Supermagical (by Gala Pocket) [Universal]

[slewis7]

Originally Posted by paulf58

IAP?? I bought this thinking it was the full game. ARG. Why must the app store be filled with annoying half games?

Because only a very few developers can make money by selling games for 99 cents.

[Greyskull]

Originally Posted by slewis7

Because only a very few developers can make money by selling games for 99 cents.

...aaaand therefore should probably find another line of work, if they rely on the revenue from their ios game sales as their sole source of income.

When once there where few, now there have been tens of thousands of games released for ios. Of couse only a few will make enough money to warrant a full-time job.

[DaviddesJ]

Originally Posted by Greyskull

...aaaand therefore should probably find another line of work

Wait. You're complaining that you don't like their pricing model and you would be better off if they stopped making games altogether? How exactly does that make you better off?

[Bool Zero]

Originally Posted by Greyskull

...aaaand therefore should probably find another line of work, if they rely on the revenue from their ios game sales as their sole source of income.

When once there where few, now there have been tens of thousands of games released for ios. Of couse only a few will make enough money to warrant a full-time job.

I have to agree... Bought it, played it, deleted it after I realized it was designed to be an intentional grind. The gameplay is fun, but not fun enough to grind at the pace the game dictates. I would have preferred to pay more for a balanced game with no IAP. But I guess I am in the minority market too; a market where folks don't like to buy games over .99¢ but are willing to dump money into IAP. I prefer to pay for the game upfront and not plunk quarters into the "machine". I lived through that era in the 70's, 80's and part of the 90's to see it die off and now pop up on my game consoles and portable gaming.

[Bool Zero]

Originally Posted by DaviddesJ

Wait. You're complaining that you don't like their pricing model and you would be better off if they stopped making games altogether? How exactly does that make you better off?

No, I think he is saying that the market is saturated as is, so it needs a little thinning out. The fact that every developer that hits the app store thinks they are somehow going to make money is unrealistic. I can tell you firsthand having worked for several app developing companies (both in game development and other categories) that this is a unrealistic mindset. If big companies that do this as a business know it is a risky environment, one would assume that a independent developer would as well.


The problem currently is that we have a California gold rush mentality happening on the app store, in which every developer with an app thinks they can use the same business model (IAP) and be successful with it. The problem is that this model does not work with all game types and when applied poorly can feel to lessen the game experience by creating artificial hurdles and pacing limitations (among other things). There is a fine line to walk between truly addictive gameplay and that compulsory feel to buy IAP and, well, not.

[soldat7]

Originally Posted by paulf58

IAP?? I bought this thinking it was the full game. ARG. Why must the app store be filled with annoying half games?

This one is better than most, in that regard. It's very well worth the entry price. This is a big, high quality app.

[soundofdesign]

Originally Posted by Eddie

[annoyed rant warning]
I've seen it countless times until now on the forums - some vocal players have a different view from publisher, and suddenly new users appear (with no interest in any other games, of course) starting to defend tooth and nails the publisher's viewpoint. Lame, easy to read scenario.
[rant over]

Back to the IAP debate - IMHO this game would've rocked WITHOUT the shoehorned F2P elements, which definitely ruin the experience for me.

Why "shoehorned" ? Well, I said it before - good F2P titles won't lure you into spending ("here's a nice sheep that makes the game easier, here's a cute hat that makes you more money, here's a chance to win massive prizes bla bla") then blam! force you into spending ("gimme 11000 or you can't move on").

Actually, I came to realize I'm so vocal on these matters because I hate to see a perfectly good game (perhaps the best of its genre on the AppStore) ruined by design decisions I can't understand.

I'd like to know whether the devs are really happy with the game as it is, and whether they ever considered just doing first the best traditional game they could, and then relaunch Supermagical 2 with a well-thought, not rushed, F2P model.

To make things clear - I'm not against IAP, I'm not against F2P, I'm just against the way these are implemented here.

Wait, so because I'm a new user and because I happen to think all the whining about IAP is ridiculous, you are implying I'm a plant for the developers? LOL. I'm just a guy playing a game that is far better than the $.99 sticker price who is tired of seeing entitled whining. Remember when you bought a console? Then a game? And then after about $300, maybe you liked the game or maybe you didn't? At no point have games ever been free, but the App Store has created this entitled illusion that because you bought an iPhone or iPad that everything else is part of the deal. It's not. The developers that bust their asses making these games have to make money also. And the irony here that is making me speak up is that this is one game that does not, in any way, actually require your to buy coins via IAP.

[soundofdesign]

Originally Posted by DaviddesJ

I'm older than you, I played plenty of Atari 2600 games, you could just play at whatever level you wanted. The idea that you have to either pay real-world money or be talented to unlock elements of the game is much newer than that.
You dismiss anyone who's not as great at you at games by saying they need to practice more. But people have a wide range of skills and ability is the biggest distinguisher, not practice. Personally, I will probably have no trouble unlocking everything either (I haven't played that much). But if someone else isn't as good at the game as me, I don't think it's very decent to say, well, you should expect you have to pay more to play than I do, it's your fault that you aren't more talented. I understand it's an accepted model, and I understand the reasons for it, but I also understand and sympathize with those who aren't well served by it.

You are missing my point. This game is perfectly playable without grinding or IAP. If you are even sort of decent at the game, you can build enough coins easily. But wait, there's more. To your point... if you are NOT very good at the game, you can still repeat levels to earn coins. As many times as you want you can do this. And, if neither practicing or grinding are your thing, you can cut corners and buy coins. If you have skill, you don't need time or money. If you have time, you don't need skill or money. If you have money, you don't need skill or time. You cannot possibly complain about this. There's three ways to play the game exactly like you wish. But you can't say "if I can't afford IAP and I'm not good enough to earn better coins, then the game is broken" because in that case you can just grind. It's a flawed argument.

[PraetorianX]

Originally Posted by Bool Zero

I have to agree... Bought it, played it, deleted it after I realized it was designed to be an intentional grind. The gameplay is fun, but not fun enough to grind at the pace the game dictates. I would have preferred to pay more for a balanced game with no IAP. But I guess I am in the minority market too; a market where folks don't like to buy games over .99¢ but are willing to dump money into IAP. I prefer to pay for the game upfront and not plunk quarters into the "machine". I lived through that era in the 70's, 80's and part of the 90's to see it die off and now pop up on my game consoles and portable gaming.

I'm with you mate Too bad that AppStore and Devs are taking IAP's route lately . Really lame. Grow some balls, make a good game, and charge me for it $5/6/7/10 . Seriously.

[DaviddesJ]

Originally Posted by soundofdesign

You cannot possibly complain about this.

Of course anyone can complain about anything they don't like. Everyone's individual preferences are valid (they are their own preferences, after all), so if they think they don't like it then they are correct that they don't like it. Many people would prefer the game if they didn't have to pay or grind to unlock each subsequent stage. Thus there's every reason for them to complain they don't like that. Of course, other people will like it, and there's every reason for them to praise it. Everyone can just choose for themselves what they like.