One of the things that there's alot of discussion about in the industry currently is in-game transactions - people have been discussing them more and more frequently over the past several years, and currently the term 'free-to-play' has been getting alot more publicity.
I don't want to make my game free-to-play, it's a single-player game. However, the idea of in-game purchases both appeals-to and disgusts, me. Okay, 'disgusts' is too strong of the word, but I as a gamer, dislike in-game purchases. I, as a developer, need to make money to survive.
Thinking about my game with the assumption that I do add in-game purchases, I've been thinking about good ways and bad ways to handle them.
Here's some situations of in-game payments that I think I'd be okay with:
- Allowing the player to get instant-satisfaction by paying for something he knows he would get later anyway ([size="1"]Leveling up, you get a skillpoint to spend on a new skill. But hey, you can spend $3 and get another new skillpoint and spend two this level instead of just one, so you can advance up the skilltree faster to get to that skill you set your eye on. [size="1"]Another example is purchasing a weapon you don't currently have enough regular game currency for, by using real-world money instead of waiting)
- Having extra content that's not part of the regular game be available to the player ([size="1"]A whole different skilltree can be unlocked by purchasing it)
- Purchasing the regular in-game currency, and/or buying in-game items with real money as an alternative to in-game currency ([size="1"]both payment options being available to the player for every item except cheap items like potions).
- Paying for fancy cosmetic changes ([size="1"]Red fireballs? Lame. Mine are blue!).
- Paying for extra awesomeness for no apparent reason ([size="1"]Bribing an NPC with real currency to kill another NPC, or paying to get the burn down an entire village).
- Paying for an ability or combat accessory that you can't otherwise get, but isn't directly 'better than' the ones you can get, only different.
- Paying to get an awesome teammate or pet animal you otherwise wouldn't get.
Here's some situations of in-game payments that I wouldn't be okay with:- Making the player progress aggravatingly slow, unless he purchases something [size="1"](faster leveling or better equipment).
- Having awesome abilities or content that seems like an actual part of the game that is locked away unless he purchases it ([size="1"]Can't get the final skills in his skill tree without paying, for example. Contrast with the earlier approved 'pay to unlock an entirely new skilltree' with this disapproved 'pay to unlock the skilltree that you are already working up')
I also wouldn't like it if in-game purchases are super naggy. On the other hand, they must be plainly visible - hiding in-game purchases behind multiple menus is setting yourself up for defeat. So if I implement it in my game, I'll have them clearly visible as part of the regular GUI, but colored differently to distinguish them as separate from the regular game.
I wouldn't have them flashing or have popups or glowing in and out, or draw your attention in any way other than any other GUI element - but I will distinguish them by coloration, so players know at a glance that color X means external payment color Y means regular payment, in the same way my GUI will also use the color red to mean something negative and the color green to mean something positive (like green 'Yes' and red 'No' on a dialog box).
I'd probably even integrate the in-game payments to be better themed with the game world. Regular in-game currency maybe being 'silver coins', and real-world-payments currency being 'gold coins'.
As a gamer, I don't like spending money while in games! I'm fine with buying the game itself and buying expansions; I'm even fine with monthly payments (for MMOs). I'm fine with MMOs that sell other players extra customization to their appearances (white hair or mustaches or glowing capes or whatever), but I never buy such things.
The primary motivator for even considering such things in my own game, was reading some articles in favor and against in-game transactions, and coming across the statement "Never cap the amount of money your customers can give you", or something like that. That statement stuck with me - if my fans want to give me more than the $15 I'm charging for my game, I should let them, as long as I'm not manipulating them to give more, nagging them with constant requests for more, or cheating them by sell 'extra' content that should've been in the game in the first place.
Basically, I think I'm fine with allowing players to purchase short-cuts to get to something their focused on sooner, as long as I'm not deliberately making them game progress aggravatingly slow to force them to make such purchases. My self-decided standard for my game is, "As a gamer who doesn't like making in-game purchases, can I play through my own game and enjoy it, without missing out on important content, without feeling cheated or tricked by having bought an 'incomplete' game, and without feeling nagged or pressured to buy something?"
I'm still working through my thoughts, and I'd value your opinions. What do you think, not about in-game purchases in general, but about my specific case and the things I've mentioned? I know I haven't explained anything about my game (other than the loosely defined '2D turn-based RPG'), but really, it shouldn't matter too much.
What are your thoughts about all this?