Video game survey for class - ULTRA SHORT - win an album

[zircon]

Hey guys, I'm in an entrepreneurship class and as part of one of our projects, we're doing market research. If you play video games, please take a minute or two and take this BRIEF survey (6 questions).

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=hy7p3qorsUh414C2AFUXFg_3d_3d

I would really appreciate it!! Post if you have any questions. Random person who takes it gets a digital copy of one of my albums free (your choice of album.)

[linkspast]

taken...

it is short, and multiple guess.... choice.

[Bahamut]

Done...that was fast.

[suzumebachi]

done. were we supposed to log in or something?

[Antipode]

I took it. Glad it was brief.

[Moseph]

Completed. Quick and painless,

[zircon]

Thanks guys. This records respondents by IP - you don't log in - so posting here after completion is definitely not a bad idea, so I know who did it.

[Global-Trance]

all sorts of done

[DarkeSword]

Done. 10char.

[CHIPP Damage]

Yeah, how do you contact the random winner? All I did was answer the six questions and then I was at a "survey monkey" screen.

I hope I can still win the album.

[Bummerdude]

D-D-D-D-D-D-D-ANSWERED

invisible text ooooOOOOoooohhh

[statas]

i feel dirty now.

[The Unsung Plumber]

done

10 char

[OA]

i took the survey, it was pretty short.

[Tensei]

There ya go, happy to help out

[Dhsu]

Hm, this means I can double my chances of winning if I take the survey at home too...

[Harmony]

done. fin.

[TaVeRnErO_RuDd]

Answered 10charlol

[Brycepops]

I did it :3.

[Brithor]

Done... quite short.

[AarowSwift]

Okay, I took it. Hope it helps your research.

[zircon]

And once again, thank you to all the new respondants. All the data is quite helpful. Everyone else in my group is in turn sending the survey to various places, so we'll have a lot to work with when all is said and done.

[Crazyonr1]

That was a short survey, glad I could help out

[Jarvi]

Well, I did it as well, hope it helps

[Barnsalot]

Taken. Good luck with your project.

[Wipomatic]

Done and done

[jmr]

I completed it, if only to repay you for that question and answer thing I put you through when I was taking Enterprise 3205 (which was also an entrepreneurship course) in high school.

I didn't even notice that you were offering prizes.

EDIT: I passed the link on to my younger brother. He's more of a gamer than I am, so I think that makes his opinions a little more valid.

[Thin Crust]

Done. That was easy.

[Kureejii Lea]

All done.

tencharslawl.

[Gollgagh]

ass-burger

[Kizyr]

Done.

Questions were well-worded, by the way. KF

[Xenon Odyssey]

done...that WAS fast. huh.

[supremespleen]

Mission comprete.

[OutSpoken]

good survey, didn't have to waste to much time thinking about each question.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Done and done.

[Armoured Priest]

Done

10 char

[The UnMod OutKast]

I was touching myself during the survey. Is that all right?

[forteshadow]

Done.
Neat survey.

[Shining Mirage]

Whoosh!

And didn't have to put down my PSP. ;-)

[BardicKnowledge]

Done, zircon. When can I buy that game, by the way? :p

[zircon]

Haha. Well, it's an idea that the leader of my group came up with, he has entire design docs about it. It's what our fictional (or perhaps... not so fictional) company is based around.

[tgfoo]

Just took it, short and simple.

[Kenobio]

I play the rpgs and games on tv

[Baleshadow]

Done.

Now get cracking on that game.

[jmr]

Just out of curiosity, what else are you doing in that course? Because it sounds a LOT like my high school enterprise course.

[IcedDevil]

Just got done taking the survey.

[Theory of N]

Finished, yo

[Jaybell]

I am done! That would be an amazing game in Question 4 (I think?).

[Thalzon]

Did it. I luffs my RPGs.

[Brushfire]

I gotta say Big Z, I would totally buy "Zircon Presents: Unlimitia: The Never Ending Land" out soon for the PC and Xbox 360. Rated M for Mature.

But seriously, that game sounds kick ass.

[zircon]

Just out of curiosity, what else are you doing in that course? Because it sounds a LOT like my high school enterprise course.

It's mostly a course about formulating a professional business plan and making it presentable to investors. The final project is, of course, making a realistic business plan (20-25 pages.)

[HalcyonSpirit]

Completed. Done. Finished. Wrapped up. Concluded. FINI!

[Kanthos]

Done. Looking at question 4, are you planning on taking your mIRC MMORPG a lot further, zircon? :p

[Theory of N]

Done. Looking at question 4, are you planning on taking your mIRC MMORPG a lot further, zircon? :p

Oh yeah. The whole thing will be run through mIRC.

[Sir_NutS]

completed.

[SonikBoom]

Done'd. Heh, when zircon first told us about this in #ocremix, it said "would you pay sixty dollars ($70) for a game like this?" Some lulz were had.

[Alexis]

Dooooooooone.

[jmr]

It's mostly a course about formulating a professional business plan and making it presentable to investors. The final project is, of course, making a realistic business plan (20-25 pages.)That was the main focus of my high school course as well. Many in the class actually operated their businesses over the school year, which was pretty cool.

[Zephyr]

It's tracked by ip? I did it at school, haha. $50 is a bargain for something like that, the engine sounds a lot like spore. Let us know what you conclude when you're done your analyses.

[JJT]

take the survey guys!

there is delicious, moist cake at the end.

[SirChadlyOC]

Quote. Buy. Print.

owait

[E sharp]

well that was quick. What's next?

[Zagnut]

Done, mate.

[Makai]

Easiest survey I've taken in a while :D

[Sir_NutS]

take the survey guys!

there is delicious, moist cake at the end.

THE CAKE IS A LIE.

Oh wait no, it's true.

[Hum4n After All]

Mission Complete.
Cake?
I got pie.

[eag86]

woohoo, finished, that was easy

[Dafydd]

Done. Hope I wasn't too late to help.

[about:blank]

Done. I'm doing my part!

[Kirie]

Completed.

[Adam_Slight]

I am done it.

[Moguta]

Thanks guys. This records respondents by IP - you don't log in - so posting here after completion is definitely not a bad idea, so I know who did it.
I would rather remain anonymous and not post.








Aw, crap.

[Effector]

Took it. 'twas a good survey - sadly, I don't play that many MMORPGs or anything like that, so many of my responses were in the negative.

Still, interesting ideas.

[AMT]

Finished / 10

[Broken]

Je suis fini, I mean I'm done.

[Darth Lime]

Survey was successful.

BRING ON THE CAKE!!

[zircon]

Again, thanks guys. ALL responses are useful. You are not too late :)

[Radiowar]

ok I did it.

[Gollgagh]

hmm.... I still don't have Phasma Elementum

[TehDonut]

Done.......

[The Pezman]

it was pretty short.
THAT'S WHAT SHE SA... oh, never mind.

I took that like cold medication.

[The Mac Attack]

...and another one done here.

[DuskyFerret]

It's all good

[HoboKa]

Hey guys, I'm in an entrepreneurship class and as part of one of our projects, we're doing market research. If you play video games, please take a minute or two and take this BRIEF survey (6 questions).

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=mB2Z_2b_2fxaPcf6uaP_2fhnnOwA_3d_3d

I would really appreciate it!! Post if you have any questions. Random person who takes it gets a digital copy of one of my albums free (your choice of album.)

k, I posted...hoping for that free album >:-D.

[Kidd Cabbage]

I once was a completed that survey.

[Cerrax]

Done.

Kinda strange that I've never thought about my habits as a gamer until I took this survey. Interesting....

[Turraken]

Done and done!

[Lyrai]

Done and done. Always glad to help. Would it help if I linked it to a few IRC channels I frequent?

[Flik]

Survey taken a day or two ago. Can't remember if I did it from work or home, so the IP would be questionable.

[megadave]

Oh yeah, I took the survey a couple of days ago, just to let you know. Maybe I can win album?

[Goten X]

Done. That was interesting. You don't usually think of things like that when you're playing.

[The Womb]

Done 10char

[Fritz the Cat]

We have completed.

[Citris]

I am finished.

[Doulifée]

one more to add :).

[Drack]

Done.

Interesting idea you got there.

[R-D]

All set, hope it helps man.

[Torzelan]

Done, and since I bought all the CD's already and don't need to win, I'm guaranteed to win!

[Effector]

How long is this survey going to be up for?

More importantly, when are you announcing the random winner? :3

[SwordBreaker]

Just did it. :)

[Adun The Untouchable]

completed.

This wouldn't happen to be about Hellgate: London, would it?

[redchlorine]

it would be nice if a game like that came out. im tired of always seeing the same maps time and again and knowing that some people know EXACTLY where to be EVERY time.

eh. done.

[Cody Wedel]

Completed said survey.

[Fusion2004]

Survey complete.

[Volt]

I just did it. Hopefully I helped or something.

[Neo Samus]

My hard earned blood, sweat and tears are on that survey for you.

[Raenok]

Done, completed, and sent away.

Hope you find your results satisfying, Zircon.

[SomeCrazyGuy]

Done! (though, in all honesty, I don't like such basic surveys if they are used for critical analysis.)

[Aninymouse]

Completed the survey. Post the results when they're in, will ya? That'd be interesting.

And no, I wouldn't pay $70 for Hellgate: London...

[ProjectSpam]

Done. Nice work.

[zircon]

Again, thanks everyone!

BTW, this has nothing to do with Hellgate: London or any other existing game. Also, HG:L doesn't have procedurally generated storylines and events - those are set in stone. Only the areas and items are random.

[HoboKa]

Again, thanks everyone!

BTW, this has nothing to do with Hellgate: London or any other existing game. Also, HG:L doesn't have procedurally generated storylines and events - those are set in stone. Only the areas and items are random.

true that; I've played the beta and it's hella good, though of course it had its glitches. Retail Version is gonna rock the socks out of current PC games so badly :D...so...stoked. K I'm done rambling now ;)

[ReMiX]

done.. easy easy survey :D

[Super-Duper Sombrero]

I took it.

[ellywu2]

done......

[zircon]

I'm feeling generous, so it's time for TWO giveaways!

Winners are...

* Kureejii Lee
* Turraken

Let me know what you want!

[HoboKa]

nooooooo my childhood hopes dashed away in an instance...meh I'll just the albums ;-) Speaking of which I ought to do that now before I forget...

[WesPip]

Oh man, 6?

[HoboKa]

yup. got em all now :D...I hope you hit it big someday Zircon :) (er bigger than already)

[The Coop]

Question six could have used a fourth option... "I'd rather not pay". That whole downloadable content, or "pay us more and you'll get these extra things" deal that some companies are trying to push forward, is a very lame money making scheme. Things that used to be free with patches, earned with a lot of play time, and/or included with the game upon its release, are now being held back and charged for by some companies. Considering you have to pay for the game, and pay to play it on-line every month, I see no reasonable explanation for having to pay for a new weapon, section of land, or spell.

[zircon]

Coop, because development costs are increasingly higher and the level of competition is far greater than it previously was? Companies need more methods of revenue. Part of the research for this project involved getting statistics for the industry, and we found that something like only 5% of all released games even turn a profit. You also have to consider that there is a GREAT deal more content being offered in games these days than previously.

Gameplay time and replay value has generally risen across the board; I've just been playing "Megaman ZX" for example and while I've spent over an hour on it, I've only just beaten what is essentially the intro. In MMX, I probably could have completed half the entire game in that time.

[Dunnowhathuh]

completed.

This wouldn't happen to be about Hellgate: London, would it?

Haha, I was thinking the exact same thing.

[The Coop]

Coop, because development costs are increasingly higher and the level of competition is far greater than it previously was? Companies need more methods of revenue. Part of the research for this project involved getting statistics for the industry, and we found that something like only 5% of all released games even turn a profit. You also have to consider that there is a GREAT deal more content being offered in games these days than previously.

If a game isn't turning a profit, then I believe the question isn't "What else can we charge the consumer for to turn that around?", it's "What went wrong?". Many games that don't turn a profit do so because they didn't sell well. Why it didn't could be for a number of reasons, ranging from a poorly made game (roughly 30 - 50% of what's on the shelves), to a game that simply didn't click with the consumer despite getting good reviews (Beyond Good and Evil anyone?).

Now, if you're "5%" is true, then I think you should look into just what's in that other 95%. I'll bet you'll find a lot of movie tie-in games, badly programmed games, quick cash-in titles that are knock offs of something that did sell well, and those cheapy CD jewel case things that get sold for $9.95 at Walmart. And even if you take games like BG&E into account, that's still no justification for micro transactioning the hell out of games that were once offered as a complete package from day one. Charging for little things like a character, a weapon, a stadium, or a different car chassis (things that would have normally been added before release) simply wreaks of a cheap means to try and drill deeper into the consumer's pocket.

People can go for expansion packs when it's a lot of fresh content that builds on an already finished game. But the idea of charging a dollar here and a three dollars there for pissy little additions doesn't sit well with folks.

[zircon]

Apparently it does, as many respondents to the survey said they would be willing to pay for extra content in that regard.

Plus, you're assuming that by offering such additions, the developer is restricting content on release. That certainly isn't a given. What if the developer releases a wonderful, polished game with lots of content, and simply wants to add more later? You might say 'free patches', but again, I argue that development and maintenance costs are higher than ever, particularly for any game with an online component. I see absolutely nothing wrong with offering additional paid content. I think it's a wonderful delivery system. Of course I agree that devs shouldn't release crippled games, but who's to say that offering MORE stuff later means that you have to?

[BardicKnowledge]

zircon, I'd say that extra content is fine, but make it worth the money.

New quests / dungeons, good. Horse armor, bad.

[The Coop]

Apparently it does, as many respondents to the survey said they would be willing to pay for extra content in that regard.

Plus, you're assuming that by offering such additions, the developer is restricting content on release. That certainly isn't a given. What if the developer releases a wonderful, polished game with lots of content, and simply wants to add more later? You might say 'free patches', but again, I argue that development and maintenance costs are higher than ever, particularly for any game with an online component. I see absolutely nothing wrong with offering additional paid content. I think it's a wonderful delivery system. Of course I agree that devs shouldn't release crippled games, but who's to say that offering MORE stuff later means that you have to?

I'm sure game costs have gone up. Bigger staffs and all that. But the fact that we pay anywhere from $50 to $90 for a game tells me that companies are already charging enough as it is. Plus, many on-line games require a monthly/yearly fee to play on their dedicated servers, or to even be able to get into the game you just paid for to make a character. How much more do they "need" to charge us? Annual server fees are understandable, as those things take constant maintenance. But considering how many large and small companies have released patches filled with new content for free over the years, I just don't agree with the view you're putting forth. To me, "development costs" comes across as flimsy an argument for micro transactions, as the "free patches in the past" argument against them might seem to others.

If they want to add new content, then let them make an expansion pack... something that contains a lot of new quests, goodies, characters, and such. People will happily pay $20-30 for that. But charging $3 for a classic football team, or $1 for a damned helmet is just asinine.

[HoboKa]

is this going to turn into another flamer thread?... x_x

[The Coop]

is this going to turn into another flamer thread?... x_x

Not at all. zircon and I are just discussing the concept of micro transactions, and how they apply to games. No personal (or opinion) bashing involved.


Granted, he could be insulting me as I type this, but... ;-)

[HoboKa]

lol indeed...

[Beoulve]

done. nice and brief

[zircon]

Before I begin, this is definitely a fun discussion, Coop, and is quite helpful as another form of 'market feedback' for our assignment!

I'm sure game costs have gone up. Bigger staffs and all that. But the fact that we pay anywhere from $50 to $90 for a game tells me that companies are already charging enough as it is. Plus, many on-line games require a monthly/yearly fee to play on their dedicated servers, or to even be able to get into the game you just paid for to make a character. How much more do they "need" to charge us?

The majority of new games reside in the $50-60 range when NEW - except handhelds, which are more like $30-40 - and these prices typically go down very quickly. Despite inflation, the price of games hasn't really gone up that much, if at all.

At least with regards to this survey, I was presenting the pay-per-content delivery method as an alternative to monthly fees. With a game like WoW, your monthly fee goes towards the development of new areas, new monsters, and new items. What if you're so low level you don't use any of that stuff? Your money is being wasted. Conversely, with the proposed system, you only pay for what you need (or want.)

Annual server fees are understandable, as those things take constant maintenance. But considering how many large and small companies have released patches filled with new content for free over the years, I just don't agree with the view you're putting forth. To me, "development costs" comes across as flimsy an argument for micro transactions, as the "free patches in the past" argument against them might seem to others.

If they want to add new content, then let them make an expansion pack... something that contains a lot of new quests, goodies, characters, and such. People will happily pay $20-30 for that. But charging $3 for a classic football team, or $1 for a damned helmet is just asinine.

Ah, you're the first person to really touch on this. Expansion packs! You see THAT is truly what we're getting at with the mini-content purchasing method. The problem with expansion packs is exactly like the problem with a monthly fee. You might not want the new stuff you are actually paying for - or at least, not all of it. Let's put this in RTS terms for a moment. What if you loved Warcraft III, and wanted to use the new units from it and play with them in multiplayer, but had no interest in the single player storyline? You're out of luck. What if you could simply pay $10 to get that functionality, rather than $30 for the entire expansion pack? See what we're getting at?

This is particularly pertinent in a single-player RPG setting, which is what our first product would be (of course, this is all hypothetical.) Due to the highly procedural and modular nature of our game, it is highly suited for a system where the player chooses what new features he or she wants. Let's say they really love the combat aspect of the game, as opposed to diplomacy and exploration, and just want more flashy spells. Well, they can order an addon that increases the spell library size by a good 25% - for $7 or 8 of course. Another player might be more interested in playing new and interesting locales, so they buy the New Continent addon, which adds an assortment of new possible areas for their continued playthroughs. Perhaps this would be $10. Then there might be the monster addon, which offers a variety of high level creatures that you might find in your playthrough.

OR you could order all that stuff at once, which is, effectively, an expansion pack (and would be priced about the same.) However, we think breaking it down is a superior method. :)

[Effector]

... wow. That's quite a fascinating pricing scheme. I had been siding with Coop as I read his posts, but I can't argue with that kind of system - you get exactly what you want, or everything in a package deal (with the corresponding discount for bundle). It's only vaguely similar to Valve and Orange Box with the Steam business model, but that's what sprang to my mind - maybe it's because they're the only ones who have done anything at all in that kind of non-standard model. A shame, if you ask me.

[Doulifée]

wouldn't it be insane to manage the difficulty?

I mean depending of the various add you offert, quest can be easy as cake or nearly impossible. For exemple if you purchase let's say a new spell pack, and a new continent quest, what about the mob pack? depending you have one or another ( spell or mob) calibrating the difficulty can be hard. Another point is the world, you need to consider it as a whole. Putting stuff in it and it interaction with other adds need to be calculated carefully.

[The Pezman]

NEWCOMER: Pezman

Practically, what Zircon is putting forward makes a whole lot of sense. But consider what this would do to the game as a living, breathing world. Well, single player RPGs anyway.

For simplicity's sake, I'll use the example near and dear to all our hearts, Final Fantasy VII. What if that had been broken down into these various aspects? You'd pay extra to go to Wutai, and the extra WEAPON bosses as well. And rather than having to go through the sidequest for the Master Materia, you could probably just pay a (large) fee to get it instead. Nobody would be playing the same game anymore. That's okay for something as customizable as WoW or Diablo, but for a game like that, when you're trying to create a world and characters that gamers all over the planet can enjoy, standardization is key.

Furthermore, that game is a shining, legitimate example of how the media can be art (well, so says IGN (http://games.ign.com/articles/809/809655p2.html)), and the consensus really seems to be that great works should not be appended later, even if the original artist has only the best intentions in mind.

I'm not 100% sure I agree with that statement, but I do believe that if Final Fantasy VII were to be constantly added to and tweaked, it would lose much (if not all) of its storytelling power and art status.

[Fritz the Cat]

I'm not 100% sure I agree with that statement, but I do believe that if Final Fantasy VII were to be constantly added to and tweaked, it would lose much (if not all) of its storytelling power and art status.

Like with Star Wars.

[The Coop]

Ah, you're the first person to really touch on this. Expansion packs! You see THAT is truly what we're getting at with the mini-content purchasing method. The problem with expansion packs is exactly like the problem with a monthly fee. You might not want the new stuff you are actually paying for - or at least, not all of it. Let's put this in RTS terms for a moment. What if you loved Warcraft III, and wanted to use the new units from it and play with them in multiplayer, but had no interest in the single player storyline? You're out of luck. What if you could simply pay $10 to get that functionality, rather than $30 for the entire expansion pack? See what we're getting at?

This is particularly pertinent in a single-player RPG setting, which is what our first product would be (of course, this is all hypothetical.) Due to the highly procedural and modular nature of our game, it is highly suited for a system where the player chooses what new features he or she wants. Let's say they really love the combat aspect of the game, as opposed to diplomacy and exploration, and just want more flashy spells. Well, they can order an addon that increases the spell library size by a good 25% - for $7 or 8 of course. Another player might be more interested in playing new and interesting locales, so they buy the New Continent addon, which adds an assortment of new possible areas for their continued playthroughs. Perhaps this would be $10. Then there might be the monster addon, which offers a variety of high level creatures that you might find in your playthrough.

OR you could order all that stuff at once, which is, effectively, an expansion pack (and would be priced about the same.) However, we think breaking it down is a superior method. :)

And I believe you just hit one of the biggest problems with your selling system... consistency in the game's standard.

With so many little different things offered, you're making the game you're trying to create entirely too convoluted. Game balance is going to go right out the window, and the game world is going to become a hodge podge of areas that can't be reached, and items that players can't even pick up because they didn't buy it yet (thanks to players selling those new items off).

Imagine playing the "out of the box" version of IL2-Sturmovik, versus the version with content from the latest patch. There's a lot of new content separating the two, and the game makers usually set it up so that playing on-line can only be done as "same game version vs same game version". Why? To preserve the game's balance, and keep its standards in check. Selling a bunch of small packs of content is going to make this notion insanely complicated, as suddenly there's going to be dozens of different content filled variations of the game. Tack on any patches that get released, and things get even more convoluted. Why create so many road blocks for a having smoothly run gaming world?

Plus, look at it from the new gamer's perspective. So much stuff will get spread out in the game world, that someone new coming into it would be bombarded with areas, items and people that they can't access without dishing out more cash. It quickly becomes a, "See how cool this is? GIVE US MORE MONEY FOR IT! See how nice that is? GIVE US MORE MONEY FOR IT!"-world for the newcomers. This is why expansion packs (and free patches for pissy little content items) make so much more sense. One purchase, and there ya go. Everything that was once unreachable is now at your fingertips, and it keeps the on-line aspect of the game from getting wildly out of hand in balance and standardization. Having 30-50 different variations of the game simply doesn't make sense, and that's what you'll wind up with selling things as small micro transaction packs.


Regarding the single player, non on-line RPGs you're talking about, it might work better as long as the game never goes on-line to let players co-op or compete. But even so, it still comes across as trying to nickel and dime the gamers to death, regardless of what reasoning is put forth. I guess I'm looking at this on a different psychological level as well. Offering 10 downloads for $2-$10 a piece, isn't going to look as attractive as 10 new additions for one $20-$25 payment. In today's world, getting everything in one package looks a lot nicer to the average Joe than having to make a bunch of smaller purchases to end up with the same thing (especially if those smaller purchases add up to costing more in the end, like what Bethesda did with all their TES:IV additions before the "Knights of the Nine" expansion came out). Plus, if you sell the single package at a price that's a bit lower than what it would cost to buy each thing individually, that makes even the less interesting pieces look nicer too.



Anyway, to me, there's a reason the acronym K.I.S.S. is still being used today. It holds a big nugget of truth, in that simplicity is a far better thing to aim for. Expansion packs that combine all the ideas into one package are simple. Micro transactions, and everything that comes about as a result of them, is the opposite IMO.



Yeah yeah... tl/dr :lol: