I'm generally middle-of-the-road when it comes to minigames. Generally that means I play them when I have to, and that's about the extent of it. I've played Soul Wars exactly twice now, once when it came out to try, and once when I had to play to access Nomad. Even my favorite games get worn down quickly, and Stealing Creation, for example, rarely sees me amble by, despite the fact that I genuinely enjoy playing it and find it to be a welcome change of pace for wonderful rewards.
When I read out the rewards for Fish Flingers, I wasn't impressed. The tacklebox doesn't really appear to do much of anything; it has a few bait slots which hold a small amount of bait, and it can hold a bunch of items which I never hold onto anyway. Do people actually waste inventory slots with a harpoon or a big net when they are always right next to the fishing spot and cost about 10 gp? Really? On top of that, the experience rewards are slightly higher, at the cost of no profitability. Fishing, while slow, is very profitable, and my cheapskate tactics don't lend themselves to passing up on opportunities to bring in some gold. I still wince every time I runecraft at the Ourania altar, knowing that nearly double nats, or 1+ bloods / essence would be far better cash.
So the proverbial hook that this minigame has sunk in me is a little tricky to explain. It is relatively inconvenient to have to wait around for the fisherman to arrive. It is not a game which I can use my skills to do better than most (as is the case with Stealing Creation). It is not a piece of content which yields terrific rewards (see: Penguins).
I think what separates this game is the community aspect. I generally open my own CC before the game and invite everyone in to clue share. We share clues, combos, and locations, and rare is the time (except for that accursed Salmon glitch) that we ever fail to knock down all of the 100% fish, nor do we miss which fish is the whopper of the group. Instead, strangers gather about and work together towards a singular goal, and we celebrate as a team as we all take home the minimum of 2 medals for our efforts.
Sure, there are the leeches. People who wait for callouts before casting a line, trying to preserve their 80%+ rating and not helping the team. People who hoard secrets like squirrels hoard nuts in late fall. These folks are generally exposed quickly, and removed from circulation. They then generally plead to rejoin when they realize that they cannot yield better than 1 medal on their own. Blacklists are effective like that.
Generally I score out Jagex updates on a number of criteria: ease of use, reward value, convenience, and fun. While the first three elements are certainly a challenge with Flinging Flippers, the fun factor is through the roof. Bravo, Jagex!
- Read more...
- 6 comments
- 731 views