Help Your Game Players Learn to Succeed with On the Job Training

Pay your players, or they will quit their jobs! It’s an interesting way of looking at how to keep gamers engaged and maximizing the long term value of each player.

Niklas Herriger of Gondola proposes that developers take an approach that considers players as employees who play a game as their job. It’s an innovative way of approaching game monetization.

In a recent blog post on the Gondola website, he discusses the similarities between gamers and employees as he notes, “Like newbies on the job in real life, they will start off with a low level of skill and corresponding low expectations regarding their monetary compensation, i.e. they will have low expectations regarding the amount of virtual currency they earn in return for their “work.” As time passes, they will get better at what they do (playing your game). This doesn’t only mean that they will explore your game more, including the possibility to convert themselves into paying users (via in-app purchases, or IAP). It also means that their expectations regarding their (in-game) compensation for the work they put in (playing the game) rises simultaneously.”

He goes on to break down this approach with sections discussing: More Experience + More Skill = More Salary; Virtual Currency Shortage = Frustration; Virtual Currency Abundance = Boredom; Unnecessary Churn; and 5 Rules on How To Pay Your Players.

As every developer knows, the key is keeping players engaged and as Niklas points out, “Eventually, like in a real economy, it’s all about balance.” 

You can check out the article here.