Ideas for subscription benefits.

[DryDrowner]

I was wondering about the business model of the site. Haven’t found the details but I did find a mention that’s not going to be ad supported. This is great.

What do yo guys think would be some cool benefits that could be added as incentives to a Netflix like sub model? At this level of any physical thing would be disappointing quality wise. So cups and other junk are out.

Access to sub only site segments, game servers and discord are a given and a bit boring.

What I was thinking is games resurrecting. You know how magazines throw in free games from time to time, what could be fun is the subbed community gets access to a legal copy of an older multiplayer game and for that month every sub has access to the community servers. This could happen with a few articles around the game in question like a post morgen from the team and some design analysis from an expert. Maybe a tournament in the last week with a stream and physical prizes.

This is has a few interesting benefits. You get a game. You get to participate ina launch of sorts where a lot of people have at it again - this is usually the best time in a games life. You get some kernels around which content can be arranged and community interaction can occur.

Obvious worries are game licence cost and engagement. I think it could be a fun little exercise to see if we can get people of the political nonsense and just playing games with people.

Share your sub ideas, I believe there is loads that can be done to shift the gaming website business model from milking people to offering value.

[Sirgeorge]

Well, tearing a page from other game sites' respective books, I'd say that multiple avenues are available for potential income for the site. A subscription service that offers copies of a free game every once in a while (setting up a dealer with an indie publisher every month or so for a portion of the proceeds or with a major distributor to have them proceed down the line and potentially get an older AAA game). You could also set up deals for sponsored bundles with Humble Bundle, as has been done in the past. Other options include discounts to upcoming games or simply opening up a merch store. The necessary prerequisites in terms of reputation and resources vary from suggestion to suggestion so it's an interesting blend to choose from that I believe most people won't find frustrating to deal with while perusing through the site.

[Valkenr]

This is a common fallacy, and I see it a lot. There is no difference between locking content away and adding bonuses. All you've done is change where the line is so the masses don't realize they're being duped. This is best represented by Rested XP. The first incarnation gave you a penalty after X hours of play (because developers underestimated how much time gamers would play and they were burning through content), people didn't like it. The next incarnation gave you a bonus that lasted X hours, and everything else was turned down. The result was identical, but the laymen perspective was different, because they laymen isn't educated in psychology.

Anything can be called "Content"

Paywalls are great IMO, they keep out riff-raff. Something like a $5/mo single-tier everyone-donates-equally system, to get access to bonus extended reports (for people who like long descriptive articles) and op-eds (which belong well separated from 'news'), keeping the key information (the reviews and news) in the free-space, could be advantageous. Freeloaders shouldn't get to fly first class. Lets face it, $5/mo for bonus content isn't a major budget breaker. I think the F2P model has damaged the expectations of the gaming community. Nothing is free, there is always a cost. F2P games have a mental and time cost.

[Erebus]

I don't think anyone minds ads just so long as they're not obtrusive or annoying like forcing me to click x on it to downsize screen blocking ad or stop making noises.

[Damian Cunliffe]

Need to give the people some incentive if you want their money. So it will most likely be pay to remove adds, or pay to access content. You can only sell so many mugs and shirts.

I wouldn't need an incentive to subscribe... I'd do it just to support the website. I'm a lifelong gamer and I believe in this. If there's no subscription I'll donate $10 p/m through Patreon (or whatever funding service Jeremy uses when Patreon bans him for being a Nazi)

Also i agree with not having ads on the website. A website with no ads is like a high-class thing these days. Also no ads = no drama with ad companies being targeted by ideological lunatics.

I really think a subscription is the way to go. Subscribers could get highlighted posts, better emotes, a badge or something to show their support for the cause.

[ryvrdrgn14]

Have subscriber posts highlighted a different color/frame in the forums and their user reviews given the same treatment on the main site so they stand out more? Nothing too flamboyant or disruptive, of course.

Edit:

Also give people the option to have their posts look normal for those that just want to support with the sub and not look different.

[Animusisters]

Need to give the people some incentive if you want their money. So it will most likely be pay to remove adds, or pay to access content. You can only sell so many mugs and shirts.

[Saskia]

Just put up adds.

I believe Jeremy has already said that they won't be using ads on the website.

Two main reasons why ads are problematic:
1. Ad Blockers - ads that get blocked reduce revenue for the website owner.
2. Malvertising - ads can potentially serve up all sorts of malicious content like malware, trojans etc

[Damian Cunliffe]

I thought about suggesting a voluntary subscription model to fund the website when I originally donated my $10 to the fundraiser, I just didn't want to be the one to suggest it incase it was hated and unpopular

Anyway, if there is a subscription, I'll be the first to sign up! But all the content on the website has to be free. If any of it is locked behind a paywall it's going to drive away potential new members. Whatever subscription benefits there are... they have to be just perks.

Maybe something like higher ranks that can be achieved under your name (non-subscribers only go as high as member or something, subscribers can go all the way to the top rank), or more emotes, stuff like that which won't affect non-subscribers but allow subscribers to show how dedicated they are to the cause.

[monnef]

I'm going to have to say I don't mind ads. There seems to be a real anti ads thing here right from our fearless leader, but honestly I don't mind a few on a website, I barely notice them. Also, Ad Block Plus.

I do mind ads if (almost always the case) they are served via/communicate with 3rd party server (= tracking) and/or the ads are intrusive (any sound, obnoxious animation, too CPU/GPU heavy, too many). Unrelated topics of ads to the page are also not great. The best ads I saw are text ones (one or few sentences with a link, clearly marked as an ad), for example advent of code has those.

Since vast majority of ads on the internet doesn't come even close, I block all ads (and JS) by default. Only when I see value in the site, I try allowing ads and keep them allowed if they are not over the board.

---

Some perks for supporters would be nice. I would definitely be for forum and website badges, maybe occasional free game (indies are cheap) for few lucky. Whole separate discord doesn't seem that great (already mentioned - could cause a community fragmentation), but occasional stream with chat with guys behind the project could be nice (well, probably not for me, since I am not from US, but I imagine a lot of folks here are).

[gbullock32]

I would be happy with a supporter-icon attached to my posts. Any other perks that I can think of are so hit and miss that in the grand scheme of things they don't really matter to me.

I'd agree with this, just a little something to help us show our support. Adding anything behind a subscription pay would feel more like paying to have something 'better' or 'exclusive' which is one of the things we often rail game companies for.

[aileron]

I'm going to have to say I don't mind ads. There seems to be a real anti ads thing here right from our fearless leader, but honestly I don't mind a few on a website, I barely notice them. Also, Ad Block Plus.

[Animusisters]

Just put up adds.

[Tonic]

We are looking into creating some events and content around the idea of perks. Separate discord servers and the like would not be an option. We don't want to divide you guys, everyone is welcome to interactions and discussions.

[TelperionST]

I would be happy with a supporter-icon attached to my posts. Any other perks that I can think of are so hit and miss that in the grand scheme of things they don't really matter to me.