The Stock Market has changed a couple of times over the last few rounds but the fundamental idea of investing money in to companies (national and local) and earning profit from those which are performing well on the market, is still there.
The feature is used religiously at the start of each round as it's a quick way to earn a huge amount of profit with the best performing company. The feature does however hold a massive risk factor. Will the company crash and burn or will it turn profit?
As we have slowly got deeper in to the round the feature has become less used by the more loyal players. This is partially to do with the inflation in the game but also because a lot players have lost interest in the feature (no pun intended). I contacted a few players, one being Houston: "I'd like to say that the only problem with the stock feature is that it provides less profit then before therefore in my opinion i feel stocks should be something that changes more quickly and rapidly therefore greater risk/greater reward so we must watch more closely." I also got Rob_Stark my co-writer's view: "the flaws of the stock market and how it has no bearing on real life stock markets but is instead a random chance akin to gambling but less fun."
So how can the staff integrate a similar style of stock market to real life and should they? Another co-writer at the Buzz, Riverpenguin had this to say: "In reality the stock market is far too complicated to replicate for this game. Buying shares in real life does not necessarily mean the company’s share price will rise. There are a multitude of reasons for this."
The fact that the stock market is affected by a number of reasons means that the feature on Bootleggers would become too complex and ultimately would stop new players using it. So, is the feature just right? A player, DonAccusavo, who I contacted had a fantastic idea: "I like the feature and think it has greater potential. somewhere integrating the companies you are investing in would be a cool idea. I'm not entirely sure the best way this could be done - buying shares in bullet factories and share price is dependent on how popular the bullet sales are for instance could be a nice change."
The feature is at a great stage. It is easy enough for new players to use to earn a quick buck but complicated enough for the more experienced player to, after a long investment earn a huge payout.
What DonAccusavo has pointed out is that the feature has great potential and could be integrated in to other features on Bootleggers; for example the Bullet Factory - a fantastic idea and something we hope The Elite Guard would consider in the future.
After listening to a lot of players and staff and researching the old and new stock market, it feels like the players haven't lost as much interest in the feature as the community had felt. The feature is at a perfect complexity for new players to earn a quick buck and kick start their career on Bootleggers.
