Removing Gem Choices

If you could , would you want gem choices removed altogether?
Why or why not?

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EDITED BECAUSE OF A MISTAKE:
nope. I mean, you get some nice money if you add in gem choices. yeah, I know, itā€™s greedy, but by adding gem choices it will support the author.

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Of course if I could I would remove gem choicesā€¦
Because they only LIMIT the choices of the readers and episode is a app that allows us to choose our OWN story (as how we want it to move forward)
So duh I want them to be removed

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But donā€™t you think (as a readerā€™s POV) that it just limits our choices and we have to get a certain amount of gems to choose a choice that we know is good enough but we canā€™t because we donā€™t have enough GEMSā€¦

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you can just add at the end a gem choice, like:
NARR
Please donā€™t click this, this choice is here just so my story will contain a gem choice.
GEMS"blabla" {
}
ā€œblablaā€ {
}
for unpopular stories, itā€™s just 2 gems, and itā€™s not really much. you are not forced to click on the gem choice

I understand from an authors POV it may help them make money however I just know that a lot of readers will refuse to read stories with gem choices. Thatā€™s why some donā€™t read many featured stories.
While I personally would read a story with gem choices and just ignore them. I feel like Episode can already make money through the passes and could do with gems. And authors having gem choices will make readers frustrated imo as many readers& authors have raised concerns

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Iā€™m pretty sure paying for an outfit that is already in your closet will make readers frustrated :joy: but those are bad gem choices tbh. Iā€™ll personally use gem choices for mini games. when you lose a mini game, you can pay gems to win it and hooray no one is frustrated

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Well its your opinion on itā€¦
So, I wonā€™t create a fuss over it as its what you thinkā€¦

No offence

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I respect that view.
Do you think Episode would be less good without gem choices if they did go away?

in my opinion, really, it would be almost the same :woman_shrugging:t4: less money, more happy people

Yeah exactly thatā€™s why I would want them to go away :).

No. I would not, because:

  1. I donā€™t consider attempting to make money as ā€œgreedyā€. There is nothing wrong with trying to make some money as long as it doesnā€™t produce a negative outcome or harm to anyone. With the gems and authorā€™s payment program, I consider it as more of taking advantage of an opportunity that is available to everyone who meets the requirements. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion - nothing wrong with a little ambition.

  2. You can earn gems for free without using real life money. Readers currently and in the future (when Episode rolls them out to everyone) will have opportunities to earn gems for free through daily challenges, reading stories that offer gems after each chapter and possibly more. With the cap that Episode has created on gems for user stories, gem choices will be easier to access. Therefore, if the reader wants to use gem choices and has access to these opportunities and does not take advantage of such opportunities, then I would rather be confused.

  3. Not all gem choices are bad. It is the authorā€™s responsibility to make quality gem choices and make sure the gem choice lives up to what is selected. If a gem choice doesnā€™t meet the requirements, then it should be reported and investigated by Episodeā€¦

  4. Gem choices are optional. No one is being forced to purchase gems or utilize gem choices.

  5. Authors are not required or forced to use gem choices in the exact same way that featured stories do. Creativity, thinking outside the box, and smart planning will make gem choices worthwhile in the future for everyone.

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Those are very very good points :slight_smile:
I agree with them 100%
Personally Iā€™ll read a story with gem choices in them
Youā€™re right
You donā€™t have to choose them.
However there are some problems with them.

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On the contrary, while I do believe that the gem system should not be removed, I also believe that anything can be improved too. Here are some ideas that I brainstormed:

1. Raise the standards and requirements for authors to include gem choices in their stories so that abuse is less likely to happen and ensure quality gem choices.

  • Have authors apply to become ā€˜gem authorsā€™. Gem authors would obviously have the ability to use gem choices for their stories to enter the program and would be more trusted than your average writer.
  • Have any gem choice reviewed and deemed acceptable before implementation; beta readers could be used for this.
  • A possible age requirement. Maybe the age requirement should be the same as the Writerā€™s Program. If youā€™re below 18, theyā€™ll keep the money for you until you become that age. Or maybe it should just be capped at 18+, either way.

2. For every gem choice, you must include 2 regular choices.
So how this can work is that you cannot have a gem choice and a regular choice as your only two options. You can have an ā€˜alternativeā€™ to the gem choice which will prevent the reader from not having a choice by selecting the only other option left. This will also create balance given that the reader is unable, for any reason, to purchase the gem choice.

3. Create different categories of gem choices.
Instead of having automatic pricing, just have different priority levels/categories of gem choices. Since not all of the gem choices are of equal value, split them into different priority levels.

Priority 1 Gem Choices - Gem choices that drastically affect the story and change its plot. Example: alternate endings. These would cost the most expensive with a limit of 10-15 gems because they are very significant choices.
Capacity: limited to 5 per story

Priority 2 Gem Choices - Gem choices that assist you in a story, but donā€™t ā€˜drasticallyā€™ change the plot. Letā€™s say you didnā€™t gain enough points. Well, these choices can help you ā€œmake upā€ and get a second chance for those missed gains. Priced at 6-9 gems.
Capacity: limited to 10 per story

Priority 3 Gem Choices - Gem choices that donā€™t affect or assist you in a story, but opt for the readerā€™s self-entertainment. For example, cool clothing. Special art scenes. Stuff like that. These would be priced at 2-5 gems.
Capacity: Unlimited per story

*Actually, the automatic pricing can be kept, but maybe only within the price range of each priority. This way, choices are balanced and are priced at their worth, while simultaneously being influenced by the reads that the story has. So for example, if you have a Priority 1 Gem Choice and have below 10k reads, that choice will be worth 10 gems and this price will increase as you gain more reads for those types of choices. 20k reads? 11 gems. 30k reads? 12 gems. 40k reads? 13 gems. 50k reads? 14 gems. 50k+ reads? 15 gemsā€¦ something like this; you get the idea.

It doesnā€™t necessarily need to be structured or be exactly like this, but itā€™s just an idea/an outline that I think could work to make gem choices better instead of removing them altogetherā€¦ and yes there are problems with the way some people utilize gem choices in their stories. I am not denying that fact, but I just think improving the system would be better than to remove it completely; what does everyone think of this?

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I think gem choices are great when they give you bonus scenes. If a non gem choice and gem choice lead to virtually the same outcome of the scene then itā€™s not enjoyable. Some are ridiculous like gem outfit choices that then have the same scene/outcome afterwards as the non gem choice. It should either have bonus scenes or something significant happen.

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I am ok with gem choices if they are reasonable. I get so frustrated with choices that block you from certain storyline points or make you wear humiliating outfits.

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I donā€™t think it would be good for Episode to remove the gem choices. They most likely make a lot of money off of it. But, I do believe that they should not limit the choices of the readers by using Gem choices. Gems should be there but in a different fashion- not every single choice selection having a gem choice.

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