作者：Yaniv Nizan

我们在SOOMLA Project中的任务便是推动手机游戏开发商的业务。所以我们需要先确保现有的预先装置或虚拟经济已经足够优秀。我们一直在研究这个市场，并尝试着分析游戏失败或成功的原因。为什么有些游戏更能赚钱，以及为什么有些商店更能吸引用户不断花钱？

5_Mistakes（from gamasutra）

误区1——未在游戏中设置虚拟经济

游戏货币或虚拟经济分别主导着90%的手机游戏收益以及85%的手机应用收益。我们所说的是通过应用内部购买去销售货币或游戏内部货币。虚拟经济是根据用户在游戏中收集货币的能力进行定义。换句话说，向玩家销售关卡或功能并不属于游戏内部经济。

除此之外，在真正成功的游戏中，用户会投入更多时间于商店中（而不是其它游戏领域）。

误区2——只重销售不重乐趣

说到游戏经济，开发者首先会想到的便是“我将在游戏中销售什么？”虽然这点很重要，但却不如“用户该如何在游戏中挣得货币”重要。我们该如何呈献给玩家更加多样化，且更具挑战和乐趣的体验。如何设置货币挣取系统便是创造乐趣的主要途径。用户之所以会购买虚拟商品主要有两大原因：

他拥有货币，并需要去花费这些货币

他正在寻找更多获取货币的方法或工具

这两大原因都是有关货币的获取，所以开发者应该重视这一要点。

误区3——平衡=0

很多人都把0当成起点。在学校里，我们学到0是任何数字的起点，而在设计课程中，我们也了解到应该从0开始引出各种变量。但是这种规则却不适用于游戏设计。许多成功的游戏都做到了用户平衡——有些游戏使用了忠诚计划，也有些游戏使用奖励机制。我们经常能够看到一些游戏使用教程而提供给用户货币，并要求他们去花费这些货币。

原因非常明显。如果我们想要用户投入更多时间于商店中，我们便需要告诉他们如何进入商店中，并帮助他们快速熟悉这一过程。

误区4——永久保存的商品

设置能够永久保存的商品是开发者所面临的另一大常见误区，并且是许多游戏经济所默认的内容。在现实世界中，几乎没有什么是能够永久保存的，但是在数字环境中，我们却可以默认某些对象是永久不变的，直到有人发现它。

要知道，如果用户购买了一些能够永久保存的商品，他们便没有理由再次进行购买。除此之外，关于虚拟商品的调整也并非永久的。如果游戏中的商品能够遵循自然消费，租用或使用，开发者便能够有效地调整数量和时间参数。

误区5——设置单一的货币

似乎设置单一的货币是最自然的选择，但是大多数畅销手机游戏都设置了多种货币。在游戏中设置一种货币便意味着用户可以挣取货币并购买与其他花费同样数额的用户一样的商品。这便不利于游戏内部虚拟经济的发展。

如果你想将虚拟经济当成有效的盈利工具，那么单一的货币设置便不合适。两至三种货币才能帮助设计师更灵活地创造出更加有趣的游戏。

误区6——创造无聊的商店

静态的商店总是很无聊。如果商店永远只会陈列相同的商品，并且都是一些玩家能够轻易获得的商品，这又有何乐趣呢？

真正成功的虚拟经济必须能让用户频繁却坚持光临商店，并愿意投入大把时间于商店中。所以开发者便需要花费更多时间去琢磨如何创造出更有趣的商店。商店中的商品级别应该随着游戏的发展而不断提升。虚拟商品必须依赖于其它虚拟商品便是一种有趣的设置。例如，一种引擎只适合于一种类型的汽车，或者一个袋子只能装2把剑，而一个大袋子则能装3把剑和1把匕首等等。

（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）

5 Mistakes your In-Game Economy Should Avoid

by Yaniv Nizan

Our mission here at the SOOMLA Project is to help mobile game developers make better economies. As part of that we try to make sure that our off the shelf presets or turn key virtual economies are already as good as they can be. We investigate and research the market all the time and try to analyze why games fail or succeed. Why some games monetize better than others and why some stores engages users to spend more and more time in them.

We have collected some of the key lessons into this short presentation and presented them in 2 conferences. The responses we received were very positive and so we decided to share it with you as well.

The presentation can be found on Slideshare

Mistake 0 – Not Having a Virtual Economy in Your Game

In game coins or Virtual Economies are powering 90% of the revenue in mobile games and about 85% of the revenue in mobile apps. We are taking about selling coins and in-game currencies to users via in-app purchasing. A virtual economy is defined by the ability of a user to collect coins inside the game. In other words, selling levels or features really doesn’t count as in-game economies.

Furthermore, in successful games users spend more time in the in-game stores compared than in any other part of the game.

Mistake 1 – Focusing on Selling

The first thought a game developer has about in-game economies is “what do I sell in my game”. This is important but not as important as the question of how does the user earn coins. How do we make the experience of earning more diverse, challenging and fun. The earning part of the coin system is what makes the game more fun for the user. There are two reasons why a user buys virtual goods:

He already has coins that he needs to spend

He is looking for ways or tools to get more coins

Both of these are focused on earnings and this is where you should focus as well.

Mistake 2 – Balance = 0

Most people think about 0 as the ultimate starting point. In school we were taught to believe that 0 is the beginning of all numbers and in programming classes it’s often recommended to initiate a variable to a value of 0. In game design however, the rules are different. Many successful games are staring with a positive balance for the user. Some games do it with a loyalty plan while other use a welcome bonus. It’s also common to see games with a tutorial that gives the user some coins and then forces him to spend them.

The reason for this is clear. If we want the users to spend more than half the time in the store, we need to show him the way to the store and get him used to entering it frequently.

Mistake 3 – Using Goods that Last Forever

Goods that last forever is another common mistake and is a default for many in-game economies. In the real world, almost nothing lasts forever but in a digital environment, the default for any object is to stay the same until told otherwise.

Well, guess what. If a user bought something that lasts forever there is no reason for him to buy it again. More over, there is no tweaking with virtual goods that lasts forever, It’s either there or it’s not but it can’t be half way. In comparison, goods that are naturally consumed, rented or regularly used inside the game, you can tweak quantity and time parameters.

Mistake 4 – Having a Single Currency

Having a single currency seems like a natural choice but most top grossing mobile games have more than one currency. Having just one type of coins in your game means that the user can earn coins and buy the same things that are available to users who paid with real money. This creates a very big problem to games that wish to monetize their virtual economies.

If you want to truly harness the power of virtual economies as a monetization tool, one type of coins is simply not enough. Two or three currencies will give the game designer more flexibility and control and can make the game more interesting for users as well.

Mistake 5 – Making a Boring Store

Static stores are boring. How fan can a store be if it has the same things all the time and everything is accessible to everyone.

Let’s hope that your virtual economy succeeded in getting users frequently and consistently to the store and they are spending a big chunk of time in it. Shouldn’t you invest just as much time into making the store a more interesting place for them to be? It starts with a flow of new items that becomes more and more advanced as the game play progresses. Virtual goods that depend on other virtual goods can make it even more interesting. Examples could be: an engine that will fit only one type of car and a pouch that will fit up to 2 swords while a big pouch can fit 3 swords and a dagger.

I hope you found this useful. Be sure to check for more advice at our Blog and on our Fan Page. If you want to brainstorm about the virtual economy for your game, feel free to reach out – project@soom.la.(source:gamasutra)