> From a game design perspective, for some situations this can be a real problem that leads to players getting discouraged and quitting, which leads to loss of revenue.
That sounds more like from a game business perspective. From a game design perspective, I would say it leads to the user not having fun. "Fun" being the goal of the design of the game. Loss of revenue affects a business around the game more than the game itself.
> That sounds more like from a game business perspective. From a game design perspective...
Yes, certainly. I've made some games from a pure game design perspective without regard for business model, and it didn't work out well for me. That's because I had this weakness where I needed to eat.
When I made my first "real" game, I only thought about the perspective of player engagement and fun. I had a game that was engaging and fun at launch. Then I realized my real challenge was community and discoverability. I needed to have people ready to play it at launch.
When I made my next game, I made sure that community engagement and discoverability was well-covered. So I had something that was fun at launch, and people were ready to play it and pay for it. But I soon realized that my real problem was having a sustainable business model that could keep the team and the game going for a multi-year lifecycle of the game's lifetime.
When making games that let you quit your day job, it's best to think of the business model as one of the key game design components.
That sounds more like from a game business perspective. From a game design perspective, I would say it leads to the user not having fun. "Fun" being the goal of the design of the game. Loss of revenue affects a business around the game more than the game itself.
Otherwise I agree with what you're saying.