I don't think paidmium just means inaps in a premium game. Then almost all games would be paidmium. Think it would mean paywalls put in for inapps needed.
...? The IAP is only there if you find the game too hard? I've heard the same argument for some of the most offensively freemium games on the AppStore. Just going to say +1 to this. The dual currencies in this game had me think twice about picking it up. The "human race"... ... Did you finish school. The idea that there is a thread for IAP discussion has been flown around here many times before. Discussion of how IAP is implemented in a game on the AppStore is a good thing. Broad ranging discussions about IAP not so much. Having multiple currencies you can buy via IAP is dual currencies btw. It is a great game. The IAP, to me, feels like it would ruin the game balance and any challenge it has. It seems to be implemented in a game with a very fair rate of currency gain. I care to hear about people's impressions on IAP if I haven't bought a game yet and believe this conversation has a place in the thread as much as in game strategies. Short answer... No. This thread has gone a little crazy today. The quoted posts above pretty much sum up 2 - 3 pages worth of posts. This game is really good. The IAP is not obtrusive by my standards. The publisher and developer of this game have done a great job of making a fun and varied game. I'd suggest it for the current cost with no reservations. Especially if you were waiting for or disappointed by the recent Dungeon Keeper game on the AppStore. Castle Doombad is infinitely better than EA's recent offering in the same vein.
Let's make it a Flame Party! JCho, you go grab a bag of Dual Currency. Connector, run to the store and buy 50 coin packs, extra dip. Frost, you pick up as many Paidmium snacks as you can find. Bronxsta, you and Appletini go find a balance of Free and Paid sodas (but leave Appletini in the parking lot when you come back). Psience, you can probably find a coin doubler or two, hold the adds. Void, you just bring the shmups, ol' buddy. I'll bring the chicks
Well, I could rant and rave all day long about IAPs and how much I dislike them. Generally, a game that has an IAP unlock is about the one type I can always accept. Expansion packs also acceptable. Consumables absolutely unacceptable. Crazy jumps in difficulty with nowhere to turn but IAPs also unacceptable. Shortcuts are usually okay, but the problem now is that sometimes it's just too damn hard to tell. A dev can hide behind the word "shortcut" and "balanced" but until you get halfway through the game (and I'm referring to paid games), there's this dark cloud over you wondering if those IAPs are suddenly going to smother you and put a nail through that thing we used to call a fun, worry-free premium game experience. This is where all the people who complain about people asking about IAPs in a game thread are wrong. All the sudden people jump all over people saying they're "highjacking" the thread. WRONG. The App Store economy and prevalence of IAPs -- good or bad -- have high jacked our gaming. It's sad, but I'm afraid that discussing how IAPs affect gameplay actually IS giving impressions of the game. I want to know whether a game is enjoyable without shoving IAPs down your throat. Even games that use them as so-called shortcuts certainly don't mind putting splash screens to make sure you know they're there. So yes, we all understand they aren't going away. But I think reasonable questions about how they affect one's enjoyment of a game are very much a part of knowing whether I'm going to like a game. And that's part of an "impression" of a game. People don't need to be nasty about it. And people shouldn't just assume they are bad -- but also not assume that they are truly unneeded if they haven't played through the game. And now you've got tons of paid games changing to freemium, making matters even worse. I'm kind of with The Frost. I really need to break this weekly habit of having to have the latest and greatest. I spend too much regardless of IAPs. Play the games I have and watch things simmer down after a game has been out a while to know whether those initial impressions were right. And also give devs a chance to decide if they need to change their business model to pay the bills. I can't always blame devs. But at the same time, it's become utter chaos with price drops and premium to freemium converts that as a consumer, it sucks. It's an ugly path no matter how you look at it. But I think it is reasonable to want to know what you're really buying before you dive in.
awp, I read the first three or four paragraphs and from that alone, I nominate this as Best Post of 2014! By the way, did you bring any consumables to our party?
So? Are we going to talk IAP or what? I'll relegate myself to just this thread, that way I won't 'annoy' other members in the game threads with talk of IAP. That is what this thread is intended for, correct?
I dont mind IAP's when it unlocks more content etc or as a 'cheat' way of getting further in the game by bettering your character etc. In the old days you had 'POKE's' which was a line of code you added to get more coins/lives. Then you had gamepad combinations to get coins/infinite lives etc, now its quite normal to have an IAP Of course paywalls and 'forcing' normal players to have to buy IAP's to get past certain levels or grind for 2 years straight isnt good. There are games which seem to purposely then go super difficult as they want people to buy IAP's, surely we can agree those games arent good. But then the problem is everyone shouts out OH NO IAP's the second ANY game has an IAP, it could be totally inoffensive or a way to say thanks to the dev after he spent 18 months creating a game only to then sell it for one dollar. So theres a mix, not every single IAP is bad but the 'AVOID it has an IAP' crowd are bad But then you have the cheapskate crowd who want everything to be free, i see it all the time 'please suggest to me a shooting game with lots of levels which ideally is free' ! Again i personally think if we all bought games instead of waiting for price drops/games to be free we wouldnt have so many IAP's. But look at the promo threads, so many people after promo codes and nothing else, they're not buying games or contributing to the devs income. When a premium game does come out without any IAP's you still get 'who wants to try this out ?, impressions ?' when the games a dollar, just buy it and see for yourself ! People are so cautious about a 1 or 2 dollar game its embarassing. I'm glad theres a seperate thread for IAP talk like this one so the usual suspects dont ruin lots of threads going on about IAP's (Same for ios7). Sadly freemium games seem to make much more for devs so obviously more devs will go that way. The sad thing is i'm not a big IAP fan but now my anger isnt towards IAP's its more towards timers which i find even worse.
Shareware-esque IAP can't be considered in the same realm as any other IAP. It is merely a form of payment for the entire game, albeit with a slight test drive beforehand. It is essentially the same exact process as buying a Premium experience. The only reason it is even included in the conversation is because it has to be accessible within the game somewhere for it to be unlocked and used. DLC and expansions, for the most part--as long as they are a singular purchase--I find as acceptable. The addition of Day 2 in BADLAND, for example (even though it was added generously for free) would be an example of something paid for one time, an add on to the game as a stand alone segment, no different than buying Day 1 for a set price. It is important to note that the above two examples involve payment outside the game itself. Any type of IAP besides what was just mentioned and the entire argument is void. That is where the dividing line on the entire subject lies. Every other type of IAP is involved inside the gaming experience itself, with the ability to influence in-game currency with real money. That should be where the subject stops, right there, not some perpetual justification that does nothing but mask the truth that it shouldn't be there at all. There's only one clear and straightforward method at determining if your gaming experience is optimal--not good, not playable: there will be no IAP. Then and ONLY then is the intended experience designed with the player first.
I tried to educate some and others as what dual currency meant but I don't think he understood, can someone point him in the right direction? Also, I dont like how double morality works sometimes. When Badland came out everyone agreed that is was a 4€ premium app and so premium was that... no IAP and such. Now Castle Doombad comes in, just 1 dollar below of 4$, with lots of IAP and even freemium elements like dual currency and people still call its premium. I don't quite understand how someone can get so defensive with a game that they go fanatic and deny whats there and obvious to the rest.
Again its a tricky one, i can 'kinda' see why games have IAP's as they have to make money, we hear so often about small indie teams going out of business as they dont make hardly any money on their games compared to the cost of creating them. Imagine a good sized team working on some game for 9 months, you release it and have minimal sales and read time and time again from users saying 'i'll wait for it to be free' or 'i'll wait for a price drop', must be demolarising. I love it when the older 'ports' like Baldurs Gate or KOTOR come out at a premium price with no IAP's, in a way they cant have any IAP's as the originals didnt so would need a lot of work if they wanted to add any. So in a way i can 'see' why games have IAP's, its about profit and companies need to survive. But of course the dreaded paywalls really are depressing, but on the other hand are we in a minority ? You look at all the biggest games in iOS making money and they mostly seem to be freemium so we seem to be in the minority. But i do cringe everytime i see someone saying 'i'll wait for a price drop' (when a games 2 dollars) as thats one reason why more companies go freemium as that seems to make more money.
Highly agree with this post. Why is it there if there is no need for it? If there is IAP, always, I repeat, ALWAYS suspect it has either gems, some really expensive item or some intense grinding. You can see the developers intentions with how much IAP it has, if it has gems, how much they ask for IAP packs, etc...
How a developer makes money and the optimal gaming experience are two different issues and should remain two different issues, but they don't. Instead, the way that they make money enters into your gameplay. That, my friend, is where the sins take place. Now, let's all hold hands, bow our heads and pray.
