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[DreamThorn]

I had an idea, and need some second opinions about it.

On earth, most energy comes from the sun in one way or another.  How about an MMORPG where something similar applies, but it is powered by donations?

The more people donate, the faster plants grow, the richer the veins of ore, the more loot in the ruins, etc.
Crafting, fighting, repairing and all other fun things have entropy; gradually draining energy out of the system.
So, to keep the game world prosperous, people have to donate money.
The effectiveness of donations would ofcourse depend on the maintenance costs of the game: server costs, staff payment, etc.

Could this work?  Or is it too much like communism to work?  Or some other problem?

[smjjames]

...

If you have to pay to win, it's not free to play

[itisnotlogical]

Funding an MMO via donation doesn't sound very effective, unless we're talking about an Ultima Online or MUD situation where the player population and project scale are vastly reduced. MMOs are incredibly expensive and complicated, and donating players would probably still be outnumbered by freeloaders. If we're talking about a WoW-scale MMO, you'd need a donating playerbase about the size of WoW's paying population, and on that scale you might as well just charge for the game anyway.

That said, even in a small-scale situation where it would be logistically feasible, most players probably wouldn't see eye-to-eye with your design. To them, it would sound like you're saying "Donate or I take your toys away and make the game less fun". It would be more honest to charge a small entry fee, or just have a plain PayPal button.

I'm not trying to shoot down your idea, but I don't really see how it could work.

[DJ]

Tragedy of commons waiting to happen.

[tompliss]

Same as others, I don't think it can work, as is.
The "Donate or I take your toys away and make the game less fun" effect would be really strong, and this type of thing doesn't really work.

You could give some motivation to players by making donating less "worldwide", and more "region-centered", but then, a player/clan would pay big amouts of money, collect the (virtual) benefits, and mecanically get stronger than anyone else. And this is not a good idea either, long-term speaking, as non/low-donaters will flee the game.

[DreamThorn]

Okay then.

The 'taking the toys away' aspect was something I didn't think of, so at least I learnt something.

Thanks for the opinions.  Looks like it's back to the drawing board for me.

I'm going to check out how EVE is funded.  Maybe get an idea or two.

[cerapa]

How about an opposite system? If people donate enough money, a horde of monsters will attack, or suddenly a volcano will erupt or the sun will go out. Pay2FuckTheWorld

[DreamThorn]

Great idea, cerapa!

In other news...

I see EVE has a 14-day free trial and pre-pay per-month subscriptions.  My main problem with that is that people who don't play regularly get much less value-for-money.

What about pre-pay per-hour subscriptions?  You only use up hours when you are in-game.

[Sheb]

I think a lot of people wouldn't like it. I know I wouldn't.

[DreamThorn]

Sheb, are you talking about the original post, the per-hour subscriptions, or cerapa's idea?

[DJ]

I wouldn't like pay per hour because it'd make me feel like I'm wasting money when I just derp around or socialize.

[Sheb]

The per-hour subscription. I would play a lot less, plus it'd be pay-to-win under another name.

[DreamThorn]

I'm thinking the Pay2Event - cerapa's idea - would be an interesting way to go.

Just thinking about it I am getting very many ideas on how to make it fun.  I am inspired!

Especially, I think some events should have a lasting effect on the game-world; almost like an expansion, but I could do things that no expansion would ever do.

[tompliss]

The Pay2Event would essentially feel like strech goals in a never-ending kickstarter, wouldn't it ?
I mean, especially with lasting effects, it would be as if the whole player community bought an expansion, yeah.

[kaijyuu]

Subscription fees (for maintenance/etc) still seem like the best idea to me.

Content can be bought in the form of expansions/etc.


In other words I like WoW's model though I will say they could charge a bit less and not suffer too much.