Live data from Hacker News

Glitch Is Closing

glitch.com

41–50 of 109 posts

Re: Glitch Is Closing

#41
post #2

This saddens me on some aspects: 1. As a fellow game developer that published a game (and didn’t hit the jackpot). (We’re a small startup at the time launching our little game and it didn’t go well at all after a 2 hard-working year, about the same time when Glitch launched). 2. It’s the Flickr’s founding dream to create this, and if you read the backstory of Flickr, you’ll notice that the founder initially wanted to…

"Hard work" is worth exactly nothing if it doesn't provide value to someone else. I can assure you that walking out into my side yard and digging holes all day in the summer is much harder work than sitting in my air-conditioned home office writing code for the company I work for, but they receive no value for all that "hard work" and do value the time I spent in-chair in my office.

Work-for-pay is only as valuable as someone else willing to pay for it. No one cares how hard you worked, they care about how much value you delivered to them.

Re: Glitch Is Closing

#42

If my memory serves correctly, that's where Keita Takahashi[1] was currently stationed. Wonder what he'll do next? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keita_Takahashi

I read the OP thinking, this game seems as crazy as Katamari...and then came across your comment. The original Katamari games were so mindblowingly great that I'd buy anything Keita designed

Re: Glitch Is Closing

#43
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like they weren't adequate at marketing.. The concept of the game is appealing but I have never heard about it until today, the people who have played it have nothing but praise haven't seen a negative comment yet.

Here's one. Even though it is more varied and complex than your average Zynga pump-and-dump, at a fundamental level it is still the same kind of get-on-a-treadmill-and-keep-walking sort of game, where the primary form of achievement is watching numbers increase linearly as rewards start getting exponentially farther away. You feel almost as used while playing it as playing farmville, which kills enjoyment. That is, y…

Your comment reminds me of this:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2089049/

"In a bleak,automated future Britain Bing is one of millions who pedal exercise bikes to create energy as a living. Their currency is merits,tokens with which to buy food from vending machines and which can be increased or decreased according to which shows one watches on giant television screens. A popular choice is 'Botherguts',which humiliates over-weight citizens. But Bing uses his merits as entrance money to get sweet-voiced fellow worker Abi onto the TV talent contest 'Hot Shot'. Unfortunately,despite her talent,she is but one of a glut of singers and ends up on the porn channel 'Wraith Babes'.An enraged Bing saves up another lot of merits and gets onto 'Hot Shot' to denounce its falseness. But will he be seen as a new Messiah or a voice crying in the wind and forced to sell out?"

Re: Glitch Is Closing

#45

If my memory serves correctly, that's where Keita Takahashi[1] was currently stationed. Wonder what he'll do next? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keita_Takahashi

He doesn't seems to have been very involved with Glitch lately.

You can read up on it on his blog. It's dual language. Click on the pictures.

http://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_fh_diary_list...

Re: Glitch Is Closing

#47

It's a bit beside the point, but I'd like to note how refreshing it is to read an honest shutting-down-and-wrapping-up post from a startup that had big dreams. It's all too easy to mistake bluster for confidence, and end up writing a shutdown note that claims some kind of hollow victory. The true feelings of the Glitch team aren't being hidden here, and although it's sad, I think folks appreciate it a great deal.

Well put. First time I see a candid shutdown notice with emotion and humility to this degree.

Re: Glitch Is Closing

#48
I played Glitch for a couple hours once and it's pretty obvious to me why it didn't work.

After all the pre-launch hype about changing the face of gaming forever, the game was dreadfully boring -- you basically walk around and click on things. I described it to a friend as "FarmVille where you don't get your own farm." Sure, there was a lot of art; I think I had my pick of several dozen hairstyles and encountered hundreds of types of objects. They must have drawn thousands of art assets.

There is no lesson to take away here except that games live or die on their mechanics and depth. Zynga has shown us exactly how far you can go with pretty, social games that give you just enough little dopamine kicks to keep the window open.

Re: Glitch Is Closing

#49
post #2

This saddens me on some aspects: 1. As a fellow game developer that published a game (and didn’t hit the jackpot). (We’re a small startup at the time launching our little game and it didn’t go well at all after a 2 hard-working year, about the same time when Glitch launched). 2. It’s the Flickr’s founding dream to create this, and if you read the backstory of Flickr, you’ll notice that the founder initially wanted to…

More likely that in the world of game development, hard work is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success.

While I had not heard of Glitch until this, I can appreciate the wrenchingly painful admission that this venture has reached its end; and must be wound down.

I tell myself that I am allowed to fail as many times as is needed to succeed. But it hurts every time.

Post reply on HN