I think the point is that once you put in a store, it is criminally easy to design the game to prod (read "force") people to use it. There are very few cases where IAPs feel truly optional, no matter the assurances from developers. IAP also works against the kind of immersion that many of us are looking for in games (especially something like Star Command). As we've seen in game like Zenonia 4, the game will likely always remind you that you spend real cash to get around all that tedious grinding. There's a whole psychology to getting folks to spend cash in freemium games, and it has a way to affect (read "ruin") the gameplay experience of folks who don't want buy IAPs.
What the Devs could do is release 2 versions. One version is a free version where you have to buy all the additional stuff or you can but the premium app for a fixed price and get all future content free as updates. OR they could release a barebones game, its still the full game just with no extra stuff, but you can buy it as DLC and then have a seperate game which alreayd has everything unlocked and future content comes at .69p / $.99
This might help with the conversation - i did recall reading something like this and finally found it about 20 pages back.
Maybe I've been exceptionally lucky, but I've played lots of games with completely unobtrusive (and totally optional) IAP. I've enjoyed hours of experiences with those games without ever giving the IAP a first thought, let alone a second thought. Really? You're looking at "pixel-art" styled graphics on your phone and a virtual button that leads you to the option of spending $0.99 is going to pull you out of the experience? God forbid somebody sends you a text message!
Here you go, since you only quoted one line of my response in an attempt to misrepresent what I said: Seems pretty clear, and elaborate, to me. Feel free to read it aloud, so that it makes more sense to you.
Good pull; I'd forgotten about that that. Hats, levels? That's "good" IAP (imho). Consumables? Not so good. Ok, I'll at least wait and see; they have my money anyway, so I guess I'm in for a penny, in for a pound anyway.
I honestly don't care if this game has IAP if it is implemented well, although I doubt I would buy any.
in-app purchases The feedback and opinions are well read. Thanks for the good feedback. It is a contentious issue - and we realize this- and for good reason. Certain games are guilty of absolutely egregious IAP ideas. The entire idea of unlocking content that the player should have gotten in the first place annoys us- to say the least. It really does. Valve did indeed do it well with TF2 - not only did they add a lot of content to the game (and incentivize an entire marketplace and industry to create new objects) but they also made the long-term players have some status. And as an avid player I have more items than I know what to do with - it is great. They also made the game free. God Valve is the bomb. We are not Valve- we are 3 guys but we aren't stupid either. We understand games and what the some of these non-Valve game companies are doing to rip players off. It is admittedly daunting when the top 50 grossing games are 95% 'free' apps. It would be easy to follow that model - but we aren't going to. We have to support ourselves - and we are optimistic that we will accomplish this - WITHOUT being assholes and following so many of the other companies that use games to simply make money. Star Command isn't something we take so lightly and simply. We will be content with recouping our losses and even more so funding another game - and that is our goal - nothing more and nothing less. So you have our promise we are not in this for the money - we are more looking at the new developments in the games marketplace that are changing at a ��������ing insane pace - but we are trying to derive a model for our own game that doesn't suck. IAP have a rightly-deserved bad-name and so we will absolutely take a lot of time to find out our exact approach (if any) to it. Rest assured we are not here to get rich - we just want to keep making games that don't suck - and Star Command - which has been under development now for almost 2 years will ��������ing kick ass. It will steal your soul but not your wallet - rest assured of that.
I only quoted one line of your response in an attempt at brevity and to maintain relevance to my point. You give no explanation of the failing of my solution other than a vague and unsupported claim that the inclusion of IAP will "cheapen" the perception of the game and a vague and unsupported claim that the stated benefit of the inclusion (a lower price for the app) would fail to increase the game's audience reach. Can we discuss this issue without the abuse, please?
Yes you are extremely lucky. And special. Yes, it would. And I'm an old fart who rarely gets text messages.
This is one reason I actually hope that you do incorporate some IAP. IAP does not deserve a bad reputation- bad IAP does. You guys seem like just the kind of developer that could help rescue what is just another tool/business model from a blind and excessive backlash. Please implement IAP in a fair, reasonable and unobtrusive way and help show this industry the right way to do it.
Slooow Dowwwn Alright, everyone just slow down. We just did a lengthy interview to address some of the questions we are getting about IAP. Take a look: http://pockettactics.com/2012/05/08/star-command-iap-plans/
It's great that kickstarters get access to all the items in the store, thanks! And on paper i like the way you handle IAP.
Star Command Village! ^LOL, that made me laugh, If IAP allows you guys to *drum-beat*: ADD THINGS to Star Command auxillery to the game, instead of TAKING THINGS AWAY from the player's experience (as lots of commercialized gamification pay MT-faucet apps attempt) that is perfectly reasonable. I was thinking some extra animations even? For example some extra death routines? Mortal Kombat always amused me with those, no end. I'm sure if people were to come up with things you could realistically do/add and then you see what good ideas or popular ideas there might be, that could be another approach (but yeah, death animations as long as not too ridiculous, but "creative" could be a barrel of laughs). That's something you would not be able to fit in necessarily otherwise and adds immersion for example. Also some of your alien designs <3 :
+1,,I like added detail that keeps the game fresh & interesting. The same death sequence over and over is fine for a game, but adding different deaths for different aliens would be sweet. It adds more variety and the basics of the game don't get old as fast. attention to detail....
I don't particularly like IAP's, but I've seen the odd game here and there handle them the way they should be.. Junk Jack for example handles them in a very non intrusive manner. Something like this would work well. I have no doubt these guys know what they're doing and will implement them properly.
Yes junk jack was a very good example. You can buy hats. I bought them all. You could also support the developer by making a one time payment in the in-game shop. None of these IAP ever removed anything from the game and weren't essential to it either.
