"Demo Version" vs. "Free Game"

[Ricardo C]

I'm working on an RPG game, and when thinking about how to handle the demo, I decided to not release a chunk of the main game (the game's divided into "chapters", so it would be fairly easy to release one as a demo.) Instead, I've crafted an additional "prologue" chapter, which introduces the characters and the main plotline, but is not essential at all in order to enjoy the actual game. It can be completed in a few hours, and it's a self-contained adventure that ends right as the full game begins.

My question is, does anyone see any potential marketing value in labeling the prologue chapter "Volume Zero" or "NAME OF GAME: Genesis (or Prelude, or Prologue)" or something along those lines, that suggests this is a "full game" in its own right, and not an "incomplete demo"?

Any and all thoughts are welcome :)

[BigZaphod]

Isn't this kind of what Id did with Commander Keen? They gave away the first episode and then sold the other two or something like that. (Keen history (http://www.3drealms.com/keenhistory/)) Seems perfectly legitimate to me.

(Note, I have not sold any games. :))

[Black Hydra]

No offence intended, as new ideas are always good to help us stay competitive, however I can't see how this is really that good.

You ideally want to have the user left at a point of suspense before asking for payment, not after they've completed a major task.

My suggestion would be to make this Prelude end with a cliffhanger. Make sure it takes only about 15 minutes to half an hour to complete. When trying demo's, even if the game is awesome I would rarely spend more than that. So making your prelude 2 hours long will make the game long enough so that I can be satisfied and leave it there.

Also, try to limit concepts in your game. I can't stress that enough. Often RPG's are very complicated with rule systems. You have to make the first part very easy as any initial confusion will immediately kill potential buyers who couldn't sit through a 5 minute tutorial.

Try some basic testing with friends and guage there reaction with the demo (assuming they haven't yet played the full game). If the demo is successful they should feel this after completion:

i) That they want to continue playing
ii) Disappointed that this is the end of the demo
iii) Still excited

If they feel:

i) Satisfied after playing the demo.
ii) Take a break in playing
iii) Sound restless when trying demo, initially

You've failed.

Remember, you want to entice the player to buy your game. Making the demo feel like a fun, full game will probably just leave the player happy, and you poor. If the players are really interested or excited in the plot, then you're doing something right. Them being disappointed its over is a good thing. The demo should be an advertisement for the game, not the game itself.

And remember, to limit the game to under 30 minutes of gameplay. Some people here were having 60 minute demo's. I played about 15 minutes before taking a break. Having a really short demo is much better than a long one. If I had ended that demo after 10 minutes, I probably would end with a really excited feeling about the game and the hype of the game would be enough to encourage me to buy it.

It isn't that you think that after they buy it they will play it less than 30 minutes, it is that you assume that for most players they will take a break after less than 30 minutes. I would suggest 10 minutes maximum for demo games. I would also never have time restrictions. You WANT them to play the demo more than 10 minutes if they want to. Just make sure that the demo is short so they quickly become tired with it and want the real thing.

As for the people who made demo's with a timer restriction or something, I wasn't as impressed. I don't hope to pick on anybody but I will give an example:

Void War by Coyote is an excellent game. I must say that I was amazed after playing it for a short time. However, that feeling wears down after about 15 minutes. If he had made the game only 10 minutes long, with a short storyline intro that would allow me to play and then abruptly end, I would probably have left feeling that same excitement. However, being a 60 minute demo I only played about 15 minutes before stopping. I should never be the one to decide when to stop. You should be forcing me to stop which makes me feel that getting the full game is necessary.

Sorry to pick on Coyote, but I simply mention him because of how impressed I was with the game and how I think such a small improvement could have made his demo far more convincing.

[papillon]

Another method of encouragement, if you can manage it - If choosing the 'Buy Now' option at the end of the demo allows you to continue to the real game with the character you have been customising in the prelude, and this is somehow an advantage (small one) to just starting the full game from scratch with a fresh character.

And be sure to announce that up-front.

I know I've not bothered downloading some one-or-two-chapter RPG demos because I wasn't sure if my save/character would continue over into the full game if I bought it, and I didn't want to spend the time on something I'd have to do over.

So if you make it clear that you get to keep some reward for finishing the demo, and then tie that reward into buying NOW... maybe that will improve the pickup rate?

[dan]

We've made a CRPG (RuneSword II). We made mistakes in several areas, including the demo, but I'd like to think we're older and wiser for it.

I tend to agree about the "keep it short" and "cliffhangers are good" sentiments. Remember that your primary goal is to get them to buy, not to give a tour or tutorial (though those elements are part of the deal, of course). If you can cut them off in less than a half hour, just when they're getting to a fabulous treasure after defeating a nasty creature, you'll be fine. Dangle a "Sword of Slaying" and a couple other trinkets in front of an RPGer, but end the tutorial before he gets to use the stuff.

I would not mess with naming. It should be [Gamename] Demo, period. Confusion is not your friend when people first encounter your site.

It probably goes without saying, but make the combat and situations extremely easy in the demo, to the point where users can just click the default fight option and do fine.

And bonus points if characters in the demo can somehow foreshadow several things in the real game. If you have some NPC ranting about the "rumored vampire family in the Gastione Estate" or the "Lost City in the Sky" or "a team of assassins stalking you" -- so much the better. Your target audience loves that stuff.

In RuneSword II, one mistake with our demo was using the first adventure, but simply ending it after a certain number of turns. The first adventure was pretty wide open, however, so we had people playing it over and over to go off in different directions to see new stuff. If I had to do it over again, I would've made a much more linear demo that ended in an exciting place. Give a better showing and less replay value..... On our list of mistakes, however, that one was rather minor. LOL.

[Ricardo C]

Guys, thanks a lot for the thoughtful advice :)

I guess I've been thinking too much as a gamer and not enough as a developer? I was trying to devise the type of demo that would satisfy me as a player, when I guess I should be thinking of the type of demo that would make it all but impossible for me not to buy the full game.

Perhaps the demo could end in the middle of a battle, just as the player has defeated a minor boss, and just as a larger, more visually impressive one enters the scene? I could automatically save the game there and bring it over into the full version if they make a purchase.