Thank you for reminding me to change this. Back to Wai ting.

Hummm "easterning" up the things a bit, eh? Asian, I like it ;P

Yeah, that's rich, coming from a Thievin' Bastard, right? ;)

Well, at least nobody stole our kidneys . even Judas did not :)

I don't know, I've had a sore back since I got home. O_o

Wow. Until now we had THREE GOG officials visiting this thread (if I counted correctly). This is so great and it was so nice to getting to know you a bit. I just found you on our signed card as well. Thank you for participating. You are all invited here. Let's see if we can break a record :)

Improving public relations, and changing the behavior that damaged GOG's reputation, are two different things: the former *may* lead to the latter, but that generally isn't how it works in the corporate world. If GOG really intends to change it's behavior, doing that alone will more than suffice to repair the damage to it's reputation, so this PR event wasn't/isn't at all necessary, and that simple fact should tell you all you really need to know about the fundamental nature of public relations -- that it's primary purpose is to improve a corporation's image *without* fundamentally changing how it does business.

So we'll see very quickly if GOG really intends to change how it does business, because if it does it will do it immediately, rather than soon™.

This relates to GOG and the community, so I wanted to share it here:

https://www.gog.com/forum/general/this_weeks_enigmatic_hint/post6616

rampancy - "If GOG is still wondering why things have soured between the community-at-large (or at least, took a turn for the worse) over the past few years, this is one of the signs as to why.

The point, IMHO, of the Enigmatic Hints was never to correctly guess what games were coming, nor was it to try to undermine GOG's policy of secrecy. It was an opportunity for the company and the community to communicate with each other in a fun, amusing, and engaging way. Each side could engage with the other, without the community feeling as if we were shouting fruitlessly at a wall. We actually felt we were talking to people in the company in a way that actually felt like what we said was being listened to and acknowledged, even if it only mattered in the trivial context of wild speculation about a game release ..."

I'm leaving out the final paragraph because I feel that's a separate matter. I understand the gripe with that last paragraph but I don't think it's the main thrust of rampancy's post.

But I agree with what was said, for the most part. Not by intention, but by neglect have we lost some of the feel of how it used to was. Shoot, I think I even mentioned the EHints thread specifically earlier in this thread, as something I'd like to see get a bit more lovin'. Or some other recent thread. Last week at any rate.

The thing is, that EHints thread - and similar ones of old - makes me feel like the store is being run by people who are as dorky about games as we are. Not doing it because "Hey - these gamers have money!" but because they love this shit as much as we do, and 'ohbytheway maybe we can earn a living while hanging out with game dorks like us'.

And look, even after the folks went over there and had their sit-downs and copious notes were taken and many nods were given, how many people have asked a simple question about a brand new AAA release - Elex - and have yet to get an answer on whether or not the gOg version got the Day One patch? Two possible answers: Yes. No. Can't get a simple answer on a ~$50 title?

Well, here ya go, boys and girls. 8th reply yesterday, someone asked about the patch. And five people so far have asked, so let's call it $250 in revenue waiting for a one-word answer. 20 words should they want to explain if it's No.

Two different issues WRT interaction with us, I know, but those 6 chairs are still warm from the visit. Talking to the community - whether for fun or to answer a significant do-I-buy-or-don't-I-buy-the-$50-game question - isn't difficult. It used to feel like the store had a bit of a personality, but now - outside of us regulars and our conversations - it just feels like a store. And when they don't answer a $250-and-counting question for over 24 hours, it's a store that isn't paying quite the attention to its storefront as it should. I mean, they started the NEWS thread, so shouldn't someone be monitoring it AND answering purchase-related questions? Or did they hire Marzooker for the NEWS threads?

But anyway, assuming they get on it with regard to answering sales questions (and that's an assumption, not a certainty), it wouldn't hurt to have some fun gOg-initiated conversation about game stuff... and they need not have any sort of giveaway affiliation. Kinda prefer they didn't, to be honest. Would just be nice to feel like we're buying stuff from people who eat and breathe games like many around here do. Make it feel more like the local store, ya know? It doesn't need to be a weekly barrage, but how about a few times a year they start a conversation about our hobby? When I make these completely optional purchases, I want to buy from folks who are openly and genuinely enthusiastic about what they sell.

Last, the EHints thread problem has a simple solution that will probably work: politely ask people not to post spoilers.

Okay, this is last, for real. I know the above sounds a bit needy - "Why won't they talk to us?!? <sob>" - but I like games. They aren't a necessity. No one I know in-person, except for one nephew, plays games like I do. So it's kinda like going to the local hobby shop and shooting the bull with the owner about rockets and trains and sniffing model airplane glue, er, never mind that last part. Or you can make the same purchase anonymously on Amazon or at WalMart. I prefer the first option: it keeps my enthusiasm high. And that's not just the glue talking.

I went ahead and deleted the paragraph too.

Good post. We did actually bring this general topic up with them and I really hope it landed. This was one thing I felt would really help connect back to the forum community - more interaction (and not just about the business aspect of GOG). Unfortunately, I didn't really follow the EHint thread, so never brought that up as a specific example (though now I wish I had), but hopefully we'll see more of this type of interaction.

Wow! I saw one of their streams and was completely convinced the background, table etc. were all chroma keyed in. That's awesome if it is all actually real. With the lighting they used etc. it looked like it must be 3D CGI LOL.

Afterall, we have reached the point in time where you see photos of a sunset from a friend's vacation on social media and think to yourself "wow, that real world photo looks almost as good as The Witcher 3". :)

Nope, it's all really real. They actually built it :-)