Ah yes, the famously human and ethical devs of f2p games, so ethical in fact that some were found in violation of the law in several countries due to their horrendous monetisation schemes, abusing neurological biases to exploit vulnerable individuals, and being all around predatory...
Free to apply games are like you said, manipulative and generally whale chasing bastards. They don't ask for donations, so they don't fit the meme.
I think the meme is about free games, funded by donations through patreon or pay what you want pricing that are basically donations at the whim of the players. The ones that don't have an in game shop and are actually free to play but not F2P.
There's nothing wrong with an in-game shop if it isn't predatory. For example, this made me think of Rift, where you could fully appreciate the game for free, but quality of life upgrades would cost a few dollars.
You gotta either build monetization right into the game or offer an easy way to buy it. There's a reason why payment processors and stores in general try to reduce friction to a minimum.
If you wanna pay for something you either do it right away and without much hassle or very likely never. Personally I would even rather buy a game right away and be dissapointed (and potentially revisit it later) than download a demo first. I realize that this is a privileged position to be in, but either way it is an advantage for you if I don't think about spending money too much
11 Comments
TheMetaleek@jlai.lu · 61 pts · 15d
Ah yes, the famously human and ethical devs of f2p games, so ethical in fact that some were found in violation of the law in several countries due to their horrendous monetisation schemes, abusing neurological biases to exploit vulnerable individuals, and being all around predatory...
snooggums@piefed.world · 29 pts · 15d
I hate how shit gets named.
Free to apply games are like you said, manipulative and generally whale chasing bastards. They don't ask for donations, so they don't fit the meme.
I think the meme is about free games, funded by donations through patreon or pay what you want pricing that are basically donations at the whim of the players. The ones that don't have an in game shop and are actually free to play but not F2P.
Drusas@fedia.io · -6 pts · 15d
There's nothing wrong with an in-game shop if it isn't predatory. For example, this made me think of Rift, where you could fully appreciate the game for free, but quality of life upgrades would cost a few dollars.
ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com · 20 pts · 15d
Back in my day, the line was cosmetics
And expansions would add novel content rather than gate content they chopped off of the main game
Drusas@fedia.io · 1 pts · 11d
Rift is old enough that it probably was back in your day.
VitoRobles@lemmy.today · 16 pts · 15d
If you price your game free to play, it's assumed you loaded your game with abusive micro transactions and skinner box mechanics.
atro_city@fedia.io · 7 pts · 15d
Also depicted: the majority of the fediverse when content creators want to live off of their content.
UnfortunateShort@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 15d
You gotta either build monetization right into the game or offer an easy way to buy it. There's a reason why payment processors and stores in general try to reduce friction to a minimum.
If you wanna pay for something you either do it right away and without much hassle or very likely never. Personally I would even rather buy a game right away and be dissapointed (and potentially revisit it later) than download a demo first. I realize that this is a privileged position to be in, but either way it is an advantage for you if I don't think about spending money too much
daannii@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 13d
There is no such thing as a free game made by a studio. Full of micro transactions.
People will pay multiple times over what a one time purchase game costs.
There was a game made to actually show you how the manipulation tactics work. By someone who used to work for a studio that employed these tactics.
This video is a humorous review of the game that I recommend for those looking to be informed more on how it all works.
https://youtu.be/QtxY9J3AM_s?is=x03q105QVi3m-6PD
Otherwise the reviews on steam are also very informative.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/416760/Pay2Win_The_Tricks_Exposed/
randomdude@thelemmy.club · 1 pts · 12d
cos the devs chose not exploit you 'as a product'
Echo5@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 9d
I thought the meme referred to an itch.io pay what you want kind of game but according to the other comments maybe I misinterpreted it 🤔