Absoluteblack's messages

Hey Man, thanks for your comments. With regard to our statement of free games I guess it comes down to interpretation. I’d look at it this way, if someone was to give you a free car but the option of purchasing some add-ons such as cruise control, sun-roof, auto as opposed to manual gearbox, etc, I’d still consider that to be a free car. While the comparison may be a little distorted to prove my point what the real argument is is this: Should game developers use this combination of free/pay for content at all?
I don’t disagree that without the coins content BTD4 would have scored higher on Kong and Newgrounds. But the reality is that higher score would not have translated into an equally profitable result. I know I’m not supposed to talk of profit in a world where players have become accustomed to 100% free content games, but the reality for us is we need to work to a profitable model. Our studio is now 8 fulltime people, with associated office costs. BTD4 took roughly 10 man-months to develop and consequently needs to work in a different way to the old model. I know that some people are worried that this is the thin end of the wedge and that some games will be nothing more than lame demos effectively. I can’t speak for other developers but our goal is to always provide a full and enjoyable game for free, with pay-for extras as additional content to those who want it. I don’t know how much more text I can fit in this shoutbox, but email me at chris at kaiparasoft dot co dot nz if you want to continue the dialogue.

Cheers

Chris