> I've already pretty much decided to charge
>something small for the upcoming follow-up to
>Murkon's Refuge, but maybe what I should do instead
>of asking for both a non-ads subscription and a
>series of one-time game fees is offer two levels of
>subscription service: one that just removes ads,
>and one that removes ads *and* provides access to
>whatever subscription-only content areas I might
>come up with in the future.

Personally, I'd pay in the $5 to $10 range for another MR type game, if that was the price to play the entire game as many times as I want (NOT THAT I'D EVER PLAY MORE THAN ONCE THOUGH). That's way better than the price on any game you buy in the store, even most barbain bin titles, and I figure for 20 or more hours of enjoyment, that's worth it.

Of course, I already played the free MR, and know it was good, so you might have a problem getting *new* people to buy on at that much. But that's your call, of course.

I'd much rather see a pay-per-use type deal than a subscription, though. But I guess it's all in how it's structured. I'd pay a penny or even a nickel a post for the forum, but I wouldn't pay anything for Enchanted Forest, since I've played it a bazillion times already. But for someone addicted to EF or EF2, they might pay a fee for a week or a month's worth of that game.

I guess my point is, I don't like paying up front for something I may never use. If you were to charge, say, $5 a month (random number) for unlimited forum posts, I'd be hard pressed to pony up the funds. However, at between a penny and a nickel a post, I might spend more than $5 in a month if something really caught my interest. But the next two months, I might post nothing, and would feel put out if I'd paid up front for those months. Sure, it's my fault if I don't get my money's worth, but the easier you make it for me to get my percieved money's worth, the more likely I am to actually pay money for it.

Maybe having both options would be the real ticket. Nickel a post for occaisional posters like me, flat fee per month for people who post heavily. I dunno. I guess I'm just babbling.

I think as long as you lay it out clearly, it'll be ok. Like, say, you could buy your way into chat for an hour for a nickel. That way if you're new and just want to check it out, you're only out five cents. But maybe a month's worth of chat is only a dollar or two, so it's way more economical to buy by the month than it is by the hour--but for those who aren't certain they'll stick around more than an hour, a nickel is the better option. Maybe I'm just making things more complex than they need to be, but I just get fed up with subscriptions to things that I end up not using. Sure, that's my own fault, but if I had the option *not* to screw myself and still get what I want from the service/site, I'd do it.

Anyway, those numbers are mostly all random and not suggestions, although they do represent numbers I'd be willing to pay for the features mentioned, though.

-- Dave