Ahri's unqualified thoughts #71
Ahri's unqualified thoughts #71
Easy to consume content: 1 quote, 1 tweet/storm and 1 article/video.
After quite a hiatus…
I’ve indulged in a much-needed (if I do say so myself) break, gearing up for the whirlwind of a year that lies ahead.
In this come-back edition, we will discuss the hottest topic of the week: inflation, Palworld!
1 quote
“No legacy is so rich as honesty”. Shakespeare
1 tweet/storm
Did I just quote myself? Absolutely.
Delving deeper into the discourse, we find two polarized camps:
"This game is AMAZING! Wow. Why don't we see more of this kind of innovation?"
"OMG, this is nothing but a copycat, teeming with copyright infringements and AI-generated assets! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
As you might guess, the discussions have been very civil and constructive…. Nah it was a shitshow with most people shouting into the void. But fear not, for Papa Ahri is here to navigate these turbulent waters.
My take is pretty simple (and I’ll dive deeper later in the post): the game is simple, dumb, and fun. We need more of that in our lives. This is a lesson to web2, and web3 developers alike.
Amidst the uproar, an important point often gets overlooked: this game's success could be a beacon of hope for smaller developers as shown by the following thread. It challenges the notions of inspiration and IP, but I’ll leave that to experts - I’m not educated enough on this matter.
1 article/video
Stephen Totilo from Game File, a titan in gaming journalism, offers an insightful perspective. His newsletter is a goldmine of information and is worth subscribing to. His detailed analysis of Palworld's sensational launch is a must-read.
Before giving my take, some of the insane numbers they are pulling, on top of selling 6m copies (at 29$ a pop, which helped them):
My take:
Many responses seem to be more about rage-baiting rather than kickstarting meaningful dialogue (yes, I’m new to Twitter). The developers and artists might have drawn inspiration from giants like Pokémon, Fortnite, DayZ, Rimworld, ARK, and League of Legends, both in design and mechanics. But it's not as if such inspirations are unprecedented in the industry, right… RIGHT?
Copyright infringement and the role of AI in gaming are crucial topics, undoubtedly the latter will be influencing future game development and the broader tech landscape.
Yet, at its core, the game represents simple, dumb, and fun.
This should serve as a wake-up call for the industry's giants: gamers aren't always looking for blockbuster games with 169m$ budgets (and massive file sizes winkwink). And to web3 developers: see, you don’t need to raise 100m, create NFTs, 3 different tokens, and be backed by NoPonziVC to succeed.