tiomono wrote: I'm not sure about the mega whales. I have spent a bit of money for roster spots myself. I'm close to day 650 and have spent I think 45 us dollars total. In general I would say people super whaling is a reflection of our society. People hate to wait. They want it and they want it now. I think of veruca salt from willy wonka. "I want an oompa loompa NOW daddy!"
Daredevil217 wrote: I'm really just trying to understand where the joy lies because I feel it's equivalent to typing a cheat code on the Sims and having infinite money. I'm sure it's super fun to build a house with no restrictions but after that I imagine the game gets old fast.
cyineedsn wrote: Daredevil217 wrote: I'm really just trying to understand where the joy lies because I feel it's equivalent to typing a cheat code on the Sims and having infinite money. I'm sure it's super fun to build a house with no restrictions but after that I imagine the game gets old fast. That's an okay analogy, but it misses out on the fun of actually using the house. It's more like, you used that infinite money to build the super awesome house, and then you get to the actual fun part, which is using that house to throw parties and attract new friends and guests who you would've had a hard time attracting otherwise. Well, something like that.
morph3us wrote: This game demands a significant time investment. Spending money substitutes for that time. As an example, a person might not have time to play a new character PvE release, and so buy a 40 pack instead (ie choose to spend time with their significant other, kids, etc). I guess I'm talking about moderate spenders, not people who automatically were maxing everyone out on release. Having said that, if someone liked maxing a character out straightaway, as long as they're enjoying the game, that's great too.
XandorXerxes wrote: Remember how the forums raged when the developers made changes on the basis of "fun," and half the forumites hated it? You're doing the same thing here - assuming you know what's fun for everyone. It's a game. Some people like to be able to play the full game right from the beginning, without unlocking anything. Some people enjoy using different characters to make their teams, or want to use their favorite characters. If I was a really huge X-23 fan but couldn't care less about the other characters, I'd probably throw money just to use X-23. Just because the way you have fun is to grind out a game for years doesn't mean that everyone has fun that way. At some point, if you enjoy match-3 but get tired of the grind, you compare the cost vs the benefit of getting those covers. While the former cost of ~$20 per 4* cover no longer applies, how many hours does it take you to get a specific cover? Do you have a job? How much do you make an hour at your job? If I'm making $100 an hour and working hard during the day, I'm not going to come home and fight tooth and nail day after day for scraps of 4*s unless that's what is fun to me. I can buy 10 covers and make my money back in 2 hours. Obviously if you make $10 an hour, those 10 covers mean a lot more to you. tl;dr - it's all in how you value your time versus your money and compares to how much you like the grind of the game versus just the match-3 game itself.
fmftint wrote: cyineedsn wrote: Daredevil217 wrote: I'm really just trying to understand where the joy lies because I feel it's equivalent to typing a cheat code on the Sims and having infinite money. I'm sure it's super fun to build a house with no restrictions but after that I imagine the game gets old fast. That's an okay analogy, but it misses out on the fun of actually using the house. It's more like, you used that infinite money to build the super awesome house, and then you get to the actual fun part, which is using that house to throw parties and attract new friends and guests who you would've had a hard time attracting otherwise. Well, something like that. What's more fun, having a 1/1/2 character that you might be able to use in a few months, or a built 5/5/3 that you can use NOW
Daredevil217 wrote: I don't think I've assumed anything. In fact I was very clear in my OP that 1) this is where I see the fun in the game for ME 2) I'm not making a value judgment and am aware and advocate for everyone finding their own fun with the game 3) am genuinely curious about how the spenders find their enjoyment. Testy testy. I also stated I've actually wanted to spend money on this game (so it's not a penny pinching thing), it's just part of my enjoyment comes from earning everything I have in this game from playing the game.
XandorXerxes wrote: Daredevil217 wrote: I don't think I've assumed anything. In fact I was very clear in my OP that 1) this is where I see the fun in the game for ME 2) I'm not making a value judgment and am aware and advocate for everyone finding their own fun with the game 3) am genuinely curious about how the spenders find their enjoyment. Testy testy. I also stated I've actually wanted to spend money on this game (so it's not a penny pinching thing), it's just part of my enjoyment comes from earning everything I have in this game from playing the game. If you're just genuinely curious and have no negative connotations despite your diction choice (though to be fair, it's mostly the people who posted after you), then... you asked a meaningless question. Some people hate chocolate. You're essentially saying "chocolate is delicious, help me understand why you don't like chocolate." You might as well ask someone why they have a genetic defect. Sure, theoretically there's likely a cause developed somewhere in each person's decades of experience that makes them think something is fun or something isn't - but without following a large group of people from birth, there's really not any way that someone could identify what those causes are. I'm not even a P2Wer, so I can't speak on their behalf - but if I were I'd just turn around and ask you, "help me understand why you would want to waste countless hours on the game for no progress when you can effectively accelerate the transition for a sum." I don't think you'd ever be able to convince that person that what you're doing is worthwhile, but that's fine - that's just how you enjoy the game compared to how they do.
Daredevil217 wrote: The way I understand it, the goal of the game is to place well, so you can get resources to build your roster (ISO, HP, CP, covers), so you can place well, so you can get resources to build your roster... If you just buy all the latest and greatest, where's the fun? There's no climb, or grind, or sense of joy when you finally pull that fifth Hood blue. Now this is not a value judgment because I think everyone should play however they want and find their enjoyment however they see fit. I also appreciate the whales and other spenders dumping so much into a game I enjoy and spend a lot of time on. I'm really just trying to understand where the joy lies because I feel it's equivalent to typing a cheat code on the Sims and having infinite money. I'm sure it's super fun to build a house with no restrictions but after that I imagine the game gets old fast. I've thought about putting SOME money into the game as a thank you but haven't because I like knowing every cover, level, roster spot, etc. came from playing the game. Now, the trade off is my roster is way behind where it should be for a guy on day 617 (at least I'd imagine), but still I enjoy the game for what it is. Grinding and progressing is fun. Again, if this sounds like I'm looking down on spenders or saying my way is better. That's not at all my thought process. Just generally interested in how the other side lives.
UNC_Samurai wrote: Daredevil217 wrote: The way I understand it, the goal of the game is to place well, so you can get resources to build your roster (ISO, HP, CP, covers), so you can place well, so you can get resources to build your roster... If you just buy all the latest and greatest, where's the fun? There's no climb, or grind, or sense of joy when you finally pull that fifth Hood blue. Now this is not a value judgment because I think everyone should play however they want and find their enjoyment however they see fit. I also appreciate the whales and other spenders dumping so much into a game I enjoy and spend a lot of time on. I'm really just trying to understand where the joy lies because I feel it's equivalent to typing a cheat code on the Sims and having infinite money. I'm sure it's super fun to build a house with no restrictions but after that I imagine the game gets old fast. I've thought about putting SOME money into the game as a thank you but haven't because I like knowing every cover, level, roster spot, etc. came from playing the game. Now, the trade off is my roster is way behind where it should be for a guy on day 617 (at least I'd imagine), but still I enjoy the game for what it is. Grinding and progressing is fun. Again, if this sounds like I'm looking down on spenders or saying my way is better. That's not at all my thought process. Just generally interested in how the other side lives. There's an emerging sub-field of study on the psychology of freemium/pay-to-win games:http://www.psychguides.com/interact/the ... -freemium/http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2015/0 ... backfires/
What could possibly motivate users to spend $30 or $50 at a time on a free smartphone game? Game developers have learned to make their apps as appealing as possible by directly exploiting the mechanism of addiction. Habit formation is inseparable from the workings of dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter that’s tied to learning, exploring, seeking out novelty, and feelings of being rewarded. Drugs that increase dopamine levels to treat Parkinson’s disease were found to have unexpected side effects and, in some cases, have elicited compulsive gambling behavior. Other drugs that modulate dopamine work in the opposite direction, rendering their effects useful as an aid to quit smoking. Depending on the direction of the change, manipulating levels of dopamine can either reduce feelings of reward – or kick them into high gear.
Having to make an upwards social comparison where I come out looking bad relative to someone can make me see myself as inferior. That’s unpleasant for me, but hey that’s how it is. It seems pretty natural for more powerful or capable players to have higher status.
simonsez wrote: Geez, soooo many words, when all anyone had to say is "ego". And I don't say that disparagingly. Ego can be a healthy thing. But come on, that's all it is.
XandorXerxes wrote: I don't even think it's that. How many Star-Lords and Invisible Women have you unnecessarily pulled? How many tokens have you opened trying to get a certain character or two - to get nothing at all? These people have enough income and enough desire to buy the covers they want that they don't want to go through umpteen Star-Lords to get their Jean Grays.