Although we have written about Tarisland several times in a positive way, the MMORPG game set to release on June 21st, recently sparked some drama. The controversy involves Spid, a well-known promoter of the game, whose video about the game was deleted and who was banned by Tencent. Here are the details of what really happened.
For context, Tarisland is being developed by Locojoy, responsible for the game’s development and core mechanics. Tencent, a major Chinese multinational conglomerate known for its extensive involvement in the tech and gaming industries, is the main backer of Tarisland, providing financial support and additional resources for the game’s development.
Popular YouTuber Asmongold recently posted a video on his channel where he discussed with Spid what exactly happened. The drama has, in fact, sparked mixed opinions. You can hear one part of the story in the video, but there has been no official statement from the developers or Tencent to hear their part of the story. Instead, a volunteer moderator had to speak on their behalf. On various social media platforms like Reddit (let’s face it, can we really trust Reddit?), people are saying things like this:
To begin with, the game promises never to sell players attribute-enhancing items. The creators of this game firmly believe that “pay-to-win has no place in the gaming world.” Instead, the game will focus on organic player growth, encouraging skill and strategy development without relying on excessive spending. Asmongold mentions a video Spid made six months ago, criticizing Tarisland for becoming pay-to-win. Interestingly, after Spid’s video, the developers rolled back some changes. Spid explains that his issues with the game began with small lies from the developers, which escalated over time. One major lie was about the pay-to-win aspects, where the developers initially denied any such mechanisms existed.
Spid details a competition during the game’s beta phase, promising cool rewards, which also included an interview with the developers. However, these promises were never fulfilled, leading to growing distrust. He then mentions Lorne, a community manager for Tarisland, who was later revealed to have misrepresented her role. She and Jaya, another manager, are employed by the company but shared access to developer accounts.
Spid emphasizes that he never asked for any special treatment, yet the developers falsely claimed he did. This misrepresentation further soured their relationship. He also highlights the developers’ inconsistent behavior, such as offering rewards and then not delivering on them. The developers even accused Spid of selling closed beta keys, which he obviously denied.
Discord moderation issues are another point of contention. Spid explains that his supporters were being banned or muted in the game’s Discord server for speaking against the developers. A particular moderator (who also later talked to Asmongold) even encouraged mass reporting of his YouTube channel to get it taken down. Spid then provided screenshots as evidence, showing the extent of the moderation abuses.
After making a critical pay-to-win video, Spid was ghosted by the developers. Despite this, they incorporated many of his suggestions from his videos into the game. Ironically, after his video, a marketing agency reached out to sponsor Spid to make a new video highlighting positive changes. However, they requested that he marks the video as not sponsored, which he refused.
Spid recounts a 40-minute conversation with Lorne who remained defensive and did not offer an apology. He requested to speak with a supervisor, but Lorne ghosted him. When Spid reached out to another staff member, Jaya, he received a vague response and was ultimately ignored by all the employees he contacted. He then proceeds to describe the situation as highly unprofessional and scummy. His original intent was to enjoy the game, but the broken promises and lies from the developers soured his experience. He highlights the game’s attractive features, such as challenging raids and a lack of pay-to-win elements, which appealed to him and his community. However, the game’s developers failed to live up to their promises, causing significant disappointment.
During the conversation, Asmongold decided to bring in another person to address some of the accusations. This new participant, a volunteer moderator for Tarisland (who we already mentioned before), tries to explain his actions and defend himself. He acknowledges that he suggested people to report Spid’s video out of frustration with the ongoing drama. He insisted that he was merely responding to community anger and denies any malicious intent.
The moderator admits to filing a report against Spid’s previous video, claiming it contained defamatory content. However, YouTube did not find the report valid. The moderator felt that Spid’s portrayal of him in the video was unfair, as the messages shown were taken out of context and mistranslated. Spid and the moderator then go back and forth, with Spid challenging the moderator’s justification for reporting the video. The moderator tries to clarify his actions, but his explanations remain unconvincing. Despite his efforts to improve the game and build a community around it, the developers’ dishonesty and the toxic environment in the Discord server have made it a deeply unsatisfying experience.
The discussion then shifted to the issue of discord moderation and the muted debate over macros in Tarisland. Spid was muted for misinformation after stating that using macros in the game was akin to autoplay. The moderator clarifies that Tarisland’s macro system requires players to press a button for each action, thus not qualifying as autoplay. Interestingly, Spid acknowledges the explanation and concedes that he might have been wrong in his initial assertion.
Afterwards, Spid and the moderator both acknowledge the importance of having a constructive dialogue about the game. Spid reiterates that his primary goal is to make Tarisland better and that he never intended to harm the game. Despite their disagreements, both parties express a desire to move forward positively, emphasizing that better communication and transparency are crucial for the community’s health.
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