[MUD-Dev] Buying benefits

[Neil Brown]

--- Corey Crawford <myrddin at seventh.net> wrote:

> Course none of this is in the topic of "buying benefits". So along
> *that* thread, if Origin had decided that player houses would cost
> an additional $5/month per house, how many players would do so? Do
> you think the amount of houses would decrease by any measurable
> amount? (I know houses are hugely popular on UO).

> What if Verant offered buyable stat increases?

> What if AC offered customized armor sets?

> Honestly, I think one of these days one of the "big guys" is going
> to do this, and once players get use to the idea of paying extra
> for extra features, everyone will be doing it. I think it's all a
> matter of acceptance; once players are use to it, it won't be a
> big deal. I'm use to paying the high prices for the gas I put in
> the car now, though I sure b*tched when it first went up ;)

It's a possible revenue-stream, which the bean-counters always like
to see, but I think a lot of care needs to be taken when
implementing an idea like the purchasable stat increase:

I used to play Magic: The Gathering. I was never very avid, I just
played for the fun of it.  However, I found myself getting trounced
time and time again by some players because they had spent loads of
cash buying all these super-rare and powerful cards to put in their
uber-decks.I finally stopped playing because the game no longer felt
like a test of skill on even ground - it felt like a test of
investment size with a small dash of chance thrown in to make me
feel better.  It really went against what I look for in a game.
It's like letting hockey players buy rocket skates and powered-armor
and then still letting them play against opponents who can't afford
it.  While I can certainly afford to buy Magic cards, I'm really not
interested in buying my way to achievement, and I get irked when
someone is able to do so and thus unbalance the playing field.
Especially if there is no other way to achieve the same results
without purchasing them.  If, in-game, I could also find stat
increase items, then the issue would be somewhat lessened, but it
still wouldn't feel right to pony up $50 and suddenly be Braniac the
UltraMage.

Of course, in the MTG case, this applied directly to the variables
of the contest between myself and my opponents.  Armor with a
customized look or custom housing in a combat-oriented game wouldn't
necessarily fall under this definition.  You'd have to be careful
here in setting the price so that it wasn't so expensive that nobody
would buy it, but not so cheap that EVERYONE would buy it.  I can
imagine walking over that last rise before you hit the city and
suddenly your display goes into epilleptic slideshow mode as your
machine desperately tries to download the 1500 new houses that
weren't there last week ;)

-o- Neil
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