作者：Ethan Levy

就我过去一年半担任盈利设计顾问的经历而言，我的核心原则之一就是呈现应用内置付费功能（IAP）。我遇到的最大一种IAP设计失误就是，开发者似乎在尽一切努力模糊化用户能够在游戏中花钱这一事实。我参加GDC和其他行业大会时，都一再强调IAP就像是条幅广告：你只有创造成百上千次印象，才有可能促成一笔交易。

我并不是建议开发者用频繁使用对话框轰炸用户，因为这种方法会令玩家抓狂，导致他们彻底离开游戏。我认为呈现盈利机制的最佳典型就是《宝石迷阵闪电战》的做法。

Bejeweled Blitz(from gamasutra)

如果我打开《宝石迷阵闪电战》并玩上10个回合的游戏，在此期间我就能看到20次Add Coins按钮。这并不会阻挡我的进程或者令人讨厌。但只要玩玩游戏，追随最不具阻力的路径，我就能够经常在游戏中花钱，因为系统呈现了付费机制。

这与我最喜欢的手机游戏之一——《Ascension》的做法形成了鲜明对比。我喜欢玩这款游戏，在过去两年中，我几乎每天至少要玩三个回合。它就相当于我的纸牌游戏。该游戏发布新牌组时，我就会欣然花上5美元（或者更多钱）立即购买含有6张新牌的促销牌组，更不要说是像Immortal Heroes这种含有新规则，以及36张独特新牌的完整扩展内容了。

但我并不会在Facebook或Twitter关注《Ascension》，也没有订阅其电邮通知。该游戏的扩展内容发布并没有出现在我通常关注的游戏网站首页，我能够得到其发布消息的唯一渠道就是其应用本身，也就是我每天都要访问好几次的游戏应用。我有钱购买这些内容，也想为开发者付钱，但他们在盈利机制设计上的表现太糟糕了。

updates(from gamasutra)

我只能通过苹果App Store的更新内容了解到自己能够为该游戏付费。《Ascension》只会将新IAP的公布消息设置于补丁说明中。我每隔两三周都会更新应用（也许这个频率还高于所有iOS用户的平均更新率）。有时候我是在其新扩展内容发布数天甚至数周之后，才能通过3次点击发现这一信息。

我得知游戏推出新内容之后，还得跳过层层设置才能购买自己想要的牌组。我得更新并打开应用，进入主菜单，但这还不够。

Ascension (from gamasutra)

我还得导航进入游戏中的商店，得记住自己想要的新内容（例如Promo Pack 2），点击合适的标签。往往在我真正付款之前，我就已经很抓狂了。

Ascension(from gamasutra)

我若要付款，就得先确次一次帐户信息，点击9次，经历一次模糊的用户流程，最后才算是真正完成一次购买。

Ascension(from gamasutra)

我相信《Ascension》已经在推送通知告知了新内容的相关消息，但我和许多iOS用户一样，都很排斥频繁的推送消息，并关闭了几乎所有应用的推送通知请求。对于我最喜欢的iOS游戏，这款我在两年时间中几乎每天都玩的游戏，我极愿意为之掏钱的游戏，我认为它的付费功能不应该如此指向不明。

我每次打开应用都会看到主菜单，为何不在游戏推出新IAP内容时直接在其应用商店按钮中呈现游戏内部通知的标记呢？为何不在主菜单整合一个条幅广告提醒用户游戏推出新功能，内容和更新版本？为何不在游戏中植入一个插页广告，每5个或10个游戏回合时通知用户游戏推出了新功能，并在广告呈现10次之后自动关闭？

有多少玩家因为游戏没有正确呈现盈利机制，而不知道《Ascension》已经推出了3个扩展牌组和2个促销牌组？（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）

Make Purchasing Present

by Ethan Levy

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community.

The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

Over the past year and a half as a monetization design consultant, one of my core tenets is to make purchasing present. Perhaps the biggest missteps I see in games with IAP is that the developer appears like they are doing everything possible to obscure the fact that a player can spend money within the game. When I get in front of audiences at GDC and other events, I coach that IAP are like banner ads: one must create hundreds if not thousands of impressions of the ability to spend money in order to generate a single purchase.

I am not talking about bombarding the player with frequent blocking modal dialogs. This  tactic is likely to frustrate a player and cause him to quit your game permanently for another. An excellent example I point to in making purchasing present is Bejeweled Blitz.

If I were to open up Bejeweled Blitz and play 10 matches of the game, I would see the Add Coins button 20 times within that session. It is not blocking my progress or making a nuisance of itself. But simply by playing the game and following the path of least resistance, I see the ability to spend money regularly. Purchasing is present.

This is in stark contrast to one of my favorite mobile games, Ascension, a game that vexes more than any other when it comes to IAP. I love Ascension. For literally two years I have played at least three matches of Ascension daily. It is my solitaire. I love it when they release new card packs, and would gladly pay $5 or more for a new promo pack of 6 new cards right now, let alone a full game expansion like Immortal Heroes that drastically changes the game with new rules and 36 new, unique cards.

I do not follow Ascension on Facebook or Twitter. I do not subscribe to an email newsletter. Expansion pack releases do not make headlines on the game sites I follow regularly. The only method I have of hearing news of new IAP (which I desperately want as a core player) is through the app itself. An app I interact with multiple times daily. I have money. I want to give it to the developers. But they make it exceptionally hard.

The only way I am able to learn that I can give the developers my money is through App Store updates. Specifically I have to know that, as shown above, Ascension puts the announcement of new IAP in the patch notes. I update my apps maybe once every two or three weeks (and expect that is an above average frequency across all iOS users). Sometimes it is days or weeks after an expansion has launched before I make the 3 clicks it takes for me to see this information.

Once I learn of new content, I must continue to jump through hoops in order to purchase my pack. I have to update the app and open it. Then I get to the Main Menu, which is no help.

I have to remember that a new purchase is available and navigate to the in game store.

In the case of the days old Promo Pack 2, I have to remember that the new content was a promo pack and navigate to the appropriate tab.

Before I am finally able to give them the money I desperately want to alleviate myself of.

1 account confirmation, 9 clicks and an obscure user flow I am more likely than not to ignore later, and I have finally completed a purchase that I am 100% primed to make.

I believe that Ascension communicates these new purchases via notifications, but I (like many iOS users) am annoyed by frequent notification spam and turn it off for almost all apps. For my favorite iOS game, one I have played almost every day for literally two years, one I am burning to give more money to, purchasing could not possibly be obscure.

Making purchasing present would be trivial. I see the Main Menu every time I open the app. Why not implement an in-game notification badge on the In-App Store button when new purchases are available? Why not integrate a spot for a banner add into the Main Menu to alert me of new features, content and updates? Why not integrate an in-game interstitial that notifies me of new content between matches after every 5th or 10th game and turns off after I’ve seen it 10 times?

How many Ascension players have no idea that 3 expansion packs and 2 promo packs are available for purchase because purchasing is not present?

Please Stoneblade/Playdek. I have money. I want to give it to you. Make it easier for me to do so.（source：gamasutra）