I think its clear that over the last 3 months of the initial release, there has been a mix of personalities that have become a part of the Bunt community that may not have been there before. As the new app was loaded into the store, more and more new users have joined the game, making for a unique experience for those that have been a part of the game since day one.
Many of the adjustments to Bunt over the course of 2014 come in a combination of gameplay and pack opening, which only serves to complicate an experience for some users who may not have been ready for a new way of playing the game. Personally, I am a big fan of the new gameplay as well as the old gameplay, as I think both have merit in the overall scheme of how the players interact with the system. They are both good, but both different.
Similarly, the adjustment that has taken place in opening packs has turned a lot of people off, but I see something in this adjustment that correlates almost directly to real life. Let me put it this way – back when I was a kid, there was 4 products a year and very easy to collect every card from every set. Many people came to the hobby with a mentality of completion, where they could feel a sense of accomplishment from having one of everything.
When considering how things have changed today, its now close to 20 products JUST FROM TOPPS alone, combined with close to 40 others from unlicensed baseball card companies who produce cards through other means. Where completion used to be a way of life, it has since been replaced by the chase.
In each set produced today, there is a large element of unavailability, mainly that some cards will never be a part of one person’s collection because there is only so many copies. So many cards are made with contrived scarcity derived from serial numbers that many collectors dont have the means or the will to chase down every last card. In all seriousness, they cant.
Not only has this alienated a portion of the hobby who thrived in the era of four products a year, but it brought on a whole new generation of collectors who have been indoctrinated into a new culture of the chase. I relate this to what is going on right now in Bunt. I converse frequently with a number of users from both sides of the aisle – the ones who were around for the previous incarnation of the game, and the ones (like me) who have come into Bunt after. I enjoy the new chase element just like I do in real life, but I also understand why it is unattractive to others.
Here is what the main thing should be – just as it is with real cards. Just because something changes, doesnt mean there isnt elements of the previous in play. Change has always been inevitable, and its better to let it roll off your back than to throw up your arms and walk away.
That being said, it falls upon the new generation of users to understand that there will be a large contingency of the game that is catered to the people who made the game what it is – just like there are things that happen similarly with actual cards. Base Topps still comes out every year, and though it has changed, the major elements are relatively similar to years past.
If you are part of the first generation of Bunters, I feel your frustration if you feel that this new way is a destruction of your previous alignment with the game. A lot of people have gone through that same feeling in real life. The problem is, the new way is fun too, and people are still speaking enough with their wallets that I doubt there is a change in the works. Its just something we will all have to participate in, but I can assure all of you that its not worth walking away from a hobby that provides a source of entertainment over a change like this.
Sure, it has been fast and drastic, but that doesnt mean it will be the last. These types of changes never are.
Digital Card Central 
2014 Bunt: Addressing Change As it Pertains to Real Life
I think its clear that over the last 3 months of the initial release, there has been a mix of personalities that have become a part of the Bunt community that may not have been there before. As the new app was loaded into the store, more and more new users have joined the game, making for a unique experience for those that have been a part of the game since day one.
Many of the adjustments to Bunt over the course of 2014 come in a combination of gameplay and pack opening, which only serves to complicate an experience for some users who may not have been ready for a new way of playing the game. Personally, I am a big fan of the new gameplay as well as the old gameplay, as I think both have merit in the overall scheme of how the players interact with the system. They are both good, but both different.
Similarly, the adjustment that has taken place in opening packs has turned a lot of people off, but I see something in this adjustment that correlates almost directly to real life. Let me put it this way – back when I was a kid, there was 4 products a year and very easy to collect every card from every set. Many people came to the hobby with a mentality of completion, where they could feel a sense of accomplishment from having one of everything.
When considering how things have changed today, its now close to 20 products JUST FROM TOPPS alone, combined with close to 40 others from unlicensed baseball card companies who produce cards through other means. Where completion used to be a way of life, it has since been replaced by the chase.
In each set produced today, there is a large element of unavailability, mainly that some cards will never be a part of one person’s collection because there is only so many copies. So many cards are made with contrived scarcity derived from serial numbers that many collectors dont have the means or the will to chase down every last card. In all seriousness, they cant.
Not only has this alienated a portion of the hobby who thrived in the era of four products a year, but it brought on a whole new generation of collectors who have been indoctrinated into a new culture of the chase. I relate this to what is going on right now in Bunt. I converse frequently with a number of users from both sides of the aisle – the ones who were around for the previous incarnation of the game, and the ones (like me) who have come into Bunt after. I enjoy the new chase element just like I do in real life, but I also understand why it is unattractive to others.
Here is what the main thing should be – just as it is with real cards. Just because something changes, doesnt mean there isnt elements of the previous in play. Change has always been inevitable, and its better to let it roll off your back than to throw up your arms and walk away.
That being said, it falls upon the new generation of users to understand that there will be a large contingency of the game that is catered to the people who made the game what it is – just like there are things that happen similarly with actual cards. Base Topps still comes out every year, and though it has changed, the major elements are relatively similar to years past.
If you are part of the first generation of Bunters, I feel your frustration if you feel that this new way is a destruction of your previous alignment with the game. A lot of people have gone through that same feeling in real life. The problem is, the new way is fun too, and people are still speaking enough with their wallets that I doubt there is a change in the works. Its just something we will all have to participate in, but I can assure all of you that its not worth walking away from a hobby that provides a source of entertainment over a change like this.
Sure, it has been fast and drastic, but that doesnt mean it will be the last. These types of changes never are.