Another barren week

I had sincerely hoped I wouldn't have to deliver a repeat of my post from a fortnight ago when there was no weekly update in Restaurant Story. Alas, history has repeated itself, with no new content introduced in the past few days.

Of course we did get a very attractive Mardi Gras themed update complete with a goal set a week past Monday, and this served to give players around the community a cause for optimism regarding the game's future. We pondered why it was a Monday launch, with the most logical conclusion being that the Mardi Gras stuff was pencilled in for release the previous week, but with the upheaval at Storm8's headquarters it was delayed. Given that Mardi Gras was on the following Tuesday, there was little choice but to get the update out on the Monday.

I went on to speculate as to whether this would mean there was still an update scheduled for the Wednesday of last week, in addition to receiving the Mardi Gras drop on the Monday. My hopes were soon dashed, but given that the Mardi Gras goals were very successful I was not overly concerned.

Introduction to Mardi Gras goals - the game's last update

Fast forward another week and it's begrudgingly another to be filed under the barren label. There was no pop up to greet us with fresh decor, nor was there any sign of the goals clipboard or any special sales.

And Restaurant Story is not alone. Dragon Story may have received an update this week, but Bakery Story and Fantasy Forest Story have not, with their rolling tumbleweed matching that of Restaurant Story.

Given the way that the game's developers have dedicated themselves to producing an update of some description every week for the past half decade or more I have found some of the comments from players regarding all of this fairly distasteful, especially when the current situation at Storm8 is considered.

Just in case anyone missed the news, it was reported a few weeks ago that more than half of Storm8 employees were being made redundant, with the company forced to take drastic action in a bid to balance the books. This has had notable consequences for the fleet of Storm8 games, including Restaurant Story.

And yet as much as I sympathise with the game's developers during what must undoubtedly be a very tricky period for everyone involved, that doesn't excuse the distinct lack of communication with the players. Many of us have loyally followed Storm8's games through thick and thin, and have earned the right to at least receive some kind of acknowledgement from the gamemakers. Apart from a short and hollow comment from a community manager on the Storm8 Forum, we've had nothing, and that's not really good enough.

It could well be that getting the house in order is the current priority at Storm8's offices, and hence the game won't see a return to normal service for a good while. At the other end of the scale we could be inching ever closer to the final hurrah. Unfortunately, we're just going to have to strap in and ride this rollercoaster to its conclusion, but at least we'll be doing it together!