Unmechanical: offers hints not in the form of IAP Tiny Thief: offers hints in the form of IAP If hints need be there, they sure don't have to be offered via IAP.
Going by that view, that any kind of strategy guides have no use either. GTA V can be completed without spending $15 on an Official Prima Strategy Guide, but the option is there for people who want that extra help. Is GTA V optimal despite there being "hints" available for people to buy? And really what are the age and mindsets of people who are going to be focus testing and beta testing for Rovio? Probably not young children and elderly. Ideally everyone should be able to beat the game without help. But can a developer plan for the entire spectrum of people that will be playing their game? Make it too easy and the hardcore fans will complain. Too hard and you alienate the causal crowd. Thus IAP hints for those who might get stumped, without sacrificing the overall challenge Edit: true, don't have to be IAP. I'd prefer if it wasn't.
The fact that the hints have a price tag attached to them somewhat takes away their legitimacy. I just looked at your signature Bronxsta and I thought the game 'Magnetized' said 'Monetized' for a split second, LOL. Such irony.
Keep in mind that Tiny Thief WAS a legitimate Premium title upon release. It dipped to Paidmium with the IAP. As minor as it is in the grand scheme, it is a dip regardless. A chink in the armor. A fly in the soup. I will still consider that game to be fantastic, albeit with a mental asterisk next to it.
Ive been typing and deleting replies for this thread since yesterday as I really don't want to argue with anyone, but also want to share my views, I feel awful when I don't agree or share the same opinions with someone I like so if this comes out wrong or seems like a go at any of you Ill apologise now as that's not what I intend. Dual Currency I thought means more than one currency in a game, be it via iap in free to plays or in a game with zero iaps. coins and gems, coins and gems, shit with sugar you choose. I was under the impression dual currency can exist in freemium and premium games. Freemium/padium, I thought I had a clear opinion on each definition this but after reading this thread Im not so sure anymore, but in general padium to me is game you paid for that has iaps present, freemium is a free game with iaps. I think the problem is how people judge a game based on iaps or typical freemium elements, many don't actually look at the game as as soon as iaps are mentioned they stay clear, I personally dont pay much attention to the pay model of a game, I like to read reviews by regular forum members, watch videos etc and make my decision to purchase primarily on that. I think there are (some) good freemium titles, and crap paid titles so to me I class games as brilliant,good, ok, bad, and "dont touch with a ten foot barge pole" Ok now the hints debate. Im a female, a parent and at 34 (I dont look it though lol) some might say elderly so I pretty much fit all of bronxstas list for the non target audience (I know that's not the exact word you used, dont wanna go back and quote in case I lose this post) and I would never ever buy hints. Id also not likely use google as it takes me away from the game and ill most likely lose interest, id just move on to another game, intending to go back but in reality forget all abouit it. My Daughter is 8 and the first thing she does when she gets stuck in a game is boot up google, my husband is 38 and very much the casual gamer and he wouldn't consider buying hints. If they were included in a game Im sure they would both use them. In general I think if a game needs hints then they should be included free, especially when the game is a paid for title, otherwise it seems like a money grab, Id assume if hints are an iap then they are gonna be needed by a large amount of people at some point, otherwise why bother putting them in at all, let alone adding a price onto them, for a minority? TIny Thief I bought at launch, got stuck, meant to google solution, forgot about and have since deleted from my device. The fact that it now has hints would suggest im not the only one. Some people may not need hints, some people will and if one section of the audience is paying for hints in order to complete then Id say that their experience of that game will differ than those who were able to finish solo. Sorry for the waffle and I hope I made sense.
This IS a really good example for Bronxsta to admit it IAP isnt needed. Is both end of the spectrum: people who love making games vs the industry trying to get as much money as possible. IAP isnt needed for gaming, just to fill pockets. Bronxsta, you seem to fight for the indie cause but this way you are only supporting freemium elements. Those same freemium games indie devs struggle the most with. Bronxsta, I wonder... how old are you? Because you are defending IAP like there is no tomorrow and that should come from someone who dont know anything else. I am old, not as much as PSJ but still old. I remember when real money didn't have such an impact on gaming as today. Thats why I can see the huge difference and the impact IAP has done (mostly negative since a lot of users dont buy games with dual currency that you pay for anymore). And if we dont do something about it and shut up they will abuse it in every way possible, as with almost anything where is money involved.So we have to make a stand. (Not going to for the kill or to make enemies, I like your taste in games) And now here I go. This is for EVERYONE: After all, IS WE THE CONSUMERS WHO HAVE THE LAST WORD. IF WE DONT BUY GAMES WITH IAP THEY WILL STOP INCLUDING THEM. I ALREADY STARTING TO SEE SOME CHANGES GOING THIS WAY AND I HOPE IT CONTINUES. PLEASE SAY ON THE COMMENTS OF A REVIEW OF A GAME THAT INTERESTS YOU IF YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND WHEN YOU SAW IAP AND YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BUY IT BECAUSE OF THAT (BUT ONLY IF YOU REALLY MEAN IT OF COURSE). WE CAN CHANGE THINGS, DONT JUST ACCEPT IT. FIGHT FOR IT.
A paid game with IAP isn't automatically paidmium imo. Paidmium is even worse than Freemium. You pay for an app that still forces you to buy IAP. It's not fair to compare these type of games with for example Mikey Hooks or Time Surfer. Yes they are paid and yes you can buy IAP but it's not needed at all !
There are more than 200 hundred games releasing every week, or even daily, those games you mention are the minority, trust me.
I don't think most of the forum goers here make that error of confusing expansion content IAPs with consumable IAPs. Premium with IAP: Panzer Corps which offers additional campaigns via IAPs. Paidmium: Paid games like Freeway Solitaire or Colossotron which offers consumable IAPs or required IAPs in order to have a chance of winning. Freemium: Free to download games like Candy Crush Saga and Pocket Trains where consumable IAPs are needed if you want to progress at a steady pace or be stuck for a very long time. In my case, I was happy to spend $80 on Premium Panzer Corps, and pissed with what I spent on Freeway Solitaire and avoided games from that company like the plague, while instant deleting Colossotron once I won that game. I detest Candy Crush and have stopped playing it now that my coworkers seem less interested in it. Pocket Trains seemed like a game I would really enjoy playing and would pay $9.99 for as it is really relaxing, but not at the millions that developer is asking for in consumable IAPs or else play according to some avoid IAP play guide which defeats the purpose of it being relaxing...
Of course but I'm talking about the "bigger" releases. The NZ releases that show up in a few minutes. The minority of them are paidmium.
Im not a fan of candy crush either, my husband loves it and is almost finished the levels that are available, he also plays pet rescue and has gone as far as he can with that, he's not spent any real money on candy crush and in Pet rescue he has paid to unlock new episodes because I don't have any facebook friends who play it to to send tickets or whatever the requirement is, if I did then he wouldn't have paid that. I had a moan at him about it and he said I had a bit of a cheek considering my weekly spending amounts on the app store, (fair point lol) he sees it more of extra content and argued about the hours of entertainment he gets for the 69p. He thinks hes a genius because hes not been stuck on levels for more than a day or so, and plays for an hour tops a day, he loves pointing out how I got stuck on both games at the early levels and gave up. He loves when I tell him that he's an exception though and the game is aimed at getting folk to spend spend spend.
Well I bought Hoplite (5 stars, truly terrific game), Magnetized (new take on the sligshot/twist genre and its amazing) and Castle Doombad (good take on the PvZ formula but too grindy) shortly after that comment
But some are still paidmium. Paidmium is any paid game with IAP on them. We should at least recognize this. We should separate what really premium games really means (premium=no in app purchases). I love Timer Surfer, almost made it into my Top2013, but the game is paidmium. Has a coin doubler and 8 types of IAP. It doesnt have revives or gems, but its still paidmium. I break these into three categories : Premium: Paid apps without IAP. The true meaning. If it has IAP it doesnt belong here. Paidmium: All paid apps with IAP. Here is also include the worst ones who are the ones that even let you pay your way to victory or grind insanely to avoid paying. My guess is that 95% of games are paidmium. Freemium: free apps with all kinds of IAP. Run away from this.
But to me paidmium is ever worse than freemium. You put Time Surfer or Mikey Hooks into the paidmium category and that's something I can't agree with. "Freemium: free apps with all kinds of IAP. Run away from this." That might be true for most of the freemium games but there are still lots of Freemium games with a good balance. You can't put millions of apps into 3 categories. But whatever.. I think it's pointless, we should agree to disagree
Then what do you expect the developer to release expansion content for free? Of course expansion content is IAP, so it is under premium and not paidmium. Paidmium is just freemium games for the even more arithmetically challenged where they pay an upfront fee to down a de facto freemium game just to pay for consumable IAPs thereafter.
I categorize things this way: Paid game -No IAP (premium) -With IAP - - If IAP is needed/pushed aggressively, it is a paidmium game. (Worst of its kind. Freemium app with a price tag) - - If IAP is not needed (optional), it is premium with extras (expansions, vanity skins, etc.) Free to download game -No IAP (educational purpose or absolutely generous) -With IAP (freemium) - - If IAP unlocks the full game, I regard it like a paid game - - If IAP is needed/aggressive to get 100%, it is crap. Com2usTrinitiEAGamevil are frequent culprits - - If IAP is not needed to 100%, I just call it free-to-play to differentiate it from crapware - - *actually more complex but list as so to simplify things
I totally forgot about expansion packs... For me Premium means optimal experience. Premium means all included. That you can enjoy the game without investing more money. You get the full product paying upfront. So if it isnt premium, when you can pay more inside the game, it falls into the paidmium category, which is next -its not premium as that you dont get the whole thing but you paid upfront and cant still get the full optimal experience-. In paidmium you can invest further. And some games let invest even further and you pay to win and have dual currency. Of course all games under this category dont follow the same rules. Some are better designed than others and have a better user experience in mind than others, but they are still paidmium. 99% of endless runners fall here, its a fact, like it or not. And then are freemium games, nothing upfront, but pawalls, spikes, etc... and again, all freemium games are not that bad, Dead Ahead and Quadropus Rampage or that new endless flyier between tubes are some exceptions.
