Making payment fun

[theraot]

DE has to make giving them money fun,

And when I say fun that I mean:

- Using money should not remove challenge. This is because if it does (the so called pay-to-win) then the game is no longer engaging and the player that pays is dissatisfied, in particular if paying is the only viable option for them. A corollary of that is that challenge should not exist for the purpose of making people pay[1], but to keep the game engaging.

- Using money should include chance (random bonus rewards with the payment). DE is doing this with (to some extend) the mod packs you get with the payment.

- Using money should be thematic. That is, that using real money should avoid breaking the immersion of the game. Although in this case I agree that integrating payment in the game is not a good idea [2]. Another thing that could help this is an in game excuse for the premium currency... also, some games do well by having a way to earn the premium currency in game (although very slowly).

- Using money should be thrilling. People need to be excited about what they will get. Sometimes what it takes is to have the chance to taste it, a sneak peak of sorts... for instance the option to use any weapon in simulacrum.

- There must be artificial scarcity. And there is: there are daily tributes that grant discounts and there are Darvo deals that are limited in quantity[3].

- There must be signaling (aka, stuff to show off). And there is: Tennogen and deluxe skins are the best examples. These make other player think “Oh, I want that too”, so they have that thrill mentioned above.

- There must be items that lead to positive reinforcement by peers (aka, other players happy that you paid). For example if boosters were shared: people would be grateful that you did pay for boosters, It would make it easier to find party, and your friends may ask you to buy boosters again (this is good for DE, you get peer pressure to expend), you would be helping yourself, helping them and they praise you for that.

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[1]: Note that grinding should not be the only form of challenge. DE has a "it's complicated" relationship with grinding, they say they don't want to increase the grinding, but they do.

[2]: It may lead to bugs making people lose real money, or exploits to get things free. Also it is easier to implement alternative payment options in the web.

[3]: Imo, Darvo deals lack the thrill, do they limit to regular gear? How about adding more interesting stuff there.

[SenariousNex]

The current plat system is better than anything utilized by any other game I've ever played. The only other game I can think of that has a system where cash-currency can be traded between players is Entropia Universe. But that is still astronomically different. But if you want thrills from spending money on a game, that game will suit you a lot better,

Earning plat through in-game mechanics will bring with itself chineese gold seller spammers. So be careful what you wish for.