Interesting article about IAP and why/how it works

I'm sure that the author was aware of the gem giveaway stuff and whatnot. His point was that the main method of playing the game, dungeon delving, manipulates the player into spending those gems, instead of saving those gems for a better purchase. The dungeon delves are designed around this manipulation, which sucks for the player.

And who's to say that the devs have those giveaways to make players feel like they won't need to spend, to trap them when they continue to dungeon delve? That is possible, and I personally have not seen evidence to the contrary.

Think of it like this: let us say, hypothetically speaking, that a player is playing Diablo 1, 2 or 3, doesn't matter which, and they get a message when they die saying that their equipment on their dead body cannot be recovered unless they pay Blizzard $1, or some premium currency equivalency.

Now, the Diablo games are all skill-based in terms of game mechanics, and death happens frequently. Imagine how hard it might be to fight the enemies without the equipment you had looted prior to that death. Thus, even thinking about not spending that $1 is either craziness, masochism, or stupidity; after all, why would a player give up every single piece of armor he or she spent hours playing for over spending one measly dollar to keep that equipment? The loss of time and character progression far outweighs the loss of a dollar.

And that is the kind of hook Puzzle and Dragons has, according to the article. And to be honest, that seriously sucks for the player.

Gem giveaways and opportunities to earn those gems instead of paying for them are a kid-sized Sesame Street bandage on a gaping wound in a game's design; after all, if a developer has to resort to those methods in order to retain a player base, it begs the question: would the game stand on its own without those free/earned gems, or would it lose its players within a few days?

Those are my thoughts on the subject, after reading the article and the point that was brought up. Make of it however you will.

Sincerely,

Mr. Album

 

Really interesting article. Thanks for the link.

MrAlbum has it right: those gem giveaways in P and D are definitely part of the money making strategy.

 

This is an interesting point, MrAlbum. I've often thought that any game mechanic that was acceptable in the past was free reign for the fair addition of IAPs. Now I see the disconnect. For example, you could lose loot in Ultima Online upon death, but it would inherently change the nature of the mechanic if you could pay to return your items.

Excellent point on how IAP by nature needs to be designed in harmony with the gameplay. It's more harmful to add IAPs as an afterthought than to allow them to influence the game design from the beginning.