Monetization

One thing you hear a lot of game design and development these days is the importance of having a monetization plan. In other words, a way to make money off your game. The most basic method, of course, is to simply charge a price upfront for a copy of the game. If your game has a lot of online play, there’s always the option to charge a monthly fee, though that’s becoming less and less common in favor of micro transactions. And finally there are the games that try to gain revenue solely from in-game advertisements. Of course, you can also combine any of these methods with DLC.

So, for Aurora’s Nightmare? It’ll have an upfront price. I haven’t decided on the exact amount yet, but it’ll be reasonable given the game’s style and length. Monthly fees, micro-transactions, and advertisements don’t really make sense when it comes to visual novels. DLC? Well, I could see DLC working with visual novels…but I have no plans to make DLC for Aurora’s Nightmare. Sure there are some things that could potentially work, but I’ve planned the game as a complete experience (which is the norm for visual novels) and I’d rather start on something new than try and tack on an unplanned route or some such later on.

Of course, the best monetization plan in the world is useless if people don’t know about your game in the first place. But that’s another topic…