Topic
The official shutdown thread …
Glitch is closing. The details are here: www.glitch.com/closing/
We will do our best to answer everyone's questions (but please take a moment to read the announcement and FAQ before jumping in). Information on refunds is here: www.glitch.com/closing/refu...
Over the next few weeks we'll going to be releasing all kinds of things that were saved for later, nearly-done, previously-shelved or are in various states of design. We will do our best to help everyone get the most of the time which remains — you've all been given (or will shortly be given) 2,500 credits and a free subscription.
New signups and payments are now closed.
I feel sick.
[Edited to add, a few hours later]: I feel much better. Thank you everyone, for all the love! Amazing, beautiful and touching.
Replies
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GUTTED!!!
First of all ^^^ WHAT THEY ALL SAID! This was the best game I have ever played with the most creative and brilliant everything from art to music to players to devs and everything in between! Thank you all and may the giants bless and prosper each and every one of you!
Now to my complaints and arguments (Come on Stoot - you know you expected them).
I blame my son and daughter! I invited them and they wouldn't play so I don't feel like TS has failed me - I feel like I failed Glitch :(
I told my son the game was closing and he wanted to know why. I said as far as I could tell it wasn't making enough money and flash is on it's way out. (I didn't tell him it was his fault - yet)
My son plays Battle Pirates and he compared Glitch to that and said it's no wonder it wasn't making enough money. He said anyone who pays to play Battle Pirates pays at least 50 to 100 dollars PER MONTH! He said giving subscribers 400 credits per month in a game where the most expensive item we can buy costs a paltry 75 credits is crazy. He said opening up whole areas to players for free was crazy and he talked about a lot of things he thought would allow TS to make more money.
-Making name changes cost credits instead of currents (his game does)
-Making it possible to speed up learning times by paying credits (his game lets him pay to speed up repair times)
-Making players band together and use credits to create special areas or items they could have control over such as marketplaces instead of letting them create and access them for free (such as resource routes)
-Making certain items available only after goals have been met to make us want to achieve those goals (such as build a new tower level to access a new recipe or item) and make it possible to do it faster if you pay money (in his game you can speed up anything if you are willing to pay for it)
-Increasing the cost of buyable items and/or reducing the amount of credits we get for our money
-Making it possible to pay for the privilege of escaping from grinding for resources (such as buy a mining robot for credits)
-Setting a goal that will drain massive amounts of resources away from us in return for rewards you can't get any other way (street creation was ideal for that so I don't know why TS ditched it)
He also said the flash thing is no obstacle to making money as Battle Pirates is also flash based and regularly crashes but that hasn't stopped them from making money.
I said Glitch players come here because this isn't a game that uses every trick in the book to get money from us so they would probably lose us if they started doing that.
I said I didn't subscribe because the game has anything I want, or need, to pay for.
I said I paid a subscription because I wanted to support TS and the developers and keep the game going.
He said that sounds like a charity and relying on charity is no way to run a business as real life charities are tax deductable and tend to get funding from governments or other agencies to offset their costs. He said that's why it failed.
Is he right Stoot?
I'd be willing to accept nasty changes rather than see the game close!
I'd be willing to contribute to a fund to keep you guys afloat while you make the changes needed to make Glitch financially viable.
If all else fails I'd rather see you shrink the world, make the game subscriber only, and give us a very basic or even crippled version of Glitch so I can still pet a piggy to relax every now and then than see Glitch close!
Please Stoot - pare the game down to something simple and manageable that you can run as a hobby for as long as players cover the costs and your time - do anything but don't kick us out!
If all else fails just keep my money and my contact details and email me if you start a new game because I'll be there with bells on no matter what it is. -
I'm crying at work. Big huge just-been-dumped/someone-died tears. I'm hovering between denial and bargaining, but obviously: if there had been a way to make this work, you would have done it, TS.
I've never ever played a MMO before this - I was always turned off by the violence, the need for hair-trigger reflexes, the mean attitudes. When I hesitantly joined Glitch, I found nothing but welcoming new friends. It was eye-opening. I never, ever had to wince away from something upsetting or block half the playerbase just to carve out a space to enjoy myself.
I'd just gotten to the point where I felt the best parts of the game were opening up to me -- I explored nearly every corner of Ur that I could. I'm 19 streets away from seeing everything.
I just finished a workroom in my house, with all the SDBs I wanted. I was expanding my house and my street, and visiting everywhere I could.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to experience all of this. I'm gutted, but I wouldn't trade a moment of it. Being able to imagine Ur with you has been one of the best gaming experiences of my entire life. It came at a wonderful time for me - I injured my jaw in early September, so speaking and eating were painful -- but my Glitch could jump around and do anything she wanted, and in Ur, I wasn't limited by pain.
I wish I could be more eloquent. You're wonderful people, and it's been an honor. I hope you know that this game meant so very much to so many of us. - Thank you so much for this wonderful, strange, beautiful game. "What is not forgotten is never really lost", indeed. Wishing the Tiny Speck team all the best.
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I've been around for a little over a year now, and I've never posted to the forums before. I just wanted to say:
Thank you TS.
Your funny little game helped get me through the worst year of my life. The community spirit and happy little animals helped me keep a positive attitude through events that would have beaten me down otherwise. You are all wonderful people, and you will be missed.
Thank you TS. Thank you a thousand times. - OH NO!!! Was the first thing I thought then felt my heart sink to my feet. NOT again!! was my second thought. Then I felt sick and fought the actual tears that stung my eyes. I went to tell my husband so he could watch for the refund. Then, the words that came out of his mouth this morning was, "Now you have more time to spend on the treadmill". I laughed and thought to myself,"What a turd". He was joking with me but he is right. lol Now I have a heavy heart as I write to say Thank you TS for giving us such a great game even thought it isn't here to stay. I imagine you all have heavy hearts too and would love for this game to stick around. I can't imagine what could have been the problem. It doesn't even matter. This game and everyone involved will be missed. I am glad I was a part of it. Lots of love goes out to all the ones who worked so hard to keep this such an enjoyable experience. You did an excellent job at doing your best to keeping us all happy. I love how your were so involved and mingled with us in the forums and in the game. I wish you the best in your future endeavours. Great big ((HUGS)) and Hi 5's!
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Sometimes I feel like Glitch is so perfect, it must have been made just for me. Then I look around and see so many like-minded Glitchen, and I realize that it's so perfect it was made for ALL of us.
Where else could I find a game where I can actually look as silly as I feel, where I can go on quests or just hang around my home and grow herbs, where I can talk with other real people with real lives, pet grunting piggies and create art out of food, or have a different outfit and hair color every day?
So Stoot and everyone else who worked on this crazy, beautiful game, I would just like to thank you for putting your hearts into it, and for opening it up and sharing it with us for a time. I only wish it could have lasted longer.
So much love,
Robyn -
Oh, Glitch! I just had to close my office door to have a cry...
I stumbled upon this game a bit over a year ago during a really bad time in my life. It's given me a lot of joy and fun and distraction. I have met kind and lovely people who have given me hope and love.
I am so sad to hear this devastating news. Much love to you all. -
Thank you for creating a beautiful world filled with a quirky sense of humor. No matter what mood I was in when I logged in, I would always be smiling soon after entering Ur. The community you fostered has been wonderful to be a part of, and I'm sorry to see it go.
Good luck with your future endeavors. -
I have no idea where I will go now. I have made a lot of friends here, and this is the only MMO I ever enjoyed.
I wish there was a way to keep this up and going, or reopening again - this game is so much better than anything I've ever played, mostly because of the fun and love from the community and especially the staff.
I really don't have a lot more words than that - I just wish the game could and would stay open. I think it's a wonderful change and a great little game that I've loved since I found it just over a year ago. - This is so sad! I've loved playing Glitch, and I'll really miss it. Thank you, TS -- whatever else happens, you've brought me, and lots and lots of others, a lot of joy in these past few years.
- This is devastating...not a day goes by that my kids don't talk about all the things they plan to do when they are old enough to play Glitch...I can't believe it's over...
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...are you sure the Giants aren't just imagining this? Maybe some kind of "Hey, let's tell 'em we're closing, and see what happens" kinda thing. What am I going to do with my Real Life? I'll have to take up knitting...with my 'shut-off' lap top on my lap...and yarn all over the place...
You folks at TS are the Best! Thanks for all your wonderful work. I'm devastated that this beautiful world is coming to an end. - This is, was, and always will be a sweet and brilliant game. I feel like not a single moment of the slightly more than a year I spent on it has been wasted. Glitch forever!
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Thank you for creating something unique and wonderful. I can honestly say that it is one of the best communities I've been a part of. Even though I haven't played for a bit, I do think of all of my fellow glitchen often.
I truly wish you, TS, and the community all the best. Until next time....
Marco (a.k.a. crazybat) -
So sorry for all you great guys at TS, you must be devastated :(
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to experience this wonderful game - the fun, the joy, the madness, all the lovely people and the stunning artwork. I've loved every minute of it. It's tragic that a game like this can't be commercially viable but it's been a blast.
(((hugs to all))) -
Terrible news; I'm so very sorry for the players who love this game and even more so for the staff the poured their heart and soul into it.
I hope you can keep some of the team together and go onto something else even greater! - Wow. This is so very sad. I just joined a few days ago, and I am just saddened by this. This is the most beautiful, witty game I've ever played. I wish it could have garnered a large enough base. Cheers to you, and best wishes in the future.
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Only yesterday I was wondering to myself how long Glitch would be around, speculating about if I'd be playing it five years from now and hoping I would be. But as my dear mum used to say, you never know what's around the corner.
Right now I'm in the middle of a very difficult bereavement, and I've played every day. I've come to realise that Glitch is a sort of refuge for me. A beautiful, brightly coloured, musical, silly, funny refuge from the real world, and I will miss it and everyone here hugely.
I'd like to say thank you to all the developers, artists and musicians for sharing their wonderful, inspiring work with us, and I hope to meet up with you again somewhere down the line. -
I have only been playing this game for 3 months, and I feel so very sad.I cannot begin to know what it must feel like to others who have played it for longer.It was worth the $14.99 a month I paid not because I really used the tokens or currents.I still had tons left over each month.It was worth it because I loved the game, and wanted to support it.
Glitch has ruined me for other games I think as I have frantically looked for something similar and have found nothing, zero, zilch.
So with a heavy heart I say goodbye, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for a game well made.I am not sure if I will play much longer as it will just make me sadder as the countdown to dooms day gets closer.Off to grab a bowl of ice cream, a blankie and watch a sad movie.Breakups are so very hard. :( -
I didn't even play much anymore, yet I kept an active subscription simply for the good vibes I got from this game and Tiny Speck. I'm a hard core EVE player, and Glitch was awesome to just log into here and there. It was mood-altering, and in a good way.
Can't tell you how sorry I am to hear this news. Please don't refund my money, and please don't give up on creating games. There are so many two-bit idiots that call themselves devs these days that it can't be good for the industry to lose the bright and creative minds behind Glitch to the corporate world. -
I'm glad I'm not the only one *stupidly?* crying about this. I know there are other things to feel worse about (all the people who lost everything during the storms, the people who died in a recent explosion in Indianapolis, etc.) BUT I didn't know THOSE people...
My first thoughts when I read the news are OMFG-not again! and THIS SUCKS!
You have all become my family and friends that matter! It hurts hard knowing that we will not be able to share fun times here anymore. Just about a year and a half ago, some of us were feeling the sadness from FS ending. Then it was a frantic search to find something else. It was denial. This could NOT be the end of it all. We had just gotten to know one another. NOW, it feels really done. I am so so so sad!
I hope that I am wrong. I hope that we can still communicate (I'm on Google) or better yet find another game again. This year has been rough for me and my family. What am I going to do now?
Oh and TS, what good is extra credits to spend now when the game is ending?! - Really sad that such a creative, topsy turvy world that was safe beautiful and enchanting for any age will be gone. :,( there aren't enough words or emoticons. Thank you tiny spec for your creation and for fighting so hard to sustain it.I loved spending time as supanova conversing with giants and finding secret places in amazing streets. Good bye dear sweet glitch world.
- It was an honour and a pleasure to work for Tiny Speck for the short time I graced the beanbag -- the people were incredible, both Speckers and players alike, the technology was quite clever, and I truly believed that Glitch could only ever be a huge success. I'm still in shock over this news and need more time to fuly collect my thoughts and emotions, but while I feel for my former colleagues, I know you guys will move on and excel wherever you end up. Stoot, et al.: I still believe in you. I always have.
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Well i am still in total shock and has taken me an hour just to calm down and write something. I have been a software developer since 1986 and Glitch is amazingly done that I still cant really believe that it cant stay open. I have played many Multi player games and it is right up there with the best.
I think that closing it so quickly is even more of a shock to us all. TS please have a look at MindArks Entropia. It is similar to what Glitch was trying to achive and has been around for many many years. They give away their tech to partners (software companies) for free so please please research the posibility of using there platform to do a glitch like planet to be part of there world. Or look at how they have prolonged their survival.
While not really allowed my son play's this with me and it has helped us stay in contact thorught my devorce and as such I am indedted to TS/Glitch for life.
Many many thanks for all the wicked coding and proving that there are some very talented people out there.
Love to all
Zelda
PS. Look at MindArks Entropia, it really might be a way out of this for your Dev team - I think the worst part for me was that I just got here. Here I was, running around with my fun Domo hat on my new favorite game, and I find out its closing. There was so much I hadn't discovered in a game this original, and it makes me very sad.
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You know what the worst part is?
This was the only time in my life I found some place where I wasn't a freak and a loser and an outcast as a pagan pansexual genderqueer geeky artist chick.
I guess it's time to go back to the real world where I never belonged to begin with. - I just wish there was some way i could fix this. If homestuck could crowdsource 2.5 million, then why cant this game do the same
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My first MMO, loved every second I was on. I will be forever grateful to TS. The laughter I got from the sometimes scary but usually very funny Global Chat will always stick with me. I will miss nibbiling my piggies, milking butterflys and squoozing chickens.
Thank you a million times over and Warmest Regards to everyone at TS. -
I feel just as bad now, if not worse, than when I read that Glitch is closing yesterday evening. (I've been crying profusely every time I think about it.) I keep thinking about how much the developers and players care about the game, and it's just so sad to see it end. I'm glad I got to experience it even if it was only for a few months.
It was a good game, a kind game, and it left the world a better place than it found it.
Sniff sniff. ...Glitch. -
I'll miss you all -- glitchen and staff -- more than I can say. I was an Alpha (well I got to play for the last hour the game was in Alpha :P ) and almost every mouse click brought another wonder, more amazement, and truly AWESOME preposterousness!
I am so very, very sorry for us, but more so for Tiny Speck. You guys are all awesome and gave us so much fun. A world we could lose ourselves (RL selves) in and have an outstanding time experiencing all the majic and silliness and wonder and FUN!!
Great big huge {{{{ HUGS }}}} to all of you. - Great game! Best of luck to all the devs! Quite a bit of fun while it lasted.
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Another post from me...
Fitful night sleeping. That feels like such a selfish comment when I know Tiny Speckers are aching more than I ever could.
I want to stand on the edge of Ur where all of our tears are gathering, forming a puddle, a pool, a creek, a raging flood...soon an ever-growing ocean of sorrowful, joyful, horrible, fabulous tears.
I want to stand in the center of TS HQ and hug and thank and express my gratitude for a home I didn't expect to find, a family I didn't know I needed, fun I didn't know I was missing.
Nothing can erase what I've experienced here. Nothing can replace it or replicate it. I may feel it again, but it still will not be the same.
I was born a Glitch and did not know it. I lost that over the years. But now as I stand on the edge of the nothingness that will remain once Ur has been unimagined, I keep smiling at the gift of renewed wonder, awe and fascination I have been given.
So thank you again for giving me such an amazing gift. You let me step into the life you breathed into pixels, bounce on the moon, walk in the clouds, fly amongst the butterflies. All this opened my eyes to the bits of Glitch in the real world. I will continue to find them, to share them, to celebrate them in my daily life. -
I keep telling myself my nose is runny and my eyes are watery because I have a cold, but I think the Kleenex box and I both know the truth. :( I'm just devastated. There's just something so *special* about this game, and its loss is one to the soul of creativity everywhere.
I stared at the refund page. The idea of getting $126 back is nothing to sneeze at, especially right before Christmas, but I realized I didn't *want* it back. You guys have earned every cent I've given you, and I have no regrets about the money I've spent. Please pass it on to your employees and everyone who made this game so wonderful and unique. -
Here's an article on the end of Glitch (and what that means for social gaming in general), in German.
http://tinyurl.com/coun3sl -
This has been an amazing game. I'm so sad to see it go. All of the staff has been wonderful, and I'm sorry this just couldn't make it. Thank you for making this game, thank you for everything that you've done for all your players. This was something great that you put together, and I hope you're all proud of what you created.
I wish you all the best. Thank you, just...thank you for making this a reality. -
Wait!!! You were just about to win the game! :(
In so many ways this seems to be the most fitting statement I can think to post. -
My heart hurts.
And I wish you could write something like "Everyone of you would have to give x $ so we could keep on for x months." Wouldn't it work if you made Glitch paid? Perhaps lots of us would pay or pay more if we knew that it would help to keep Glitch alive!
And I wish people wouldn't have reacted so allergic, when that invitation feat was launched. I was a bit angry already, then. But now it's even sadder to think about it.
Thank you, Tiny Speck! -
I agree with everything everyone's said, this place has meant a lot to me since I've been playing here. It's the community and the inteligent play that doesn't rely on me wanting to shoot/kill/chase/attack/defend people/things/places that I love.
I do wonder however, when TS says there is nothing that can be done, why they haven't felt that players might be interested in helping to keep such a vivid community alive, and why we can't help fix this - or, if it truely is TOO late, why we weren't asked to help earlier? Didn't you trust us TS?
I've opted for my $80+ dollars back - I couldn't honestly afford them in the first place, BUT... I signed up for a sub because I wanted to give something to the company who'd created a game that gave me an outlet and a place to be ME when I wasn't well enough to be myself in the real world. I would like many be glad to keep paying in order to keep even a small part of Ur open for us glitchen to keep coming back to.
You've said you'll answer questions - well I've read the FAQ, and if money is one of the biggest issues then I still wonder why certain things haven't been tried?
Advertising - there's no advertising on this site - surely that's a revenue that should be looked at.
Merchandising - The number of times I've heard people wishing they could have a rube doll to display at home, or some glitchmas cracker earrings, why has there never even been t-shirts and mouse mats available? Or if you wanted to stay online only, then what about screen savers and glitchmas desktop lights? These last two would be much easier to sell direct and I know I'd be one of many who'd buy them.
Donations button - every forum, game, free site etc. I can think of has an option for people to make a donation... why did Glitch never have this?
IF there is a chance for glitch (or a smaller 'glitch lite' to still continue to exist if it's subsidised in various ways then please please tell us now?! - This sucks :( Glitch was my favorite MMO - and I've played nearly everyone of them. I gave my sub money to Glitch over games like WoW and EQ because I like how Glitch was different, how it was built on social systems like an MMO should be. I refused the refunds and I wish luck to TS and whatever they tackle next. Thanks for the many months of gaming bliss.
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As many people have said, Glitch helped them through hard times in their lives... the same goes for me. Glitch was my happy place. The existence of a non-violent MMO gave me hope. The characters made me laugh and smile. I will really miss the uplifting and comments at the start of each new game day, the silliness of the Rube (seaweed and olives!) and the yoga frogs.
We will be able to export our data (at least our snaps) so we can keep those memories? - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Guys keep the monies. Don't want it back. Amused myself to death and beyond in Glitch.
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Hello,
I just read on RockPaperShotgun that Glitch was closing, and though I only played it for about a month or so back in Aug-Sep, I still have fond memories and a soft spot in my heart for it as it helped me through a difficult period in my life, and also was a very calming and unique game.
I ultimately drifted on from Glitch because I felt General chat had too many attention-hungry trolls and drama queens in residence for my palate (though the people in Helper chat were exceedingly awesome and helpful), and I could not find any other obvious game communities to really break into and get to know people from. That was, in my humble opinion, one of the things Glitch severely lacked in terms of staying power (something that may have helped would have been, say, community streets much like how player housing was, except for a group of people (much like "guilds") to build, and incentives for other people to come hang out there and get to meet others in a social environment and not just as part of a resource route.) That and it was grindy as all hell to do anything if you happened to not have the social aspect to fall back on. Perhaps you could have sent out exit surveys to those that hadn't logged on in a while, asking them why. Some games do that.
But the community in general was great, in terms of random people I'd fleetingly meet on the streets, and I have no complaints about the staff either. While I did not end up feeling at home here, there were many things to love, and I did sense it had captured the hearts of many others and I do feel sad that you guys have decided to close down. I am sorry I never got to the point where I would have been a contributor in terms of a subscription. Did you ever consider using Kickstarter or a similar crowdfunding platform to raise both funds and awareness about the game to help keep it going?
Funny thing too, I had just seen a Glitch ad on the net less than 1 week ago (because I was using a machine without Adblock) and it brought a smile to my face. Very sad to hear this news. - Its only few days back i joined, and you guys made me fall in Luv with it !! Really sad to find my journey on Glitch so short and coming to an end, Wish i had more time !
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If I could pay to keep Glitch, I would.
But is that enough? If a good proportion of those who currently play for free were to subscribe, would that be enough? I'm guessing that they looked at 'subscriber only' as an option when they considered 'all the options'. -
Friend of mine clued me in on the news last night. I was never able to play this game nearly as much as I wanted to recently due to my crap-tastic laptop and that was going to change for the new year. Now I hear that I won't even be able to enjoy this game with my new platform at all because the plug is being pulled :(.
Really dis-heartening to hear and I can only try to imagine how devastated the dev team must feel after putting so much heart, charm, and quality into this awesome game. I loved everything about this game (the world, the lore, the art, the chill community) and now I feel terrible for not purchasing subscriptions when I had the chance and spending more time on this game. :( Very sad day.
I wish the crew over at Tiny Speck the best of luck. You guys did excellent work with this game. Very saddened to see that it has to go. -
This is very sad news. I have enjoyed seeing Glitch develop and grow into something really quite amazing over the past few years. It's been a lovely little place to escape to, and I've grown used to it being there, I suspect it is going to leave a bit of a hole when it's gone because there's nothing else like it out there.
I am going to miss Glitch - that's not something I've ever said about a computer game before. -
Very sad news, indeed.
It was an honor to be a part of this game, and even more of an honor to have contributed in a very small way to it. Years from now, I can't wait to frame the contract on my wall and tell people about the time the once-small company TS gave me all the bragging rights in the world.
Here's to what comes after, whatever that may be. -
I might not have entered the world for ~120 days. But I'm gutted on the news that Glitch is closing. I kept my subscription going despite my lack of play just to support such an awesome game and it's developers. It's been a fun few years. From the start of the Alpha when I joined, right up until my own project launched and got in way of being able to play so much after the unlaunch. To everyone I've played with over that time, thanks for the memories. It's been awesome and is a truly sad day.
Devs, I know you'll all go on to do the most amazing of things next, best of luck to each and every one of you. If our paths ever cross some day, I'll buy the first round.
Simon -
I sort of feel as though this came out of nowhere. For a game that is seemingly fairly transparent, this news came out of the blue. You never gave us a chance to help. Even if it would have had the same outcome, it still helps to know that you DID something to TRY to save something you feel is good and wonderful in the world. You communicated so grandly with us about everything except for the biggest problem of all!
I will be MORE than happy to pay for a soundtrack CD or a book of the artwork, hopefully both. I'd buy up any merchandise I could.
Anyway, what's done is done and it's easy to play quarterback from the recliner. But I wanted to put that out there regardless.
I've been in shock since last night and my thoughts are still scattered. I'm so very sad, for all the reasons stated above. I have met some wonderful people, seen some wonderful art, heard wonderful music. I mostly play with the sound off these days, but in the beginning I had it on almost all the time - hearing the music in Alakol brings back such good memories of beginning this game. I've never played an MMO before. I know Glitch is (was) a very special game. I am heartbroken to see it end.
Starting and maintaining The Glitchen ImaginatUr has been an absolute joy for me. The creative outlet was something I was missing in my life, and I'm not sure how I'm going to fill it, now that I know it exists.
Thank you so much for making such a fantastic world for us to play in. I appreciated having the chance to play this game so very much. I would have paid more if I'd known the alternative was Glitch going away. Good luck in all that you do, and I hope Glitch comes back in some form or another. Thank you, from the very bottom of my Glitchen heart.
(Edited to remove chilldish bitterness) -
I've been here about 6 months. I am really sorry to see Glitch go. :(
Tiny Speck has all my good thoughts, prayers, and best wishes for the future.
YOU GUYS ROCKED!
Sincerely,
Ravenfeather Noir