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Gaia Online is still around. That shocks me. They've done basically nothing to update anything in years, but they're still kickin' I had friends who were super

by donatj 3y ago

Gaia Online is still around. That shocks me. They've done basically nothing to update anything in years, but they're still kickin' I had friends who were super into it in the early aughts, but I mostly just bought and sold stuff on the market to make money.

Izkata 3y ago
Tibia is ~6 years older than Gaia Online (1997 and 2003) and is also still going, though I assume they've been updating it. I stopped playing Tibia during college with the intention of restarting afterwards, but my account was deleted for inactivity and I never went back.
_annum 3y ago
Apologies for the rambling post, but hopefully it sheds some light on the continued existence of the site: Gaia has been a bizarre and largely unwelcome fixture in my life for almost 20 years. It taught me basic market fundamentals (and led to early experiments with HTML, CSS, coding, and graphic design) but it was also my first brush with internet addiction, and I suspect it contributed to the development of ongoing stimuli-related executive dysfunction. The remaining users (primarily adults) seem to exhibit similar tendencies and/or other psychological issues. My parents hated it. Having been exposed to gambling mechanics [0][1] from a young age, I would never allow my children to be exposed to anything similar. I sometimes jokingly think of myself as an early casualty of the loot box era. Thankfully, few games have this effect on me; somehow this one remains uniquely addictive, a kind of perfect and insidious formula. The history of the site is an interesting case study in digital currencies, user retention curves, and the collapse of early social media. After a corporate buyout and subsequent mass exodus, it was largely dormant for years until being purchased and revived by the original lead developer. Many parts of it are completely broken and abandoned. It's a UX nightmare, extremely cringe, and basically needs to be gutted to have any hope of attracting new users. But a small, dedicated, and vocal user base remains. If the fundamentals are correct, sometimes people will stick around, even if management decisions are continually at odds with what users want. It helps that the items are also the best they've ever been, drawn by talented pixel artists who probably used Gaia when they were teenagers. I still have immense respect for the original incarnation and vision of the site. It emerged directly from the dotcom fallout, and was created by a small group of anime artists/programmers hacking away in a communal San Diego bungalow. It's one of the few relics of my childhood left on the internet, and I suspect it will be around for years to come. [0] https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/835/640/c54.png https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/835/640/c54... [1] https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/956/433/66c.jpg_original https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/956/433/66c...
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- mrguyorama 3y ago
  Such a reality is the DESIRED end state of every "free to play" type game, as it's waaaaay cheaper to nurse and milk a few thousand "whales" who will spend tens of thousands (whether they can afford it or not) on literal trash because they are addicted.
primeradical 3y ago
Gaia had a hyperinflation problem because they let people purchase gold generators with real money. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/hyperinflation-in-gaia-online https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/hyperinflation-in-gaia...

by donatj 3y ago

Izkata 3y ago

Tibia is ~6 years older than Gaia Online (1997 and 2003) and is also still going, though I assume they've been updating it. I stopped playing Tibia during college with the intention of restarting afterwards, but my account was deleted for inactivity and I never went back.

_annum 3y ago

Apologies for the rambling post, but hopefully it sheds some light on the continued existence of the site: Gaia has been a bizarre and largely unwelcome fixture in my life for almost 20 years. It taught me basic market fundamentals (and led to early experiments with HTML, CSS, coding, and graphic design) but it was also my first brush with internet addiction, and I suspect it contributed to the development of ongoing stimuli-related executive dysfunction. The remaining users (primarily adults) seem to exhibit similar tendencies and/or other psychological issues. My parents hated it. Having been exposed to gambling mechanics [0][1] from a young age, I would never allow my children to be exposed to anything similar. I sometimes jokingly think of myself as an early casualty of the loot box era. Thankfully, few games have this effect on me; somehow this one remains uniquely addictive, a kind of perfect and insidious formula. The history of the site is an interesting case study in digital currencies, user retention curves, and the collapse of early social media. After a corporate buyout and subsequent mass exodus, it was largely dormant for years until being purchased and revived by the original lead developer. Many parts of it are completely broken and abandoned. It's a UX nightmare, extremely cringe, and basically needs to be gutted to have any hope of attracting new users. But a small, dedicated, and vocal user base remains. If the fundamentals are correct, sometimes people will stick around, even if management decisions are continually at odds with what users want. It helps that the items are also the best they've ever been, drawn by talented pixel artists who probably used Gaia when they were teenagers. I still have immense respect for the original incarnation and vision of the site. It emerged directly from the dotcom fallout, and was created by a small group of anime artists/programmers hacking away in a communal San Diego bungalow. It's one of the few relics of my childhood left on the internet, and I suspect it will be around for years to come. [0] https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/835/640/c54.png https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/835/640/c54... [1] https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/956/433/66c.jpg_original https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/956/433/66c...

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
mrguyorama 3y ago
Such a reality is the DESIRED end state of every "free to play" type game, as it's waaaaay cheaper to nurse and milk a few thousand "whales" who will spend tens of thousands (whether they can afford it or not) on literal trash because they are addicted.

primeradical 3y ago

Gaia had a hyperinflation problem because they let people purchase gold generators with real money. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/hyperinflation-in-gaia-online https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/hyperinflation-in-gaia...