Onboarding (paid) powerups effectively
I’ve talked more generally about layering on of mechanics elsewhere, as have others. Foreshadow, promote discovery, allow exploration in “safe space” where they can practice without penalty, layer on challenges where you practice with feedback, then incorporate into the fuller mix of mechanics.
What about with mobile F2P games? Less time to get players hooked. Need to show differentiators quickly in a market of “me too” games. Need to drive home the value proposition so players will watch incentivized videos or pay in the store for more powerups.
Often implementation of paid feature onboarding is… well… not good. This is not to say “ineffective” as they obviously work for people who are already hooked and/or loose purse string spenders.
But for many people who like to horde premium currency for a while and not blow through their consumable power ups, the stress can be slightly overwhelming. How do they work? What happens if I try and it doesn’t help?
Even worse: You just gave me a free usage credit and then FORCE ME TO USE IT RIGHT AWAY. This is bad for a couple of reasons. First, players hate being forced to use a precious consumable. Second, one (or two or three) uses isn’t guaranteed to teach the feature and show why it’s worth using and paying for.
Thus I was delighted to see how Brick Out implemented the onboarding of new consumables.
Pretty standard stuff here:
- Huzzah! New exciting power up.
- Icon shown, copy text explanation.
- You’ll be forgiven if you miss that last line of copy. “Unlimited use on this level only!”
Next screen… Ugh. You’re forcing me to use the precious precious power up when I don’t even know if I need it yet. Let me horde in peace, damn you…
But… For us non-readers (really, books are for reading, not modals) there is a pleasant surprise:
And so on and so on…
Sure, I could just mash the button and finish the level “free.” Turns out that is both fun AND educational. I get to practice in a safe space and learn the ins and outs of the consumable.
Kudos to the Brick Out team. This gets added to my list of best practices.
