Microtransactions: will pay for power-ups and self-expression, but not for new content

Free to play gamers will pay for power-ups and self-expression, but not for new content | Games Brief

The survey of 2,425 respondents identified that free-to-play web games generated the highest revenue ($75 on average) and that virtual currencies were the most popular purchase. But the report unveiled a number of valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t in the world of microtransactions.

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Tomb Raider: Underworld post mortem

Gamasutra - Features - Postmortem: Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Underworld

Very interesting article, mostly because Eric Lindstrom mentions a couple of good examples of anticipated risks which nevertheless became reality, regardless of mitigation efforts.

"It is particularly interesting to note that much of what went wrong in development involved pitfalls that we anticipated but still fell into despite our efforts to avoid them. It's important to note that most postmortems talk about "What Went Wrong" and not just "What We Did Wrong" because sometimes you make mistakes, but other times you suffer from acts of god and do your best to cope.

A Game Developer article last year ("What Went Wrong?" December 2008) specifically questioned why game development seems to make the same mistakes over and over. In light of that, some of the "wrongs" will be discussed in terms of how our methods to avoid known issues fell short."

Microtransactions and flash games

Gamasutra - Features - Generating Cash For Premium Flash

A couple of useful comments about flash games and how to use microtransactions for monetization. Common sense is yet again very helpful.

"Done correctly, games designed with microtransactions in mind need not infuriate gamers. Harris recalls that his team was careful to build a complete game for those who just want to play -- and beat -- the game for free.

"You can go through all 30 levels of SAS without paying a dime," he says. "We believe that to be very important. And people who don't mind forking over a few dollars for extra content can go to the premium license tab and buy some kick-ass guns, the ability to regenerate health, and even something called 'guardian angel' which lets you continue from where you died."

Definition of impediments in SCRUM

Scrum Impediments

Laszlo Szalvay of Danube talking about "impediments" in the context of Scrum:

"In the Scrum method of agile development, a scrum impediment is defined as anything that stands in the way of a team's productivity. This can literally be anything, from a team member who isn't pulling his or her weight to an uncomfortably warm team room. But if it's keeping the team from working at optimal efficiency, it's an impediment.

Luckily, Scrum dedicates an entire role to the resolution of these impediments: the ScrumMaster. The ScrumMaster works in a variety of capacities, such as helping the Product Owner prepare the backlog or radiating Scrum artifacts, but the primary responsibility of a ScrumMaster is to remove scrum impediments and facilitate a highly performing team. To help the ScrumMaster achieve this, the team is responsible for communicating what barriers are impeding their progress. This occurs each day in the daily Scrum, when team members report on their accomplishments for the past 24 hours, goals for the next 24 hours, and what scrum impediments stand in their way. This systematized feedback loop ensures that a ScrumMaster always knows what is keeping the team from success and work to remove them."

Localisation of games

ICO Partners » Blog Archive » Localise and shine: it may be easier than you think

A nice article by Thomas and Diane which covers all aspects of localisation. Its impact on the localisation of the game content, Customer Support and community management.