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Hi everyone, since it has been talked about a bit, I was going to throw out there a few ideas for Monetization. There are just a few thoughts I have had so feel free to add your own also.

Ideas for Monetization concepts:


Players will usually fall into four categories.

Player Categories:
  1. New players
  2. Veteran Players
  3. End game/ experienced players
  4. Whales.


New players usually are not the focus of direct monetization as they are rewarded as a means to make them “invested” in the game. Once players move into category two then they are most valuable for monetization.

Players in category three, like category one are not as viable for monetization as they will have most things collected or completed most challenges in the game. So with new expansions or content the idea would be to slide players from category three into either category two or four.

Category four is for those completionists or those who will always either complete every goal in the game or feel compelled to have every item available in the game / item shop.


Monetization item concepts:

Player housing:
Elder Scrolls online has a model whereby a player is introduced to the housing concept by completing a quest and being given a free home which is a small single room in a Tavern.
Other housing is then available through a tedious grind of massive amounts of in game currency or with real world money.
This model has merit but could easily be modified to remove the in game currency.
EG: give the player a small “crypt” for completing a main story objective then having larger castles / strongholds etc available for real world money {plat}.

This also opens the gate for purchasable household items to decorate. These items can be classes specific items and also general items.

Guild Housing:
Similar to player housing but on a larger scale where the instance can hold more players. Once one person has purchased the “guild castle” they can give permissions for all guild members to enter at any time. Also selecting permission for other guild members to edit/add to the “guild castle” so other players can buy additional cosmetic decorations for the guild and place them.


The standard expectations would also be Class, item and weapon skins. Idle animations and character customization options {EG: Hair, Claws, eye’s ETC…}


Concept ideas:
Custom transformation animations for the vampire transformations : EG turns into a pillar of ice and breaks out of it as a werewolf. This could be expanded into all classes especially for transformations between states { EG: trinary arc system}

Dye packs for weapons / armor and hair etc…

Tennogen: Warframe has a community based system where players submit concept art for skins and weapons which once selected are then created and put on the item shop at a premium with profit sharing with the community member who originally designed the skin.

Arrival animations when a mission begins. Similar to Dauntless / Destiny 2.
Completion animations when finishing a level / mission.

Custom loading screens, themed towards classes or characters. Similar to Warframe where the outside of the orbiter visible in the loading screens is customizable.

Customizable “finisher” animations for when slaying a foe, {EG: Mortal Kombat / the Witcher}

Customizable ephemera / Aura {similar to Warframe} where there might be a magical mist or so following a player. These can be vastly different per class also.

Non combat companions: most games have a non combat companion/familiar/pet to accompany them on missions. The options for this are almost endless and can be kept lore specific.


Like I said, if you have any ideas feel free to add them here.
 
It's a bit of a myth that a game can be supported only by cosmetics. Even in the most fairly monetized free-to-play games there are items sold that are absolutely necessary for a veteran player to continue playing the game.

Ideally those would be one-time purchases that remove some convenience obstacle from the game that does not seem necessary but absolutely is. Example of those kind of items are the stash and currency tabs in Path of Exile. You can kind of progress through the game without those but in the long run it saves so much time that it is absolutely mandatory to get some of those.

Another possible monetization venue is to monetize how fast you can unlock sidegrades/gameplay options. An example of that kind of system is the weapon and warframe crafting time reductions and the inventory slots in Warframe. Generally it is the same as above but this one is felt a little bit more because players see that they are artificially limited in some way. They can still progress through the game normally and they can do content with their friends but they have less customization options available overall.

The worst thing that can be done is to monetize power-level progression itself like many games do. This is where the concept of new players -> veterans -> end-game players is most pronounced and the goal of the systems is to keep the player for as long as possible in the veteran position where he is invested into the game but has a lot more progression to do. This progression is mostly power-level grinding and this system is the easiest to get players frustrated by. Still it is possibly one of the most profitable ones because of how the human mind works.
 
I agree with the Warframe idea and example, there would need to be something like character slots or something also but not sure it would work with the weapons. Worst thing would be finding a sword or something in a mission as a rare drop and then not being able to pick it up because you did not have enough open slots before starting the mission.
I think it works in Warframe because all your items are crafted and not picked up. Maybe some form of modification for DHS?

Also I completely agree with the lvl progression being gated somehow with it as it would cause many to just quit or not play.

What would you think some of the better options would be for Deadhaus? I mean like examples from other games that may be necessary but are ok to be monetized?
 
Torchlight Frontiers before it dumped the whole free-to-play thing and became Torchlight 3 had a class of items called relics that were crafted only and you had a limited inventory space to put in once crafted. The relics were not just any items but one-equipped-per-character items that offered additional skills/skill trees depending on the iteration of the system. The idea was to monetize that system in a similar way to Warframe - with reduction of crafting times and additional slots for those items purchased. I think that kind of system might work for Deadhaus especially with the idea that items can be powerful artifacts here and I think the separate skill trees for those items fit really well into the fiction as well.
 
As im not sure where this game is taking things like weapons and pickups, i think of games like Destiny, when youre personal inventory is full amything you gain essentially goes to a locker that you can then get from once you are able to manage your inventory at a hub world.
 
It's a bit of a myth that a game can be supported only by cosmetics. Even in the most fairly monetized free-to-play games there are items sold that are absolutely necessary for a veteran player to continue playing the game.

Ideally those would be one-time purchases that remove some convenience obstacle from the game that does not seem necessary but absolutely is. Example of those kind of items are the stash and currency tabs in Path of Exile. You can kind of progress through the game without those but in the long run it saves so much time that it is absolutely mandatory to get some of those.

Another possible monetization venue is to monetize how fast you can unlock sidegrades/gameplay options. An example of that kind of system is the weapon and warframe crafting time reductions and the inventory slots in Warframe. Generally it is the same as above but this one is felt a little bit more because players see that they are artificially limited in some way. They can still progress through the game normally and they can do content with their friends but they have less customization options available overall.

The worst thing that can be done is to monetize power-level progression itself like many games do. This is where the concept of new players -> veterans -> end-game players is most pronounced and the goal of the systems is to keep the player for as long as possible in the veteran position where he is invested into the game but has a lot more progression to do. This progression is mostly power-level grinding and this system is the easiest to get players frustrated by. Still it is possibly one of the most profitable ones because of how the human mind works.
"It's a bit of a myth that a game can be supported only by cosmetics" three words Fortnite Battle Royale, Like have you been living under a rock
 
Well, you can also cite Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2... Apex Legends I guess... Fair point. Unfortunately this is not the most popular genre in the world right now and the game lacks an insane marketing budget so not sure if it is applicable.
 
I cannot speak for the ability of the game to support itself with cosmetics only or not, but what I can say is that I would be deeply disappointed if there were any kind of monetary gate on a regular gameplay feature. Deadhaus has been announced, from the beginning, to be 100% free to play (that means no gameplay restrictions whatsoever) and having monetization as cosmetics only. One of the reasons I supported the game was because of these messages being constantly reinforced whenever asked.

I hate subscriptions, they give you the sensation that you *have* to make use of the money you spent, which gives you a sense of obligation to play the game, and no amount of obligation translates to fun.
Gameplay restrictions are also the opposite of being free to play. Making natural progression in the game a grind or restricting your natural ability to interact with the world (such as having limited inventory space) only drives people away from the game, or force them to make purchases, which is a surefire way to make people resent the experience over time.

I am against any kind of monetization focused around gameplay. If a feature is designed to be a chore, only so that it can become a non-chore or less of a chore through payments, it was designed wrong. Playing the game should be completely focused around fun.

Deadhaus has one major thing that is amazingly different from every other game: the marketplace of user creations. With the game being successful, and the content-creation features being easy to learn and accessible, lots of people will want to create content for the game and monetize it. Apocalypse will be taking a small portion of those costs. And in quantity, that alone will make them rich if they are successful.

On top of that, there is all the official cosmetic content that they can create. In that realm, we have not only character customization options when designing your character, but also all the gear cosmetics, and character animations and effects, and pets, and possibly mounts, and dungeon looks. I reinforce the fact that no paid content should be superior to regular content in any way: a paid character animation for an action can be slower (worse), but never better, than what's available through regular means; dungeon features should never be superior (you should never have more space, or better traps, or anything that gives you an advantage) than what you can achieve through effort alone.

All capabilities a user has available have to be earned through his own in-game effort, not his money.

But everything that does not give a player any advantage whatsoever should be fair game, to a reasonable extent.

With all this said, the content marketplace is where the real secret lies. When players get to create their own visuals, their own missions and quests, their own game modes, their own stories, their own music... maybe even their own factions, it will drive people from all over the world to this game. The flux of content, optionally monetized by its authors, should be enough to keep the game afloat and thriving.
 
Another possible monetization venue is to monetize how fast you can unlock sidegrades/gameplay options. An example of that kind of system is the weapon and warframe crafting time reductions and the inventory slots in Warframe. Generally it is the same as above but this one is felt a little bit more because players see that they are artificially limited in some way. They can still progress through the game normally and they can do content with their friends but they have less customization options available overall.

The worst thing that can be done is to monetize power-level progression itself like many games do. This is where the concept of new players -> veterans -> end-game players is most pronounced and the goal of the systems is to keep the player for as long as possible in the veteran position where he is invested into the game but has a lot more progression to do. This progression is mostly power-level grinding and this system is the easiest to get players frustrated by. Still it is possibly one of the most profitable ones because of how the human mind works.
Personally to me - this is monetized power-leveling - paying to reduce crafting time, player A who does not pay has to wait X time to craft an item while player B spends we will say just $1 to finish their current craft and move on to the next then they do that 9 more times... while still having player A on their first crafted item due to length of time. player B now has 10 completed crafted items (usually crafted at least somewhat to what they are hoping for geared for specific content or build style) while player A has to go with what they have.

stash slots like the PoE example - i think i might have spent 5 on 2 or 3 extra slots but i rarely every NEED more than 5 slots total but im a super picky picker-upper, and i rarely use player trading due to personally liking to find my own stuff. those that take the extra slots tend to be those that do a lot of player trading and what not - i just prefer to enjoy the game.
 
Don't get me wrong, I would love it if nothing but cosmetics is monetized. Not sure how feasible that is though.
 
Don't get me wrong, I would love it if nothing but cosmetics is monetized. Not sure how feasible that is though.
I feel the same way on this. For comestics to provide what is necessary there has to be a major reason for each player to want them..my fear in that is something leading to a gotcha style mechanic (which im sure DHS is against) and a limited time format of items, which i dont want to see either
 
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Touching on, "Non combat companions: most games have a non combat companion/familiar/pet to accompany them on missions. The options for this are almost endless and can be kept lore specific."

A game I have put a lot of time, and money, into is a game called Shroud of the Avatar which is like the spiritual successor to Ultima Online. One of the best features in the game is the ability to buy and program your own NPCs via the tool Inky they have allowed interface with: https://www.inklestudios.com/ink/

So, player housing, or non-combat pets/entourage members are going to be added, it can be a very fun way for players to share the lore of their character and/or lineage via custom tailored NPC responses/conversations. Star Wars Galaxies also allowed you to program NPCs to occasionally say something in local chat which I thought was cool, so long as it wasn't done too often. Its essentially replacing a book writing tech with something that lets some players really immerse themselves into the world. As there is no in game benefit for House NPCs, it's just a way to allow players to customize their experience further as they go from lowly undead to master of their own lineage.

This could be further expanded upon/monetized by integrating further with Tafi to allow players to download skins for the various types of generic NPCs (e.g. human servant/thrawl). I have a whole backstory for the blood line of House Ekaitzaren which is like my personal Von Bek family name that transcends multiple games/worlds, a lot of times when I get really into a game it is because of how much I can carve out a little aside-lore for myself in what feels like a living world.
 
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Speaking of Tafi,

I am lead to believe that multiple classes will have the ability to shape change. I assume it will be possible to change shape into something passably human for periods of time to explore/infiltrate incognito. Since players of Deadhause Sonata are going to be getting familiar with Tafi as it is, why not monetize and allow integration of a human & etc. variation of your Deadhaus character that could be stored in the Tafi database and also used as the model when your vampire/liche/what-have-you casts a charm/illusion spell to trick humans into seeing one of their own.

After all, Pious Augustus spent much of his thousand+ years as a liche hiding in plain sight amongst the mortals, as did Dracula.
 
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Also,

Please don't neglect physical items as a form of monetization as well; The same credit system could be used to purchase both!

  • High quality tapestry, throw blanket, giant mousepad sized world maps!
  • Giant mousepad/poster map view of individual regions
  • Posters of the entire (current) set of cards for each class
  • Deadhaus Sonata tarot card themed gaming mat
  • Could also partner up with a similarly themed vinter like The Prisoner Wine Company and get a limited Deadhaus Sonata release celebration blood red wine

Thanks for considering :)
 
Hi everyone, since it has been talked about a bit, I was going to throw out there a few ideas for Monetization. There are just a few thoughts I have had so feel free to add your own also.

Ideas for Monetization concepts:


Players will usually fall into four categories.

Player Categories:
  1. New players
  2. Veteran Players
  3. End game/ experienced players
  4. Whales.


New players usually are not the focus of direct monetization as they are rewarded as a means to make them “invested” in the game. Once players move into category two then they are most valuable for monetization.

Players in category three, like category one are not as viable for monetization as they will have most things collected or completed most challenges in the game. So with new expansions or content the idea would be to slide players from category three into either category two or four.

Category four is for those completionists or those who will always either complete every goal in the game or feel compelled to have every item available in the game / item shop.


Monetization item concepts:

Player housing:
Elder Scrolls online has a model whereby a player is introduced to the housing concept by completing a quest and being given a free home which is a small single room in a Tavern.
Other housing is then available through a tedious grind of massive amounts of in game currency or with real world money.
This model has merit but could easily be modified to remove the in game currency.
EG: give the player a small “crypt” for completing a main story objective then having larger castles / strongholds etc available for real world money {plat}.

This also opens the gate for purchasable household items to decorate. These items can be classes specific items and also general items.

Guild Housing:
Similar to player housing but on a larger scale where the instance can hold more players. Once one person has purchased the “guild castle” they can give permissions for all guild members to enter at any time. Also selecting permission for other guild members to edit/add to the “guild castle” so other players can buy additional cosmetic decorations for the guild and place them.


The standard expectations would also be Class, item and weapon skins. Idle animations and character customization options {EG: Hair, Claws, eye’s ETC…}


Concept ideas:
Custom transformation animations for the vampire transformations : EG turns into a pillar of ice and breaks out of it as a werewolf. This could be expanded into all classes especially for transformations between states { EG: trinary arc system}

Dye packs for weapons / armor and hair etc…

Tennogen: Warframe has a community based system where players submit concept art for skins and weapons which once selected are then created and put on the item shop at a premium with profit sharing with the community member who originally designed the skin.

Arrival animations when a mission begins. Similar to Dauntless / Destiny 2.
Completion animations when finishing a level / mission.

Custom loading screens, themed towards classes or characters. Similar to Warframe where the outside of the orbiter visible in the loading screens is customizable.

Customizable “finisher” animations for when slaying a foe, {EG: Mortal Kombat / the Witcher}

Customizable ephemera / Aura {similar to Warframe} where there might be a magical mist or so following a player. These can be vastly different per class also.

Non combat companions: most games have a non combat companion/familiar/pet to accompany them on missions. The options for this are almost endless and can be kept lore specific.


Like I said, if you have any ideas feel free to add them here.
Elder Scrolls Online has a mechanic that I see a lot of people dump money into that 100% does not need to be purchased in order to play the game. That is skill and experience speed boosts. They are absolutely not needed to play but many people, especially people that are busy with careers, purchase. 10%, 25%, 50%, 100%(double exp or skill point gain). You buy them and it gives you that percentage boost to collected points for 12 hours or 24 hours. You still need to play and you don't necessarily have an unfair advantage over others but you level or train faster.
 
Elder Scrolls Online has a mechanic that I see a lot of people dump money into that 100% does not need to be purchased in order to play the game. That is skill and experience speed boosts. They are absolutely not needed to play but many people, especially people that are busy with careers, purchase. 10%, 25%, 50%, 100%(double exp or skill point gain). You buy them and it gives you that percentage boost to collected points for 12 hours or 24 hours. You still need to play and you don't necessarily have an unfair advantage over others but you level or train faster.
This would IMHO edge on the side of pay to win. All the in game purchases will be cosmetic or have no effect on overall gameplay.
 
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Elder Scrolls Online has a mechanic that I see a lot of people dump money into that 100% does not need to be purchased in order to play the game. That is skill and experience speed boosts. They are absolutely not needed to play but many people, especially people that are busy with careers, purchase. 10%, 25%, 50%, 100%(double exp or skill point gain). You buy them and it gives you that percentage boost to collected points for 12 hours or 24 hours. You still need to play and you don't necessarily have an unfair advantage over others but you level or train faster.

This would IMHO edge on the side of pay to win. All the in game purchases will be cosmetic or have no effect on overall gameplay.
While I agree that you may not need to purchase double exp or something like that in order to play the game, and a lot of people do it (Ive been there many times) I would say that you maybe have a disadvantage. Its nearly pay to lose in this sense. if a friend and myself are playing a game but I can only play half as much, but pay in order to keep up with them, im the one losing out. And if they pay to double their exp? Then I will never catch up.
I say this because while most people may not care about where anyone else is in a game like ESO or even Deadhaus, people definitely care about where a friend is in a game they are also playing.
 
While I agree that you may not need to purchase double exp or something like that in order to play the game, and a lot of people do it (Ive been there many times) I would say that you maybe have a disadvantage. Its nearly pay to lose in this sense. if a friend and myself are playing a game but I can only play half as much, but pay in order to keep up with them, im the one losing out. And if they pay to double their exp? Then I will never catch up.
I say this because while most people may not care about where anyone else is in a game like ESO or even Deadhaus, people definitely care about where a friend is in a game they are also playing.
I'm looking at it more along the lines of.
Player A and player B.
We will say that they are both exactly the same except one can afford to get a booster and the other can not. At which point the one who can afford the booster is paying to gain an advantage. And therefore pay2win
 
While I agree that you may not need to purchase double exp or something like that in order to play the game, and a lot of people do it (Ive been there many times) I would say that you maybe have a disadvantage. Its nearly pay to lose in this sense. if a friend and myself are playing a game but I can only play half as much, but pay in order to keep up with them, im the one losing out. And if they pay to double their exp? Then I will never catch up.
I say this because while most people may not care about where anyone else is in a game like ESO or even Deadhaus, people definitely care about where a friend is in a game they are also playing.

Especially when the perma death mode comes in and pvp is enabled.

Trying to balance PVP where people can put in different amounts of time for leveling is already difficult, it becomes nearly impossible when player A puts in 20+ hours a week and has an xp multiplier on all he time while player B puts in 4-8 hours a week and has no xp multiplier.

I don't want to feel I have to pay for every possible advantage to stay competitive in PVP, otherwise I'll never touch the PVP aspect of the game and that is something I am very looking forward to.
 
Please consider making the art book that was previously available in the Malleus Odium package available as a stand-alone item for purchase with platinum.

I would have loved to pick up the package, but sadly had some financial issues which prevented me from upgrading before the packs disappeared. Not sure what the planned printing run of the art books is, but if it could be rounded up to the nearest 500 and the extras made available for sale, I know I would buy one without hesitation - and I am representative of at least some fraction of players.