Brad's Tips For Keeping Free To Play Games Free And Fun

We've all been there. We've played a free-to-play game to a point that we feel forced to pay up to make anymore progress. We hit a paywall, and simply can't get any further without paying real money for fake money, or in-game items that will aid us in our online journey of enjoying a game we would like to enjoy, but cannot enjoy otherwise. That seems to be the go to formula for a lot of studios. Indie or Triple A. Thankfully all is not lost, and we too can manipulate the marketplace to our advantage. We can turn the tables, and make studios give us freely that which we would usually have to pay for. You simply have to show disgust in the games bad business practices, raise a social stink on social media about it, and stop playing for a while. Once your disdain gets the studio's attention their embedded reward algorithm will reward you handsomely for your return to the game. Sure, this reward is short lived, but rinse & repeat the previously mentioned disgust to not playing cycle and you'll continue reaping the rewards while making progress that costs you nothing. A lot of developers create their games to reward strategically in a desperate attempt to maximize player payouts. By understanding that this is how things work you can take advantage of the advantageous practices of those who would take advantage of you. It's that simple. So, the next time you feel the urge to pad the pockets of free-to-play exploiters stop playing awhile, make a fuss (albeit intelligently), and wait patiently as you are rewarded for your patience. Patience is a virtue. Even as a gamer.