TranslationHey Everyone
Extra Credits recently made a video about how to design F2P games in a good way, so both customers and developers can be happy with them.
I was wondering if any of you smarts guys out there, that have experience with F2P games would agree to the design philosophy that they present?
The video is about 8 min. long - so take a short break from everyday life and enjoy the show.
Doing F2P Wrong - How Bad Monetization Harms
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Kristian Hedeholm
- Level 9 - Conjurer
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Doing F2P Wrong - How Bad Monetization Harms
Kristian Hedeholm
Game Programmer at Tripledesign
Twitter: @KristianHede
LinkedIn: Kristian Hedeholm
Game Programmer at Tripledesign
Twitter: @KristianHede
LinkedIn: Kristian Hedeholm
Re: Doing F2P Wrong - How Bad Monetization Harms
It's a great video because we are, unfortunately, being spammed with these f2p games that only serves to gain as much revenue in the beginning before getting thrown away.
One F2P game that I actually enjoyed paying money in (and ended up buying the GOTY edition of) was Tribes: Ascend.
I could just have played and gained all weapons without paying, but I did because I wanted them faster. The weapons still required XP (and not money) to be upgraded to their full potential, so even if I unlocked something, I'd have to use it.
Again, this video is trying to say that it should be something treasure-able and I agree -- and guess what, Tribes: Ascend no longer has any support from its developers :/ In the end they just wanted to make money and move on..
One F2P game that I actually enjoyed paying money in (and ended up buying the GOTY edition of) was Tribes: Ascend.
I could just have played and gained all weapons without paying, but I did because I wanted them faster. The weapons still required XP (and not money) to be upgraded to their full potential, so even if I unlocked something, I'd have to use it.
Again, this video is trying to say that it should be something treasure-able and I agree -- and guess what, Tribes: Ascend no longer has any support from its developers :/ In the end they just wanted to make money and move on..
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simonmoeller
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Re: Doing F2P Wrong - How Bad Monetization Harms
At Kiloo, we don't spend a great deal of time thinking about "monetization" - but we do spend a lot of time thinking about "currency sinks".
A sink (where currency "disappears" into) basically is a tool to reduce inflation in your game - inflation is horribly bad for a ton of reasons, mostly because it reduces faith in the ingame economy and subsequently churns players.
The most effective sinks never get full. They are consumables. Item "monetization" is not something I see as monetization at all, because it is per definition finite. You run out of items to buy. That is bad. We see items as progress rather than monetization.
A "health potion" is an excellent sink in a boss battle for example. Now, before people go around screaming "PAY TO WIN", it is important to note that "health potions" should be earned as well during play. You can either invest time in getting health potions, or you can fasttrack and spend a small amount of dollars on a currency pack.
All the smart kids figured this out a long time ago, a great example is Wargaming with World of Tanks. They have step by step removed pay-to-win stuff from the game.
A sink (where currency "disappears" into) basically is a tool to reduce inflation in your game - inflation is horribly bad for a ton of reasons, mostly because it reduces faith in the ingame economy and subsequently churns players.
The most effective sinks never get full. They are consumables. Item "monetization" is not something I see as monetization at all, because it is per definition finite. You run out of items to buy. That is bad. We see items as progress rather than monetization.
A "health potion" is an excellent sink in a boss battle for example. Now, before people go around screaming "PAY TO WIN", it is important to note that "health potions" should be earned as well during play. You can either invest time in getting health potions, or you can fasttrack and spend a small amount of dollars on a currency pack.
All the smart kids figured this out a long time ago, a great example is Wargaming with World of Tanks. They have step by step removed pay-to-win stuff from the game.