Soft Design aims to do free-to-play right with Money Mine: Clicker [Sponsored Feature]

They say a team is only as big as its fans and that's also certainly the case with video games, judging from the sales certain AAA 'heavyweights' get year-after-year. Soft Design took that principle as a core design philosophy and worked closely with their brand new game's growing community. Money Mine: Clicker is the game and a full reset has been announced on iOS and Android with this fan feedback in mind.

Money Mine: Clicker is set in the Wild West during the period of the gold rush and tasks you with running your own (hopefully) growing township. There are buildings and upgrades to purchase, and you'll afford these by entering the nearby mines and going tap-crazy on a bunch of valuable rocks. If you're lucky, you may also stumble upon an ancient artifact left behind by a former native, or even stumble across an insanely valuable gem.

The updated version includes a few gameplay improvements, 25 unique buildings, 200 types of rock, 400 skill levels, and a world ranking system. Santa Claus has also made an appearance and the little town has been decorated for Christmas - so this is as perfect a time as any to get involved.

Free-to-play is the 'in' monetization scheme of choice nowadays and it's easy to see why. When there's a sheer abundance of games, you may only have the time to try one and downloading something for free is a much smaller commitment than dropping your precious earnings on it. Dylan Swan, Director of Soft Design, always had this scheme in mind when developing the game.

Swan said: "We always knew that the game will be free-to-play but there are in-app purchases. I think that the future belongs to free-to-play and we don’t even consider developing premium games. Gamers should clearly understand what they're paying for and why. That’s exactly what happens in Money Mine: Clicker. We like to consider it as a gentle monetization scheme."

Money Mine: Clicker drew inspiration from previously popular mobile tapping games due to their highly fun and addictive nature.

"We were inspired by Cookie Clicker. This game became popular in 2013 and after that tapping games became popular for mobile devices. I was a huge fan of it."

The gold rush is a perfect time period to set a game based primarily on mining in, but there are some other terrific time periods that the game could easily have taken place in.

"Money Mine: Clicker could take place in any real-life location where there is mining or in any fictional place. For example, events of the game may develop in Africa, Russia, or India. We have chosen Wild West because it is associated with lots of legends, stories, and movies. Gold mining in the Wild West is a historical fact and a highly popular theme. We chose it because it makes sense."

Head on over to the App Store [download] or Google Play [download] to get Money Mine: Clicker now.