GDC09: Applied RMT Design with GoPets and Live Gamer

James Egan — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Economy, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Casual, Massively Event Coverage

Massively sat in on a GDC 2009 session this week titled Applied RMT Design which was part of the Worlds in Motion Summit. Andrew Schneider, Founder and President of Live Gamer and Erik Bethke, CEO of GoPets, Ltd. presented a case study on balancing a game's primary and secondary markets, using GoPets as an example of how it can be done.

The market for virtual goods in massively multiplayer online games and virtual worlds is worth billions. Not all of this is grey market, and more games are now being designed with microtransactions in mind. Live Gamer aims to bring greater legitimacy to microtransactions through a regulated secondary market providing benefits to companies as well as the players themselves. Thus far they've worked with EverQuest II, Vanguard, and GoPets, with Acclaim's 9 Dragons on the way.

Bethke and Schneider kick off their talk by explaining the fact that RMT in MMOs is inevitable, explaining how developers can be proactive about incorporating RMT into their titles rather than having it exist outside of the game. Live Gamer works with developers to create a legitimate system for trading virtual items for real money, one that's safe and secure. Of course, legitimizing RMT can also stir up controversy.

Gallery: GDC09: RMT Design panel

Continue reading GDC09: Applied RMT Design with GoPets and Live Gamer

GDC09: Applied RMT Design with GoPets and Live Gamer originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Jiminy Cricket is a Manga Fighter: free-to-play producer interview

Louis McLaughlin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:10:00 EST

Filed under: Interviews, New titles, Free-to-play, Casual

Over at freetoplay.biz, there's a candid interview with YJ Jin, the producer of Manga Fighter, which is best described as a fast-paced third person shooter MMO. With hawaii shirts.

The interview is a little on the short side, but it's refreshing to hear an honest take on the distinctions between the commercial subscription market and the free-to-play sector. The tactics used for Manga Fighter? Viral marketing, email collectibles, and extended open betas that wouldn't hurt the game in the long-term. The specter of secondary markets also rears its head.

As for Manga Fighter: don't let the "fighter" part confuse you, it looks to be more Quake than Street Fighter. I'm reasonably confident it's also the first and only game to feature a (manga) Jiminy Cricket lookalike jumping on a trampoline and unloading a 9mm handgun at a gigantic gateaux. No, really.

Jiminy Cricket is a Manga Fighter: free-to-play producer interview originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments