Is vintage story propaganda okay??

[CandL]

I’ve been seeing people play Minecraft in a way that would suit vintage story much better and have been recommending people and a few have played due to the recommendation, and would like to know if it’s worth doing this, I mean I love supporting literally the best developers I’ve seen, but will I be sad if vintage story gets too popular? Will I regret the normalisation of such a beautiful game? 

[LadyWYT]

Welcome to the forums!

53 minutes ago, CandL said:

I’ve been seeing people play Minecraft in a way that would suit vintage story much better and have been recommending people and a few have played due to the recommendation, and would like to know if it’s worth doing this

Well it depends entirely on why you're recommending VS to them. If you're recommending VS because you enjoy the game and think they would too...well then why not recommend it?

 

54 minutes ago, CandL said:

I mean I love supporting literally the best developers I’ve seen, but will I be sad if vintage story gets too popular? Will I regret the normalisation of such a beautiful game? 

I'm not sure anyone can answer these questions, aside from yourself. With popularity come benefits and drawbacks both.

Overall, I think that if Vintage Story is a game you genuinely enjoy, and genuinely think others will enjoy it, it's perfectly fine to tell them about it(though if you're worried about potential bad apples joining the community, you might want to be careful who you're telling). But it's also important to be honest about what the game is like and where it's at in development--that is, it's still very early in development so there will be bugs, major and minor changes, a story that isn't fully finished(yet), and systems that are still very much works-in-progress(if not missing entirely). Vintage Story is also a game that has a rather steep learning curve that tends to catch new players off guard. That's not to say that those are absolute deal-breakers, but it's not really uncommon either for players to pick up VS expecting an experience like the other block game, or a fully finished title, and then getting frustrated when they run into issues.

[Maelstrom]

In the past year we've seen a dramatic increase in popularity of the game.  Based on what I've witnessed, if there were another dramatic increase in popularity there would be two things that happen.  An increase in traffic on VS social media (like these forums) and devs might have to pivot to performance enhancements of the game and other planned features may be delayed.  

I think Tyron and team managed the unexpected 300% increase in sales about a year ago very well leaving me without worry that any future unexpected increase in popularity will cause any problems with development.

[Broccoli Clock]

As someone who has been playing games for far (far) longer than I care to admit, and being a bit of a fan of indie developers, I can safely say that every "niche" title you crush on will be ruined by popularity. Those are the rules, and you can't do anything about it.

[Vexxvididu]

1 hour ago, Maelstrom said:

I think Tyron and team managed the unexpected 300% increase in sales about a year ago very well leaving me without worry that any future unexpected increase in popularity will cause any problems with development.

 

1 hour ago, Broccoli Clock said:

As someone who has been playing games for far (far) longer than I care to admit, and being a bit of a fan of indie developers, I can safely say that every "niche" title you crush on will be ruined by popularity. Those are the rules, and you can't do anything about it.

Well... popularity is a double edged sword.  If the game had terrible sales, it would die from that.  Some games I liked had that problem.  I think the game is in good hands UNLESS Tyron decides to sell the game to a big developer.  I think right now he'd not do that, but obviously stuff can happen.  He might get sick, he might want to move on... and/or a studio might offer too much money, lol.

I fully agree that a big studio would butcher the vision of this game as they have many other great games.  Big studios seem tot think creativity is too risky and have trouble sticking to a unified vision of a game versus chasing bad trends...

[Maelstrom]

Given that Tyron has worked on VS since 2016 I doubt he'll get tired and decide to move on.   Although technically you could say he's been working on VS since the days of VintageCraft for TOBG.

[LadyWYT]

It's also worth noting that Tyron is building his dream game. He doesn't seem to be hurting for money while doing it either, so while a big studio could try to make him a monetary offer he can't refuse, I'm not sure whether or not he would take it. It's hard to say no to a lot of money, for sure, however it's also difficult to give up a dream that one is intent on achieving. With the track record that big studios have proven to have when it comes to making games and handling IPs, I think it's safe to say that it would take a lot more than just money to get someone to sell their dream these days.

[Loosebearings]

22 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

It's also worth noting that Tyron is building his dream game. He doesn't seem to be hurting for money while doing it either, so while a big studio could try to make him a monetary offer he can't refuse, I'm not sure whether or not he would take it. It's hard to say no to a lot of money, for sure, however it's also difficult to give up a dream that one is intent on achieving. With the track record that big studios have proven to have when it comes to making games and handling IPs, I think it's safe to say that it would take a lot more than just money to get someone to sell their dream these days.

I mean, just look at what happened to the other block game, especially bedrock with it's marketplace.

[Vexxvididu]

1 hour ago, Loosebearings said:

I mean, just look at what happened to the other block game, especially bedrock with it's marketplace.

Yeah... the implosion of Minecraft is driving a lot of VS's recent success.  It reminds me of how Path of Exile exploded after Blizzard pissed everyone off around their "You don't have phones??" cluelessness.

[OBAMFSpike]

On 12/17/2025 at 9:35 PM, CandL said:

I’ve been seeing people play Minecraft in a way that would suit vintage story much better and have been recommending people and a few have played due to the recommendation, and would like to know if it’s worth doing this, I mean I love supporting literally the best developers I’ve seen, but will I be sad if vintage story gets too popular? Will I regret the normalisation of such a beautiful game? 

The day Vintage Story is bought and owned by Microsoft, it's game over anyways. 

 

[LadyWYT]

2 hours ago, OBAMFSpike said:

The day Vintage Story is bought and owned by Microsoft, it's game over anyways. 

 

Or any other major corporate entity, really. 

[7embre]

On 12/19/2025 at 7:37 PM, Loosebearings said:

I mean, just look at what happened to the other block game, especially bedrock with it's marketplace.

Not sure cases are similar tho, with TOBG Notch was about to quit it's development anyways before selling to Microsoft, as he got bored of it. And here we have ten years old passion/dream project of probably much more than original two team members, which now are a bunch of friends with those who joined later

[Heart_Afire]

On 12/18/2025 at 9:47 AM, Vexxvididu said:

Big studios seem tot think creativity is too risky

 

On 12/18/2025 at 10:29 AM, LadyWYT said:

With the track record that big studios have proven to have when it comes to making games and handling IPs

Boy, did you two say it. This is why I personally prefer Indie titles, because they're not bound to the whims of some overpaid executive who never touched a controller in their life. Personally, I would be leery of selling to Microsoft especially, given that they axed the studio that made Hi-Fi Rush and were considering axing Id.

I don't think a big boost in popularity would kill VS, but it definitely would change some things. I know I recommend the game to a lot of my friends, but most of my friends like these kinds of games.

[LadyWYT]

7 hours ago, Heart_Afire said:

I don't think a big boost in popularity would kill VS, but it definitely would change some things. I know I recommend the game to a lot of my friends, but most of my friends like these kinds of games.

I think it really depends on when the popularity boost occurs and how much impact the influx of new players and their demands has on the game's development direction. The devs have proven to listen to the community regarding available settings and balance decisions, however as I noted before Tyron is also making the game that he wants to make and play, which is a considerable grounding factor.

The main issue I would see is the community becoming insufferable as a result of a massive influx of new players joining just because VS is "the current thing", and not because VS is a game they actually want to play and enjoy for what it is. 

[Vexxvididu]

42 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

The main issue I would see is the community becoming insufferable as a result of a massive influx of new players joining just because VS is "the current thing", and not because VS is a game they actually want to play and enjoy for what it is. 

AGREED!!!!  This has been a major problem with every game that ever gets popular.  The community gets flooded with people who demand absurd changes that don't even remotely fit in the game.  This always happens at any level of popularity, but it gets worse when games get trendy...  Trend hoppers demand to make the game more generic trash.

[LadyWYT]

24 minutes ago, Vexxvididu said:

AGREED!!!!  This has been a major problem with every game that ever gets popular.  The community gets flooded with people who demand absurd changes that don't even remotely fit in the game.  This always happens at any level of popularity, but it gets worse when games get trendy...  Trend hoppers demand to make the game more generic trash.

There was also the infamous "glow squid" incident in that one Minecraft mob vote. In that case, the players were already present in the community, I think, but it's a prime example of how community votes can be exploited by popular streamers/media influencers. Technically, there was already a similar event in VS when Tyron put up a poll asking about development direction for 1.21 there a while back(no I don't think streamers were involved here). I forget what all the options were, but for full context it was pretty clear that the devs intended to cover all the choices they presented and were just polling to see which the community wanted first. The overwhelming response was bugfixes and polishing current content, which really upset some of the players that voted for the other options(like new content).

I've harped on this before, but the Elder Scrolls games are another prime example of what happens when games get popular. Skyrim, while still a good game, pales in comparison to its predecessors since there are so many gameplay systems and so much of the lore that got watered down in order to appeal to a broader audience. World of Warcraft is yet another example--there's a reason that Classic up to Wrath are hailed as the game's prime, while the modern retail version is lackluster.

In any case, I'm not saying that popularity itself is bad; high quality products tend to be popular as a result of their craftsmanship. However, chasing popularity is a bad thing, and a very easy trap to fall into. The typical result of chasing popularity is alienating a solid support base in favor of short term gains that will expire as soon as the product isn't "the thing" anymore. 

Edited December 24, 2025 by LadyWYT

[Vexxvididu]

1 hour ago, LadyWYT said:

There was also the infamous "glow squid" incident in that one Minecraft mob vote. In that case, the players were already present in the community, I think, but it's a prime example of how community votes can be exploited by popular streamers/media influencers. Technically, there was already a similar event in VS when Tyron put up a poll asking about development direction for 1.21 there a while back(no I don't think streamers were involved here). I forget what all the options were, but for full context it was pretty clear that the devs intended to cover all the choices they presented and were just polling to see which the community wanted first. The overwhelming response was bugfixes and polishing current content, which really upset some of the players that voted for the other options(like new content).

I've harped on this before, but the Elder Scrolls games are another prime example of what happens when games get popular. Skyrim, while still a good game, pales in comparison to its predecessors since there are so many gameplay systems and so much of the lore that got watered down in order to appeal to a broader audience. World of Warcraft is yet another example--there's a reason that Classic up to Wrath are hailed as the game's prime, while the modern retail version is lackluster.

In any case, I'm not saying that popularity itself is bad; high quality products tend to be popular as a result of their craftsmanship. However, chasing popularity is a bad thing, and a very easy trap to fall into. The typical result of chasing popularity is alienating a solid support base in favor of short term gains that will expire as soon as the product isn't "the thing" anymore. 

 

I agree on all points.  Popularity isn't bad in and of itself, but big communities seem to destroy themselves for various reasons.  And in particular, big companies tend to make bad artistic decisions.  That's what we've been talking about in a nutshell.

I also agree with all your examples.  Early WoW was a great improvement over older MMO's like EverQuest but then got weirder and dumber over time...  And Skyrim was okay but horrible compared to Morrowind or Daggerfall.

Edited December 24, 2025 by Vexxvididu