If you're curious about the game I just finished making, check out this playlist: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wafu_TKRZ4k.html&ab_channel=HelperWesley
One way to use both optional reward ads and purchasable cosmetics is to have a rare gem spawn in the game that is used to buy cosmetics. You could watch ads to receive small amounts of this gem, or you could pay for large quantities. You could also have certain cosmetics that are purchase only
I actually like premium the most, but it can make me not try a game because I'm unsure. So what I actually prefer is a free to play game with ads that allows me to pay once to remove the ads, so in the end, it's a bit like a premium game that I can try first. I don't know how good (moneywise) it is for the dev tho.
I think the game is looking very good but I think you should add somethig unique to the game because it for now just look like an normal digging game, just without the part where you need to collect ores and return to the base to sell them, But overral your game has a lot of potencial and I am very excited about it
maybe the pit could have lava or something at a random point, signaled by the blocks getting a bit red, and you have to choose between risk and safety because if you touch the lava you have to pay a percentage of your ores to repair your suit or something.
Yeah, that's a great way to look at it. I think I want to get options in there so it feels like the player "chose", instead of forcing them to pick 1 way of doing it. My absolute free to play model is in Warframe. Totally free to play with restrictions, and you can get rid of those restrictions bit by bit with the premium currency. And you can trade premium currency with other players. So you can buy the currency yourself, or trade things you earned in the game for that premium currency and not pay a penny to get free access. Of course I'm not going to add a trading system in to this game, but some way to grind for currency instead of just straight buying it is a good idea imo. 👍
why not just use both? light ads with idk a watch a ad for a multiplier at the end of a run + cosmetic suits and maybe drill skins that would cost money and probably as a technique to boost sales on that you could make it so that player no longer gets ads
I'll probably do both. I don't like the multiplier because this game will have a leaderboard, and then you're obligated to watch adds to get on the leaderboard, which might sour the experience for some people. I'm thinking of doing light ads between each run, maayyybbbeeee a banner ad on the shop screen, and a cosmetics shop where you can buy cosmetics with a secondary currency. The secondary current could be bought with real money, or by playing the game for a long time + reward ads.... This is kind of where my head is right now. I'll be curious to see if that changes based on what people commenting say. 👀
Reward ads are better for a developer, because more people want rewards, than just cosmetics, i guess. But as a player i would prefer last, because the game isn't forcing me to watch it, so i want it more, so i can support the dev.
That's why I think I might do both, but limit the rewards to not game balance related rewards.(Mostly cosmetics) Because the light ads will let everyone play the game for free, while I earn a tiny bit of money, but then people who want to support the game( or just want the cosmetics) can get them with microtransactions or reward ads. 🤔 (I have no idea if this will work, but it's where my head is at right now. 😅)
I like light amount of ads and reward ads option over light ads and cosmetic purchases. That way i have the option to watch additional ads for more progress in game then something that jist looks different
I think tkat the reward ads are the best because it's like you put players to pay for stuff but instead of bringing money from theyr oun pocket they will just need to watch an ad.
neat - Adds : Light Ad + optional rewards - If I am going to sit and watch an add for a bank I do not use for a product I do not want - I would like something that will make the game easer not change the colour of the drill.
Interesting. 🤔 So do cosmetics interest you at all? Trying to gauge where you'd be on the spectrum of people who would be willing to spend on cosmetics or not. 🤔
@@HelperWesley That is a good question - Shot awenser I do not know - Long answer broke game developer - probably not. (Target audience may get better awnser ) I do not think I personlay have paid money for skins - but I am not one that care about a pink rife - anothere through: Pay to win has a bad rap - if I can make the game give me more Endorphins I may watch an add Sorry if i cannot be more help - I watched this today ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tjKqbn3-RMo.html I like the idea where you talk with data - see what the user acutaly do - Sometimes we do not what we think we do.
Entirely agree, even ads here on RU-vid are pretty weak. I'm hoping the small success on my RU-vid and other socials will continue to drive people to the game well beyond the time it should have "died". I see all of my old games getting played a tiny amount every day, so I'm sort of hoping on that so the game never "dies", and it'll turn out to be profitable over a long period of time. 🤞
Well, Why one 'Ad' use over the other? I like the Reward add more as I am not that interested in 'showing' off or changing the look of things as long as the default is OKish. On the other hand, I have little time for Games over the past years and if there is a way (not the purchase way) to get a little boost AND support the developer.. I am totally into it. So, In your case. Add a Secondary Currency only for cosmetics which will not boost your like your Drill Strength and such but only show different sprites for the Tools, astronaut etc... Maybe level themes idk. And for the reward 'ad', add an optional one to get you a boost for the game currency. Or maybe a random free upgrade... Such things. I think you could easily go with both as long as they do not interfere with each other. Keep up :)
reward ads is better because this isn't a serious game to pay for it. So player just won't pay for game such like this to get something, BUT player is ok to watch ad and get what he wants
So I’ve recently been playing the mobile version of Vampire Survivors. It’s fantastic and, more importantly, totally free. The ads are optional for bonus revives and extra coins. While both feel totally optional, I honestly choose to watch the ads as a way of saying thanks to the developer for making it free to play. The fact that the ads are completely optional and not forced is really important, too, as I’ve definitely deleted apps that forced me to watch way too many ads. And the completely optional microtransactions never really bothered me, because again, they’re optional. Making them purely cosmetic is definitely good, and can be a simple way to breathe some life into a game you’ve been playing for a while/become addicted to (lol).
I'm not completely familiar with the mobile market but if you do the MTX right it shouldn't hurt your brand in the long term while making you the most money the game is capable of making ethically. I would give a freebee or two for beating the main game just so players feel rewarded and maybe a little more tempted to get certain outfit they've been eyeing. if you do that, I would be sure to make the gameplay reward cosmetics as good as the store bought ones as a low quality free cosmetic may tarnish a players view on cosmetics as a whole in your game. Price the cosmetics reasonably don't make any single item that costs the same amount as Domekeeper. I would always remove ads if a player buys a certain amount of cosmetics like $2 -$5 if that's not already standard practice. finally do not spend too much time making a large amount of cosmetics at first. Get the game working first, then get a couple of sweet looking outfits up for sale and then go from there.
I prefer cosmetics over ads though I don’t mind if I can optionally watch ads to buy cosmetics. It needs to be purely optional in terms of gameplay and there could be a “leaderboard” system that shows off the cosmetics of the high scorers. This would ideally encourage players to show off their cosmetics in their high score.
I'm a sucker for cosmetics. It let's me play the full game when I have no money but when I have some extra money I can dump it in flashy digital collections
Do you have indestructible blocks as you progress deeper to add more challenge? Also a hurry up mode might be interesting. Possibly some kind of a earthquake on a timer or something that forces the player to dig deeper faster and possibly miss some ore in order to stay alive as the area above them closes in or something. Anyways, I really enjoy your work. Keep it up!
If you are going to want a mix between the two styles of ads, you could make the game have the optional bonus ads, and every once in a while - you would get a random chance of it prompting you to "watch an ad to earn this skin" to tie in the cosmetic attributes which you enjoy while not sacrificing a player who is free to play and gatekeeping the content from them. while also making ad revenue.
i gave my opinion on your original poll but now i feel is better time to explain my point. When it comes to cosmetics there are certain games that allow you only to get cosmetic by paying. In my opinion your best option is to put casual adds for playing, watch multiple adds for a skin or a cosmetic, misc etc. and pay a small amount of money for a nice flashy skin. also Adds for light bonuses like more gold and xp next run or even a revive and stuff like that is the best way for the consumer because you can decide on watching more adds every run and you constantly feel like you are choosing to watch ads and not being forced to
reward adds mean, youd have to pay or implement a different add network or server... too much hastle... its a scheme i think... but it works... oh... yeah... those are around...
I think it’s f there were any micro transactions make sure you can’t just like buy 500 coins and get all the good stuff but rather maybe be able to buy cosmetics.
Great Remake although I have a suggestion. Maybe you should keep the old game camera that keeps going down and this time if the player gets left behind its game over and as you progress the level get faster.
Thanks! It makes me cringe a little bit when thinking of people watching the videos from back then, but I'm really glad to hear people have been checking in on what I'm working on for so long. 👍
I prefer to win cosmetics after seeing an add cause if you don't want the cosmetics you don't have to watch an add and it don't feel like "watch this to win", but cosmetics are still cool so people will watch add to get the legendary one
well I would say I much prefer light add microtransactions over light add add rewards because then I don't feel like to do any good in the game I have to watch get the rewards and watch adds
cosmetic microtransactions are technically the best and "fairest" way to monetize a F2P game, but they also only really work contextually on certain projects. I don't think this is one of those projects. One major reason people generally pay for cosmetics because they're immediately visible to other players in multiplayer games. Just having a scoreboard doesn't hit that feeling of letting others see your unique style. Another reason people might buy cosmetics is that a game is built around, or has access to, preexisting IPs that they care about. Think about some of the Sonic mobile games; you can pay money to unlock cosmetics for a largely singleplayer experience, but those cosmetics are cool to people because they reference games from their childhood that they already love. Paid cosmetics are also generally only a part of games that people play for years. Players are generally okay with spending money to have an outfit that they can use for the foreseeable future. You tend to make games that are fun in short bursts but aren't necessarily designed to retain people for months at a time. That said, if a leaderboard is going to be important here, I don't necessarily support microtransactions for powerups/boosts either
I see your point. 🤔 Kind of puts me in the position of the game not being good for either, since the leaderboard is going to be an important part of the game, and I don't want to sacrifice that powerful retention tool just to get a couple more dollars in the short term. 🤔
@@HelperWesley You'd definitely have to think outside of the box to figure out how to keep things fair and monetized, but I'm sure it's possible. Maybe something like separate tiers of leaderboard depending on how much someone has spent on the game? It might also just be better to stick to the tried-and-true method of running ads that players can pay to disable.
Cosmetic microtransactions have become largely soured in my mouth because of a CERTAIN EA game, especially when they aren't controlled and are randomized. Moreover, unless my shiny new drill changes something fundamental about how I play (better animations, more dynamic sounds) I'm unlikely to use money to purchase it. This is how League of Legends is successful; it uses player-chosen Skins to drive its success. The LEGENDARY and MYTHIC tier skins provide new voice lines, animations and often complete thematic overhauls while maintaining the spirit of a character. // *KEY EXAMPLE:* [Ezreal is an orphaned Indiana Jones twenty-something who uses magic to fight. His Battle Academia skin takes that to a hyper-real, turning him into Izuku Midoriya fused with Gon Freecs whose innate power is energy manipulation. His animations change to reflect that.] Optional Reward Ads encourage the player to take agency by engaging with the game more. I feel freer to play the game when I can invest time into it (watching an ad) to get better rewards, when I play the game anyway. If I watch 30s and get a new drill bit, I know I'm special because several people won't be as invested as I was. The difference with the above is trading time in a game you already play and trading money for something you already play is often a massive increase in investment which is often too far. It also feels less predatory because of how gamers have been conditioned.
Yeah, that makes total sense. I can understand how people would be willing to sit through an ad for a cosmetic reward, whereas the hurdle of paying real money might be too much for a lot of people. 🤔 (Also, hate randomized systems that give you a "chance" of getting what you want. 😩) What do you think about using both? A cosmetic system, where the premium currency can be bought with money and earned through gameplay with reward ads giving you a tiny bit of that currency in case you need to "top up" to get the cosmetic you want to buy? 🤔
This might not be a majority opinion, but to me buying cosmetics just feels strange. Not just in mobile/free to play games, either. Quite a few RPGs have outfit DLC, which essentially is just a microtransaction. I have never bought any of those. Now if a DLC adds like 4 bosses, a new area, and new outfits, it starts looking like a free drink in a food order. Like sure, I'll drip out my dudes in the process, but not as the primary goal/intention. Though, if you can use a premium currency that is also available as a F2P to buy cosmetics, that's fine. Of course, I dunno how well that would work out in your game.
Cosmetics just aren't for some people. 😅 have a close friend who's the same way. Doesn't bother with character customization or anything, just goes in to every game with the default character so they can get to the gameplay part. 😅
The blocks should have the some hit flash when you... well... hit them! Player feedback is VERY important and you should put it anywhere you can. And hit flash is a very easy yet effective way of giving player feedback!
Honestly, if it's a mobile game with ads (which I totally understand), as long as the ads don't give you anything, people will turn off their mobile data while playing the game. Of course not all, but I think the majority of people around me do that and I believe it is true for all mobile gamers. That's why I think you could implement the gold rush that we could see in the video for ads for example. This way players earn more gold that they can spend on cosmetic items later on
What about pets such as space dogs and monkeys in spacesuits. They accompany the player in his journey. And they could interact with themselves as well. Like the monkey teasing the dog to chase it. Or throwing a rock as the dog flies through space to fetch it. These kind of things might interest the player in buying cosmetics in a single player game. I don't know if this could actually workout in the game. But I thought of suggesting it anyways.
Id make it so there is a hard-to-get premium currency. You can get this currency by grinding the game, completing and achievement or watching an ad/buying it. And you can buy cosmetics with it (see what I did there?).
Oh wow you use gdevelop, I personally use Godot and have never seen anyone use gdevelop. Is gdevelop good? Is it capable? Is it like construct(that's what I heard it was like)? These are all genuine questions lol
I really like it, it comes with a tonne of prebuilt logic which makes the first stages of creating prototypes really fast. And from that point on it feels on par with other engines, from what I've seen in other devlogs and articles. I've tinkered with other engines, but haven't done an in-depth test to compare them or anything.😅 I also really like the no-code system. My eyes kind of glaze over when I see walls of code, so this engine worked out much better for me in that way. 👍
I added an outline to the character and changed the background to near pure black, so the character is much more readable now. Hopefully that'll do it. 🤞
Player feedback would add a ton! I feel like this is a good start, but it needs something more to distinguish it and make it stand out from the thousands of other games.
Y’know how it take’s a different amount of strikes to destroy different blocks. what if the screen moves down without you again, so it turns into a interesting decision of going for the points or going for the distance.
That was the point for the original game, and it is definitely one way to do things. But that rushing you felt went against the satisfaction and chill vibes I was trying to go for with the game. So now each strike will take away some of your stamina, so you've got to choose the best path to try and get the most points. So hopefully that, combined with consumable objects, will create a chill almost "puzzle solving" kind of feel to the game. Sort of like stardew valley, where you try to get as much done in a single day as you can, with a limited amount of stamina, to maximize the amount you earn at the end of the day. That's the hope at least.🤞
I absolutely love your videos. Just amazing to watch everything you create and work with! Recently started getting into Gdevelop and i'm having sooo much fun. I don't really know much about it (yet) - but with time i'm hoping to be able to create something bigger! Yesterday i did my first small project. Really small. A single level inspired by Flappy Bird. Just with several objects to dodge and diamonds to collect. Got to work with: Hitboxes, spawnpoints, air jumps and more! But everything worked as i intended, and it was super fun to create! Thanks for these videos, looking forward to them all!
I like the concept of cosmetic micro transactions, because it's not something you'll need to play and or progress, but it's a nice little way to support the dev if you like the game. Concerning the ads I prefer light use but most important only / mainly in well placed areas like for bonuses or after a level. Few things are more frustrating than ads that seem to be placed at random spots and just interrupt you in between something.
Oh, most definitely, an ad that pops up mid run would be brutal! 😅 My current plan is for them to be after runs, so you have to get through it to bring your points back to the shop to spend. So you have to watch them, but it won't break up the gameplay mid flow. And then the reward ads and microtransactions will be a separate thing you need to opt in to if you want some cosmetics and to support the dev. 😉
really like the idea. most people really dont understand how much goes into making a game. from the art, sound effects, scripts, every and anything needs a function in the game to make it whole. For the "cost" of the game or revenue rather, why not just sell them game for a very low price. $1.99 or .99 cents. Every small game you make will sell a few copies, over time have 5-6 small games bringing in income. without feeling forced to have ads or pay to win features to the game?
I'd love to just sell the game for a premium price, but that was something I did with my original game and I saw very little success outside of the traffic I sent to the game myself. But then I made games afterwards that had ads and were free to play, and the difference was very noticeable. From what I've seen out there, people don't want to pay for anything on mobile. Even the most popular titles tend to sell for half or even a quarter of their desktop price when sold on mobile. 😅
@@HelperWesley maybe it comes back to a advertisement kind of thing to increase sales. I have been told the market is really flooded right now some AAA companies are holding onto their games to release later in the future.
Great video. It's nice to go back to an original idea and transform it once you have learned more. I really like the evolution of what you are doing with the new version. As for your question, I think that the cosmetic pick is what I would prefer. Probably my own paranoid thinking, but when I see the reward ads I always think that the developers are making it so that even though those are optional they are manipulating the game play loop to push the player towards those. That being said, I've put them in a game without doing that so, I guess it really boils down to the developer and how trustworthy they are.
I entirely agree, that's why I favor microtransactions in this specific case. Because it feels more clear cut as to what is free or not in the game, especially with those games out there that would try to squeeze you in to watching them. I am sort of thinking about doing both though. With a premium currency system that you can earn over time by playing, outright buy with money, or get some of by watching reward ads. So people who are playing for free "can" pick up a single cosmetic if they've been playing for long enough, and if they're close they can watch a reward ad to "top them up" to the amount they need. 🤔 I have no idea how well that sort of system would work, but that's currently what I'm thinking of doing. 😅
@@HelperWesley Personally I like this idea. Nobody likes being left out of cosmetics, but if they can earn them in game, those who can't justify spending money on a game can still feel included. Those who don't play as much but have the money to spend are also included.
Preferably only have optional ads. What you can do is make it much harder to play with out ads. This would make it so those who hate ads are not discouraged from playing (they would not play if there where ad's anyway), and the average person will watch the ads, making a far less irritating and more rewarding ad system. Of course this is just a suggestion and if you must make the generally counter intuitive choice of non-essential ads then I would recommend going very easy on them because for the vast majority of players ads are an immediate game breaker
Helper Wesley, you are like a magical creature that brings us humans the divine knowledge of videogame making. Like seriously...who are you? How have you learned so much? Your manner of speech has changed so much, you sound so lively now compared to old videos. I am working my ass off making small prototypes, should I share them somehow? Game developing can be so frustrating when you don't fully grasp what you are doing but it is so satisfying when things work as intended!!
I have what some people might call an obsession, that's all. 😅 I would not recommend trying to make devlogs on RU-vid if that's what you're asking. It's honest just as much work as game development, so it would REALLY dicide your focus. But I think it's a good idea to share screenshots of your projects on twitter, reddit, discord, wherever you'd like. Talking to other developers, exchanging feedback, just socializing with people who have the same passion as you is a great motivator. 👍
Here's an idea about the effect when breaking the blocks. You could have an effect that 'cracks' the block from where the drill hits. If you hit from above it starts from the top then as the crack goes lower it "branches out". (hmm think of it as a lightning strike). If you hit from the side then it starts on that side and goes to the other side etc.
I like reward ads better because even though your watching an ad your time doesn’t feel wasted because you get rewarded but I don’t think light ads with micro transactions would be bad
Bro I remember this ad company that let's you have ads just play on a little screen without interrupting the player, I feel like if you figure out how to make it feel like the ads are part of the game like for example Dan or Dan 2 the ads are in the game as crates. so you could implement something like that to make the ads less annoying
That would be a really clever way of doing it. 🤔 A game like not for broadcast with it's built in ad breaks as part of the game, would be able to make use of that to the fullest I think.
nice idea! it does seem to get pretty satisfying to break blocks while getting points. I would suggest you make a colored particle for blocks with minerals in them and maybe make it bigger so that it really feels impactful.
Why didnt you put a sense of urgency by making the camera scroll automatically and if the character gets left behind you lose. Is there even a lose state??
It's been an interesting experience so far. Wondering "why did I make that design decision back then?". And seeing how much quicker and easier the game building process has become. 👀
Dude just make highlights on drill slide 1-2 pixels down each frame there's your drill animation easy, and a lot of casual games use charge, energy or fuel to integrate ads in gameplay. Like drill won't launch without fuel. And you can make unlockable suites with different memes or heros impersonated in that wears to add overall gameplay time.
I'm not going to put ads in during the gameplay. 😅 The game doesn't need to support me on it's own, so I'd rather make a good game first and make ads nonintrusive. But for the cosmetics, I actually hadn't thought about doing recognizable characters, maybe it would be fun to make some off brand versions of heroes. 👀
@@HelperWesley Well yeah, I've actually ment less intrusive type of ads, like you have 10 charges for drill and it refills over time, but you can buy either for coins farmed in the game or watch an ad to refill. I've seen games where every screen is ad: bit the level ad, entering level ad, going back to menu ad. Much ecological approach with ads only for refill is used in many action, race, adventure, hypercasual games. If your gameplay isn't like in roguelike games all in one go or as in Enter the Gungeon with saves after bossfight, it's justified to add some kind of resources that can be refilled and make farm process less monotonous, ideally, add some kind of xp/ rescource boosters would do great too. Mobile players are not regular gamers at least large part of them, they want to take minute break from daily work/ duty like smoke break. So short sessions are more suitable. Unless you want to make pc like experience, where you have to dive in the game and stay there for hours... And don't forget about mobile/tablet charging time, or you can completely kill device battery(another reason for fuel/energy refilling over time mechanic).
@@roughnick Yeah, mobile gamers are a lot different than PC or console players. I remember in my very first game, I put the save at the base. But because people on mobile usually just close the program whenever they need to get back to what they were doing, people we quitting without reaching that save checkpoint. So a lot of people thought the game was broken or wasn't able to save. 😩
I tried adding a fog of war type thing, but it turned out to be pretty complicated so I got scared and stopped. lol. I do think it would add something to the game though, so I may dip my toes back in to it and try to figure it out later in the project if I have time. 🤞
Oh that movement system rebuild seemed painful! I really hope you're using git or something similiar for version control, just remember to commit and branch out more frequently haha :D
I use a no-code engine, and github has always felt like it's getting too close to coding. Mostly in it's presentation. I use it for work, but I show up kicking and screaming. 😅 So I'm saving my versions locally and on an external hard drive. I know it's not the best way to do it, but it's worked for me so far. 😅
