When I do finally break down and purchase gold (and that's what it feels like- negative, not a positive decision), I feel guilty. I should feel good and excited about what new, premium items I can buy with my shiny new in-app currency, like when I make purchases in my other games.


The most successful mobile games make their money from tens of thousands of micro-transactions. No one really thinks twice about spending $1 or $3, but most people definitely stop to think about dropping $15 on a mobile phone game. For $15, you can buy a couple burgers at Ruby Tuesday, or go see a new movie at the theater, rent 5 movies from Redbox, or go out and get a few beers at a bar.

If S8 offered occasional $1, $3 and $5 deals on small amounts of gold, more people would make regular purchases. I wouldn't bat an eye at spending $20 on gold, $1 at a time, every week...but I won't ever buy a $20 'value' pack with a dragon and food, coins, or maps. Food, coins, and maps have no monetary value because we can earn the (offensively tiny) amounts offered for free in less than a day through game play.

Value packs should consist of a discounted amount of gold and a free dragon tossed in as a bonus item. The gold is what we should be buying, not the dragon. We need gold to play the game. The dragon should be there to tempt you into making a gold purchase and then as a reward or bonus for making the purchase. Plus, the cost of dragons in the menu needs to be reduced. A purchase of $25 should provide enough gold to buy a couple dragons off the regular menu. When individual dragons are priced at 1200 or 2000 gold apiece, that is impossible. But, it's probably too late for all that now.

[9krm]

Agree 100% fireballfarm.
Always sorry to hear about layoffs though. Good luck to them.