I’m working on my new game, and I am currently trying to figure out pricing for the items in the tycoon. The tycoon uses the standard dropper system.
I did some measurements on how fast income goes based on what elements of the dropper system you have, e.g. how many droppers, upgraders, etc. and if you have premium droppers or not, and here are my results:
I’m not exactly sure how I should go about pricing items in my game. There are about ~60 items in the tycoon that need to be bought with cash in order to rebirth (with another 10-20 bought with rebirths). I was thinking of pricing things based on the income per minute you get when you get to the midway point of finishing the droppers (around 1000 a minute), but I think that is too low when you max out your droppers and start making close to 5000 a minute. I was also thinking of pricing things at about 1-5 minutes of wait time for income, but one of my friends says the absolute maximum someone should have to wait to earn their income is 2 minutes before buying something.
I also have a monetization scheme for buying cash via developer products that pop up when you step on a button and don’t have enough, as seen here:
+$1,000 for 25 robux
+$5,000 for 99 robux
+$10,000 for 199 robux
+$25,000 for 499 robux
+$100,000 for 1499 robux
What do you guys think I should base the prices of items in my tycoon of, so that players don’t finish it in 10 minutes, while also ensuring that people would incentivized to buy the cash developer products but not make the game pay-to-win?
When pricing items in your tycoon, it’s important to strike a balance between making the game challenging enough so that players don’t finish it too quickly, and making it rewarding enough so that players are incentivized to continue playing and potentially purchase cash developer products. Here are some suggestions on how to go about pricing items in your tycoon:
Determine the average amount of time it takes players to progress through the game without purchasing cash developer products. Use this information to set a baseline for how long it should take to reach certain milestones in the game.
Use your measurements of income based on the dropper system to determine how much income players should be making at various stages in the game. This information can help you determine how much money players should have on hand to purchase upgrades or other items.
Consider using a tiered pricing model for upgrades and other items. For example, you could price upgrades lower at the beginning of the game, and gradually increase the price as players progress through the game.
Take into account the cost of purchasing cash developer products and ensure that the prices of in-game items are not so high that players feel forced to make purchases in order to progress.
Consider offering special deals or promotions for purchasing cash developer products. This could help incentivize players to make purchases without making the game feel pay-to-win.
Ultimately, the pricing of items in your tycoon will depend on a variety of factors, including the difficulty of the game, the amount of time it takes to progress, and the cost of purchasing cash developer products. Be sure to gather feedback from players and adjust your pricing strategy as necessary to ensure a fun and rewarding gameplay experience.
