This past summer was interesting, something I never thought would happen actually saw the light. I’m a devoted android fan and have been been proud at how well the Play Store is doing with the variety of apps.
Early on when the G1 hit T-Mobile I was first on board getting it, years later I’ve gone through various upgrades to what has evolved into the most popular phone, the Galaxy S III.
This isn’t about my love of Android but instead the transition my fiancé made from a BlackBerry to a Android Galaxy phone.
After years of using my phone whenever I’m driving to reply to someone or to call someone for me, she has always complained over the touch screen, something most people can’t really work with at first. A few that later I’ve noticed her using Swype a hell of a lot better than I could, but this also isn’t about how one can adapt to something new, this is about gaming!
One of the first games people would traditionally play would end up being Angry Birds, but not her, because I was in the process of playing Jet Pack Joyride, that was also the first game she downloaded.
This changed everything! It became so competitive between us trying to beat each others high scores that I just couldn’t help but laugh at the hours of fun we had competing. But this brought up another question.
This game is free to download but they do offer purchased content for coins to be used for upgrades. The beauty of this game is that there aren’t any Ads, unlike every other game out there. Which got me thinking, at what point do I realize that someone’s hard work is actually worth my money?
At this point t I managed to get a a pretty high score which she has yet to beat, but at what cost? I bought a coin pack for $1.99, which gave me a slight advantage in buying upgrades, but is that ‘cheating’?
The upgrades would become available for anyone just as long as you keep on playing and earning coins, I simply just really wanted to unlock something and felt that the amount of time I have put into this game was worth my $2. She on the other hand disagreed with this. Why pay for something that is free?
I didn’t really know how to respond because despite it being free, they’ve worked hard to provide us with fun.
If you go to the movies, you buy a ticket for $10 and then you get a good 90 minutes of joy out of it. Each of us has probably put more time I to this game that. Watching a movie, so why not provide them with thank you by simply buying a coin package?
That is the mind set I use for all mobile games. I mean, some games should just be free, but then there are those with some production value that gets you thinking.
Next time you play a game, think about the comparison of paying for a movie and the time investment involved with it, and surely it will make you rethink some game purchases.
