Dear Ink Writers.... (An open letter from a LL author)

That’s so incredibly annoying. They should at least give you an in-app option to go back. :roll_eyes:

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I don’t agree with hateful comments, but Episode basically ignore complaints about Ink and classic. They do have a right to protest. Maybe not in the way they’re doing.

I just think that’s why they comment those things, but I’m not an ink writer so I don’t necessarily see their standpoint. Episode has a lot of things they need to improve on, people are voicing there opinions and it often is ignored or not recognized.

Yeah well I think it’s a pissweak excuse for saying, “we’re focussing on LL now and we’d prefer you use it instead.”

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I doubt that

I think my biggest issue with ink writers is that even though Episode has made it clear that the ink library will not be getting any new updates, some writers still complain that they feel neglected because ink is being ignored/forgotten. I realize it’s not ideal to have your favorite style “replaced” by a newer alternative, but no amount of complaining is going to convince Episode to update ink because they literally can’t. Please refer to the following explanation by Liz for clarification:

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Ah, man… I remember those days very well back on the old forums in early 2016… players begging Episode not to leave Classic behind, petitions, and a huge demand to consider the style. Pretty much the same as it is right now. I recall an Episode staff member, not sure if it was Liz or another staff member, saying the company felt attacked by the petitions. There was a point where Classic was more popular than Ink believe it or not, as it was the only style available apart from the Demi Lovato stories and the Mean Girls stories, but the anticipation for the new style was overwhelming, and that’s where we are today. They had a poll asking the community their favorite style in which Ink won it. That was pretty much the nail in the coffin for a lot of players/writers. Lots of writers left, but fortunately, some stayed and adapted to the new styles and some stayed but continued to write in Classic. It was a pretty massive shift in the community.

You’d think with the popularity of Ink, they’d cater to that as with Limelight. What if Episode attempted to enhance the old art styles with the modern software? Take SpongeBob for example. When SpongeBob debuted, the show was animated through cel animation - the old fashioned way of animating cartoons and other shows. They were hand-drawn, painted, dried, and then painted again before being moved to a celluloid sheet. Pretty tedious stuff. And then over time, as technology and software developed, the animation transitioned into digital art and animation. However, the style was kept the same. SpongeBob didn’t change styles, or appearances, but the quality of the style improved significantly. Episode just decided to make totally new styles due to the potential granted to them by this advanced technology that allowed them to create the new styles (Limelight).

I think that theoretically, if they wanted, they could have kept Classic and Ink, recreating them in the newer technology with far advanced improvements within those styles. But then what would happen, if they did that? Would it have truly been a smart move? Think about it for a minute. Would people want new styles? Would there be a demand for a new style? Would people get bored? Would there be less revenue, success, and a more narrow audience rather than a wider one for Episode if they didn’t make new styles, but enhanced what they had with new technology? Things probably wouldn’t look as stable or good for Episode if they had done this and it probably wouldn’t be a realistic alternative decision, but we’ll never know.

I’m sure if Episode wanted to, they’d update all the styles. Why wouldn’t they? Every style has earned the right to be developed and updated; the thing is… they can’t! They do not work with the current technology. Sure it’s a hard reality for a lot of people, but either way, I’m grateful that stories can be created in old styles even if they’re not being updated anymore and this is coming from someone who’s favorite style is Classic. I’d understand if we could never create a story in older styles, but we can.

Each product is an experiment, and Episode is experimenting right now with Limelight. As a business, it’s their responsibility to improve and get better to generate a profit for themselves. This is just how they’ve chosen to do it, despite a majority of people not agreeing with it. But all I know is that Episode cannot progress if they stay in one place no matter how they choose to do it… A business must move forward… sure, some of their decisions can be better, but you can’t move forward if you stay in one place. We just have to see where it goes, though.

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I’ll reiterate this point again: “Several of the most requested features from our community, like different body types or freckles are simply not easily achievable on our older styles.” If the community wants more diverse characters available to us in a timely manner, then it needs to be understood that this is only possible using newer technology (AKA the basis for limelight).
If Episode took an exponentially longer period of time to make different body types and skin conditions available to ink, the community would complain that it’s taking too long. If they released it quicker and only for limelight, the community would complain that ink is neglected. It’s a double-edged sword, but I believe it’s best to incorporate different options for character design such as body types more quickly and for limelight only than it is to sit around for possibly years waiting for Episode to attempt to release these assets using outdated technology just so ink can have them as well.

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Again, I’d rather wait, than not have anything at all.
It’s very easy to say that from a LL point of view. Your style isn’t going ignored. Spare a thought for the people that joined Episode for ink and wouldn’t have joined if it was only limelight.
I’ve already waited years. They’ve done nothing.
I know you’re a LL user, but please understand that they majority prefers INK. And there are a lot who aren’t going to use LL no matter how much easier it is to update.
Be aware a new style you may not like may be coming. You might not be as happy if they abandon your style

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Let’s just agree to disagree

Yes, I agree that episode does need to gain a profit and this has actually changed my viewpoint a little. However, I still wish the styles were more neutral/ fair, and they listened to people’s input. If they wanted to improve, and people are strongly voicing their opinions, why wouldn’t they? I think this is hurting them as a company and many people are leaving the platform out of frustration. I’d love to see classic authors get the recognition they deserve. I really do miss the way the platform used to be, and I found I enjoyed the stories much more back then. Episode is shifting to new styles, so I know one day I’ll probably end up leaving the forums just because I’ve grown out of it, and classic is becoming more and more “nonexistent” in a way, it’s just a matter of time for me really.

I see ways to improve this, but do they have to hurt the other styles and ignore people’s opinions for profit? I just don’t see how that benefits them. Since you also remember early 2016 and 2015, Don’t you feel like the stories used to be so much more… authentic maybe? Not that the stories now are bad, I just feel episode used to be so much better and more original!

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Sure I’d like to see the styles be more neutral/fair. Even seeing Classic characters on the loading screen would be very nice. Can I understand why they’re not doing it? Of course, I can… this doesn’t mean that I agree with some of it, however. Is it probably the best business decision? Maybe it is. Maybe it is not. Only time will tell, and as long as Episode (or really, Pocket Gems) is making their money, is it necessarily hurting them? Again, I’m not saying their decisions are the best. I think they will make the same amount of money, probably even more if they were more attentive and in tune with the community, with better decisions, communication, and developments for expansion… But to be honest, they probably aren’t going to care too much about this kind of stuff, unfortunately. Episode is going to get their money no matter what, but in the end, that doesn’t matter if your customers are going away. The customer makes the company. If there were no customers, there would be no company. Right?

And yes! I do think the stories were more authentic back then. More originality. More creativity. They felt fresher to me. I’m not saying that there aren’t original and creative stories now, but if you were around back then I’m sure you can tell the difference in the mood, the atmosphere, and change within the community; including the stories themselves.

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This is kind of a dramatic reaction.

As technology advances, a company is going to adapt in order to keep up.

From a business standpoint (and yeah, Episode is a business first,) it wouldn’t make sense to waste money, time, and resources re-doing an old style that’s outdated.

It would be like Nintendo releasing a new GBA game. GBA is great, I love it, it’s my favorite handheld, but it wouldn’t be very profitable to make a GBA game in 2018. People can always go back and still appreciate what games are already there, but wanting new content on an outdated platform is an unrealistic expectation, especially if it’s at the company’s expense.

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Yes, but they must understand that a lot of people don’t like LL. In my opinion, LL characters look like mannequins. It lured me into Episode with ink, now it seems like it’s trying to convert me to something else. In my opinion, LL doesn’t look good.
If they did it on outdated technology, then they should reintroduce it on the new technonlogy. Simply having something that looks totally different and just assuming everyone wants it without a thought to their feelings is just plain selfish.
And for the record, there are a quite a few dedicated retro releases of old time games.
What annoys me, is I wouldn’t mind trying a classic story, but as a mobile user I don’t have the option. When I look at characters behaviours in writers portal, classic isn’t even shown!
If they get rid of that INK when they introduce LL to it, I’m leaving and I’m sure a LOT of others will.
If they’re a business, they should understand that polls suggest most people DON’T prefer LL to ink.

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Yeah, I agree with everything you said. Its sad, but there isn’t anything I can really do.

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Here’s my frustration.
I NEED to keep my avator as Alice. My whole company (the name I use for publishing) is named after her (Aliceproductions).
I’ll show you what I mean:
Here’s my profile:


Here’s what happens when I click the avator button:
(notice they’re not in ink style)

And here’s what I’m stuck with (note, no cancel button)

So, I can’t even change my avators clothes or face without changing it to a limelight style. I had to forcibly shut down Episode, just to show you that because I can’t exit the profile without clicking done and ruining my avator. No limelight looks even remotely like Alice and she’s very identifiable in my stories. No LL avator would do her justice and would just look like I have a different avator from my logo. I’m sick of this “use limelight or else” attitude.

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No, I do understand a lot of people dislike LL. They’ve made that really clear, lol.

What I’m saying is this – If they were to introduce the old skin onto this new tech, it would require completely re-writing the software with the aesthetic so that it’s compatible with the newest engine. It would essentially be remaking all the code by scratch. I’m not saying it isn’t possible, or that it doesn’t suck that they won’t do it, I’m just saying from a business perspective it wouldn’t make sense to invest in re-writing the code for a style that they’ve already graduated from.

And yes, they do release retro games, but these are all old content. None of it is being updated significantly. For example, they’d probably re-release an older game to be playable on a new console, but they won’t be making a sequel to Pokemon Blue for the GB any time soon or releasing completely new content for the old software. At any rate, it was just an example.

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But that’s the point. They made the style and weren’t thinking of the future. They can’t just put something different as a replacement. They were willing to start a new style from Scratch, why can’t they redo ink?especially since it’s the most popular.

Judging by the amount of support for diverse body shapes and skin conditions among forum users, I’m going to guess that you’re in the minority here.

I don’t have a limelight point of view. I both like ink and LL.

I joined Episode for classic in 2015. When ink came out, I was enamored. When limelight came out, I was on the fence, but I slowly grew to love it.

Again, I joined in early 2015… I’ve probably waited longer.

Why do you say I’m a “LL user?” Because of my profile picture? I have written in classic, ink, and limelight. Also, it’s not my fault that some users are too petty to even give some stories a chance just because of the way the characters look. That’s their own problem.

It’s not my style… again. And maybe I won’t like this hypothetical new style, but if Episode updates their technology that can only support a brand new style that incorporates lots of diversity in character design, then I will surely at least give it a chance.

Not to make this post all about me, but I needed to address these points because you’re accusing me of disliking ink because I prefer limelight. I’m not biased towards the styles in any way. I’m just stating facts.

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Just out of curiosity, where are you getting the statistics that it’s the most popular? I see people say things on the forum sometime, but that doesn’t really account for the thousands of people who only read on the app and don’t post here. I’m not doubting its popularity, but unless we have statistics it’s only a speculation.

And perhaps they were thinking of the future. They very well could have planned from the beginning with the intention of constantly updating and re-skinning their artwork when they wrote new installments/versions. Considering they’ve already redone their aesthetic twice, I think this is a safe assumption.

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