From ZERØ
- Nero Atlas
- Jun 21
- 9 min read
"The First Straw That Fixed the Camel's Back"
(If you're wondering: yes, it's a LinkinPark quote)
The other day I noticed a Jake Sprague (Spragels) video about Sylveon in Pokémon Unite: I love the pokémon, and it's one of the two mains, so I got excited it got buffed.
This made me feel happy, and I decided to update the game and jump in for a couple of games. That was when I realized something could've been missing, after a long absence from it. And, not no-one's surprise, when it comes to Chinese games, there was, indeed, something missing. Something important.
All my aeos coins were gone. If you're wondering, I was already aware of the license journey change, and I also knew they would've been removed, at some point. There was a countdown, and the date was very far away. So, to keep my options open on how to use my hard-earned resource, I waited. Then, I left for a while: I didn't feel like playing everyday anymore, so I just jumped off the game.
The feeling I immediately felt, when I confirmed that was the case, was awful: I'm quite sure it was more than 100.000 coins. Luckily, I spent some to get licenses in the past, but those were the ones I collected by playing this last year.
No refund of any sort were given, considering I didn't select how to convert them. They just vanished.
Now we have License Points, a less valuable resource type that mostly accomplishes the same thing. Besides, I can very well make up for what happened with money. As always, in any time-dependent live service game model.
Time-dependent live service games: at some point, I decided to jump off that boat: it was really draining everything out of me. The YouTube effort I was accompanying my game activity with wasn't enough to justify all my thoughts and efforts going right into some number of Chinese gacha games.
Besides, I really wanted to do many other things, play many other games, but couldn't, as I couldn't afford the time to do so.
Losing my 100.000 aeos coins reminded me how one feels when this happens. On top of that, it's a resource management error: after all, I could've converted the resources as soon as the option came up. So then... is it okay to feel frustrated?
How I Strayed and Walked the Long Path
One year ago, my journey with gacha games was derailing. I can tell how anxious is my voice when I shared this.
I think that, at that point, I noticed what wasn't working for me, in the way I was living games, and was looking for a solution. My first idea, back then, was: "I'll make the games I want to play, considering character-based resource management games are mostly gacha, for now". I think it was an awesome beginning.
One year after, I stopped playing gacha games for months, while looking for answers for this. Now that I watch that video, I understand that something isn't adding up.
I talk about wanting to develop games that make me happy, but there's no trace of plan or title or idea about it
I talk about roguelites, Path of Radiance, and other type of games, but there's no footage of them.
In fact, it's Ash Echoes' footage, a game that, in the video itself, I say I don't want to play anymore.
Yeah, I'm sure I'm really wishing for something else. Something I can't still find.
Today I have a different view on the matter: I think I can see a "path to victory", in this long battle for game enjoyment. For me, and for anyone else that really can't give up on fun - even if it comes from systems that are imperfect. Sometimes, even dangerous.
A way to really be a pioneer, that doesn't rely on "making games". After all, you can't really be the industry all by yourself. For sure, you can give the good example, but you'll still be an indie developer, at the end of the day.
This doesn't rule out the idea of making a game in the future: on the contrary, I will, having time, money and attention to spend on it, at some point in life, maybe. But this is not how my journey through games will continue.
I want to jump back in time again: to take a look at how I tried branching my path in the past.
This one tastes much more like really feeling lost, and I enjoy it more. I think there's much more truth in this video, than the ones where I feel excited, and with a solution in hand. After all, finding a solution to something sometimes is just hard, and there's nothing wrong about it. I talk about how I spent €500 for a character's talents, and how I feel like I did it feeling forced or compelled by the system. The video has a very worrisome follow-up. The real problem of this testament is that there's no solution for a problem that is very apparent to me:
There are games I want to play
I am spending money without control
I then say I can play other games, but this doesn't really solve the problems, as the problem is that I want to play "specific" games.
In this one, I try to convince myself I now can play games in a healthy way. You can tell my voice is more hyper, and less pensive than the previous one. And, of course, the reason is that I know I'm free to do what I really wanted to do again... without actually dodging the trap that is waiting for me.
So then, with a need unsolved, and without any other open path, in the end, I give up and do the unthinkable: spending a stupid amount of money to satisfy the bottomless thrist.
And this loops us back to the beginning of this section: I looked for a way out again. This time, after a while, I actually succeded (although, this is not the last time I spend money in gacha games).
Question & Answer, Past & Future
While I spent time away from gacha games, I tried to play other type of games: roguelites, pokémon, Beyblade: for all of them, my focus has always been very strong, similar to the one I had with playing gacha games. I think it's just an attitude of mine: my focus can't be weak on something.
I still ended up spending money, although maybe less than gacha, maybe with better returns, and, for sure, while keeping what I obtained... most of the times, at least.
I also lived my real life, that is beyond this entire journey, so I had time to explore something else and get a broader perspective.
I now am on summer vacation, which I decided to turn into "Nero goes back making something online again". And, with that, I mean I feel ready to continue the journey from where I left it. So, let's see how things change from then, and what I want to do from now on.
Q1. Are live service games bad for me?
Past: yes, and I don't want to touch them again.
Present: they are dangerous, but I want to find a way to play them in a different way, and help other people doing that.
Q2. Is spending in gacha games okay?
Past: no, and I won't do that again
Present: most of the times, and it's really hard not to spend if you even spend just a little. The conditions on how I spend in those games can't be game-dependent, or based on how convenient spending may ever be in some shape or form compared to others.
Q3. Can someone play gacha games, be satisfied, and not spend money?
Past: no, they're made to spend money, and there's no way to be satisfied without spending.
Present: if the game is a focus, then no, there's no way in gacha games specifically. Satisfaction may vary in other live service games, but disappointment is unavoidable, sooner or later, without the ability to spend.
Q4. Do I see developing games as a solution for the industry favoring exploitative business models?
Past: yes, and I will work to achieve that.
Present: it can help, but it can't change the fact that the effort of one person is still limited.
Q5. Do I see any other way to help players enjoy those games?
Past: no, there's no other way, a pioneer is needed to define new models.
Present: it requires a perspective shift. If that is achieved, which requires a collective effort, then maybe there's a way to still be able to explore many worlds without feeling chained.
I've been looking for that perspective shift since I was playing competitive BanG Dream. There's no way to find it from the inside, where everyone actually thinks in a way that is aligned with the game's own business goals. It really needs to be seen from the outside. I am on the outside now, which is why I can do something about it.
The "Path to Victory"
I promised I'd talk about the "path to victory" I envision. It's not "just one decision", though. It's much more of a wider approach. Let's define broad principles:
For any player that loves collecting, gacha games are not a good place where to sate the itch to collect: other more affordable, accessible collecting hobbies should accompany that experience.
Collecting real goods is already a big step forward. Finding the right niche may be it.
Collecting characters in multiple gacha games much slower can help keeping the focus away from a single one - even though this doesn't sate the thirst, hence the previous point.
For any player that loves resource management and optimization, gacha games should be played completely for free, and extreme attention should be put on optimization and fun going hand in hand
Playing a game completely for free stops the train of thought where "I should spend now that's convenient", or "By spending a little, I'll achieve this goal".
If the resources the game drops for free are too slow to get, if that is boring in any way, then the player should just not do that. The process in itself must be fun.
For any player who loves powerplay, other games should accompany gacha, like roguelites, and still in moderation.
Roguelites are stimulus-intensive games, and make the perception of other games and activities weaker. Hence, their play should be limited too.
Powerplay in gacha is 100% a losing game: it's never worth playing.
For any player struggling with the fear of missing out, missing out on purpose should be a monthly practice.
Practicing the "missing out" thing is a requirement to be able to counteract the fomo-induced compulsion to complete the gameplay loop creates. I'm not talking about "all the objectives", but "just some".
"Missing out" should be seen as a victory: if you are able to miss out on something, it means you are preserving your freedom. As such, it should also be celebrated.
Players should belong to a wider community of like-minded individuals: living in gacha-intensive communities inevitably make people think differently with times, due to social pressure and other mechanisms.
As of today, I don't know of any community of this kind, but I see this as a major requirement. I'll be working to create a place like this myself. I think this is much more aligned with my abilities than programming games.
People that enjoy games but don't focus on gacha are also very good support for this aim.
I'm sure I'm really wishing for something else. Something I can't still find.
This doesn't change the fact this path is dangerous, and it may very well be not worth walking for many. It's a quest for playing any game with the widest degree of freedom possible that belongs to me, and maybe a niche of people that don't want to focus on something else entirely. Ask yourself if those are things that belong to you, before joining:
You really like collecting things: people that like this type of stuff are usually into collecting and design. If you are not, it may not be a problem for you in the first place.
You really don't like giving up on something you enjoy: some people are really good at shifting interests. It's completely fine to do so, and, in fact, most of the times it's even better.
You like optimizing your resources, but, at the same time, you want to find multiple avenues of fun, and think about your entire experience: as a player of specific games, as a hobbyist, and as a person.
In a world where stimuli in games are sold for a very high price, and software houses are in constant war for attention, I want to help myself and everyone with finding the best path for what we most enjoy doing - and keeping the enjoyment of doing as many things as possible open, while we're pressed to instead give up everything else for one thing.
I think this is possible through analysis, discussion and lateral thinking, and by having clear, common goals in mind.
What TZERØ Will Offer
ZERØ's philosophy is not "to enjoy game with moderation", or to "give up and do the right thing": the idea is "having the most with the least", while also accepting that sub-optimization in games is an expression of freedom for the player, and should be celebrated by the community. The program will consist in:
Finding a way to access resources in games with the least effort possible
Finding a community that supports keeping our freedom safe
Accessing a special store where items are at accessible prices, immune to the effects of FOMO and market scarcity.
I'll push forward to grant these three foundational things to TZERØ's members at all times.
If you feel like you align with these principles, don't hesitate: click the button below, and join our Discord today!
