{"id":1120,"date":"2012-09-05T15:26:07","date_gmt":"2012-09-05T19:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mirthwerx.com\/?p=1120"},"modified":"2012-09-05T15:26:07","modified_gmt":"2012-09-05T19:26:07","slug":"should-game-developers-embrace-free-to-play-models","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mirthwerx.com\/index.php\/blog\/2012\/09\/05\/should-game-developers-embrace-free-to-play-models\/","title":{"rendered":"Should game developers embrace free to play models?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the show Celebrity Rehab, Heidi Fliess (The Hollywood madam) was asked \u201cWhat is prostitution?\u201d<\/p>\n

She answered \u201cThe control of money in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2006 I opened a table top gaming retail store called Hobby Kingdom.\u00a0 At the time a plastic miniatures game called HorrorClix was very popular, so a supplier tried to get us to carry the line.\u00a0 My purchaser looked at the product and decided it wasn\u2019t good for people to play the game, it had no redeeming value to it, so we wouldn\u2019t carry it.\u00a0 The supplier was shocked we wouldn\u2019t carry a top selling product line in our store.\u00a0 He challenged us numerous times to carry it, and finally said \u201cAren\u2019t you in the business to make money?!\u201d\u00a0 Our answer was \u201cYes, but not at any cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A friend recently sent me an article called \u201cThe Fall of Angry Birds\u201d<\/a> \u00a0in which Trey Smith details how the app store phase of paying money up front for a game (commonly called Premium Games) has fallen to the wayside of a new model called \u201cFree to play\u201d (or commonly called Freemium).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So what is \u201cFree to play\u201d?\u00a0 These kinds of games give you the whole game for free, but you cannot get very far, or be very successful, or it takes inordinate amounts of time, unless you purchase additional virtual goods (typically in game currency).\u00a0 Many of these games are time based; a player action may take 24 hours of waiting to complete, but if you pay 14 cents that action can be done right now and play can continue.<\/p>\n

Free to play games are the new game industry buzz.\u00a0 Facebook games pioneered it, and now it is coming to app stores and even consoles like the Ouya<\/a> require all games be free to play. .<\/p>\n

Trey\u2019s article contrasts the first angry birds, historically always in the top 10 of the itunes app store now #52, to the top grossing games like Dragon Vale which are free to play but generate $12 million a month through sale of virtual goods.<\/p>\n

As an indie game developer, looking to grow, this is a very attractive proposition.\u00a0 Whether through blogs, books, or GDC keynotes, everywhere I turn someone is talking about the benefits of this new model and how if you aren\u2019t doing it, you\u2019re a fool for missing the boat!<\/p>\n

I think we need to ask the question at the heart of Jurassic Park: \u201cWe\u2019re so busy asking if we could, we forgot to ask if we should?\u201d<\/p>\n

Recently, I have played SimCity Social on facebook.\u00a0 This new EA game has been the most compelling freemium game I have played.\u00a0 I was moments from opening my wallet to buy some virtual goods,\u00a0 but I didn\u2019t.\u00a0 The reason is once I start buying virtual goods, I\u2019ll probably keep buying virtual goods.\u00a0 And the game is almost unplayable without it.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to get on the bus for the whole ride, so instead I quit playing the game altogether.\u00a0 I saw it as any addiction, it starts with a minimal consenting step, but turns into an unwitting long term commitment.\u00a0 The term \u201cyou can quit at any time\u201d has an eerie ring to it doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Secondly, I dislike these games because they aren\u2019t really games!\u00a0 I have minimal fun, and then suddenly a call to action to buy something.\u00a0 They are as much a game as a slot machine is a game.\u00a0 Do they require skill?\u00a0 Generally not, as money typically makes up for skill or skill isn\u2019t a factor.\u00a0 The energy that could go into game design is instead put into \u201crelying on compulsion psychology\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thirdly, in an address<\/a>\u00a0to Rice university students, game designer\u00a0Jonathan Blow (maker of Braid) argues\u00a0the game makers themselves do not like the games they are making.\u00a0 World of Warcraft can be very addictive.\u00a0 Some Taiwanese have even died from all day play sessions.\u00a0 Whether or not you like WoW, the people who are making it do.\u00a0 This has artistic integrity in the designers.\u00a0 From Jonathan\u2019s observations, and my own conversation with a designer at a popular facebook game company, the people making it would never play it.\u00a0 They actually hate it.\u00a0 This is the same mentality the Chinese toy manufacturer used when incorporating lead paint for north American toys: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t use it, but you can!\u201d\u00a0 In other business models the player is elevated, in this one they are degraded.<\/p>\n

Mirthwerx will not create these \u201cfree to play make you pay\u201d games.\u00a0 We will continue to spend our time, energy, and R&D on new and unique play experiences.\u00a0 We will explore different models like in-app purchase, unlocks, and ad based games,\u00a0 but only when it makes sense to the game.\u00a0 We still believe in putting the player experience first and THAT will lead to financial success.<\/p>\n

I believe this free to play model is a fad because<\/strong> it lacks integrity.\u00a0 It will not stand the test of time.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t mean no game will ever use it in the future, just that players will be fed up and look for better experience.\u00a0 Then the industry will move on to some other new trend.<\/p>\n

And what happened with HorrorClix?\u00a0 After a big Christmas that year, around March the fad had died out.\u00a0 Retailers slashed prices to get rid of the deadweight.\u00a0 We, fortunately, were protected from the fallout of a collapsing fad.<\/p>\n

So, what do you think?<\/p>\n

Think we are missing a huge opportunity?<\/p>\n

How do you like the free to play model? \u00a0Have you had positive and\/or negative experiences with it?<\/p>\n

We’d love to hear from you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the show Celebrity Rehab, Heidi Fliess (The Hollywood madam) was asked \u201cWhat is prostitution?\u201d She answered \u201cThe control of money in your life.\u201d In 2006 I opened a table top gaming retail store called Hobby Kingdom.\u00a0 At the time … Read More »<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[13,15,160,61,63],"class_list":["post-1120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-dev-behind-the-scenes","tag-android-game","tag-app","tag-free-to-play","tag-game","tag-game-design"],"yoast_head":"\nShould game developers embrace free to play models? - MirthWerx<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the show Celebrity Rehab, Heidi Fliess (The Hollywood madam) was asked \u201cWhat is prostitution?\u201d She answered \u201cThe control of money in your life.\u201d In\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirthwerx.com\/index.php\/blog\/2012\/09\/05\/should-game-developers-embrace-free-to-play-models\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"LordYabo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mirthwerx.com\/index.php\/blog\/2012\/09\/05\/should-game-developers-embrace-free-to-play-models\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mirthwerx.com\/index.php\/blog\/2012\/09\/05\/should-game-developers-embrace-free-to-play-models\/\",\"name\":\"Should game developers embrace free to play models? 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