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[Column] General: How to Critique Free to Play
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Free to play is a relatively new phenomenon in the MMO space and it comes complete with growing pains on many levels. In today's Free Zone, we take a look at ways to critique F2P to make it fair and effective. Check it out before leaving your impressions in the comments.
Don't pretend there's only one possible or reasonable point of view
Have you ever noticed how often politicians do this? In that field, where it's a pretty standard tactic, it's not really intended to change minds or even to foster open thinking. Rather, the main objective is to reinforce support among those who already share the opinion in question by polarizing the issue. So, the perspective being (over-)stated is presented as right or good, while any others are typically dismissed as completely without merit.
Read more of Richard Aihoshi's The Free Zone: How to Critique Free to Play.
Comments
Crazkanuk
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Someone logging in for two minutes every month for two and a half years is not a severe example?
Generally though I agree with what ypu say.
When you consider Blizzard has stated that over 70% of their subscriber base is from "Asia" and only the other 30% from both US and EU combined, I would say that constitutes typical at that point and not severe. Its saying that even at its peak, of the 11 million that Blizz reported, 7.7 paid in this unconventional manner, while they never have topped 3.5 million "active monthly subscibers" by the US/EU standard. It really sets the game in a much more comparable manner to other MMOs in those regions.
Back on subject, this has been controversial for awhile now, especially since we have seen such a rise in F2P over the last year or two, even having the P2P MMOs convert. You really do have to look at every MMO individually, and decide for yourself at what point are you willing or not to pay for it. I have played dozens of F2P over the years, and never spent a single dime on them. If Im able to reach level cap and compete competitively in PVP or complete the hardest most demanding PVE content (raids), then its not P2W for me personally. P2W would require that paying players have some sort of advantage over nonpaying players. Which is more and more, not the case with F2P games. Certain companies, like R2Games or PWE take the P2W route, but knowing which publishers are which, you can save yourself from alot of disappointment.
Going into any MMO with an open mind, and not discounting it based solely on the pay model, is a must, or you could find yourself never really liking any new MMO. Even many with premium subs these days have some form of a cash shop, and many F2P with cash shops stick solely to cosmetic and convenience items. For me, for example, an XP potion isnt P2W since I play 8-12 hours everyday, and I can stay ahead of even those that are paying but with work or school schedules. To me, its not an advantage at all that they are paying for, but for others, seeing a convenience item in a cash shop does constitute P2W. Personally, P2W is only buying an advantage that doesnt exist in game without paying, such as attribute bonuses or equipment that cant be obtained with normal play. If players are equal by the level cap, it doesnt matter to me who gets there first.
Deciding for yourself where that line stands, will save you alot of headaches. And you need to remember that not everyone will have the same line as you. You cant sway them to your side, just move along to the next MMO.
i dont mind the free to play i have subbed most my life since UO and i must say i am tired of subs do to the fact i had to leave the 500k home and move to the woods and live in ac rappy gueto apartment i can no longer afford subs i like the buy it you play it mode subs are a thing of the past being a usa gamer my government has taken all my money and left me with scrapps now i have to work hard to eat so i wish they would chainge and evolve some are some refuse times are getting worse and will get even more worse time for chainge
When I critique business models, as a customer, the question I focus on is "does it align the priorities of the developer with the priorities of the customer"?
In a perfect world, every financial decision would be perfectly rational and business models would ultimately be irrelevent. But it's not a perfect world. The structure of the choices matters.
I've never made a post on this site with the intention of changing anyone's mind. To do so..by anyone, would be incredibly naive.
You post your thoughts on something. Someone quotes you and disagrees., each side pretty much just says the same thing a few times back and forth then others chime in and it eventually goes off on some other tangent with both original parties thinking " that guy was an idiot "
That in a nut shell is how all threads here go.
It is actually much easier to Critique F2P than it is in P2P games. In P2P your only option is to keep playing the game or quit entirely. Pay to Play Critique is all or nothing. You either like the game or you don't and the developers have no idea what made you quit.
In a Free 2 Play game it isn't a simple choice of quit the sub entirely but is instead the subscription is divided into micro transactions. If the F2P company puts in a feature you really like you can buy a ton of that. For example if they put in a new mount and players buy up a ton of them then the developer knows the customer really likes mounts and will produce more of them in the future.
Free 2 Play actually leads to fast feedback from the customers than pay to play games. That is the bottom line and part of the reason why F2P has taken off in recent years.
Does the design of the game try to coerce a person into paying?
Does the design of the game try to perfect gameplay and fun?
"If the Damned gave you a roadmap, then you'd know just where to go"
If your mind was completely closed to any idea or argument, why did you start reading this sentence in the first place?
You know what's fun sometimes....reading a post all the way to the end before hitting the quote button. It sometimes explains the question you just asked.
Ok. ok ... one snark begets another, fair enough.
( when I quote posts, I do tend to edit the quote down to the one sentence; I want to focus on the exact point where I feel my opinion diverges or where I don't understand what the author means ... I'm not trying to ignore what the rest of the post has posted or quote them out of context, although this exchange now have me worrying that this is how it comes out sounding )
I see a lot of words here. Not sure if anything meaningful is being said.
I will offer this, there is a wide range of f2p offerings, making it impossible to lump it all together. You have your big AAA games all the way down to the limited play 2D offerings. They all offer different flavors of f2p and large differences in gameplay. Some of the f2p games still offer subscriptions hence they are more of a hybrid, while many are completely funded by item shop purchases.
When a game offers needed gameplay items that cost more than the typical monthly subscription then it is a money scam IMO. There are a lot of them out there. Many of this type tend to drawn the ire of the MMO crowd and accrue the pay-to-win moniker. Most of the AAA type games are not like this.
Instead of a general article like this, the author should attempt to come up with f2p categories and then address the categories instead of all f2p games, the article might actually make sense then.
Obviously the entire discussion is subjective. While I think the principles of F2P don't lend themselves particularly well to good game design, a game designer can still make a great F2P game despite that.
I think a big problem with F2P games is that most players never purchase a single thing, when you look at players that do make purchases most of those are not reoccurring transactions. In order to fund F2P development you generally need a much larger player base to achieve a certain level of steady income. This can easily lead to designs based on mass market appeal.
Niche games by their nature are going to appeal to a smaller more specific subset of players. Being subscription based seems to be a much better fit here, because the income is more steady and predictable, and isn't going to require you to compromise your game design to accommodate a wider range of players.
That said at the end of the day a good game is a good game and I don't think F2P, B2P, or P2P will ever have a monopoly on good games. However I do think certain models lend themselves better to certain markets, but a good developer can always surprise you with something unsuspected or different.
This is what I was gonna say, ahhhhhhhh!
"we don't see F2P players directing much negativity at any form of P2P."
Um....Yes we do. Every new game that comes out that dares to actually charge people a sub to play it I see hordes of F2P players berating the company for their "outdated" business model and calling anyone who says they are fine paying the sub "idiots" (or worse).
I actually am kind of undecided on the whole question of F2P but it's these types that usually get me to come out and defend P2P just because they are so obnoxious.
I have never seen blizzard make this statement. I have seen people speculate about this, but I've never seen or heard anything backing up the speculation. The most recent statement they made on subs was that they lost 1.3 million and most of those were in the East, but they never said what the breakdown actually was.
Heres how I look at a f2p game:
My standard for a MMO used to be 6 months...If the game was p2p I'd spend probably 80-90$ in subs fees over that time......I have never even come close to that in any f2p game over a 6 month span......TO me the p2p system is a total ripoff....I feel like I am being charged for no reason.....I dont get anything more by paying a sub than I do for playing for free and paying for the options I want......You guys can argue till your blue in the face, but as a consumer the f2p option is much cheaper.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR