I need some advice based on a commercial topic.

[Xaniro]

I need some advice based on a commercial topic.

The idea that I have with my game is to put a free version and another paid version. Like the Exiled Kingdom game. But what I really doubt is how many hours of play should the free version have? Should I put a level cap on the free version? Or how do you suggest I do it?

What I did was a city with decent quests to complete various maps. My game doesn't cover many maps since it's a game where the player has to fight to improve equipment and advance little by little. The thing is I did 116 missions (so crazy haha) and I'm not sure if I should shorten that or not.

I have to make the player want to play more to the point where they want to buy the full game.

Finally, what do you recommend?

 

[Spaske]

Well, you can always limit it to the essentials and call it a demo version.
Or how most of mobile apps / games do nowadays, you get it for free but are bombarbed with ads, so you either live with those ads or pay for add removement...
There are tons of way how you could handle this but tbh. in this case i think the best way would be for a demo version wich holds half an hour - hour of gameplay and at the end a message, "you like you pay".

 

[TeiRaven]

I've played three types of demos: timed, plot-locked, and level-locked.

Timed demos can be hit or miss, because if someone read slowly, is new to the genre and has to figure out things that more familiar players think are basic, etc, they may not make it all the way to the plot hook. The first RPG I played was Aveyond--my timed trial ended as I had just barely made it to the plot hook, but boy, was I hooked. Aveyond 1-3 all had one hour timed trials. However, the timed trial has had a serious increase in false antivirus flags these days--antivirus sees "lock up the program after an hour because the demo is over" and panics that it's some kind of ransomware. Just something to be aware of.

Plot-locked eliminates the uncertainty of how far the player will get and should also significantly reduce the antivirus false flags--the player will always get as far as the plot hook. Whether or not that influences their decision to buy is not a guarantee. Aveyond 4 had a plot-locked trial, but it seemed that players weren't nearly as intrigued by the plot hook as the developer had hoped. The hook was about an hour in, so it wasn't drastically longer than the timed trials--but you wouldn't get booted while you were in the middle of a cutscene, for example.

Level-locked (which often goes with plot-locked) is great for things where you don't necessarily need story progression to enjoy the game--cue the meme about "the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, with a free trial up to level 60 including the award-winning expansion Heavensward" XD But my first exposure to a level-locked game trial was actually years ago, even before Aveyond: the dungeon explore game Fate. You could go up to level 30, and explore down to the 3rd floor of the dungeon, but no further. You could, however, continue to take random quests from the townspeople on those three floors, go fishing in the fishing holes you found, accumulate treasure, etc.

I played Fate on the trial for a long time before I finally bought it, because there weren't really any features I couldn't make use of except for "get stronger, go deeper." XIV, on the other hand, I bought within two days of starting the trial, because I could see how much more I would enjoy it with the features you couldn't use on on the trial (namely, trading with my friends).

All that being said, I personally like the plot-locked trial--assuming that you choose the correct plot hook, which is easier said than done because your idea of the best hook may not align with a player's idea of the best hook. For good measure, I would consider putting several hooks, each a little sharper than the last, before you ended the trial. Increase your odds of keeping them on the line, as it were, so you can reel them in XD

 

[ts50]

I would say mission-lock it so that the player can do all some missions but then effectively can no longer level or do anything until purchasing. That's for your game specifically based on the description you gave

 

[Xaniro]

It will be difficult to make the free game only with 1 hour of play.

Since it is a question of fighting that takes time, I thought I would do it as exiled kingdom, that the free version has approximately 6 hours of play. Most of those who played that game (including me) were tempted to buy it.

What do you consider something that hooks the player? I put dungeons with easy-normal-hard-extreme difficulty with time limit. Also create a library where you can read about the history of the game.