What happened to Evony?
October 18, 2011 9:58 AM   Subscribe

 
Boobs exploded, everyone died.
posted by The Whelk at 9:59 AM on October 18, 2011 [2 favorites]


Whatever it was, it wasn't terrible enough.
posted by Decani at 10:00 AM on October 18, 2011 [3 favorites]


Did that thing finally die?...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:01 AM on October 18, 2011 [2 favorites]


From the article, it appears it did not die and in fact extensive use of cleavage is a successful advertising tactic.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 10:06 AM on October 18, 2011 [4 favorites]


Did that thing finally die?...

No. As the link tells us, it's continued to grow. "Now the company employs more than 170 people in publishing, marketing, programming, level design, and production..."

extensive use of cleavage is a successful advertising tactic

What surprised me is that the game itself is not sexed up. The original ad campaign was a cynical bait-and-switch.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:12 AM on October 18, 2011


eventually all advertising will be hardocre pornography overlaid with the product's name in bright yellow letters.
posted by The Whelk at 10:13 AM on October 18, 2011 [9 favorites]


The article leaves out two things: 1) Travian had been doing exactly this for a couple years at least beforehand. There was nothing new in Evony; 2) The guys behind it were notorious scammers collecting credit card numbers and email addresses, reselling them to others.
posted by fatbird at 10:13 AM on October 18, 2011 [5 favorites]


The Whelk: “eventually all advertising will be hardocre pornography overlaid with the product's name in bright yellow letters.”

Except advertisements for hardcore pornography, which will feature kittens and bunnies.
posted by koeselitz at 10:19 AM on October 18, 2011 [7 favorites]


"Thank you, Mario! But your lap dance is in another castle!"
posted by sexyrobot at 10:21 AM on October 18, 2011 [12 favorites]


eventually all advertising will be hardocre pornography overlaid with the product's name in bright yellow letters.
This will make for some interesting niche products. "It's the cola that nine out of ten foot fetishists prefer!"
posted by Flunkie at 10:23 AM on October 18, 2011 [2 favorites]


Home of the "Gentelman's" latte.
posted by mattbucher at 10:24 AM on October 18, 2011 [3 favorites]


Drink that Pepsi Blue. Yea! You drink that shit right up you filthy so-and-so!
posted by basicchannel at 10:24 AM on October 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


eventually all advertising will be hardcore pornography overlaid with the product's name in bright yellow letters.

HOT FRESH STEAMING PILES OF DIRTY DIRTY SCAT

The new retrospective album from Mel Tormé
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 10:26 AM on October 18, 2011 [4 favorites]


Evony vs Snorgtees...who will be the victor?
posted by inturnaround at 10:27 AM on October 18, 2011 [3 favorites]


AM I THE ONLY ONE WITH THE NON-SONG 'EVONY AND IBORY' NOW STUCK IN HIS HEAD
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:27 AM on October 18, 2011 [30 favorites]


The original ad campaign was a cynical bait-and-switch.

Aren't they all ?
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 10:27 AM on October 18, 2011 [2 favorites]


AM I THE ONLY ONE WITH THE NON-SONG 'EVONY AND IBORY' NOW STUCK IN HIS HEAD

*sigh* Not anymore.
posted by longsleeves at 10:32 AM on October 18, 2011 [11 favorites]


You've never seen an optimistic bait-and-switch?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:33 AM on October 18, 2011


I signed up to Mefi solely for the SNARK NOW, MY LORD campaign.
posted by mccarty.tim at 10:34 AM on October 18, 2011 [9 favorites]


And when you think about it, perfume uses sex to sell. Cars use sex to sell.

What's funny about this HORRIBLY BACKWARD reasoning is that both perfume and cars are innately linked opportunities to impress potential mates. Sitting on your rump playing a video game? Not so much.
posted by hermitosis at 10:37 AM on October 18, 2011 [6 favorites]


Yeah, my only problem with Evony is that it seems like a rip-off of Travian.
posted by GuyZero at 10:43 AM on October 18, 2011


Sitting on your rump playing a video game? Not so much.

(A thousand single MeFites with default OKCupid pictures of an max-level elf with a full set of 1% drop-rate armor burst into tears.)
posted by griphus at 10:45 AM on October 18, 2011 [3 favorites]


From the article, it appears it did not die and in fact extensive use of cleavage is a successful advertising tactic.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 6:06 PM on October 18


Yeah, but I'm a leg man so it didn't work on me. Dodged a bullet there. The question is, what the hell am I going to do with all these Pretty Polly tights and Blonde Redhead albums?
posted by Decani at 10:45 AM on October 18, 2011


Huh, so they used sex to sell a game. This is an insightful article.
posted by munchingzombie at 10:47 AM on October 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


>Boobs exploded, everyone died.

Oh, the embarrassment.
posted by The Tensor at 10:49 AM on October 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


What's funny about this HORRIBLY BACKWARD reasoning is that both perfume and cars are innately linked opportunities to impress potential mates. Sitting on your rump playing a video game? Not so much.

The point is that it works.
posted by longsleeves at 10:50 AM on October 18, 2011


What's funny about this HORRIBLY BACKWARD reasoning is that both perfume and cars are innately linked opportunities to impress potential mates.

Another way of looking at that is that ad companies have marketed perfume and cars so successfully that they are now seen by some as "innately linked" to acquiring potential mates. Same could happen for video games.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 11:04 AM on October 18, 2011


I shudder to think of the day playing Evony is seen as attractive. Portal? Deus Ex? Civ? I can dig it. Evony? Run away, run away.
posted by kmz at 11:09 AM on October 18, 2011


The lawsuit mentioned in first comment to the "Previous 1" front page post apparently was dropped, as reported by Guardian.
posted by tykky at 11:09 AM on October 18, 2011


The TVTropes page for Evony is not kind in its descriptions.
posted by nicebookrack at 11:13 AM on October 18, 2011


What's funny about this HORRIBLY BACKWARD reasoning is that both perfume and cars are innately linked opportunities to impress potential mates. Sitting on your rump playing a video game? Not so much.

I know of more couples who have met playing WoW and other MMOs than I know cases where buying a car led to romance.
posted by burnmp3s at 11:15 AM on October 18, 2011 [4 favorites]


After reading the "Previous" links first, it was kind of nauseating to read a "Hey, this is pretty damn good game and company!" interview (from Kotaku, no less) with one of their minions.
posted by mreleganza at 11:31 AM on October 18, 2011


It's Kotaku, what do you expect? In a sea of terrible videogame sites, they're probably the worst major one.
posted by kmz at 11:41 AM on October 18, 2011


mccarty.tim: "I signed up to Mefi solely for the SNARK NOW, MY LORD campaign."

WHAT
THE
FUCK
MY LORD
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 11:47 AM on October 18, 2011 [5 favorites]


ad companies have marketed perfume and cars so successfully that they are now seen by some as "innately linked" to acquiring potential mates.

At least in the case of perfume, it pretty much does this on its own. I mean, that's what perfume IS.
posted by hermitosis at 12:28 PM on October 18, 2011


>> Boobs exploded, everyone died.
>
> Oh, the embarrassment.

Is that...is that an "A !Tangled Web" reference?

In my MetaFilter?
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:54 PM on October 18, 2011


This example Evony titty ad (via TV Tropes) is really beyond the pale. Play now secretly, wat? Cleavage, OK. Terrible type leading? FAIL.
posted by Nelson at 12:57 PM on October 18, 2011


eventually all advertising will be hardocre pornography overlaid with the product's name in bright yellow letters.

"Now I don't know the connection... but I'm drinking lots of fucking Coke."
posted by FatherDagon at 1:07 PM on October 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


>Is that...is that an "A !Tangled Web" reference?

Yes.
posted by The Tensor at 1:07 PM on October 18, 2011


AM I THE ONLY ONE WITH THE NON-SONG 'EVONY AND IBORY' NOW STUCK IN HIS HEAD

Evony and Ibory live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my browser, wowser, why can't we?
We all know that adverts are the same where ever we go
There is good and bad in everyone,
We learn to smile, we learn to grin
We learn to hit refresh over and over to see some skin

Bonus information from the same thread:
My wife walked past my computer this morning
and saw the Evony ad... and I got in trouble. Key points from her rant:

- how can these inappropriate images be on a BYU sports site?
- I'd better make sure that I close browser windows down so the kids don't get exposed to that stuff

I know that Jefe has said he's working on getting a new ad provider... but in the interim I'm not sure if us poor dudes can take the tongue-lashing from our wives. For the sake of us beat-down LDS husbands... PLEASE SWITCH AD PROVIDERS!

posted by iviken at 1:23 PM on October 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


The thing about Evony ods that it's advertising isn't that much worse than the ads for standard mmorpg, which also feature scantily-clad women in the standard "fantasy rpg tits and ass out" pose. So endemic is sexist and misogynistic rpg artwork, that I suspect a big chunk of the annoyance with Evony if that it doesn't deliver on its promise.

If rpgs really believed in "sex sells" they'd have equal opportunity sexism; oiled-Chippendale style fighters, bishonen mages in loincloths, etc.. But that would be disturbing to the fragile and regressive sexual sensitivities of the target audience, so no way is that going to happen
.
posted by happyroach at 2:11 PM on October 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


oiled-Chippendale style fighters, bishonen mages in loincloths

And big beardy hairy woofy shirtless battle-axe wielding warriors. Lets not forget our bear-lovin' friends.

As long as we're disturbing fragile sexual sensitivities, LET'S DO THIS.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:27 PM on October 18, 2011


Maybe lets put a studded leather harness on him too. We can even subtly animate his suggestive bulge.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:30 PM on October 18, 2011


I know of more couples who have met playing WoW and other MMOs than I know cases where buying a car led to romance.

But I know LOTS of people whose possession of cars has enabled romance, in various and *ahem* sundry ways.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:34 PM on October 18, 2011


Looks like Evony wised up in the advertising stakes. Why stop at pornographic ads when you can also join the circle-jerk of the criticism-free gaming press, where you trade favourable access for hagiographic articles that read better than your own press releases?
posted by kithrater at 2:47 PM on October 18, 2011


MOTORBOAT NOW MY LORD*

*please note: game does not contain motorboating
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:49 PM on October 18, 2011 [2 favorites]


Yeah, but I'm a leg man so it didn't work on me. Dodged a bullet there.

Lucky for you, Bayonetta is actually a good game
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 6:26 PM on October 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


The thing about Evony ods that it's advertising isn't that much worse than the ads for standard mmorpg, which also feature scantily-clad women in the standard "fantasy rpg tits and ass out" pose.

ORLY

This was kind of fascinating:

For several years the company claimed they had somewhere between twenty and thirty employees - until they sued Bruce Everiss. Australian law prohibits a company with more than ten employees from filing a libel lawsuit, so they deleted all mention of 'over twenty employees' and claimed - in fact, continue to claim - that they have never employed more than nine people.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:45 AM on October 19, 2011


Obligatory Bill Hicks bit: Drink Coke
posted by daHIFI at 1:35 PM on October 19, 2011


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