4 ms·

He should just buy his son a laptop and put a zachtronics game or factorio or minecraft or any other game that has some sort of educational or artistic goal. He

He should just buy his son a laptop and put a zachtronics game or factorio or minecraft or any other game that has some sort of educational or artistic goal. Heck, for high score, just put runner game on there. Mods can fulfill boosts, etc.

icefox 10y ago
His trump card is the fact that all of his friends are playing [free game] and so he also will play it period and will be exposed to the in app purchases. We are fun little social creatures. The question is what options do game designers have that don't involve making crummy games and yet still allow for free games and in app purchases? 'Hats' and other cosmetic options and genuine expansions are the only two I am aware of. What else has others heard of or seen?
- alasdair_ 10y ago
  Things that improve the playing experience of friends, rather than simply pay to win, also work. For example: "lures" in pokemon go mostly help other people.
  - cableshaft 10y ago
    Only time I payed for in-game currency was so I could buy lures to drop for players at the restaurant or park I was at, or so my girlfriend could stay occupied while she was stuck in bed when recovering from surgery. It made me feel good to buy that stuff and spread the wealth, instead of feeling awful, and it was easy to justify because "it's only a dollar". I'm convinced that companies need to tap into this a lot more.
  - kahrkunne 10y ago
    This is actually an important part of the market. A lot of the income of these games comes from "whales", players who spend a lot of money (sometimes thousands a year) on them. These are typically people with high expendable income but a strong desire for social status, and one of the ways they try and get social status is by buying such items (which makes them very beloved and helps retain other players too)
- wolfgke 10y ago
  > His trump card is the fact that all of his friends are playing [free game] and so he also will play it period and will be exposed to the in app purchases. If the friends are not much smarter this is rather an argument against the game to me. If the friends urge him (your "We are fun little social creatures" argument), one should tell the child to quit being friends with them, since they get the child down - thus they not people one should want to be friend with.
  - dsp1234 10y ago
    one should tell the child to quit being friends with them My mom gave me advice like this when I was in the 3rd grade. I followed it. What she didn't tell me is that in school, the 30 kids I was with were going to be the same ones in 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade and 7th grade. I was ostracized by those friends, and having been shunned by that small group of friends (just 4 other kids out of 30), I was persona non grata to those others. Even when other kids joined the class between each year, they quickly found out that talking to me was a quick way to also be shunned. Between that incident in 3rd grade, and when I finally moved in 8th grade, I can count the number of other children who talked to me on 2 hands, and the number of total words spoken to me was less than a hundred. It's bad advice to ignore the fact that we are social creatures. Children can be exceptionally cruel.
  - alasdair_ 10y ago
    > If the friends are not much smarter this is rather an argument against the game to me. If the friends urge him (your "We are fun little social creatures" argument), one should tell the child to quit being friends with them, since they get the child down - thus they not people one should want to be friend with. This seems like bad advice. School is unlike the adult world. Children are essentially stuck there for a decade or more - they can't (easily) quit, walk out, tell the boss to go fuck himself or otherwise do much else other than show up the next day. I'm not trying to be edgy when I say that in many ways it's like prison - you have little choice over who you associate with and things like violence amongst the inmates are accepted there in ways that would never be tolerated on the "outside".
    - 10y ago
- egypturnash 10y ago
  "You got the first X levels for free but if you want more you'll need to pay $$". Sure worked for Doom. Which sadly makes nowhere near as much money since $5 is considered pricey for a phone app, especially for a casual game, and doesn't have that possibility of attracting a few big spenders who will go on to fund a significant portion of development.
  - kalleboo 10y ago
    > Sure worked for Doom But for Super Mario Run it garners them 1-star ratings that call it "a scam" since it's not free. https://twitter.com/drbarnard/status/810333059165945856 https://twitter.com/drbarnard/status/810333059165945856 > "This game, on the other hand, REQUIRES you to pay in order to advance. That's the most retarded money-making strategy I've ever heard of. [...] most people aren't going to fall for your greediness"
    - DanBC 10y ago
      To support your point, here's a review of a game. The game has a few free levels, with a single IAP to unlock the rest of the game. This is the classic Doom model. This reviewer calls it "tacky". http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Glyph+Quest/review.asp?c=57026 http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Glyph+Quest/review.asp... > There's plenty of content here too, especially after you cough up a little money. > (That's a bad thing) > Though the game is "free" on the App Store, it's actually a glorified demo, the full version of which you unlock with a one-off payment. Getting to a point in the game where you can't progress, only to have a prompt pop up hinting that you should give the company some money, feels a bit tacky.
cosarara97 10y ago
Runner game?
- SolarNet 10y ago
  Score attack games where you basically run to the right, although there are other variations (like ninja games). Alternatively just get the kid into speed running, same idea. Some examples: * http://store.steampowered.com/app/325150/ http://store.steampowered.com/app/325150/ * http://store.steampowered.com/app/230270/ http://store.steampowered.com/app/230270/

icefox 10y ago

His trump card is the fact that all of his friends are playing [free game] and so he also will play it period and will be exposed to the in app purchases. We are fun little social creatures. The question is what options do game designers have that don't involve making crummy games and yet still allow for free games and in app purchases? 'Hats' and other cosmetic options and genuine expansions are the only two I am aware of. What else has others heard of or seen?

alasdair_ 10y ago
Things that improve the playing experience of friends, rather than simply pay to win, also work. For example: "lures" in pokemon go mostly help other people.
- cableshaft 10y ago
  Only time I payed for in-game currency was so I could buy lures to drop for players at the restaurant or park I was at, or so my girlfriend could stay occupied while she was stuck in bed when recovering from surgery. It made me feel good to buy that stuff and spread the wealth, instead of feeling awful, and it was easy to justify because "it's only a dollar". I'm convinced that companies need to tap into this a lot more.
- kahrkunne 10y ago
  This is actually an important part of the market. A lot of the income of these games comes from "whales", players who spend a lot of money (sometimes thousands a year) on them. These are typically people with high expendable income but a strong desire for social status, and one of the ways they try and get social status is by buying such items (which makes them very beloved and helps retain other players too)
wolfgke 10y ago
> His trump card is the fact that all of his friends are playing [free game] and so he also will play it period and will be exposed to the in app purchases. If the friends are not much smarter this is rather an argument against the game to me. If the friends urge him (your "We are fun little social creatures" argument), one should tell the child to quit being friends with them, since they get the child down - thus they not people one should want to be friend with.
- dsp1234 10y ago
  one should tell the child to quit being friends with them My mom gave me advice like this when I was in the 3rd grade. I followed it. What she didn't tell me is that in school, the 30 kids I was with were going to be the same ones in 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade and 7th grade. I was ostracized by those friends, and having been shunned by that small group of friends (just 4 other kids out of 30), I was persona non grata to those others. Even when other kids joined the class between each year, they quickly found out that talking to me was a quick way to also be shunned. Between that incident in 3rd grade, and when I finally moved in 8th grade, I can count the number of other children who talked to me on 2 hands, and the number of total words spoken to me was less than a hundred. It's bad advice to ignore the fact that we are social creatures. Children can be exceptionally cruel.
- alasdair_ 10y ago
  > If the friends are not much smarter this is rather an argument against the game to me. If the friends urge him (your "We are fun little social creatures" argument), one should tell the child to quit being friends with them, since they get the child down - thus they not people one should want to be friend with. This seems like bad advice. School is unlike the adult world. Children are essentially stuck there for a decade or more - they can't (easily) quit, walk out, tell the boss to go fuck himself or otherwise do much else other than show up the next day. I'm not trying to be edgy when I say that in many ways it's like prison - you have little choice over who you associate with and things like violence amongst the inmates are accepted there in ways that would never be tolerated on the "outside".
  - 10y ago
egypturnash 10y ago
"You got the first X levels for free but if you want more you'll need to pay $$". Sure worked for Doom. Which sadly makes nowhere near as much money since $5 is considered pricey for a phone app, especially for a casual game, and doesn't have that possibility of attracting a few big spenders who will go on to fund a significant portion of development.
- kalleboo 10y ago
  > Sure worked for Doom But for Super Mario Run it garners them 1-star ratings that call it "a scam" since it's not free. https://twitter.com/drbarnard/status/810333059165945856 https://twitter.com/drbarnard/status/810333059165945856 > "This game, on the other hand, REQUIRES you to pay in order to advance. That's the most retarded money-making strategy I've ever heard of. [...] most people aren't going to fall for your greediness"
  - DanBC 10y ago
    To support your point, here's a review of a game. The game has a few free levels, with a single IAP to unlock the rest of the game. This is the classic Doom model. This reviewer calls it "tacky". http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Glyph+Quest/review.asp?c=57026 http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Glyph+Quest/review.asp... > There's plenty of content here too, especially after you cough up a little money. > (That's a bad thing) > Though the game is "free" on the App Store, it's actually a glorified demo, the full version of which you unlock with a one-off payment. Getting to a point in the game where you can't progress, only to have a prompt pop up hinting that you should give the company some money, feels a bit tacky.

cosarara97 10y ago

Runner game?

SolarNet 10y ago
Score attack games where you basically run to the right, although there are other variations (like ninja games). Alternatively just get the kid into speed running, same idea. Some examples: * http://store.steampowered.com/app/325150/ http://store.steampowered.com/app/325150/ * http://store.steampowered.com/app/230270/ http://store.steampowered.com/app/230270/