Free-to-Play System - Input needed

News & General Discussion
1

Hello,

I’ve been playing a lot of Planetside 2 recently (although, it must be said that Bioshock Infinite has stolen most of my free time from me in the past week) and something that really struck me about it - aside from the low frame rates - is the implementation of a multi-faceted F2P system. The options of a premium membership, weapons unlocks, cosmetic unlocks and booster packs really encourage me to spend money on the game to get the most out of it.

This has encouraged me to try and get back into Unity to put my spare time to good use. I have started work on a free-to-play system for Unity, which has a web-based administrative back-end and a SDK for in-game use. The aim is that this should be free for all who wish to use it in their games.

I really want to get some input from those who are interested in something like this. If you could answer any of the questions below, I’d be grateful:

  • Are you interested in this, providing it is solid enough to be used in a commercial game?
  • Do you have any worries about using a free system?
  • Are there any specifics about implementation you can think of? (for example, should there be constant requests to the website or a caching mechanism etc)
  • Any features you desire?

Additional input would also be very useful!

As mentioned this is in it’s early stages (and thus does not really deserve a WIP) and as it’s purely in my spare time it may take some time to come to fruition, but it will get there eventually and hopefully will be useful to some!

Thanks,
Richard

2

Free to Play is less a game mechanic (though, the idea can influence those) and more of a business model. This isn’t something you can directly ‘code’ in Unity; it’s part of your design.

What you’re talking about actually implementing is an in-app purchasing system, which can be useful. Ultimately, this won’t be difficult for you to do; pretty much, you’re just setting up a front end/back end that lets players perform a purchase that leads to an in-game item (or, sale of virtual goods).

The designers of titles need to understand the finer points of the F2P models, though. When you develop this in-app purchase system, a FAQ on best practices for Free To Play might be useful. Here’s a few on the house:

A) Users should at no time be required to make a purchase for the game to be playable. Free to play means exactly that; violating this rule will cause players to leave before you even have them.

B) Users should be unable to purchase power, merely convenience or vanity. Items that allow the player to win are abusive to everyone and violate the need for challenge in a game. Challenge arises naturally when a player is forced with a meaningful decision in pursuit of a clear and compelling goal, but with no option being the optimal answer to a given problem. Conversely, players love customization or things that expedite the ‘progressional’ phase of the game (by ‘progressional phase’, I am referring to the process of leveling up to max level in a game like Star Wars: The Old Republic or League of Legends)