Over a year ago, during the spell of summer, while absorbed in the latest season of Big Brother, I found a unique site. That site, of course, was Tengaged.com. The site allowed for my Big Brother appetite to be more fully satiated. The idea of trying to make Big Brother into a browser based game seemed futile, but for whatever reason, Tengaged worked. It was quirky. It was clean. It was fun.
It seems Tengaged is no longer any of these things.
When I rejoined the site after a rather extended hiatus, I hoped to return to the memorable site I had uncovered in the depths of cyberspace nearly a year previously. I anxiously entered my username (took me a few tries to remember it) and waited for nostalgia to hit.
I was greeted instead by a strange and foreign interface. Nearly all familiarity with the site had vanished, replaced by a formatted, awkward look. While slightly perturbed, I strive to avoid judging things by how they look-different does not always mean bad. I plugged on.
One of the most noticeable changes I identified was the implementation of Tengaged currency. When I noticed my rather low supply of said currency, I inquired as to how more could be made because, in what is truly disappointing, rookie level games now require Tmoney to play. I was then further dismayed to learn that money could be earned by completing various ad offers. What made Tengaged so great was its avoidance of becoming a "corporate" website-at least in feeling. Much like indie films often stay closer to my heart than big budget movies with no plot, Tengaged was far favorable to other sites because it had substance, and a certain character about it, that ad driven sites lack entirely.
Shaking off all these ill feelings, I joined a rookies game. I was very excited. Tengaged always had appeal because of its prospenity for allowing users to engage in meaningful, rewarding conversations while playing in a game like atmosphere.
The game I joined was not like this.
About midway through the first day, I became incredibly uncomfortable with the amount of simply inappropriate things being passed through the main channel. I am a very tolerant, lax person. Not much gets to me. Flirting and implying things of a sexual nature, honestly, does not bother me. But when a vivid description of sexual play was displayed in my chatroom, I was very disturbed. Perhaps this was just the game I happened to join. But I seemed to be one of the only people bothered by it. Of course, should you speak up at the time, you risk being voted out of the "house". But should you not find anything to say, you will be algo'd out of the "house". Furthermore, it was my belief that simply "plusing" everybodies comments would actually increase your chance of nominations. But when I "negged" simply a few comments that I felt did not add to the conversation, I was witchhunted and subsequently algo'd onto the block. Nominations used to be made based on quality of posts and activity-the substance of your posts and your commitment to the game. Apparently, this no longer applies.
Finally, I was saddened to look back and remember what I thought as I entered the game. I thought, "I hope I get at least fifth so I'll get back what I spent on this game." This, to me, is a terrible mentality to have. But yet it seems contagious. When karma, and pride alone, were all there was to win, the site actually functioned better. It was all about, as overused as the phrase is, the love of the game. Now, it seems more about boosting stats and having money.
Please do not take this as a direct attack on the site. I like many of the changes that were made. The Hall of Fame was a great addition. It really lets the best players show everyone that they are just that. I can't recall if groups were available before, but they seem to be popular and yet another output for those with reality show fever. And the more scruntinous investigation of players who may be using multiple accounts, and a fun solution (red nose) to go with it, is an innovative and creative tact. Rather, this blog is my thoughts, which, if you feel they have merit, you can take as constructive criticism towards improving the site. I sincerely hope Tengaged succeeds, because it represents ingenuity at its finest. But make sure you keep what made it great in the first place.
Not to go completely Eminem on you, but I've made like a phoenix and risen from the proverbial ashes to return to Tengaged.
To be completely frank, the site is much different than I remember it (my last game was on July 20, 2008!). This was before the addition of the whole color/level deal, and the spending of "money" to join a game.
I would really appreciate some insight from some veteran/experienced players about how things function now, or anything else I should know before launching into a new game.
