More than idle speculation....
I'm not making this up. Not completely, anyway.
A little more than a month ago, Wizards posted a job looking for a Senior Business Manager for D&D. One of the job duties in the job description was "Provide strategic and tactical ecommerce and merchandising leadership on Dungeons & Dragons to drive revenue using micro and macro-transaction models."
Now, I may be a member of the tinfoil hat brigade when I say this, but it doesn't take too much reading between the lines to think that this indicates that Hasbro and Wizards are interested in the idea of a micro-transaction system baked into D&D Next.
What The Hell is a Micro Transaction?
In the online gaming world, microtransactions are the small purchases you make to supplement your game experience -- they're especially prevalent in free-to-play games. Often you can buy cosmetic changes for your character, or other features like pets -- items that are fun but that don't have a direct impact on your in-game power.
It's a relatively new idea -- and we haven't quite reached the point where there are clear guidelines for how to do it well that are understood industry-wide. But the good people at Penny Arcade have boiled in down very well:
[video=youtube;RTFQsdgSA9s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RTFQsdgSA9s[/video]
They come down with some key guidelines we can take with us into our conversation:
1. Players are not the enemy
2. Let players earn all currencies, even the ones they can also buy.
3. Never Sell Power
4. Build your plan into your game from the beginning
5. Don't split your community
If you're not clear on what any of those mean, watch the video.
It's not a Gungan
For the sake of this thought experiment, I'm going to need a special indulgence from you. I'd like to explore an idea that we all, at least at first blush, are going to hate. I mean, Jar Jar Binks levels of hate.
But, work with me here -- put that hate in a box. Maybe a footlocker or a steamer trunk, if the box isn't big enough. And try to consider this idea with an open mind.
What could a Microtransaction-supported program for an RPG look like?
Important questions to consider:
1. Would this game be free to play?
2. What can players buy with their micro transactions?
3. How will this be managed?
Idea #1: Collectible RPG?
Before you go too far into the weeds, consider Magic the Gathering. Booster packs of cards are essentially micro transactions. Booster packs of minis are pretty close to micro transactions, for that matter. The primary problem with miniature booster packs is that they put the burden of purchase on the DM.
So. If we follow that line of thinking along, we might want to design a collectible card RPG. Hey, look, a kickstarter for just that idea is just a google search away: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/24348879/heroes-tale-tcg
So, the idea would be to design an RPG around a deck building game of some sort. Maybe players get a mix of attack, defense, special ability cards, all keyed to their specific class. It could look a bit like the adventure cards for 4e, but be something as integral to the game as a d20, rather than something that's tacked on and totally ignorable.
Players could buy booster packs of cards, swap cards around, trying to get the right deck for their class. Additional cards might allow the DM to inflict penalties associated with specific conditions, etc.
Sit Back and Think: Well, it's an interesting idea for a game, but I don't think anyone would feel like it passes the "this is D&D" test. And it would really have to be designed into the game from the beginning, and I don't think we've seen that happening, so I think we're safe from this particular version.
Idea #2: Freemium Living Campaign
So, the living campaigns are where the D&D game becomes more and more like MMOs in experience and design. There's a shared world; characters move around within it and can take part in a variety of different adventures.
There have been reward programs in LFR before, so this isn't really an entirely new idea, but the trick is that the reward cards would be handled a bit differently, would be purchasable, redeemable, and have some key impact on play.
We would need to be careful designing the reward cards. No blatant power cards. Perhaps cards that do things like double XP and GP rewards for an adventure. And cards that would grant rerolls. In that way, players could play for free, or could pay for cards and be able to advance more quickly.
Other, rarer cards might grant an additional magic items slot.
There might also be some game play cards -- rerolls keyed to specific situations.
Managing the program would be tricky. One possibility would be to count on the DM to collect the cards as they're spent, but that's probably too prone to abuse.
A better solution would be to build the system into the character builder. So, after the adventure the DM does a little data entry, allocates the rewards to the PCs, then the players can apply their power up cards. In this way, those power up cards could be entirely digital -- bought and used within the character builder.
Sit Back and Think: This would mean a big re-investment in the living campaign programs. And the online tracking means needing some good tools and reliable DMs to do their data entry work. They would also need to be incentivized to make sure they do the work. But, it also does not serve the population that is not playing in the living campaigns. A solution that could be valuable to everyone would be a much better idea.
Idea #3: Convenience Microtransactions
For this one, we need to focus on the online tools. Create an online character builder that is entirely free to use, but you can't save your character. Paying users can buy different tiers of character storage.
Other fees might unlock other features -- different character sheets, perhaps. The ability to create your own backgrounds (rather than using stock packages).
DMs might have similar features for monster building -- with different tiers of storage and flexility in the rules. Encounter building, too. You'd want to have monthly contests for monster design that would keep people interested and engaged in developing that content -- those could be supported with small entry fees.
Perhaps a program for DMs that would credit their account with a week of subscription service for every game they run. That would have to be a well designed program to mitigate the potential for abuse, but it's about time that we found a way to reward DMs for running games, don't you think?
Sit Back and Think: In the 4e DDI years, most of the sorts of functionality I'm talking about exists, and has been offered as a package to all subscribers. But to follow the logic of micro transactions, you create paying players by first creating free players, then converting free players to paying players through offering convenience and improved services.
Keep On Truckin'
This is just a starting point. There are other ideas out there -- what comes to YOUR mind when you think about how a potential micro transaction model for D&D might play out?
I'm not making this up. Not completely, anyway.
A little more than a month ago, Wizards posted a job looking for a Senior Business Manager for D&D. One of the job duties in the job description was "Provide strategic and tactical ecommerce and merchandising leadership on Dungeons & Dragons to drive revenue using micro and macro-transaction models."
Now, I may be a member of the tinfoil hat brigade when I say this, but it doesn't take too much reading between the lines to think that this indicates that Hasbro and Wizards are interested in the idea of a micro-transaction system baked into D&D Next.
What The Hell is a Micro Transaction?
In the online gaming world, microtransactions are the small purchases you make to supplement your game experience -- they're especially prevalent in free-to-play games. Often you can buy cosmetic changes for your character, or other features like pets -- items that are fun but that don't have a direct impact on your in-game power.
It's a relatively new idea -- and we haven't quite reached the point where there are clear guidelines for how to do it well that are understood industry-wide. But the good people at Penny Arcade have boiled in down very well:
[video=youtube;RTFQsdgSA9s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RTFQsdgSA9s[/video]
They come down with some key guidelines we can take with us into our conversation:
1. Players are not the enemy
2. Let players earn all currencies, even the ones they can also buy.
3. Never Sell Power
4. Build your plan into your game from the beginning
5. Don't split your community
If you're not clear on what any of those mean, watch the video.
It's not a Gungan
For the sake of this thought experiment, I'm going to need a special indulgence from you. I'd like to explore an idea that we all, at least at first blush, are going to hate. I mean, Jar Jar Binks levels of hate.
But, work with me here -- put that hate in a box. Maybe a footlocker or a steamer trunk, if the box isn't big enough. And try to consider this idea with an open mind.
What could a Microtransaction-supported program for an RPG look like?
Important questions to consider:
1. Would this game be free to play?
2. What can players buy with their micro transactions?
3. How will this be managed?
Idea #1: Collectible RPG?
Before you go too far into the weeds, consider Magic the Gathering. Booster packs of cards are essentially micro transactions. Booster packs of minis are pretty close to micro transactions, for that matter. The primary problem with miniature booster packs is that they put the burden of purchase on the DM.
So. If we follow that line of thinking along, we might want to design a collectible card RPG. Hey, look, a kickstarter for just that idea is just a google search away: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/24348879/heroes-tale-tcg
So, the idea would be to design an RPG around a deck building game of some sort. Maybe players get a mix of attack, defense, special ability cards, all keyed to their specific class. It could look a bit like the adventure cards for 4e, but be something as integral to the game as a d20, rather than something that's tacked on and totally ignorable.
Players could buy booster packs of cards, swap cards around, trying to get the right deck for their class. Additional cards might allow the DM to inflict penalties associated with specific conditions, etc.
Sit Back and Think: Well, it's an interesting idea for a game, but I don't think anyone would feel like it passes the "this is D&D" test. And it would really have to be designed into the game from the beginning, and I don't think we've seen that happening, so I think we're safe from this particular version.
Idea #2: Freemium Living Campaign
So, the living campaigns are where the D&D game becomes more and more like MMOs in experience and design. There's a shared world; characters move around within it and can take part in a variety of different adventures.
There have been reward programs in LFR before, so this isn't really an entirely new idea, but the trick is that the reward cards would be handled a bit differently, would be purchasable, redeemable, and have some key impact on play.
We would need to be careful designing the reward cards. No blatant power cards. Perhaps cards that do things like double XP and GP rewards for an adventure. And cards that would grant rerolls. In that way, players could play for free, or could pay for cards and be able to advance more quickly.
Other, rarer cards might grant an additional magic items slot.
There might also be some game play cards -- rerolls keyed to specific situations.
Managing the program would be tricky. One possibility would be to count on the DM to collect the cards as they're spent, but that's probably too prone to abuse.
A better solution would be to build the system into the character builder. So, after the adventure the DM does a little data entry, allocates the rewards to the PCs, then the players can apply their power up cards. In this way, those power up cards could be entirely digital -- bought and used within the character builder.
Sit Back and Think: This would mean a big re-investment in the living campaign programs. And the online tracking means needing some good tools and reliable DMs to do their data entry work. They would also need to be incentivized to make sure they do the work. But, it also does not serve the population that is not playing in the living campaigns. A solution that could be valuable to everyone would be a much better idea.
Idea #3: Convenience Microtransactions
For this one, we need to focus on the online tools. Create an online character builder that is entirely free to use, but you can't save your character. Paying users can buy different tiers of character storage.
Other fees might unlock other features -- different character sheets, perhaps. The ability to create your own backgrounds (rather than using stock packages).
DMs might have similar features for monster building -- with different tiers of storage and flexility in the rules. Encounter building, too. You'd want to have monthly contests for monster design that would keep people interested and engaged in developing that content -- those could be supported with small entry fees.
Perhaps a program for DMs that would credit their account with a week of subscription service for every game they run. That would have to be a well designed program to mitigate the potential for abuse, but it's about time that we found a way to reward DMs for running games, don't you think?
Sit Back and Think: In the 4e DDI years, most of the sorts of functionality I'm talking about exists, and has been offered as a package to all subscribers. But to follow the logic of micro transactions, you create paying players by first creating free players, then converting free players to paying players through offering convenience and improved services.
Keep On Truckin'
This is just a starting point. There are other ideas out there -- what comes to YOUR mind when you think about how a potential micro transaction model for D&D might play out?
