There’s
a game I’ve been playing a bit. Nothing too special. More an investment
of time in mindless entertainment.
Don’t
have time to work on starting a new project.
Don’t
want to think about anything.
Sit
down. Relax. Nothing.
Five
minutes or so of nothing.
The
crazy part to me is how every so often, it drags me in. This nothing
pulls me in and I get a bit emotional about it.
I
actually find myself getting worked up about clearing a level.
I get frustrated when I can’t hit a target score. I get excited
when a few moves line up perfectly. And… here I am, getting angry
just thinking about it… I get beyond ticked off when a special
item is essential to finish the level. In other words, if you
don’t have the wooden hammer, you can’t crack the walnut rainbow.
No walnut rainbow move equals no reaching that one little spot
in the upper corner equals no level complete.
Wooden
hammers, however, aren’t just lying around. You might get one
or two early on. The game makers taunt you with a couple of freebies,
partly to show you how they can be used. Because you don’t know
any better, you spot a moment where it will help, take the wooden
hammer and just use it. In turn, a few days later, when you reach
that crazy level that can’t be done without it’s gone. You used
it. Blew it on the level you could have cleared by playing it
a few more times, but you wanted it done.
But…
oh… look at that… you can buy a wooden hammer. You can buy one.
You can buy a big old bundle of them and save.
Which
brings us to the snowball.
In
the game I’m playing, there are snowballs and ice picks and other
assorted items. Each item does something different. Hourglass,
for instance, adds a few seconds to the time-challenge levels.
The
snowball gives you five additional moves to finish the level.
Since I got stuck a year or so ago, stopped playing the game,
and decided to get back to it since there were parts I enjoyed,
I’m still early on in the journey. That means lots of ads for
snowballs.
I
know what’s ahead though. Level 826. That’s what stopped me last
time. That’s where I needed everything I had so casually wasted
before. That’s when I start swearing and… and… ahem… never mind.
Snowballs. Back to snowballs.
A
snowball… one snowball… costs 99-cents.
To
make something clear, I’m not against the idea of selling snowballs.
Plenty of businesses approach things in this way, or similar ways.
Maybe a play so many levels for free, then buy more levels if
you like it. Bonus content and extra stuff and special items at
a price is, as a general concept and approach, fine.
What
gets me is that 99-cent snowball as it’s presented right now is
effectively an impulse buy. It’s the candy bars at the cash register,
so to speak. And I’ve spoken with friends that have bought significantly
more than one snowball. Heck, I know a few that have bought a
several dozen snowballs to assist in their actions during what
we all added as a free-to-play mindless game.
If
I told you a game was about sixty dollars to buy, one of several
options might result. You might jump on it, because you’ve been
waiting for the game. You might debate it, knowing that in a few
months it likely will be down to forty dollars or less once the
initial rush ends, and while it seems like fun it’s nothing you
were going to immediately play. You might not be all that interested,
but in a year or two when the game is staring at you from the
gaming bargain rack for ten bucks, then it could be good for a
few laughs and a bit of fun. There are different ways it ends
up in your living room.
That
idea is what has me wondering about these 99-cent snowballs. If
I head over to the store run by my video game console manufacturer,
or for my smartphone, and I check out the free games, it seems
like the key word is free. But every snowball or wooden hammer
or thornless rose I buy raises that price. One dollar… two dollars…
three dollars… four… five. It’s not long at all before the special
extras have removed more from my savings than that bargain rack
game. Some of my friends have invested more than that full price
new game.
And,
one more step, how many of us are paying attention to those purchases?
And
one more plus… a special added bonus, for free here and just for
you… in many cases these are one-off purchases. Not extra levels.
Not something there later, every time you play. But something
that you use once and then buh-bye.
There
are plenty of games that I enjoyed years ago that I wish I could
find today. Trouble is, in many cases it simply isn’t worth it
for those making them to update into a new system. Maybe the franchise
has moved on. Maybe the rights are tied up. Maybe the interest
isn’t there. I get that. The games are gone and I will likely
never play them again. So be it.
Still,
I wonder. How much would I pay for a snowball? What would it take
for me to bug one? (I guess we’ll find out when I can’t clear
level 826.)