Re: Licensing

From: "Enno Rehling" <schick.mir.spam@gmx.de>

Date: Fri, 03 Nov 2000 23:00:40 +0000

"Tim Franklin" <tim@leaphome.pelican.org> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:slrn906eat.m5n.tim@leaphome.pelican.org...
>
> >If its already playable for free, then why would people play another
version?
>
> Paper turns?  I like paper turns, and mailing things out costs real money.

Uh, paper turns can get really huge after you've played Eressea for a couple
of years :-)

> Perceived support?  I feel much happier badgering a GM with questions /
> complaints if I'm paying him.

Yep. Same here. That's not true for everyone, I'm being harrassed by some
people who think they can *demand* things in the game to be changed the way
they wnat them to be, although they're not paying a penny. But in general,
support should be a whole lot better and readily available in a game that
you're paying for. I've had some really horrid experiences in free games.

> Perceived continuity?  If I'm paying someone to run a game (and so are
> enough other people, of course), I'm fairly convinced it'll continue
> running.

Yes. And free games tend to skip turns because of GMs that have exams coming
up, weddings, kids, family, etc. I've had games not run for two month, then
come back for three more turns, and with 50% of the players dropping out in
the next few weeks, fold entirely. How're you suposed to get attached to
something like that?

Not that we're doing that sort of thing. :-) 212 turns since August 25,
1996.

> I don't know if those factors give enough benefit to allow you to charge
> enough to make it worth your while, but I'd guess it's possible to charge
> something for a 'free' game.

Another thing: Continuity in the rules. Free games (that includes us,
definitely) have a tendency to change the rules from one week to the other,
because the designers found that adding new stuff is more fun than just
rerunning the same old boring server they had last week. They tend to be
more buggy, too. It's more like being in a beta test all the time.

Also, players that pay money take the game more seriously. They don't
register 5 factions to see which one develops best, and then drop the other
four (or at least if they do, they pay 5 times as much as the average
player). they don't drop out that easily, too. They often get more attached
to the game.

At least that's what I think/hope, having played and hosted free games and
seen that side of the coin.

Enno.

References

Licensing
"Enno Rehling" <schick.mir.spam@gmx.de>
Thu, 02 Nov 2000 22:11:36 +0000
Re: Licensing
madcentral@aol.com (MadCentral)
Fri, 03 Nov 2000 16:22:47 +0000
Re: Licensing
tim@leaphome.pelican.org (Tim Franklin)
Fri, 03 Nov 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

Licensing
"Enno Rehling" <schick.mir.spam@gmx.de>
Thu, 02 Nov 2000 22:11:36 +0000
Re: Licensing
madcentral@aol.com (MadCentral)
Fri, 03 Nov 2000 16:22:47 +0000
Re: Licensing
tim@leaphome.pelican.org (Tim Franklin)
Fri, 03 Nov 2000 00:00:00 +0000