In my opinion, in-game currencies are overused and don’t make much sense for many games, especially my current project. In my project, a currency would literally only be used to change your character and a shop in general would feel out of place and bloated.
Enter XP. I’m thinking of rewarding players items based on their level, for free. So if I reach level 5 or something, I get a cool new outfit. If they’re too impatient to level up, a player can purchase items directly with Robux.
Here are some pros:
No annoying currency to keep up with.
Players will need to play the game for long periods of time to get high-level items for free, bringing up my player engagement.
I think theoretically players would feel like the game is less of a cash grab with such a system? I’m not going to be bombarding them with their in-game financial status all the time like pretty much everything else.
Players actually feel a sense of achievement unlocking new items, since they’re basically free gifts they get leveling up.
What are your thoughts on this monetization? Do you think it would work?
While I agree that currencies are pretty common-place, there is a definite advantage to that method.
Let’s say I have a unique taste (which many people do) and I don’t really like the level 5,10, and 15 skins. Will it be worth playing until level 20 to get an avatar I like?
I enjoy games with currencies (especially when accompanied with crates) because it lets me save up and buy what I want and crates add a level of randomness to it all which makes it more unexpected and fun.
While I think your idea won’t do poorly, currency is a great option, too. It honestly depends on your game - could you provide more details? I ask because a game like Murder Mystery 2 would fare better with currency, whereas games like Epic Minigames fare better with both, etc.
It’s entirely based on how you’d want your game to work in the future. If you’d plan to have it be played in the long run with alot of replay ability, You maybe might want to go for in-game currency as a way of purchasing items or what you could do is like XP, award the player currency if they do a certain task again/first time which can give them a sense of achievement while still allowing the player the replay the same thing again like maybe a small minigame.
If it’s in the short run and you plan to only have a select few of hats/customization, you can go for XP with a level limit. This will make sure that players get the satisfaction from playing the game for the first time and being rewarded with goods.
Its mostly personal preference, some games don’t even have XP/Currency in their game and sometimes still do pretty well in terms of replay ability and players purchasing things (Super Smash Bros Ultimate doesn’t have currency I believe and allows you to get DLCs).
I like the new strategy, however, there is something I as a player would think about if I saw this strategy in a game:
Leveling up usually gets harder the more that it is happening and getting rewards only by XP basically limits the choices the player has. And, once they reach a high level, they would have to play a lot to progress in terms of their items. This can easily bore a player.
I’d suggest doing both: this strategy and currencies. As a player levels up, they unlock more items to buy with a currency (multiple items every leveling milestone would be good since it gives a player many choices of what they are going for).
I do not despise your strategy, in fact I love it and its uniqueness. I just recommend doing a blend of this strategy and the XP.
I’m planning on charging R$ to get items instantly, so it’s not like you have to grind.
That being said, I feel like a lot of games that utilize currency fall into the same trap. An enormously priced avatar will still take tons of grinding to get, just like my higher level items. I think I’d run into this issue with currency too.
As for the game itself, it’s a space disaster game. Players are all aboard a spaceship, and each round a random disaster will happen —e.g. the ship will blow up— and players have to survive. Kind of like the game Incursion but on a larger scale.
I really appreciate your feedback, thanks for bringing that caveat to my attention
In light of your game type, I actually think your idea might be best. Avatar accessories will be limited in style and the type of game doesn’t really fit the type of games that use currency. Sounds like a fun idea, good luck with it!
There’s a reason why so many games use in game currencies, and why you should use it too. Yes, players feel a sense of achievement from leveling up. Level systems are classic skinner box rewards for many RPG games.
But leveling doesn’t appeal to your sense of greed. You don’t feel like you own anything — just that you achieved something. Currencies give the type of psychological satisfaction that something abstract like XP and levels just can’t provide.
Think about games like Death Run (the latest one). They have an XP system and a level system, and it works out perfectly fine.
Hell, I might even suggest you add a premium currency.
In the end, it just depends on your game. You know your game best and should determine the viability of currency based on sound design principles. But if you want to lean to the safe side, include currencies.
I’m not sure if Roblox games do this intentionally or just follow the trend of mainstream gaming media, but the purpose of an in-game currency is to create a disconnect between the spending of real money, and the gain of in-game items.
You may notice also that in-game currency is often sold and spent in odd quantities - you can spend £7.99 to get 1400 gems, or £12.99 to get 2300 gems, and you can spend 430 gems to get this cool outfit! This is to make it more difficult for users to intuit the value of the currency; if all the players know about the currency is that it makes their lives easier, and they don’t know the exact exchange rates, then it’s easier to sell.
tl;dr: A lot of psychology goes into virtual currencies, and likely most Roblox games just follow this trend
Therefore if you’re looking to create a less exploitative system then your idea sounds great.
To cover @frogg_r’s situation, maybe you could, at each level-up, let them choose one avatar from the selection for free? That way players can get relevant feedback for their work?
People feel pain from having to spend their money. Games are supposed to give you a fun experience, not the experience of being in pain.
In game currencies mitigate this issue, and just happen to turn a better profit. When considering that IAPs lead to better retention, a multiplayer game on roblox could actually be a more enriching experience because of currencies.
Yes, I am to some degree biased, but they are proven to work and I don’t want OP to stab himself in the back here while the rest of his game is solid.
Lol, I don’t want to stab myself in the back either.
This thread has been extremely helpful, so once again I thank everyone for helping me out. I think I’ll definitely be implementing currency, but I’ll still have level-based rewards.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s a coincidence - publishers spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars researching the psychology behind monetisation strategies.
I think you should add a form of currency which could be used to try and unlock skins from crates or another similar medium. Players should be able to earn this for free in between skins, but it would allow people to pay for the skins which they really like. Doesn’t offer a gameplay advantage, but allows players to invest in getting their favourite cosmetic items.
