04-01-2011, 02:17 PM
Lots of good points here. I think you are right that there's no need for a set up charge if the game can provide the necessary documentation via the net (and sell it separately at cost for someone who, for whatever reasons wants to have a hard-copy without printing it). I have been shocked at some of the setup & rules packages still being hawked.
Personally I want to use a professional when I game in any genre, except around the kitchen table. Certainly pros can, and have gone belly up but hobbyists feel absolutely OK about saying, "Sorry, I went on a picnic with my family yesterday instead of running turns." Professionals expect to get paid and the concomitant of that is they undertake to go to work even when they'd rather spend the morning in bed. How he gets paid is a different story.
I never thought of myself as being part of a golden age before but I am pretty sure you'll agree that the success of BSE or Tribes of Crane or Supernova or Illuminati-PBM was not because of their bug-plagued games. Most moderators (professional or hobbyist) labored hard and long to eliminate second rate code and shoddy workmanship. Those that didn't, died and in their short existence did more harm to the genre than good.
From your mouth to God's ear! (Even though I think you don't mean play-by-web
)
For what its worth, after playing with a lot of pricing models and getting lots of advice, I plan on providing a first (small-hulled) ship for free and guaranteeing free play forever with it. A small ship has some advantages over a large one so its not a matter of giving out a throwaway. However, to add ships, starbases, and planetary colonies to a player's fleet will require a monthly subscription, the amount depending on the number of pieces he-she is running. This model allows me to spell out the prices, and let the player know what he's committing to. The other popular model - free to play, but buy special goodies to succeed - is a turn off to me, though obviously there are lots of people who play that way.
(04-01-2011, 05:09 AM)GrimFinger Wrote: If given a choice between trying a Play-By-Internet game that is free of charge, and a Play-By-Mail game that carries a legacy of both start-up fees and per-turn fees, all else being equal, which do you think that the average gamer is likely to go with?
Personally I want to use a professional when I game in any genre, except around the kitchen table. Certainly pros can, and have gone belly up but hobbyists feel absolutely OK about saying, "Sorry, I went on a picnic with my family yesterday instead of running turns." Professionals expect to get paid and the concomitant of that is they undertake to go to work even when they'd rather spend the morning in bed. How he gets paid is a different story.
(04-01-2011, 05:09 AM)GrimFinger Wrote: But, the golden era of Play-By-Mail's heyday was not achieved by individuals whose primary driving force was realism. Rather, it was fueled by imagination and innovation. It was a golden era of imperfection, one of bug-plagued games and moderator eccentricities.
I never thought of myself as being part of a golden age before but I am pretty sure you'll agree that the success of BSE or Tribes of Crane or Supernova or Illuminati-PBM was not because of their bug-plagued games. Most moderators (professional or hobbyist) labored hard and long to eliminate second rate code and shoddy workmanship. Those that didn't, died and in their short existence did more harm to the genre than good.
(04-01-2011, 05:09 AM)GrimFinger Wrote: The genre of Play-By-Mail is waiting to be rediscovered by a new generation of adventurous souls.
From your mouth to God's ear! (Even though I think you don't mean play-by-web
)For what its worth, after playing with a lot of pricing models and getting lots of advice, I plan on providing a first (small-hulled) ship for free and guaranteeing free play forever with it. A small ship has some advantages over a large one so its not a matter of giving out a throwaway. However, to add ships, starbases, and planetary colonies to a player's fleet will require a monthly subscription, the amount depending on the number of pieces he-she is running. This model allows me to spell out the prices, and let the player know what he's committing to. The other popular model - free to play, but buy special goodies to succeed - is a turn off to me, though obviously there are lots of people who play that way.