Let’s talk about the different modes of playing online nowadays.
there are essentially two main modes :
The Pay-to-play system “P2P”
Applied to an online game where the user must pay to use the game.
Many online games are paying. This is the case of some of the most well-known video games like World of Warcraft, RuneScape, Castle Clash and Clash of Clans.
P2P online games are funded by players, but they can also offer another version or some parts of the same version in free access, that’s what we call: Free to play system “F2P”.
The Free-to-play system “F2P”
It refers to video games which give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying.
Most pay-to-play games were free to play in alpha and beta versions then became paying in the operating step. This was the case of the game Mu Online.
The most popular kind of Free-to-play games among many others, is the Freemium model, where the fully access is guaranteed for all users, but the additional content have to be purchased.
There are some rules we can follow to design a successful Free-to-play game:
Rule 1. The game has to be fun: A free game does not probably mean it’s a bad game without a story or design and good graphics. All players are in search of a good experience and hope to find it through any game.
Rule 2. Keep the player logged much longer: If the player comes to play for 1 minute we have to keep him for 1 hour, by offering him several game modes, options to get the accomplishments easier and a little faster…etc.
Rule 3. Forever Free: The player starts to play in Free-to-play mode and he can stay in it as long as he wants, so that maybe someday he will decide to pay, we can’t just throw him out of the game.
Rule 4. Make it easy to cross the line: in reflection of how to monetise our investment, we must offer a significant and cheap content to the player in a way to push him to pay once, and this is the most important because it inaugurates his passage to the Pay-to-play and this is usually the beginning of a series of purchases.
Rule 5. Developing more and more : the game never stops, we must always be in the creation of free and paid content to conserve a balance between the two communities, one feeds the other and the both, represent our turnover.
