New Soup Kitchen

*Sigh* So cynical. I guess it's true, SC doesn't care about it's loyal players, only about the next player to come along. 😔

I thought this was about the new design for the soup kitchen.. Welp those last posts were depressing!! :confused:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MiloIsMyDog

Oh. There's also the possibility that these graphics play well in the Asian markets too ... whose traditional construct is drastically different and who might not have these nostalgic sentiments to western "old timey" depictions.

All speculation about changes. But you're with the changes until you're not and then you'll move on. But companies have already built your moving on into their business model.

---

Am frm Asia, but i haven't seen a soup kichen with this color or in this design. Am not sure many asians will like it or not but "IF" it blends with the environment and other machines, ill be happy :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MiloIsMyDog

Well. This is not my industry of vocation but the trends I'm aware of for SC (and King and Other "freemium" games) is 1) the profit is not in player retention - it's in new player acquisition because 2) less than 1% of players account for like 60-70% of all revenue. Most of those purchases come from 1 time buyers and within the first 15 hours of playing.

So if SC would like to show its investors it is going to be successful in the future it has to show growth in new demographics and rising adoption rates from users who purchase quickly vs player retention. Us old timey continued players aren't the target revenue source.

This is from the most recent "investor" article I've seen about freemium games. Google news search of freemium revenue should bring a load of articles that have more concrete numbers than my memory approximations.

Regardless. This is the just the way of business. Apps are ephemeral in a way... So you can never hold on too tightly to what was and what is, the life cycle of businesses won't allow that. Sad anyway though, especially if you truly enjoy a game.

---

That makes a lot of sense.

Anyway I was thinking that if Hay Day isn't already bright and cartoony I don't know what is.
The fainting goats, the chicken snorkels, kittens that have eyes like Puss. Greg, Tilly, et al.
Bright red everywhere you look.

And being an old timer not only on Hay Day but IRL, I like the Soup Kitchen.
And I generally embrace change in Hay Day, or at least don't get upset about it.
Change in color and pixels in a game is a lot easier to accept than some real life changes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sparkly888

That makes a lot of sense.

Anyway I was thinking that if Hay Day isn't already bright and cartoony I don't know what is.
The fainting goats, the chicken snorkels, kittens that have eyes like Puss. Greg, Tilly, et al.
Bright red everywhere you look.

And being an old timer not only on Hay Day but IRL, I like the Soup Kitchen.
And I generally embrace change in Hay Day, or at least don't get upset about it.
Change in color and pixels in a game is a lot easier to accept than some real life changes.

---

So true Sparkles , so true.

We are asked, why do things change. Well take it from an Aspie. All things change. They change because someone somewhere thinks it is better. Why did my real life stove change. It came with only one normal burner. Plus two power burners and one accu simmer burner. The power burners are in front and therefore determined to be most used but the low setting is still a full boil. So to simmer I have to move to the one simmer burner in the back and hope that I didn't use a big pot. Last weeks chicken was underdone even though it sat on that burner "simmering" for an hour. Heaven forbid I need to simmer more than one item.

As for fitting within the farm setting. So many other things don't belong on a farm either. When was the last time anyone saw a sushi bar in a farm? Farmers generally sell their goods from a stand like our road side stand or take them to market in a truck. They don't put out tables and chairs and sell from pasta kitchens and coffee kiosks in the middle of the fields Those things themselves belong in the town or better yet a mall. If we are to use the reason that something doesn't fit in a farm setting, we have a lot more things that need to be moved to town.

My grandmothers farm stove was nice and shiny and she was very proud of it. Granted it was a slightly darker blue and had six burners But grandpa's sewing machine was black. Since it was still peddle operated, black was the only color they made at the time.. None the less, nothing matched. Things were replaced and updated only after they broke.

At least this stove works. I'll take a shiny new one verses an old rusty one any day.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GladeMaid

*Sigh* So cynical. I guess it's true, SC doesn't care about it's loyal players, only about the next player to come along. 😔

---

So by this logic,my old husband doesn't care about his old wife because he bought me new things? Seems to me the opposite is true. To me it means they care more about us loyal players by giving us a brand new stove. See it all depends on your outlook.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GladeMaid

That is one of the best ideas I have read in a long time, AsYouWish.

i would just like to know the thinking behind these changes. Why? Why? Why? It just seems so unnecessary, unless there is a greater plan to turn our lovely Farm game into a Barbie Kitchen/Horse Race game? If there is I'd like to know now, so I can make an informed choice as to whether to continue down that road with SC or not.

---

Hear, hear! I dislike the Barbie soup kitchen as well, and I don't think it's mean to say so. It's not far behind the UFO Hatmaker in terms of "not fitting in," to my mind.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GladeMaid

Did you hear about the recent survey that showed 49% of people aged 50 years and over play online games daily? That goes up to over 60% if you add in those who play weekly. There are A LOT more older people in the world than there are youths. If you want to target a large, reliable-income-source market that isn't going to lose interest in your game because they have the concentration level of a gnat, then forget the youth demographic. Listen to what your older players are saying.

---

A gnat!!! Bwahahahaha. Truer words haven't been spoken. Glad I put my coffee down before I read that. I would have been cleaning my screen off now instead of typing. 🙀 I am in the older player catagory, but still have the concentration level of a gnat at times. Just ask my poor suffering nh.

I like the idea that we have an option. While my farm is a mix of the incredible tacky and rustic elements, I would like to be able to have my machines more in a rustic feel and my decos on the tacky side. Think yard art. I can hide the machines but then I forget to load them. So while I am not happy with the changes I will embrace them and continue on.

MiloIsADog, terrific and insightful posts! :thumbsup: I really enjoyed reading them.

What you've read about attracting new players makes sense in general. Access to the soup kitchen is earned at an intermediate level. In this case, it probably is about testing the design waters with a pre-existing bunch of players and less about attracting newbies.

At first, I had a negative reaction to the soup kitchen. It looked so different from the existing machines I had around it. The context made it feel disharmonious. (And maybe it still does clash with the other machines.) But now, I look at the soup kitchen, and I like it more and more. The design is uber charming. I love the notch marks on the cutting board, and all the ingredient/utensil details. I love the curve of the "soup" in the pot. And the color is more stimulating - in a good way for me. I feel just a touch happier and more engaged when I'm looking at the bright colors of the soup kitchen than some of the other machines. Maybe the other machines will get updated eventually with more details and a fresh coat of paint. Cast iron can be painted in real life too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LetTheMusicPlay

MiloIsADog, terrific and insightful posts! :thumbsup: I really enjoyed reading them.

What you've read about attracting new players makes sense in general. Access to the soup kitchen is earned at an intermediate level. In this case, it probably is about testing the design waters with a pre-existing bunch of players and less about attracting newbies.

---

Think about when you first started playing. There wasn't a lot to do, and your farm was really really simple. If you fit GM's gnat principle (or not but still) you clicked around to other farms and saw how amazing they were to look at with machines and deco you could not yet have. So your intermediate level machine, that I can not obtain because my level is too low, can motivatite me to try and level faster - an incentive to make that 1st (and w/ some probability, only) in-app purchase. High level, loyal players are the carrot in this game. Don't think that you don't matter or don't contribute. Just don't forget there is a business behind the facade of community here. And that's okay. That's normal. It has good outcomes... Revenue for a company to continue maintaining a product I enjoy.

Companies do not give us things because they think we'll enjoy them. You could think it cynical - but you could just be realistic about it. I play a freemium game. I sometimes devote real money to my virtual farm. I will do so until I no longer want to. What the company behind the game does is not for my personal benefit nor is it personally against me. They make a product I enjoy. Sometimes that includes a feature I enjoy less or not at all.

With that being said. I don't actually care what the soup kitchen or any other machine eventually becomes. I'm not a creative/visual person so barely decorate anyway or even noticed aesthetic changes until this thread. 😉