
Originally Posted by
chinothepony
First off, am I the only one that sees this? In Evony's business model and game design there is a large rift. Its shop of virtual items are no use for a continuing player if that player gets eradicated. I really think the developers just tried to work on a seamless game without the cohesion process of actually making sense with the actual business model of making a profit out a sustained playerbase. The reasons I have are:
Turnover. This game is a war game at heart. There are always going to be players that lose and when they lose, it's practically everything. Those players if they purchases items will feel cheated and leave the game. There is a higher chance for repeated business from a customer then new business, the only caveat to that is if the quality of the product it not up to par.
Free game to the finish line. There is nothing to really stop you from getting whatever the paying players have gotten. Speed is the only thing that is the advantage. But high speed is uneccessary in this game, because you can be the most developed city, and still get stomped by somebody's bigger army. There are but a few items that can create a fast army. There are no battalions sold in the shop. Michelangelo scripts and perhaps the napolean scripts to up the training speed could qualify as one of the few precious items that could give you a grand advantage.
No Outlined Goals. This game is a free-for-all. Once out of the starter quests, which really isn't a tutorial but a web of steps, the player simply has a few things to do. There are no sideline quests, adventures, or tasks where the immersion could keep a player tied to a certain server. You do very few things in the big picture.
I mostly agree with you. This game does have its favors for new players to constantly come in. Where I disagree is with alliances. I've seen and have been in high end alliances where we've convinced each other to buy advanced teleporters and such so that we may constantly move to squash the red flags, or form a cluster.
I see there to be some major purchasing from those that are experienced players in tight knit alliances. The feeling of comfort and stability with surviving in the game's pvp atmosphere does promote people to buy.
In Conclusion: In not seeing Evony's business model serving them, I actually worry about more then if it was more self serving. The game design does not give a longevity to the gameplay that will ensure customers to stay and play. It's destroy, or be destroyed, and move on. That is the biggest difference I see from this and an MMO. MMOs have internal game rules and regulations to protect the player from being squashed out of existence. This does not. That alone in the game design strikes out the whole idea of continued moneymaking.
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