NEW CEO's Plan.

[morPR]

Nobody replied. FROM http://community.stratics.com/threads/new-ceo-of-ea-hes-been-working-for-a-year-at-this-position-speaks-out.321716/

EA CEO.

PLAN A:
"The first is to re-establish a player-first culture in the company," he said, suggesting that it was something EA has lost over the years. "The focus is on the player and the people enjoying the entertainment you produce. That is the most important thing and I want to get back to that."

PLAN B:
He said the second prong is digital, which will surprise few people, as his company watches traditional retail revenues tail off, while sales — particularly DLC sales through stuff like Ultimate Teams — soars.

PLAN C:
Lastly, there's an internal matter. EA is a big company, traditionally divided according to expertise such as development, sales and marketing. He says that he wants to strip down the silos. "Every person at EA has to accept responsibility for deepening and nurturing the relationship with the player."


ORIGINALITY IN CREATING GAMES:
Wilson talked about the importance of originality in creating games. "The first question we ask is 'What are we doing that is new?'" He said that Battlefield: Hardline was delayed in order to create something in the game that innovated on its basic premise, armed cops and robbers fighting in urban environments.

POLISH:
He added that "polish" is also a factor in achieving the company's goals for providing games that hit high review marks. "Polish is the absence of things that might detract from a good experience," he said, adding that Dragon Age: Inquisition had been delayed for a few weeks, earlier this year, in order to iron out bugs.

PEOPLE EXPECT DOUBLE THEIR INVESTMENT.
Wilson said that consumers can only be happy if they receive more than they pay for. "When they give you $20 for something, they expect something that is worth more than $20 in return. You always have to get to the point where they feel like what they get in return is greater than what they put in."

Click the bottom middle text "Click here to expand"...

Here's another interview..... http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea...changing-to-become-player-first/1100-6420699/

Under the new direction of CEO Andrew Wilson, Electronic Arts is shifting its mentality to become a more "player-first" company. Speaking with Bloomberg about his first nine months on the job and what he wants to achieve going forward, Wilson acknowledged that EA hasn't always been seen in the best light, and said it's his job to change that.

"In all honesty, as I came into the role, there was this sense in the marketplace that maybe we weren't doing all that we could for the player," Wilson said. "And my objective number one was to really re-instill a player-first mentality; a player-first culture inside the organization."

"In all honesty, as I came into the role, there was this sense in the marketplace that maybe we weren't doing all that we could for the player" -- Andrew Wilson

Wilson said EA can become a more "player-first" company in a number of ways, one of which is showing games earlier, like the company did at E3 with BioWare's next Mass Effect and new IP. Another way to do so is releasing public betas earlier in the development process, which the company also did with Battlefield Hardline, currently in beta on PC and PS4 ahead of its full release on October 21.

Further still, Wilson pointed out that EA's decision to not release a new Need for Speed game in 2014--making this year the first in over a decade without a new game--is a testament to EA's new "player-first" mentality. The company won't release a game unless it's "great," he said, even if it takes more time than anticipated to get there.

Since introducing these "player-first" methods, Wilson says fans are already responding. "The feedback from the gaming community has been really positive," he said.

Also in the interview, Wilson revealed a broader EA strategy where the company will now move away from one-off releases, and instead focus on building games that people can play for months and months.

"I want to move us away from just a straight hit-driven business," Wilson said. "I want to move us into the live services business. If you think about Star Wars, I don't want them to come in and play a Star Wars game two weeks or three weeks or four weeks, I want them to come in and be part of a universe, immersed in an interactive experience they play for six months, eight months, ten months."


Sorry to interject: Uh, they had that Star Wars experience already. It was called Star Wars Galaxy. Sony lost the rights to Star Wars and closed down, ushering in the era of SWTOR. The game started out fairly expensive to get in BUT went F2P in short order. I wonder how the fans feel about this game...?
- sorry for interrupting the article.



"Our objective is not to give you these small, discrete experiences, but to deliver you an experience you can play across platforms from the minute you get up in the morning to the minute you go to bed at night," he added.

 

[MalagAste]

I won't hold my breath. Honestly I wrote the CEO's of EA a very professional but long letter regarding UO and it's state... I pretty much told them that they were fools for how they had treated the loyal player base of a game that has lasted well over 15 years and still has a loyal following despite their gross mismanagement of the game. Also told them that UO was a "diamond in the rough" and needed a bit of a polish and some careful work and it would sparkle like no other. Because currently there is NOTHING like it on the market and the current trend was for "sandbox" style games and if they only put in some effort they could really bring UO back to life.

I got a few responses back from a very nice PR fellow they had... but he wanted specifics I could not give him. I had told them how several folk were growing increasingly frustrated with the new account mismanagement system and how many of us where dying to give them money but unable to do so... and how several left UO in frustration and anger after watching their years of beloved treasures vanish because they simply couldn't pay their account because of the poor system or how they had thought they were paying it and found they lost everything because they never received proper warning that they were in default...

Linked for the guy over 20 Stratics threads of folk screaming about how they lost this or that or couldn't get their account activated... how they were frustrated with the lack of proper support and so on... but he wanted specifics..... dates, times, accounts, names, numbers, emails..... etc... things I couldn't give. I did give him the 4 or 5 dates and times that I myself got my CC blocked because EA seems to believe I live overseas and constantly attempts to bill me from Switzerland or the Netherlands..... places I've NEVER been and my CC company frowns on being billed from out of country and blocks my card thinking there is "fraudulent" activity on it.

They have a VERY long way to go to get me to believe that they care about the customer. EA has a long history of treating the customer as a crook, cheat and criminal rather than a person who pays their salary. They fail to realize that we pay to play their games... and we expect to be treated with respect... not like some cheap scammer. But sadly that's the way they often treat their customer and over the last several years they have blocked us from really reaching out for assistance when we need it. Making us jump through so many hurdles to get support that we will give up and just quit rather than keep putting in weeks of effort to get the assistance we deserve. I don't understand and I told them so any business who seems to desperately NOT want to do business with it's customers. I told them it's as if they DON'T want us to buy their wares. At least not when it comes to UO but they will bend over backwards to fund and help you with Pogo. I fail to understand it at all.

As such I say I shall NOT hold my breath waiting to see this fellow put their money where their mouth is... I judge folk by their actions... not by their bottom line in sales... not by how fancy or big their office is.... or how charismatic they might sound.

 

[Capt. Lucky]

My problem with EA is they always release online games way to early, full of bugs, and with little content. Then instead of sticking it out and fixing it they decide the game isn't popular and drop it. Earth and Beyond, Motor City Online, etc were good games but they never finished them or gave them a chance. I'll have zero confidence in anything EA does with online games in the future. My daughter really liked the Sims facebook game but EA had to dump that too, lol.

 

[Capt. Lucky]

Actually I've been pissed with EA ever since they closed Gamestorm and Legends of Kesmai, lol.

 

[Donal Mor]

Back in the in early days of Electronic Arts this used to be on the back of their game sleeves:

" We’re an association of electronic artists who share a common goal. We want to fulfill the potential of personal computing. That’s a tall order. But with enough imagination and enthusiasm we think there’s a good chance of success. Our products, like this game are evidence of our intent. "

It's not there anymore.

 

[petemage]

EA's CEO has to take care of the shareholders first. Smoke and mirrors, imho.

 

[James Moriarty]

Also told them that UO was a "diamond in the rough" and needed a bit of a polish and some careful work and it would sparkle like no other. Because currently there is NOTHING like it on the market and the current trend was for "sandbox" style games and if they only put in some effort they could really bring UO back to life.

Try Archeage, its a sandbox very similar to UO with Crafting skills and fighting skills and houses/land and crafting, community and so much more but more 21st Century than UO

 

[kronides]

Try Archeage, its a sandbox very similar to UO with Crafting skills and fighting skills and houses/land and crafting, community and so much more but more 21st Century than UO

This is OT, but since you went there, I'll respond and say that Archeage is not a sandbox, and is nothing like UO. It's very Age of Wushu-ish, a mega-grindfest designed to funnel everyone into PvP (as either a hunter, defender or victim) at the top end.
Do you pick classes when you make a character? Yes. Can you make a character that is totally non-combat, like a barmaid or a shepherd or an actor? No. Archeage is not a sandbox and is nothing like UO. Stop saying this. You can only think so if you think "open PvP makes a game a sandbox," and that isn't even remotely true.

It has a few traditional sandbox elements, but Hamlet isn't a comedy just because he speaks some funny lines here and there.

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

I'm sorry to say this, but to me EA has written off UO. Ultima Online is EA's red-headed step child. Sure they know they still have paying customers and from time to time throw them some red meat, but I'm sure they know their subscription base has diminished to the point of no return.

They'll keep the game alive as long as the player base subscriptions keep the game in the black, but at the time they see it go red...they'll call the GUARDS!!!...la

 

[James Moriarty]

This is OT, but since you went there, I'll respond and say that Archeage is not a sandbox, and is nothing like UO. It's very Age of Wushu-ish, a mega-grindfest designed to funnel everyone into PvP (as either a hunter, defender or victim) at the top end.
Do you pick classes when you make a character? Yes. Can you make a character that is totally non-combat, like a barmaid or a shepherd or an actor? No. Archeage is not a sandbox and is nothing like UO. Stop saying this. You can only think so if you think "open PvP makes a game a sandbox," and that isn't even remotely true.

It has a few traditional sandbox elements, but Hamlet isn't a comedy just because he speaks some funny lines here and there.

Since i have been playing it for a while let me answer some of your questions.

Did I pick character class? Yes! I went for a mage class. I could have went archer, or any of the other 88 difrent chatarcter classes that they say you can make, my second chars is a stealth archer. I cant comment really on anything other than one of the 2 classes i have chosen as i have yet to play them.

Second thing, my first character who is a mage, has never once set foot in a PvP zone and im now top level and finished my chars skill grind and im at 50. Without entering into a PvP zone!

My first char has specialized in crafting and i dont have the hunt, defend of be a victim. I have a home and a farm in a non PvP land where i can craft all day a long without the need for PvP. My farm can produce all the stuff i need to be a crafter.

Yes you can make a character thats totally non combat and you can roll play that character to be a barmaid or a shepherd or an actor although i dont see them being classes in UO other than you have a herding skill, but a single skill does not make a character class.

Its less of a grind fest than UO and lets be fair any MMO needs to be a grind to some extent, and UO take the top place for being a grind fest. Just look at the new DOOM content thats just gone live.

It is a true sandbox MMO as i dont have to follow any path in the game i can do anything at any time my character wishes as long as my char has the skills to take on the content i choose. There is no end game, you chose what to do and when to do it.

There are PvP zones, where you can CHOOSE to go to, but you are not forced to go to for content. Those zones have time limits placed on them so when the war in that zone ends, so does the PvP and people can then go to that zone and play without the fear of being PKed

So your entire outlook on the game is entirely incorrect. While there is PvP content, you are not forced into PvP content if you choose not to. Everything is achievable without PvPing and thats the route i have chosen with my first character.

I have built a home/house mined for ore to make ingots, chopped trees to make lumber farmed plants to make food. I am learning tailoring and smithing. Today i did a bit of fishing and looked into making a sea farm.

I was also working my battle pet skills up today just like a UO tamer.

Archeage is almost everything UO is, but in a more up-to-date setting. It cant be everything UO is at this point in time, as you have had 15 years of development more put into UO. But give it another 15 years and it can be better than UO ever was.

Edit: It has one problem UO doesnt have though! It has too many people playing....

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

But give it another 15 years and it can be better than UO ever was.

Pfft, no game will ever be as good as UO was...la

 

[Shamus Turlough]

Has no one mentioned that EA has nothing to do with UO anymore? Broadsword Interactive owns UO now.. Origin just provides the storefront...

 

[James Moriarty]

Pfft, no game will ever be as good as UO was...la

up to the release of Archeage I would have agreed with you, but for the first time in 17 years i have finaly found a game that ticks all the boxes UO did for me 17 years ago. I have played nearly all the new MMO's that have come along in the last 17 years and nothing has come near UO, until Archage!

 

[Vor]

up to the release of Archeage I would have agreed with you, but for the first time in 17 years i have finaly found a game that ticks all the boxes UO did for me 17 years ago. I have played nearly all the new MMO's that have come along in the last 17 years and nothing has come near UO, until Archage!

You on the EU or US servers James?

 

[James Moriarty]

You on the EU or US servers James?

Im on EU server Shatigon.

But i would advise you take a less populated server as their is a lack of land left on Shatigon. But with that said the new Continent is due to be opened in a few weeks opening up a whole load of new land space. But the draw back is the new land is not a safe zone, so it would likened to placing a new home in felucca

Edit: but the new land space should open up spots in the safe zones as people pack up and move to the new land zone. The new land is where guilds can build castles and hold land to place houses on, the draw back is these assets can be attacked and the land can taken over by another guild, in which case they can charge you a tax on your home if its on their land or they can take your land off you in this new zone. The good thing is if you loose your land in this new zone your home and all its contents are mailed back to you so you can place them else where.

 

[Vor]

Nuian or Harani?

Is Shatigon a good server? Looking to start playing properly from mid week. Pondering which server to play at the moment. Really like the game from the test character I've been running around on though.

 

[MalagAste]

Try Archeage, its a sandbox very similar to UO with Crafting skills and fighting skills and houses/land and crafting, community and so much more but more 21st Century than UO

Looked at ArchAge waited and waited and waited for it..... then got bored of the idea.. then decided it's likely yet another of those games where if you don't get in on the ground floor you'll always be a bottom feeder. Looked "okish"..... but didn't look like something I wanted.

 

[James Moriarty]

Looked at ArchAge waited and waited and waited for it..... then got bored of the idea.. then decided it's likely yet another of those games where if you don't get in on the ground floor you'll always be a bottom feeder. Looked "okish"..... but didn't look like something I wanted.

Only thing i would say you needed to be there for the start is the land, but you dont have to own land to get on in the game, but it does help. fighting Skills are fast to learn you can max your char out within a few weeks of casual play, but crafting takes a whole lot longer. The game has only been out in the west (EU & USA) for 4 weeks now so its still early days and there are very few people who have been able to max their crafter out to the top level.

Crafting is well catered for and the armor and weapons that are crafted are much better than you get from monster loot so you are encourage to either craft your own gear or buy it from someone else.

Edit: As with UO if you cant find land to place a house/farm you can buy it from players with a secure method so you dont get scammed like the good old days of UO

 

[virtualhabitat]

Just looked at archage.

Didn't like Glyph. It's a program to run a program to run that program but to run this program you will need that program..., and it's ugly.

Started downloading archage but noticed it was 8.5-something GB.

Meh, I need to go wash my hair.

Cancelled download.

 

[James Moriarty]

Nuian or Harani?

Is Shatigon a good server? Looking to start playing properly from mid week. Pondering which server to play at the moment. Really like the game from the test character I've been running around on though.

One continent is full up so character race is limited to the east continent and 2 races. I am in a guild that has now over 400 people in it, when i joined the guild we had only 50 players and most of them at that stage were ex UO players.

What ever server you chose, join a guild and be active within it and you will get the most out of the game. Its playable as as single player but you will get so much more out of the game playing in a guild that is active.

 

[James Moriarty]

Just looked at archage.

Didn't like Glyph. It's a program to run a program to run that program but to run this program you will need that program..., and it's ugly.

Started downloading archage but noticed it was 8.5-something GB.

Meh, I need to go wash my hair.

Cancelled download.

Glyph are only the EU/USA publishers of Archeage and yes its a large download but its well worth the wait.

 

[SpyderBite]

They'll keep the game alive as long as the player base subscriptions keep the game in the black, but at the time they see it go red...they'll call the GUARDS!!!...la

I disagree to a point. I too believe that they'll milk the overpriced subscription model until there are too few subscriptions to maintain it. But, at that point, they'll do exactly what they should have done 5 or 6 years ago. F2P with a Marketplace to purchase in game items and services for RL cash. Then they'll see the cash cow it becomes and at the next board meeting somebody will get hit in the head with a coffee mug and accused of not thinking of it earlier.

I keep holding out and waiting for this to come to fruition. Until then, they get my $156/year. Whereas they could be greasing their pockets with $100-$300/month from me.

 

[popps]

"I want to move us away from just a straight hit-driven business," Wilson said. "I want to move us into the live services business. If you think about Star Wars, I don't want them to come in and play a Star Wars game two weeks or three weeks or four weeks, I want them to come in and be part of a universe, immersed in an interactive experience they play for six months, eight months, ten months."

How about then coming to learn something from Ultima Online, a game that has players playing it for 17 years now and going ?

 

[Dot_Warner]

Has no one mentioned that EA has nothing to do with UO anymore? Broadsword Interactive owns UO now.. Origin just provides the storefront...

Please link us to something showing that BSI owns UO, rather than is simply managing it for EA.

From the Feb 4 Producer Letter:
"Broadsword Online Games (http://www.broadsword.com/) will partner with EA’s Mythic Entertainment to operate, support and develop Ultima Online on EA’s behalf. Electronic Arts will continue to provide billing and account services through its Origin™ portal. Broadsword and Electronic Arts will work closely together to ensure a bright future for Ultima Online."

Nowhere does that say that EA has divested itself of the IP.

It should also be pointed out that Broadsword IS Mythic. Same people, same problems.

 

[claudia-fjp]

Has no one mentioned that EA has nothing to do with UO anymore? Broadsword Interactive owns UO now.. Origin just provides the storefront...

No one has mentioned it because it isn't true. EA still owns UO. Broadsword is basically a subcontractor who runs UO and DAOC for EA. We got outsourced, but the money goes to EA, and when there is money involved you better believe they still have a say.


People also like to gripe about how UO was better before EA bought it, however EA purchased Origin before UO even came out and has owned it for the entire time.

 

[The Zog historian]

For having "nothing to do with UO anymore," the EA TOS and billing seem rather applicable.

 

[Captn Norrington]

Has no one mentioned that EA has nothing to do with UO anymore? Broadsword Interactive owns UO now.. Origin just provides the storefront...

From what they said when Broadsword was created, it seems like EA just got tired of doing the day to day management of the game, so they gave Broadsword a license to run it for them, even though all of the money still goes through EA. If they wanted to, EA could easily take back the license and push Broadsword out of the picture completely. It's like someone who owns a store hiring a manager because they're to busy to run it themselves, the manager does all the work, but the owner still gets all the profit.

 

[Capt. Lucky]

From what they said when Broadsword was created, it seems like EA just got tired of doing the day to day management of the game, so they gave Broadsword a license to run it for them, even though all of the money still goes through EA. If they wanted to, EA could easily take back the license and push Broadsword out of the picture completely. It's like someone who owns a store hiring a manager because they're to busy to run it themselves, the manager does all the work, but the owner still gets all the profit.

It's all about the $$$. Broadsword can do it cheaper than EA can in house. End of story

 

[Tomarke]

If EA truly wants to make me think they care about their customers they would fix their customer service so that it is actually useful and not just a series of deadlinked "help" pages.

 

[Captn Norrington]

If EA truly wants to make me think they care about their customers they would fix their customer service so that it is actually useful and not just a series of deadlinked "help" pages.

Don't forget that most of the links that do work link to pages that usually have absolutely nothing to do with what they are supposed to be. A screenshot someone posted a while ago comes to mind, they searched for "how do I update my credit card information" and the help page that came up was "How to place a boat" lol.

 

[Vor]

One continent is full up so character race is limited to the east continent and 2 races. I am in a guild that has now over 400 people in it, when i joined the guild we had only 50 players and most of them at that stage were ex UO players.

What ever server you chose, join a guild and be active within it and you will get the most out of the game. Its playable as as single player but you will get so much more out of the game playing in a guild that is active.

Ah, that's a shame. Would have liked to have joined a guild with so many old UO players.

 

[Vor]

As to the topic at hand. EA make many mistakes, most of which I could forgive. It's just Origin that utterly sucks, both the shop and the digital client. I say that now though. But no doubt I'll use it for Dragon Age 3.

 

[Captn Norrington]

As to the topic at hand. EA make many mistakes, most of which I could forgive. It's just Origin that utterly sucks, both the shop and the digital client. I say that now though. But no doubt I'll use it for Dragon Age 3.

Personally I would think EA's biggest mistake, which at this point is unforgivable, was refusing to advertise the game at all for nearly a decade for some strange reason. Someone wouldn't open a store in real life without advertising it at least a little bit...so I have no idea why EA thought that was a good idea for an online game.....especially when they could have easily gotten free or discounted advertising from all the hundreds of fansites and other UO related sites that existed when they bought it. Stratics has been around for what, 17 years? yet I have never once seen an official UO advertisement anywhere on the site, even though it's developers are here daily.

 

[Viper09]

As to the topic at hand. EA make many mistakes, most of which I could forgive. It's just Origin that utterly sucks, both the shop and the digital client. I say that now though. But no doubt I'll use it for Dragon Age 3.

I will no doubt be using it for Dragon Age 3 as well

 

[Tomarke]

I really hate that EA bought BioWare. I will be using it for Dragonage 3 and the new Mass Effect game when it finally arrives.

 

[JC the Builder]

Wilson said EA can become a more "player-first" company in a number of ways, one of which is showing games earlier, like the company did at E3 with BioWare's next Mass Effect and new IP. Another way to do so is releasing public betas earlier in the development process, which the company also did with Battlefield Hardline, currently in beta on PC and PS4 ahead of its full release on October 21.

Further still, Wilson pointed out that EA's decision to not release a new Need for Speed game in 2014--making this year the first in over a decade without a new game--is a testament to EA's new "player-first" mentality. The company won't release a game unless it's "great," he said, even if it takes more time than anticipated to get there.

It is really convenient how this new strategy has other benefits.

Show off games earlier - generate marketing buzz
Earlier betas - more free QA testing
Not releasing an annual sequel to a franchise - covers up having nothing new to put in it

If EA wanted to put players first they would make fun games and support the live titles they already have. Where is that in their big statement?

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

It is really convenient how this new strategy has other benefits.

Show off games earlier - generate marketing buzz
Earlier betas - more free QA testing
Not releasing an annual sequel to a franchise - covers up having nothing new to put in it

If EA wanted to put players first they would make fun games and support the live titles they already have. Where is that in their big statement?

LOL, hey JC, too funny, just listened to your interview on the old UO podcast from a few years ago. Funny to bump into you here...la

 

[Peekay]

Who cares about EA?

Last I heard UO belonged to Broadsword for the most part and 100% when the contract runs up. (Rumored to happen in one of the J months, forget which one)

 

[Captn Norrington]

Who cares about EA?

Last I heard UO belonged to Broadsword for the most part and 100% when the contract runs up. (Rumored to happen in one of the J months, forget which one)

Like a few people posted earlier, Broadsword owns absolutely nothing in UO. EA still owns 100% of everything and gets 100% of the profit, they just gave Broadsword a license to run the game for them. I've never heard of anything that says Broadsword will be given the game in a J month....really, think about it....it's EA, when have they ever given anyone, anything, without getting paid massive amounts of money. Since Broadsword is still a very new company, there's no possible way they would have enough money to convince EA to sell them the game completely.

 

[Capt. Lucky]

CEOs got plans, EAs got plans, Hitler had a plan, Democrats got plans, Republicans got plans, they never seem to work out. Jess saying

 

[Captn Norrington]

CEOs got plans, EAs got plans, Hitler had a plan, Democrats got plans, Republicans got plans, they never seem to work out. Jess saying

Or that's what we're meant to think while we all unknowingly fall right into their traps, all according to their plans.

 

[Viper09]

CEOs got plans, EAs got plans, Hitler had a plan, Democrats got plans, Republicans got plans, they never seem to work out. Jess saying

I, too, have plans. Consists of a lovely drink this evening with my newly baked pound cake.

 

[Captn Norrington]

I, too, have plans. Consists of a lovely drink this evening with my newly baked pound cake.

*Adjusts his plans for the night to now involve a certain pound cake going missing*

 

[Capt. Lucky]

*Adjusts his plans for the night to now involve a certain pound cake going missing*

Arggghhh! Ahoy pound cake! Raise ye white flag!

 

[Captn Norrington]

Arggghhh! Ahoy pound cake! Raise ye white flag!

*Aims overly complicated cannons at the pound cakes vessel and prepares to fire pancake ammunition then board*

 

[Viper09]

*Adjusts his plans for the night to now involve a certain pound cake going missing*

Arggghhh! Ahoy pound cake! Raise ye white flag!

Arrrgh! Back! Away from me pound cake!:whip:

 

[Capt. Lucky]

*Aims overly complicated cannons

Amen to that brother!

 

[MalagAste]

Argh!!!! Were are me Strawberries in Syrup!!!! *Prepares to open fire on cake stuffed with Pancakes*

 

[Viper09]

Hands to battle stations! Protect the cake!

 

[Captn Norrington]

After a long, 3 hour battle, the smoke has cleared, and the cake is victorius. Many pancakes died bravely in the struggle. (For anyone who was wondering how it turned out)