How to make more money with Graal.

[jake13jake]

(this was in response to hearing that Classic accounts can only post once a day, I didn't even know they could post at all.)

Originally Posted by Darlene159

They can post once a day I believe

That's horrible. It would be a better marketing technique to have features in Graal be restricted if that's the case. ex the global playerlist (which they've done already I believe. Allowing all accounts access to the forums would be a good idea, restricting some of it to VIP/Gold (such as v4 forums before their public release).

The more access players have makes the game more popular. Chaos, when it allows freedom of access, draws a lot of attention too. If I released my movement system and sabotaged it so that for the first 15 minutes, walls wouldn't block anyone, you can bet the playercount would skyrocket. If I released my movement system and made it so that chairs block for the first 15 minutes, people would probably go away. People want to be able to access a lot of things with a lot of variety. It's what makes a game addicting. If you had access to a trainer, you'd sure be tempted to use it, though you may or may not considering whether or not you'll get in trouble (have less access). So you decide on the margin, is a lot of access now better than less access later? You decide.

In theory, people would base upgrading their account based on how satisified they were with their Classic account. Having access to the forums brings more satisfaction.

Trial accounts don't bring a whole lot of satisfaction. Another way to possibly tackle the question of what limitations a trial account should have would be that all of their flags are reset once every two weeks. That way they could have the full access pleasure on two week intervals and get a portrayal of the game that is more accurate than if they had their account reset every time they connected. I could get a lot more people to try Graal if the restrictions on trial accounts weren't so absurd.

[Prozac]

this would take into consideration that the worlds accesable to them would have enough content that there is still something to do for two weeks. And for events such as spar tournaments, if a trial account wins, and 2 weeks later is reset be default, would that not cheapen the community value of who the spar champ is? Or would it make the player more likely to upgrade their account, since they won something and now have some elite status in the community?
Interesting debate topic here.

[jake13jake]

Originally Posted by Prozac

this would take into consideration that the worlds accesable to them would have enough content that there is still something to do for two weeks. And for events such as spar tournaments, if a trial account wins, and 2 weeks later is reset be default, would that not cheapen the community value of who the spar champ is? Or would it make the player more likely to upgrade their account, since they won something and now have some elite status in the community?
Interesting debate topic here.

Well, there could be arguments, but the overall effect is that people upgrade their account based on the pleasure they recieved from before they upgraded. Right now Graal is misusing the law of diminishing returns. I'll finish this post in my next class.

Okay, so according to the law of diminishing returns, people would upgrade their account based on the additional pleasure they receive from upgrading it. However, I don't believe that you can apply the law of diminishing returns to a subscription-based service. The law of diminishing returns only applies to the renewal of a subscription.

Now, if the consumer enjoys themselves on a trial account, it would be psychologically more compelling for them to upgrade their account. In one case, they experienced enough of the game's features to know that they enjoy the game as a trial. They'll want to know how much more they enjoy the game as a Classic account. Therefore, they will upgrade their account to the next level. Continue this pattern for other type subscriptions.

The problem is, right now trial accounts can't really enjoy the game. Most servers start at 3 hearts and they get lamed.. When they finally get more hearts they log off and get reset. The largest group of people who would enjoy using a trial account as it is now would be someone who's out to abuse rules.

However, if trial accounts were powerful enough to get a slightly larger amount of returns from the game (say reset after one week, not even necessarily two), more players would come and it would be easier to convince their friends to try it. The more players there are, the more of a reason you have to upgrade your account. The part of Graal that is making it survive as it is now is the community. If people could convince their friends to play the game it would improve the community. Would anyone care to argue against the additional pleasure created by the community?

[Googi]

While I would like this, it wouldn't be profitable given that a lot of people re-upgrade just to use the forums.

[jake13jake]

Originally Posted by Googi

While I would like this, it wouldn't be profitable given that a lot of people re-upgrade just to use the forums.

The larger argument on my part is one that trial accounts should have improved access that isn't so extremely dead-end.

[TedHead2k]

I have a classic account. I have one post a day. I visit the forums often to see what's going on, but I rarely have anything to say. I barely even play Graal anymore, and I never subscribed again after my first year, because I got sick of it and wasn't really interested in it anymore. I really only log on now to see if there is something new to do. I only like Graal for the quests and the gameplay system really, which is unfortunate as it is focused on the least and the community aspect, which I could care less about, is focused on all the time.

Anyways, my point is, the system is fine the way it is. For those that really like posting on the forums a lot and being an active part of the Gold servers and Playerworlds, they will upgrade their accounts. I experienced it, didn't care much for it, so now I keep my classic account. If my account was upgraded, I wouldn't use the extra features. Giving classic accounts more access is just losing a potential sale to someone who actually cares enough to upgrade.

[Flares]

I am pretty sure you get a post per 8-9 hours with a classic account.

I have been a recluse for years, so I reupgraded just to have a forums account and be a more active member of the community, or some garbage like that.