Removing Barriers and Keeping Players

Adrian Crook over at freetoplay.biz wrote an incredibly insightful and useful article regarding some strategies that online game designers can use to lower the barriers to entry to their games, as well as keep the players in their games longer while still monetizing a small percentage of them. I’m happy to have happened upon this article in complete accident (it gives me more hope that the internet is still filled with wonderful things).

Anyway, here is a short summary of the article, followed by a link to the original if you want more details (much has been cut). “Here are 10 ways to remove game-killing barriers to entry and create the largest possible addressable market.”

1. Free to Play
The Free to Play business model is here to stay - and growing every day. The focus now is on getting players through the front door, keeping them happy, then monetizing 5-15% of them. Non-paying customers become “content” for the paying minority, so don’t think you can ignore them.

2. Integrated graphics support

Enthusiasts who purchase the latest, greatest video card make up just 4% of the market. Integrated graphics (i.e. no dedicated video card and therefore lower graphics performance) accounts for over 60% of all new computer sales.

4. Little or no download

Get users into a game as fast as possible. If your game requires the user to download client software, make it as small as possible and give the user something to do while they wait for the game to download and install (i.e. setting up their character).

But better yet, make your game in Java, Flash, Shockwave or Silverlight so it’s playable within a browser. A game delivered via Java applet (i.e. Puzzle Pirates, Bang! Howdy, Runescape) can be downloaded and installed in under a minute. A signed Java applet will even avoid tripping a user’s installed spyware detectors.

5. Deferred sign up

Why not let a new player name and create their character, enter and start experiencing the product, then ask for sign up information along the way? A game that gets this right is Maid Marian’s Shockwave MMO Sherwood Dungeon, which allows you to start playing immediately after you enter your desired character’s name. Despite its simplistic graphics and lack of server-side character saves, Sherwood has attracted over 1M users to its Free to Play ad-supported game.

8. Warp, don’t walk

Spending precious minutes walking to destinations is, for many, a significant barrier to entry and a big waste of time. Many games and virtual worlds allow “warping” between areas to avoid long marches or simply a point-and-click interface with the world.

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