Tesh dug up this guest article from Penny Arcade and I thought it was worth relinking. It’s written by Daniel James (aka Captain Cleaver), CEO and designer for Three Rings Design (Puzzle Pirates).

The paraphrasing quote hits home like a hammer:

“Money can’t buy you love, but love can bring you money. In software the only sustainable way to earn money is by first creating love, and then hoping that some folks want to demonstrate that love with their dollars.”

Free to Play hasn’t grabbed onto my heart as it should. Most of the publishers are so busy seeing dollar signs and trying to leverage the word “free”, that I often sum up the whole business model as a bait-and-switch ploy.

There are some notable exceptions and that’s what this quote above is all about. How to do it right.

In that same article Mr. James slams the “expectations of vast profit” of traditional media and I’d say that has plenty of overlap into the games industry. All of the major publishers (and minor ones, see: gPotato’s faux pas with Allods Online) are salivating over what it means (in dollars) to be the gatekeepers.

When the developer’s love of their game gets superseded by the publisher’s love of money, the gamer’s love dwindles accordingly. On this topic, balance is everything. Love can be a fickle thing. Expose your hand with motivations of pure greed and, well– Hell hath no fury like a gamer scorned.

Too many of these games are trying to design themselves around a supposed addiction and not enough around joy.