Monetizing

ID:1279108
 
May 29 2013, 7:24 pm
Applies to:All aspects of BYOND
Status: Open
Issue hasn't been assigned a status value.
Platforms like Kongregate provide various methods for developers (and hence the platform) to make money. This is achieved through a virtual site currency/credit system, which can then be spent on content without additional need for credit-card details.

These credits could then be used for things such as:

virtual-goods - bonus content in games or unlocking demos to allow unrestricted play

subscriptions to game-servers, where authentication would fail unless you paid a periodic subscription to said server. This would allow another way to make private game-servers which are still visible/promoted on the hub.

donating credits as incentives to boost desirable activity in the community - byond management could reward those who help new-developers, or hold competitions like Ludum Dare. An attractive cash-like prize with no 'real' cost to byond.

Revenue from this virtual economy would be split between byond and game developers in whatever percentages sound reasonable.

I'm also sort of hoping it would feed back into itself and promote/attract more professional(-ish) games to the platform, and hence attract more users.
May 29 2013, 7:26 pm
Way back in the good ole days, we had BYONDimes

This didn't work very well as internet commerce changed, and now certainly wouldn't work unless there were high thresholds for withdrawals.

I'd like to hear what Tom has to say about wrapping up BYONDimes.
May 29 2013, 7:38 pm
Oh, I did not know that.
May 29 2013, 7:39 pm
I still remember when I got my check from Dantom for 200 dollars. :D I had A LOT of BYONDimes.
May 29 2013, 8:19 pm
eek, yeah I've just found another request about byondimes. So I guess this is a duplicate.

Sorry
May 30 2013, 12:22 am
I can't really mark feature requests as duplicate, so I'll kinda just leave a link to the earlier request here:

http://www.byond.com/forum/?post=118697
May 30 2013, 4:35 am
Honestly, if you have a game that people truly enjoy playing, a simple subscription button will get you some hits. Having extra in-game content for benefactors really goes a long way. People buy memberships for NEStalgia because they want capes, guilds, bigger banks, whatever. It's cool and everybody's doing it, so they feel like they need it too.

There's no money issue with BYOND, just the games on it. People already pay for games they like. If your project sucks, then you won't get anything from it. An interesting system that would probably make for an interesting subscription option would be paying for the ability to grief other players in non-harmful ways.

$2 for 5 uses of an item that turns player's character icons into something funny, like a naked woman or some overused meme. Maybe even stretch a little bit into the harmful with an item that randomizes a player's movement controls in battle. People will pay for that stuff. Why? Because we're inherently assholes and like to see other people suffer for no reason.

Many mobile games are free to play but give players the option of buying extra items to help them. If you're running an RPG, let players pay real money for a few scrolls that can respawn you at the location where you died, instead of teleporting back to town or something.

It's all about what you have that's worth money and players are willing to pay for.