https://www.reddit.com/r/ArcaneOdyssey/comments/1609lqv/no_arcane_odyssey_is_not_dying/
My essay on the subject is linked above. If anyone is concerned about this being a virus, I shall post it here in textile form.
No, Arcane Odyssey is not “Dying.”
You’ll hear many people say that Vetex’s continuation of his multi-year storyline, Arcane Odyssey, is treading water, desperately trying to maintain an active community. That the game died before it even really took off, fading into obscurity.
This is objectively false. In three points, I shall make my case why Arcane Odyssey is not dead, but rather, as active as it realistically can be.
Part I: The incomparable nature of the game.
Let’s say, hypothetically, that we took a survey of other massively popular Roblox games that took a fall. We can observe their player counts: in the double or low triple digits, if that. Their communities are inactive, their servers wastelands. Their developers likely haven’t updated the game in years.
That is not Arcane Odyssey.
Arcane Odyssey is unique from other games on Roblox in that it’s not intended for young children: indeed, Vetex’s refusal to include scams, pay-to-win ploys, and other youth-targeted machinations is a large part of what draws in the game’s playerbase. It has a well-crafted story and complex mechanics. The average 8-year-old on his Ipad might steer clear of this game. The game is targeted to either newcomers to Vetex’s Arcane Storyline of an older age or those who grew up with the more juvenile Arcane Adventures or World Of Magic and seek to relive their childhood days. As such, it would tend to pull in an audience of teenagers and young adults.
This would do two things.
1. It would make the community more active.
Confuse this not with more player in the game on average (although that would tend to be a side effect). I mean in out-of-game discussions.
Discord servers such as The Galleon and Vetex’s Place thrive. People create massive armies and arrange battles and duels. The amount of people chatting in the latter server at any given time numbers extremely high. Any of my fellow members of the Grand Navy will happily complain about the number of people pinging for reinforcements. Fanart and Reddit posts such as this are a dime a dozen.
As I write, the game currently hosts 1.4k players across its servers. I’m willing to bet most of them are in at least one Discord server dedicated to the game they currently are enjoying.
2. It would make for a higher number of YouTubers dedicating their channels to the game.
MapleStorm, Magmurr, Brave Little Jimmy, Joneslotto, Ana the Sailor (Also known as EDP the Second) Aimsell and Baderm (albiet both on hiatus from the game) Selectorch, Territory, and hundreds of other content creators make videos about the game often, some several times a week. These folks (mostly falling in the 15-25 age range) are a big part of what promotes the game and makes it accessible and easy to understand. They drive the community, leading the thought of their thousands of subscribers. Which leads me to my next point.
Part II: YouTube’s reliance on drama.
The people promulgating and leading the idea that this game is dead are YouTubers.
Now, I don’t wish to make nasty accusations against people or name names in this part of my essay, but I will say that most YouTubers have a lot more to gain from the negative than from the positive, from drama than from peace. The book of Proverbs in the Bible, Chapter 20, verses 20-21 says:
“Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.”
Arguments and fights are what drives a YouTuber to fame. Look no further than your average commentary channel! They drive quarrels for a living. And so, to say the game is dead would get clicks and views and make for an outstandingly outlandish title. (May I point out that many of the YouTubers who once said the game is dying still make videos on this supposedly lost cause to this day.) They can drive people in droves to their videos, then lead their flocks right back to Vetex’s game so they can milk it dry for content.
Therefore, I would not hasten to pay attention to what some unintelligent bum living in a basement has to say about complex happenings in the game development world. (or anything, for that matter.)
Part III: The game’s inability to be judged.
The game, as the staunch defenders of Vetex’s work tell us constantly, is in a phase known as “early access.”
At this point, we are only starting to get a feel for what the game is like. I do not hasten to call the game good or bad yet, as it would be like reviewing a book based purely upon the first chapter, judging a criminal only from the opening statements in the case.
We cannot say whether the game is dead or alive before it has truly cemented its identity. Every time it is updated, its player count spikes: upon release, it would hit 100K+ active players at times. Therefore, to say that its current 1-2K average player count is a sign of a dying game is nonsense. It is merely the sign of a game that has not yet scratched as many players’ itches as it soon will.
That being said, I do not claim the game is perfect: far from it. There are issues and bugs and flaws to be numbered in the dozens. However, to say these are going to be the death of that which is not fully formed is but striving after the wind, seeking attention and nothing more.
Thank you for your time and may God be with you,
-Vice Captain Grant of the Grand Navy, the Third Anfor
