作者：Simon Lachance

尽管有很多人讨厌微交易当前的发展，我仍想剖析这一全新的工具并开始探索如何去了解并驯服这一“猛兽”。我相信微交易的使用率将继续上升，如果能够正确使用这一工具的话，你便能够从中获益。

在我之前的视频中，我说了微交易不好也不坏，它比我们想象中的还复杂。

所以今天我想出了3个规则去帮助开发者们更合理且有效地使用微交易。

MicroTransaction（from steamgames）

1.让玩家无需花钱便能够享受到游戏的乐趣

让那些不花钱的人也会觉得游戏是有趣的，并提供少量的额外内容给那些愿意花钱去支持你的人。这与http://www.patreon.com/或https://subbable.com/的策略一样。如果你真的喜欢Smooth McGroove免费提供的内容，你便可以提供给他15美元与他在Google Hangout上进行聊天。这是对于粉丝的额外服务。但是他并不会在表演的中场停下来跟人要钱，就像街头表演者不会在一首歌曲的中间停下跟路人要小费一样。

即使你的粉丝最终不给你钱，他们也会记得你，如此你的粉丝基础便会壮大，他们将谈论你，告诉好友，以此去推广你。如果他们真心喜欢你，便会基于某种方式去支持你。

2.微交易不应该影响游戏平衡

在我继续之前，我想先谈下我多次听到的一些内容。“带有微交易的游戏是合理的，但是它们却不会呈现游戏设计最纯粹的形式。”首先，这并不是正确的。让我们着眼于Space Team。游戏设计并未遭到污染，人们也不会伸手要钱。这是纯粹的游戏设计之宝，能够基于微交易免费游戏。

其次，让我们停止这么说。你所做的是牺牲所有人去抬高自己，并不断说着自己是团队中的精英这样的话。这是对于艺术家的一种侮辱。如果你要价5美元的话我是不会选择你的游戏。我会说：“付费游戏是合理的，但我更喜欢获得免费的乐趣。”这真的很愚蠢。所以千万别这么做。

现在让我们公平地说，“最纯粹的游戏设计”的论点也有自己的立足点，特别是当疯狂的投资者说着像“想着只要花99美分便能够让马里奥跳得更高”这样的愚蠢话语时。没有人会想这么做的！如果使用不合理，微交易将会彻底破坏游戏体验。基于同样的方法，音乐家会因为在表演过程中向观众要钱而破坏了整体的表演。这便是规则的所在。为了确保游戏体验的完整性，你需要避免任何可能创造出付费玩家于非付费玩家差别的内容。你最不想看到的便是赶走不花钱的玩家。所以如果你将提供给花钱的玩家特殊的升级道具，那么那些未花钱的玩家将会受挫，并感到不公平，从而选择离开，而这将只会降低你的用户基础。

3.人们需要先喜欢上你的游戏

很多时候在我打开游戏后5分钟内，它便问我是否愿意花钱购买某些内容。

例子：

—-你打开游戏后不久便会跳出一个界面要你花钱打开完整版本的游戏。没人会去按压那个按键的！我们甚至不会想去知道游戏是关于什么。你告诉我可以免费尝试游戏，所以请让我先试试看！至少让玩家玩10分钟的游戏再出现。或者只在玩家第二次或第三次打开游戏时再呈现收钱的画面。

另一个例子：

—-你玩了一会游戏，之后你经历了第一次的死亡，因为你还处于学习过程。死亡是很正常的。“你是否想要花5个水晶而复活？”不，我不想！我甚至不想知道死亡的结果是什么！我是否输掉分数了？我是否输掉体验/金币？是否发生了什么事？我们已经很难去学习你的游戏，不要在学习的过程中再拿些额外的内容来混淆我。我现在并不想花5个水晶去复活生命。也许之后我会这么做。但是现在，我只想搞清楚你的游戏。

专注于提供给玩家一次有趣的游戏时间，让他们一开始能够感受到乐趣。想想街头表演者。他们也是先演奏再要钱的。

这不是什么新鲜事，让我们开始着眼于生活中的其它例子。你将发现这种情况随处可见：

—-在正餐后提供给你甜点。

—-在坐了过山车后提供给你一件T恤。

—-在博物馆，让你在离开前逛纪念品店。

—-在摇滚演唱会结束后，你可以购买一件T恤。

这些都是在人们心情愉快的时候向其要钱。

现在，我不能说的是：

—-每一款游戏都应该带有微交易，因为这是世界的发展趋势。

如果你不想与微交易的整体派系搅和在一起，那就不要这么做。就像Rami Ismail所说的：“不要因为要价3美元而害羞。”

我和Marc（游戏邦注：《Berzerk Ball》木火的美术人员）正共同致力于一个项目。但是我们却不想在游戏中添加微交易机制，只是因为它是适合这款游戏的内容。

我所说的是，如果你选择了一条路，请在游戏设计过程中而非项目最后才去思考是否应该走这条路。不要忘记为那些不花钱的人创造游戏。

就像街头表演者也会为路上许多不愿意给钱的路人而表演，或者YouTube上像SciShow，MinutePhysics或Smooth McGroove会提供免费的内容，但是提供给粉丝额外的服务等等。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

3 Rules for Freemium game devs.

by Simon Lachance

While a lot of people simply hate the growing presence of microtransactions,  I’m trying to dissect this new tool and just started a new quest for understanding and taming the beast.  I believe that the use of MicroTransaction is still growing and is not going anywhere, and can actually be a good thing when done right.

In my last video, I said microtransaction are not good or bad, that it’s more complex than that.

So today I I came up with 3 rules that I believe will help game developer out there to use MicroTransactions correctly and ethically.

TL;DR version!

1: Player must enjoy the game without having to pay.

Make the game fun to people who don’t pay, and offer a little extra to those who’d like to support you.  It’s basicly the same tactic as http://www.patreon.com/ or ;https://subbable.com/.  If you’re a true fan of Smooth McGroove’s content he gives for free,  you can give him 15$ to hang out with him in a google Hang out session. A little extra for the fans.  But he doesn’t stop his show in the middle to ask for money, just like a street performer don’t stop his music in the middle of a song to ask for tips.

Even if your fans don’t pay you in the end,  they will remind you, your fanbase will grow, they will talk about you, tell their friends, do promotion for you.  If they love you, they’ll support you in some way.

2: MicroTransaction should NOT affect game balance.

Before I continue, I want to talk about something I hear too many times. “Game with Mtx are okay,  but they do not represent the purest form of game design”.  First of all, that’s just not true. Take a look at Space Team.  Game design is in no way tainted and the guy barely ask for money.  It’s a pure game design gem, free to play with microtransactions.

Second, just stop saying that.  What you are doing is dragging everybody down to lift you up, saying to yourself that you’re the elite of the group.  It’s a classic artist to artist insult.
I won’t drag your game down if you charge 5$. I don’t go and say “Premium games are okay, but I prefer give happiness, for free!”.  That would be stupid.  Don’t drag everybody’s games down, to lift yourself up.

Now to be fair, “The purest of game design” argument does have a point when crazy investor says stupid stuff like ”Just think of paying 99 cents just to get Mario to jump a little higher.”
That’s freaking scary!  Nobody wants that!  When done wrong, MicroTransaction can break the game experience, pretty badly.  But in the same way a musician can pollute his music by asking for money during his song.  That’s why this rule is here.  To make sure the game experience is intact.  You need to avoid anything that creates a gap of power between payers and non-payers. The last thing you want is to piss off players that doesn’t pay. So if you give special power-ups to people who pay, those who don’t will feel less powerful, they’ll say it’s unfair, they will leave, decreasing your fans and supporters.

3: People need to fall in love with your game first.

Too many time I’ve seen games where right off the first 5 minutes, it ask me if I want to pay for something.

Example :

- You open the game press start and then BAM ! UNLOCK THE FULL VERSION! Nobody.  NO-BO-DY will hit that button. We don’t even know what the game is about.  You told me the game was free to try, so let me try it first!   Wait until there’s a naturally break in the game, after let’s say 10 minutes of play at least. Or show that screen only when the player re-open the game for the 2nd or a 3rd time.

Another example :

- You play a little, then you eventually die for the first time, because you are learning. It’s normal to die. “Do you want to resurrect for 5 crystal?”  No I don’t !  I don’t even know what are the consequences of dying!  Do I lose score? Do I lose experience /gold ? Does even something happen?   It’s already hard to learn your game, don’t confuse me with stuff I need to ignore when I’m learning.  No I don’t want to resurrect for 5 crystals.  Maybe later.  For now, I just want to mess around with your game.

Focus on giving the player a good time, make him happy first.  Think about a street performer. He’s making music first, then he ask for money.

That’s nothing new, just start looking for other exemple in life. You’ll see that everywhere:

- They offer you a dessert after your meal.

- They offer you a t-shirt after that big roller coaster ride.

- At a museum, They make you leave by the souvenir shop.

- At then end of a rock concert, you can buy t-shirts.

These are all exemple of asking money when people are happy.

So let’s recap :

1: Player must enjoy the game without having to pay.

2: MicroTransaction should NOT affect game balance.

3: People need to fall in love with your game first.

Now, what I am not saying :

- Every game should have micro-transaction because that’s the way the world should go.

Nope, I’m not saying that.

If you don’t want to mess with that big whole science that is MicroTransaction, just don’t. As Rami Ismail said “Don’t be shy to charge 3$”.

Marc (the artist behind Berzerk Ball) and I, are currently working on a project together. Something we don’t want MicroTransactions in, because it just fit the game.

What I am saying that if you go that road, think about it during the game design, not at the end of the project.  Don’t forget to make the game for people who don’t pay.

Just like street performer make music for a lot of people who don’t give them money, or the youtubers like SciShow, MinutePhysics or Smooth McGroove who give you free content, and gives a little extras to their fans.

Hope it helps!(source:gamasutra)