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I hate what video games have become

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Re: I hate what video games have become

#311

Post by ridgered4 »

tyrfing wrote: post #53

It's a great business model for multiplayer games. They live and die on the basis of network effects, and gating access behind a $25-60 upfront payment means most games die from gradual attrition - which is just sad to watch happen when it's an enjoyable but niche game. Subscriptions are dead, with even Blizzard struggling to make it work, and most DLC models just don't work for multiplayer. Looking at my Steam libra…

I'm always the wrong guy to ask as a customer what business model to use to make money, but I remember reading some Call of Duty required people to buy maps or else you couldn't join multiplayer servers with them. There was a lot of predictable complaining that there weren't many players on the servers using the new maps. It honestly sounded exhausting to keep track of as a player to me and like it would server to repeatedly split the player base until the population died out.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#312

Post by mbg721 »

Video games and board games have kind of the same dilemma--the medium has matured to the point that further sophistication isn't necessarily an improvement. A good computer game might be an indie game that looks like it could have been made 20 years ago, because the assumption that more tech equals better games doesn't hold anymore. The board-game world is lagging a little behind that; right now the big trend is "legacy games", where you play through a campaign one time and you're done. I think it's a similar idea, though--the art for the sake of art designers in both cases can do their thing, and the big money is in "Sequel II: Let's Do It All Again, Again".

Re: I hate what video games have become

#313

Post by aftergibson »

I believe the term is called “whales” for those vulnerable to predatory monetisation. The sad part being many are escaping other addictions through video games, and that escape now attempts to profit through similar tactics. It’s really disappointing.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#314

Post by Beltalowda »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #238
yomly wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think those numbers are all relative? If you're a bored prince with billions of liquid cash and even more billions of yielding assets, do you really care about 10-20k of weekly outlays? Or reduce the scale, if you have 100k annual salary, do you miss that $3 a day you spend on coffee or $5 a week you spend on mobile gaming? ... or $15.99 a month you spend on Netflix? Everyone has a thing and a threshold they are co…

Just to follow up on what you said, one of the things I've learned after a couple of years in online retail is that a huge proportion of people genuinely enjoy spending money. They don't consider the opportunity cost or feel the pain of lost potential, but get a rush of "feeling rich" whenever they spend $50 on a T-shirt they'll wear once. It's cross-cultural, natural psychology, and I doubt it'll go anywhere.

A lot of people have this; I certainly do: when I buy something new it feels good, for a short time.

I actually live a fairly frugal life, and I think acknowledging this is important: "do I really want or need this or am I just making myself feel better for a few hours?"

Re: I hate what video games have become

#315

Post by qwery »

slightwinder wrote: post #244
OtomotO wrote: post #151

As a (non game) developer, I can say, thay free to play is instantly dead on arrival for me. The moment something is known to become or becomes free to play is the moment I lose all interest. The dishonesty in the system itself is what makes this unbearable for me. Developers need to eat, Managers need to eat, Marketeers need to eat... And sometimes psychologists doing evil mindtricks and supporting gambling addictio…

> The dishonesty in the system itself is what makes this unbearable for me. How is it dishonest? F2P does not automatically mean using dark patterns or openly making it Pay2win. Cosmetics are the prime example of an honest F2P, as they have zero impact on the game and still allow the developers to eat. Do you consider demos also dishonest?

> Cosmetics are the prime example of an honest F2P, as they have zero impact on the game

To have zero impact on the game, they'd have to not be a part of the game. Or have ever existed at all, really.

But if you think they are so meaningless, why do you think people buy them? Also, don't you think convincing someone to buy nothing sounds like something a con artist would do?

> allow the developers to eat

How do microtransactions feed developers? Do you just mean because its their job to build the game? (which necessarily includes the various monetisation systems)

Re: I hate what video games have become

#316

Post by elcomet »

tjader wrote: post #309
somedude895 wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even with Rocket League microtransactions are a bad idea. It incentivizes the developer to make attaining items through gameplay a slog in order to get you to skip that by paying up. If there was no way to get those items through mtx, they'd make the process of getting them fun. Also, games are supposed to be a form of escapism, where the gameplay matters, not who you are and how much money your parents make. You can…

Anectdata: I have over 2000 hours of Rocket League, never once spent any money on it after purchasing it and never one have I felt that my fun was impacted by the available microtransactions. Nothing that can be purchased in the game affects gameplay, it's all just cosmetics.

you didn't even buy the fennec car?

Re: I hate what video games have become

#317

Post by aftergibson »

I’m in the same boat, I have the self control not to be affected by these tactics, I also don’t want to ban these types of monetisation but I do feel the industry needs a regulatory reality check.

Gambling mechanics (loot boxes) are having a similar psychological effect to regular gambling and “self regulation” means those at risk are unprotected. Is there a way to setup gambling limits on FIFA loot boxes right now? What about children who haven’t the cognitive ability to reason about these things, are they barred like a casino?

Again don’t want to block innovation and alternative monetisation opportunities, but we should do better at protecting the vulnerable.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#318

Post by tjader »

elcomet wrote: post #316
tjader wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anectdata: I have over 2000 hours of Rocket League, never once spent any money on it after purchasing it and never one have I felt that my fun was impacted by the available microtransactions. Nothing that can be purchased in the game affects gameplay, it's all just cosmetics.

you didn't even buy the fennec car?

I'm not sure, why do you ask specifically about the Fennec?

I have bought some items, but only by trading free drops for keys/credits.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#319

Post by elcomet »

tjader wrote: post #318
elcomet wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you didn't even buy the fennec car?

I'm not sure, why do you ask specifically about the Fennec? I have bought some items, but only by trading free drops for keys/credits.

It seems to be the most common item people buy (because it can actually slightly affect your performance as it better matches the hitbox, and it is the most used competitively). I know a lot of people who never bought a single item, except for the fennec.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#320

Post by tjader »

elcomet wrote: post #319
tjader wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure, why do you ask specifically about the Fennec? I have bought some items, but only by trading free drops for keys/credits.

It seems to be the most common item people buy (because it can actually slightly affect your performance as it better matches the hitbox, and it is the most used competitively). I know a lot of people who never bought a single item, except for the fennec.

The Fennec's hitbox is the same as the Octane: https://twitter.com/RL_Support/status/1144311306415157248

As far as I know all custom cars have the same hitbox as one of the freely available cars.

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