Wangerbanger Posted:

People aren’t going to pay money for a game that FEELS like a browser game. Sure, they may pay or donate for other, smaller items, but once you ask them for a sum greater than $20.00 US (Anything less feels like small change and may make them not mind) they feel as though that the entire first chapter was some sort of demo or free trial. If you really want to make Forumwarz a game that people have to pay for, here’s a few suggestions:

– Make it playable offline

– Tighten up the interface a bit more: Provide shortcuts to the most used links, allow players to ‘take all’ deliveries

– Introduce multiplayer and PvP

– Get yourself out there more via advertisements to make yourself look like a more legitimate game

– Improve variation of attacks so it’s not, say, ‘fap-poetry-yo momma-insult-yo momma’ etc. Perhaps damage over time attacks would be best (i.e. shock images for trolls, since you just see text when you get into a topic, but you scroll past an image it catches your eye and well.)

Other than that, Forumwarz feels like a good, solid BROWSER GAME. If you force people to pay for it, however, they’re going to say ‘**** this’ and join different games.

There are several things I would like to contest about this post, although a lot of it has been pointed out by our faithful users — many of whom have already donated more than $10 far before Episode 2 was even a consideration!

In any case…

1) It might be browser-based, but I don’t see how that’s important. The lines between browser-based games and other computer or video games are becoming very blurred. Check out www.instantaction.com, for example. They’re using basic client-side browser technology to deliver console-like games. I know “the medium is the message” and all, but we feel Forumwarz is in a category of its own.

2) ...which is why, as has been pointed out, taking it offline doesn’t make much. I mean, it’s a game about the internet and attacking forums.

3) Just for you, we’ve decided to halve the cost from $20 to $10! Log in to see images!

4) You don’t “have to” pay for anything! You can continue playing for free, but if you want to open the next chapter, we require you to donate.

5) You can “take all” deliveries…but, well, you know that by now.

6) Improving the interface is always a good idea, but I don’t think that adding a couple of pet interface changes will mean the difference between a purchasable game and a free one, right?

7) There are more attacks in Episode 2, obviously. And of course, there’s all the different attacks for the different clbumes. Believe it or not, it’s a lot of work creating dozens of attacks, all with different stats, making sure they work within the context of clbum balance, etc. Again, this seems like a pet peeve more than a deal-breaker.

8) We’ve tried to introduce Multiplayer features in the form of individual and Klan leaderboards, Forumbuildr, Domination and INCIT. True PvP would be a cool feature, but it’s pretty complicated to do and will take some time to build. It’s on our (gigantic) to-do list, though.

9) Many people would argue that buying ads doesn’t make you any more legitimate than a company that attracts users through word-of-mouth. Most of the ads I see are for crap products or services I would never even consider buying. In any case, we’re doing what we can to publicize ourselves. Just buying a ton of ads willy-nilly wouldn’t be such a hot idea, because advertising costs money. And of course, if we were to make Forumwarz Episode 2 free, as you’ve posited, spending all that money on ads would be a pretty bad financial move, wouldn’t it?

10) We’re just one game out of thousands in the gaming ecosystem. The simple fact is, if you enjoy playing it and want to continue, you will. We’re doing everything we can to make sure it’s an enjoyable experience to as many people as possible.