Phil Steinmeyer
11-01-2005, 07:39 PM
This topic is meant to be half design/half biz.
I've got a soon-to-be released casual game, to be sold by the traditional download and try for 60 minutes model. I will shortly begin working on the browser-playable version. Technical issues aside, I'm thinking about feature designs - what should I cut from the full game, what should I keep, how should I try to upsell to the full game, etc.
There's already two older threads on effective nag techniques,
http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?t=3843&highlight=upsell
http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?t=1730
but those threads are more focused on using the downloadable demo to upsell, and they're primarily homed in on the nag screens. I'm thinking now about the browser playable version, and how to make it appealing in all aspects, and make it an effective upsell tool.
My game has a fairly solid story to it, and unique levels, with unique backgrounds.
I'm tentatively planning to:
Include the story, albeit in somewhat condensed form.
Include ~6 levels, (of the 50 in the game). If the user finishes these, then I'll likely cycle them at harder difficulty.
Include a nag screen at the end of each level.
Things I'm uncertain about:
How important is it to include music? Unfortunately, size restrictions would force me to use MIDI versions of my music rather than the downloadable game's MOD versions. MIDI sounds inferior, and it would take effort and money to convert the songs.
I currently have an integrated tutorial that stretches out, via various short dialogs, over the first few levels of the game. I think I'll likely cut my tutorial way down - maybe just go with a 'how to play' screen on the front end?
A question especially for those on the other side of the biz (portal operators, etc.) What seems to be most effective in compelling replays and eventually upsells for browser-playable games? What example games out there do it best?
I've got a soon-to-be released casual game, to be sold by the traditional download and try for 60 minutes model. I will shortly begin working on the browser-playable version. Technical issues aside, I'm thinking about feature designs - what should I cut from the full game, what should I keep, how should I try to upsell to the full game, etc.
There's already two older threads on effective nag techniques,
http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?t=3843&highlight=upsell
http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?t=1730
but those threads are more focused on using the downloadable demo to upsell, and they're primarily homed in on the nag screens. I'm thinking now about the browser playable version, and how to make it appealing in all aspects, and make it an effective upsell tool.
My game has a fairly solid story to it, and unique levels, with unique backgrounds.
I'm tentatively planning to:
Include the story, albeit in somewhat condensed form.
Include ~6 levels, (of the 50 in the game). If the user finishes these, then I'll likely cycle them at harder difficulty.
Include a nag screen at the end of each level.
Things I'm uncertain about:
How important is it to include music? Unfortunately, size restrictions would force me to use MIDI versions of my music rather than the downloadable game's MOD versions. MIDI sounds inferior, and it would take effort and money to convert the songs.
I currently have an integrated tutorial that stretches out, via various short dialogs, over the first few levels of the game. I think I'll likely cut my tutorial way down - maybe just go with a 'how to play' screen on the front end?
A question especially for those on the other side of the biz (portal operators, etc.) What seems to be most effective in compelling replays and eventually upsells for browser-playable games? What example games out there do it best?