Modern human beings surrounded by machinery, hubbub and noise – not to mention throngs of people – seem obsessed with the idea of pastoral fields, wide-open spaces… and of course running through those fields swinging swords at horrific monsters. Modern massive multiplayer online games allow people to project themselves into virtual worlds with simple rules.
Usually the service of connecting yourself to a huge number of other players who share the same fantasy is paid for with a monthly subscription fee to the game. But new models are emerging for how to make money off of these particular human desires. Free Realms from Sony’s “Sony Online Entertainment” gives people access to such a fantasy world for the price of simply sign up at their website. It also allows them to download the program quickly and play through their browser – all with graphics that rival World of Warcraft and other more expensive games.
But like most free offerings there is a catch.
And that Catch is?
While much of the content is free, some of the content is blocked off except to five dollar per month subscribers, and there are a host of small items including a virtual collectible card game that can be paid for with real cash.
About nine of the jobs (including the very popular Ninja job) are available for free – with about 5 jobs (Archer, Wizard, Medic, Blacksmith, and Warrior) only available for subscribers. The other catch is that some jobs require buying something to actually fully experience them. Since the game is aimed not only at young man but young women, there is a pet trainer class where a person can level up their ability to train virtual pets. But pets can only be taken out on trial for about 10 minutes at a time or of the player can pay about $3-$5 for a permanent virtual friend who they can train to do specific tricks and have to follow them around in the imaginary world.
Another example is the card duelist class. Card duelist get a free virtual card deck when they first learn their job, but they can buy booster packs which give them more options, more cards and even virtual wards at a cost of four dollars per booster pack. This is not terribly unusual for real world card booster packs, and virtual worlds prices are about the same in games that have a virtual cards.
Overall Design
All in all the overall design is rather clever one. Characters start off as a simple adventure who goes to the world doing good deeds for people and reaping rewards in virtual gold and other items. All of this can be done for free. As the player moves through the world they begin discovering new jobs. Unlike Warhammer Online and other MMO’s, characters are not limited to a single class or job. A character can literally change his costume and become a cook, or take on the job of being a mailman runs small jobs like sorting mail (a fun matching mini-game), a race car driver or even a generic fighter class called a “brawler”.
Each job comes with its own uniforms and costume pieces to complete the effect. Basically rather than locking off entire sections of content based on early decisions a player makes, the game allows the player great deal of freedom to explore and try completely different styles of play. This creates a wide diversity of play experiences that are available throughout the lifetime of a character.
Again, aimed primarily at younger kids and their parents who enjoy playing with them, includes a very strong chance filter. I began playing again recently and ran a cross the filter when I tried to talk about different classes that were available to starting players. The word “Class” has the word “Ass” in it (from the strict point of view of a computer) and so the word “Class” appears as “####s” in the game. Pound signs are used to cover up any word or words that might be offensive – even to the point of unintentionally keeping people from discussing how the game works. Players in game have taken to referring to the different classes as “jobs” to avoid the filter.
Even so I have noticed that people seem of good cheer and to take the filtering with a sense of humor.
Reaching Into The Pocket
I think it should be noted that the game is quite fun, and I can imagine young people being very intrigued. Obviously there is a temptation to dip into mom and dad’s wallet to fund their virtual adventures as there are number of items that can make the more powerful and more successful just by spending a few real world dollars. Magic swords that make them learn their jobs faster or drip with virtual coins and promised more gold with each kill are on sale in the virtual store for real world cash.
I’m still not sure how I feel about this particular model. I tend to view virtual items as a service rather than actual physical items that I have some claim to. This game could be an opportunity for parents to teach their children about how to budget money (both virtual and real) and how to get the things that they really want, and sacrifice some time and effort to achieve their long-term goals. On the other hand this could just be a nightmare where parents are constantly called over to the computer to add more virtual money to their kids account so that they can learn how to spend their way into the poorhouse an early age.
That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I think that the game – though it still has some bugs and needs some work – is a solid and fun one. My primary problem comes from the fact that adults generally understand what business models are. They understand when something is offered for free there is usually something to be paid at some point down the line. Kids on the other hand take the word “Free” to be literal and will probably be a little disappointed when they realize that it is a way of drawing them and getting them to spend a real money.
It is a credit to the game that I swing between consumerism-driven cynicism and joy as I watched the game be somewhat successful in its initial weeks. The game creates mixed feelings in me. As an adult who enjoys video games and appreciates the design of the game that tries to bring more fun to a genre that seems a bit stilted at times I’m glad to see designs that take chances and break molds. But as a person with an “inner child” – I can’t help but feel some disappointment that more information is and given upfront about what the game is really like and what it might really cost for people who want to experience all the.
But thinking back to my own childhood, I know that kids are more resilient than I give them credit for. Kids often take costs in stride, and that’s things that they want can often lead them to productive work in the real world and thinking about how to manage their money. Perhaps that is the best way to look at it.
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