TY - BOOK AU - Bycer, Joshua. TI - Game design deep dive: free-to-play SN - 9781032207612 U1 - Ref 794.8 B99g 2023 PY - 2023/// CY - Boca Raton, FL : PB - CRC Press, KW - Video games--Design KW - Free-to-play games KW - Video games--History KW - Video games N1 - Includes bibliographical references, glossary, and index.; Contents: Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Social Media Contacts -- Additional Books -- 1. The Goal of Game Design Deep Dive: Free-to-Play -- Introduction -- Consumer and Developer Benefits -- 2. The Birth of Live Service -- A Brief Look at MMOGs -- Team Fortress 2 -- League of Legends -- Live Service's Impact -- 3. The Beginning of the Free-to-Play Era -- The MMOG Boom and Crash -- The Rise of the Browser and Casual Game Market -- The Era of Browser Game Design -- 4. The Basics of Free-to-Play Design -- The Difficulty of Defining the Market -- The Basic Structure -- Popular Genres -- Can Any Genre Become F2P? -- The Introduction of "Fun Pain" -- Creating a Live Service Game -- The Risks and Rewards of Live Service Design -- 5. The First Generation of Free-to-Play/Mobile Games -- The First Successes -- Cultivating the Casual Gamer Market -- The Limits of the Casual Market -- The Mobile Methodology -- The Three Phases of Gameplay -- 6. The Matters of Monetization -- Ad Revenue -- Monetization Design -- Creating Currency -- Popular Monetization Options -- The Value of Time and Money -- 7. The Second Generation of Free-to-Play/Mobile Games -- Of Brands and Battles -- Pushing PvP Play -- Defining Gameplay Systems -- Crafting the Long-Term Experience -- 8. Studying Surprise Mechanics -- Defining Surprise Mechanics -- Loot Box -- Gacha Design -- Random Progression -- Hero Collector Design -- 9. The Ethics of F2P -- Anti-Consumer Practices -- The Psychology of Microtransactions -- Ethics in Game Design -- Defining Ethical Game Design -- Why This Matters -- 10. The Third Generation of Free-to-Play/Mobile Games -- Carving Out Genres -- Major Mobile (and F2P) Names -- The Successes of Warframe and Path of Exile -- Battle Passes/Seasonal Play -- 11. Long-Tail Live Service -- The Challenge of Retention -- The Two Kinds of Content -- Balancing Live Service Gameplay -- Pop Culture Promotion -- Long-Term Support -- When a Live Service Game Ends -- 12. Looking Forward with Free-to-Play Design -- The Future of the Market -- Play-to-Earn Design and NFTs -- Conclusion -- Glossary N2 - "An examination on the history and design philosophy surrounding free to play games, and a discussion on monetization and economy systems and what does it mean to make ethical free to play gameplay"-- Provided by publisher ER -