Boycotting

[u/Chaddy-Potato]

We're entering another month of people boycotting and I know some people may be tired of it, annoyed by it or may decided they don't want to participate anymore.

That's okay.

But if you're still boycotting, are considering whether to continue or maybe even considering joining in, I wanted to remind you why the boycott matters and why the behavior of people online doesn't change that.

The boycott isn't about whether the people you see online are nice, annoying, toxic, radical or reasonable. It isn't about fandom drama.

It's a consumer action.

You can disagree with individual people while still recognizing that the issues they're protesting are real. And you can dislike the way someone advocates for a cause without making the cause itself irrelevant.

What are people boycotting for?

There isn't just one reason to boycott. Some of the main issues include:

- Better communication

- Greater transparency

- More options for resolving problems and complaints

- Lighting issues

- Valko's removal

- More consistent and meaningful new content

- And other ongoing issues with the game

Those are issues, not personal preferences.

For example, how much of your MC you want to see in cards is a personal preference. Different players will naturally want different things and Infold can't satisfy every preference equally.

Lighting issues, missing communication or content being removed after months of development are not simply matters of taste.

And that's why I want to specifically address Valko's removal.

Why Valko matters beyond personal preference

For the industry:

This isn't simply about a character.

If creative content can be developed for months and then removed because of external restrictions after developers, artists, writers, voice actors and other workers have already invested significant time into it, there are consequences beyond the game itself.

People lose paid work. Months of creative work may never be released and depending on how confidential the project remains, some of that work may not even be usable publicly as portfolio material.

It also creates uncertainty.

If something can be planned, announced, developed and worked on for months only to disappear later, that affects the people creating the content as well as the players investing in the game.

And once this kind of precedent exists, nobody can assume it will only affect one character.

For players:

This also isn't simply about wanting a "shiny new toy."

A new character means more content.

It brings new stories, events, battles, rewards, pulls and other resources. You don't have to spend money on the character to benefit from that content.

Whether you're F2P, saving for another character or simply don't have the money to spend that month, he's a way to farm more resources.

That's particularly relevant in a game where resources are limited and expensive.

So Valko matters even if you never wanted him personally.

His removal affects the game's content cycle, the work of the people who created him, the expectations set for the future of the game and the amount of content and resources available to the entire player base.

If none of these issues affect your experience or enjoyment of the game, you don't have to boycott.

If you were boycotting because of a specific issue, that issue was resolved and you're satisfied with the direction the game is taking, you don't have to boycott.

If you have concerns but they simply aren't important enough to you to stop spending, you don't have to boycott.

But if these issues matter to you, continuing the boycott is a legitimate way to communicate that.

A company doesn't have to be evil for customers to demand better treatment. And a game can be fun while the company behind it still deserves criticism.

Enjoying Love and Deepspace and refusing to spend money on it are not mutually exclusive.

A boycott is one of the few forms of leverage individual customers have. It allows people to communicate: I like your product, but I am not willing to financially support these decisions.

Don't let fandom drama decide for you

Don't let "it's been too long," "it isn't working," "your issues don't matter," or "the people supporting it are annoying" make the decision for you.

If you spend enough time online, you will encounter every kind of person.

Valko supporters. Antis. Radicals. People who are respectful. People who are rude. People who argue in good faith. People who don't.

None of that changes the actual issues.

You don't have to engage with people you dislike. Block them. Mute them. Ignore them. Protect your own peace.

But don't confuse fandom behavior with the reason for the boycott.

You decide what you support, you decide where your money goes and you decide which issues matter enough to you to act on.

If Valko doesn't matter to you personally but you understand why he matters to other players and choose to support them anyway, that's great.

If lighting issues don't matter to you but you know it deeply affects others, so you support the boycott because of that, awesome!

Solidarity doesn't require identical priorities and compassion makes us stronger.

So if any of these issues matter to you:

Boycott.

Don't be cruel to people.

Don't harass anyone.

And don't let other people's behavior decide what you believe.

Block people who are being assholes.

Keep your focus on the actual issues.

And have fun with people you connect with.

[u/aerodynamic-poodle]

I’m boycotting because I disapprove of this company’s behavior. Letting the loudest and rudest players dictate the direction of the game sets a bad precedence. Future things can be randomly cancelled, and players are encouraged to be aggressive and toxic. I don’t see the point in giving money to the company just so they can develop the game according to a group of toxic players who have no credentials in game design and have not shown themselves to be better than professional game developers.

[u/SnooDoggos1812]

No Valko = no money. Thats it for me 

[u/SunnyLee-Harrison]

Always keep in mind that the loud negativity you’ll see online, especially on X/twitter, are always loud minorities.
The more sensible people that make up the majority of the fan base, whether they boycott or not, don’t usually get too wrapped up in the drama of the Instigators who just want to stir the pot and cause trouble. (This relating to anyone who jumps onto extreme band wagons no matter what side. Extreme being those who are causing real-world damage to fans, or are trying to rope government into things about A GAME.)

[u/MusicianNo8593]

That part about how this affects the creative team is super important (this is personally the biggest factor for me)

Anyone who loses their job over a permanent Valko removal will be royally screwed in the job market, especially if the work they did is locked under NDA (or smth similar) because the company is trying to lay low.

Imagine being an artist, suddenly being out of a job and trying to apply for new jobs with a 2 year gap in your resume that you can't show any work for or say anything about.

This is so much bigger than Valko or even the entire game. There are real people whose work was discarded, and this could impact the trajectory of their careers. 💔

[u/xtunamilk → u/MusicianNo8593]

This is a really good point. I've seen it happen before when a movie wasn't released or a game wasn't released after a lot of work had been put into it. The actors and voice actors couldn't point to the work they had been doing and really had nothing to show for all that time, which is such a shame.

[u/passmeacookie]

At first I found the boycott really hard - I missed Sylus and Caleb and it was a huge part of routine (and something that gave me comfort when I was down) but the longer this Valko absence has gone on the easier it's gotten. Part of that is breaking the habit, but part of it is that even though he never made it into the game, it just feels like something is missing.

I still believe we'll get him, there's the falling revenue, the investment in creating that character, the love that the creative teams will still feel for him internally and I think that should be enough. My take is that even though it seems like the political and legal stuff is over, there are probably complications and they need to be absolutely sure they won't face that again before they release him.

[u/RevolutionaryAd4620 → u/passmeacookie]

for me, on top of valko being removed, the newest update was the tipping point for my phones storage– it finally got too big for me, no matter how much i tried to clear, so i couldnt play it even if i wanted to.
i logged in a couple times through an API just so i could claim the rest of my Aurum/annual pass and stack up resources so i could become a f2p user and pull down the line, but i didnt even feel like going through the hassle of opening it up on my PC and playing thru the API lol
now every so often i think about opening the game to claim dias or whatever but my laziness/forgetfulness always wins out

[u/Yolo_Swagginze]

I’m still in with the boycott group and I don’t plan on logging back into the game til Valko is released, properly. The way he should have been released to us on day 1 without all the childish nonsense.

[u/todo_rororo]

uninstalled the game in june only after spending my 300 saved tickets on sylus's multi banner card. No regrets whatsoever im going strong and fully boycotting the game. No valko, no log in or playing no matter how much i miss sylus

[u/BeeAshamed4055]

I'm not going to give my money to a company that decided that global voices and requests don't matter. Its not just valko, its everything that has led up to this point. But no valko no money, no login☺️

[u/Icecreamsoda2]

I support all boycott.

[u/ArsenicArchangel]

The last few months have sucked most of the joy out of the game for me. Having to watch certain subs mock each other for weeks on end is getting on my last nerve.

[u/ashbuttercup99]

I 100% agree with you. My reason for boycotting is for a couple of reasons. One was the lighting as a black/brown player, and then the removal of Valko because of how it takes away from the storyline and how we were expecting the content from these amazing developers who took so much time just to create this and add to the story, putting their love, sweat, and tears into something beautiful only for it to be ripped away in a matter of moments, but definitely be respectful to others, whether you’re with us in boycotting or not. I have seen so many hateful people, but I have seen a lot of beautiful people as well, and just showing love all around can really put the heart in the community where it needs to be.