I’m spending a few minutes a day — actually, probably a few too many minutes — playing a Web game called Travian. It reminds me of Warcraft 2, only really, really slow. The whole point is that one can only take a few actions per sitting, then one must wait many hours for those actions to complete.
Want a new building? Click and wait several hours. Need more troops? Click and wait. Need more resources? Wait, wait, wait.
Like Warcraft, it’s a war game complete with requisite town-/army-/resource-building strategy. There are thousands of people playing on each server, apparently from around the world. There’s a neat business model there too. For a few bucks a month one can buy a “plus” account. There’s nothing necessary about the plus account, one can play the game quite well without it. But as with any solid business, they’ve found a way to profit from their most loyal customers. About the time you realize you’re hooked on Travian, you start to wonder what that plus account is all about. And, one can try it for free, of course. I mean, that’s just drug dealing 101, right? The slight conveniences the plus account offers a player are worth those pennies a day.
Since I think and read a lot about Web businesses and social media I can’t help but think there are some important lessons in Travian for Facebook, Twitter, and their ilk. To pick on the aforementioned two for one more sentence: Both have people hooked on their game, and both need to find a way to wring some money out of their most devoted users. Hmm.
Maybe I’ll see you around on US server 6.
Hey, a blog!
It’s interesting how the character of the game changes greatly as it moves through distinct phases. In my game, we’re about to hit the endgame phase and alliances are pretty well consolidated. There’s not an enemy within 40 squares of me in any direction. And while I’m kind of overwhelmed trying to maintain 8 villages, I’m among the smallest players in my alliance.
Over the course of a game, people go from being extremely active to dropping out completely. I’m not entirely sure I’ll make it a whole lot further myself. Six months (or however long a game lasts) is a long time to maintain user attention spans. I wonder how they could make it more engaging over time.