I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!-Chapter 46 - 25 Penniless Mr. Ke_1

“Designer Ke, I’ve tried the game, and it’s really good! I have a feeling it’s definitely going to sell well!” After some thought, Gou Chehua decided to be straightforward and started off his conversation with Ke Jin in the chat.

But for some reason, the other side didn’t seem very excited and sent an emoji of a rabbit with a confused face.

Did I say something wrong?

emmmm…

I think I understand!

This game genre is unheard of in the market, unlike Iwanna which requires skill and patience, or Goose Duck Kill that requires a certain social savviness to play.

Goblin Pinball’s entry threshold is much lower, you just need hands!

Saying that it would sell well was probably not enough to please Designer Ke.

I should have said it would be a blockbuster hit. I was too conservative.

“By the way, Designer Ke, I think this game is more suitable for a flat-rate purchase model.” Gou Chehua had just typed this message over.

The other side responded with two words that were straightforward and to the point.

“In-app purchases.”

“Uh…?” Gou Chehua didn’t quite understand.

With the richness of this game’s content, it didn’t really need in-app purchases to add anything more.

Moreover, it was a standalone game, a flat-rate purchase obviously seemed better.

Ke Jin also realized that what he said didn’t quite make sense.

Although he was aware of his own motives, he knew it would seem odd to others.

So after some thought, Ke Jin said, “A flat-rate purchase might deter half of a hundred players, but a free game with in-app purchases allows all hundred players to try out the game, and all of them will potentially become paying customers for our company in the future.”

Upon hearing this, Gou Chehua suddenly saw the light.

Brilliant!

This vision, can you say it isn’t far-reaching?

I was only looking at the immediate minor profits, while Designer Ke had already planned for the blue ocean, looking towards the company’s future!

He was already studying the competitors for the next version!

I had to admire him.

“Then, about the pricing of the in-app purchases, I want to discuss with you,” Gou Chehua typed carefully, but Ke Jin immediately rejected the idea.

“No need.”

Discussion?

Wouldn’t I know whether a discussion is necessary?

Ke Jin felt annoyed just thinking about the previous few games.

Despite the pricing and logic being sound from all aspects,

as soon as they were launched, they sold like hotcakes, unstoppable.

Ke Jin was nearly at the point of begging players to stop spending with a bow, saying, “Please, no more, I really can’t handle it.”

If I, Ke Jin, have anything to do with the pricing, system, you might as well directly deem me a failure in the task!

“You decide,” Ke Jin typed, “I trust your working experience; go ahead and do it boldly. I have two requirements. First, the game itself must not be altered. Second, make sure that even freeloading players can experience all the content of the game.”

Not wanting to change the game itself was both a matter of respect for the designers from his past life and, frankly, Ke Jin was afraid Gou Chehua might somehow modify it into an ultimate bestseller…

And as for letting freeloaders also experience the content, that had always been at the heart of Ke Jin’s philosophy.

In another sense, the more freeloaders there were, the better it was for him anyway.

Seeing this, Gou Chehua felt his eyes tearing up.

The long-lost trust!

What else could it be but trust?

I had just started working with him for a few days, and he threw me this brand-new, even undefined game, letting me take full control!

Being trusted felt great!

“What about the marketing?”

“No need.”

Anyway, this system task didn’t demand download numbers.

It only required an average player online time of 3 hours.

If there was only one player in the whole server and he played for three hours straight, I would consider the task completed.

As for tasks B and C, naturally, the fewer people who play, the less money they spend.

Doing marketing?

That would just be making trouble for myself.

“Alright, then I’ll start planning,” Gou Chehua agreed verbally, yet he was surprised internally.

What kind of game doesn’t need marketing?

Especially with our small size right now, having marketing is completely different from not having any at all in terms of buzz!

Just relying on the quality of “Gotham” to slowly gain exposure, who knows how long that would take…

As if thinking of something, Gou Chehua sighed softly.

“Really, it’s all because we’re out of money… After all, game development burns through cash, and the pricing of his last game was so reasonable, I bet he didn’t even make back the cost.”

“Even so, he wouldn’t share these difficulties with his employees.”

“He took on everything by himself… He really…”

“I’ll remember this for him, if we do become popular later and get interviews, I’ll be sure to share it to boost his popularity!”

“0.o!”

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

Setting aside the jumble of thoughts, Gou Chehua began to arrange things formally.

Don’t look at how his last game was a flop, but these past three years at Tiansheng Company he did learn quite a bit.

What’s the core essence of making games?

Making money.

Only by earning enough money do you have the conditions to make better games.

So, how do you make money?

Increase the players’ willingness to pay!

Typically, the methods a game company employs to boost players’ willingness to pay are limited.

Topping the list is marketing.

Some game companies won’t even fix bugs, update versions, or hold events, but will spend half their profits on marketing.

Because the return on investment is just too quick with this stuff.

As long as the ads are out there, good or bad, there are always people who will pay.

The popularity of “obbo” and “wiwo” in the early years in China, despite their very low cost-performance ratio, is a classic example.

However, the issue of marketing has already been passed over in the earlier conversation, and Designer Ke has no spare food at home.

That leaves only Plan B.

Gaining players’ recognition!

Games with good word-of-mouth are more likely to spread from mouth to mouth, thus driving players’ willingness to pay.

But getting player recognition also involves a bit of knowledge.

Precisely targeting the user demographic.

What does that mean?

If you give several terabytes of romance anime to your female friends, most would think you’ve lost your mind.

But if you share those terabytes with your bros, they would kneel on the spot and call you a life-saver.

The same thing can have vastly different effects on different groups of people.

That’s the benefit of precise targeting.

What’s the target audience of “Gotham”?

Leaving aside its ambiguous and novel game type.

To Gou Chehua, its biggest selling point is just one letter.

Thrilling!

A pinball game with accumulated damage that leads to bursting and wiping out monsters in one go is the root of its thrilling appeal.

And the process of continuous improvement and acquisition of new items is what raises the players’ expectations.

So, which players need thrill the most?

People under high stress.

Every day there’s endless homework in school, endless scolding at home, endless work at the job, unending mortgages, and never-ending price hikes.

Then you get home and find your parents have used their welfare payments to tip streamers on Douyin, while your wife has taken the hard-earned money you saved for a year to buy a wedding dress and overpriced tickets to Dung Beetle Group’s concert.

All these are the sources of sky-high blood pressure.

If you can precisely place the game in the hands of these people, the effect would be off the charts!

Suddenly, Gou Chehua recalled a senior from his university days who was quite supportive of him.

It seems he entered the big data analysis industry after graduation.

No sooner said than done.

He immediately got out his phone and dialed the number.

After some pleasantries, Gou Chehua, feeling a bit awkward, shamelessly shared his rough idea with the senior.

The senior was originally reluctant to help.

After all, after graduation everyone had their own lives to lead.

But Gou Chehua brought up Ke Jin, the exceptional game designer.

And he emphasized repeatedly that to make a good game, this designer even didn’t have money left for marketing, and if this game didn’t sell, he’d probably struggle to afford food.

“He really needs help…”

“That bad?” the senior on the other end of the line responded with some emotion after hearing the full story.

Knowing Gou Chehua as he did,

he knew the guy was a bit of a clam and wouldn’t be thick-skinned enough to ask for help unless it was absolutely necessary.

And with the resources now at his disposal, pulling together a set of user data was not a big deal.

Considering the younger student’s relationship with him during his university days,

as well as that inspiring game designer,

Alright!

“I’ll help you out with this,” the senior readily agreed.