Tarnie Williams
Roadhouse Interactive recently announced the upcoming
Warhammer 40,000: Carnage. Roadhouse is typically known for free-to-play games of the mid-core variety, meaning that they target more of a traditional PC/console gamer audience, as opposed to a casual one like many of the simulation and casino games that free-to-play has become known and often reviled for. But Roadhouse is going to release
Carnage as a paid game. I spoke with Tarnie Williams and Kayla Kinnuen of the Vancouver studios recently to discuss just why they went this route.
First off, they say that they wanted to put together a cohesive game experience that players could just sit down and enjoy. "We really wanted to put together a game that didn't have an energy mechanic... or any social pay walls, because we really wanted to deliver a great experience with players... you could buy this game, and if you wanted to just punch through the game in one sitting, ten hours, twelve hours, whatever it takes you, you can do that. You don't have to wait for status bars to refresh or invite five friends to pass this gate. And we think that the gamers that want this game will really respect that, and I think that the price point supports that."
Now, the game won't be without in-app purchases, but Roadhouse claims that "it makes for something that can be used, but it's all on your ability to play." This decision to design the game this way may be in part because it won't be paid everywhere. Roadhouse claims "there are places that cannot support a premium model. Certain territories just won't buy it. But we believe that, actually, in a number of western countries, there's actually an aspect of free-to-play fatigue in some cases, and there's some interest from players to have robust experiences. And we're trying to deliver one of those. To be frank, I'm really excited at what we're delivering." As well, they claim that with the free-to-play version that some markets will get that "both aspects of the experience as well as the manner in which players are allowed to consume and unlock content will be different."
As well, this sort of "paymium" model, which games like Infinity Blade have used, have paved the way for the acceptability of games that launch with a paid price but also in-app purchases. According to Roadhouse, they claim that "there's an expectation, for especially those small percentage that are spending lots of money, they want the ability to, at times, push further ahead or circumvent some of the design that's been put in to place, and to be able to move at a different pace."
"So fine, we understand that. But I think there's also a big chunk of gamers, who when we look at the Warhammer 40,000 audience, they are gamers. And we have a lot of people in that are who are interested a full experience, without being limited to playing for six minutes. So we didn't want to limit it in that way."
And gamers that pick up the game will likely have a lot to play with over time: the plan is for the game to launch with 50 levels, and for updates down the road to possibly multiply the content of the game by four times what it launched with. And while they are working with Graham McNeill to craft the game's story and world, they say "we think the title stands alone on its gameplay. And its structure, and its campaign, and its story, even if you didn't have the Warhammer 40k brand on it, someone who's never heard of Warhammer 40k is still going to be able to engage with this title, and still have a satisfying and rich experience as they go through a very detailed and rich world and have that experience."
But ultimately, while Roadhouse is taking a different path for the company with this, they say "We're not [saying] go kill free to play. It's absolutely a viable business model, there's lots of reasons to do it in lots of cases. But in this case we've chosen a different path and one we believe is very viable."
Warhammer 40,000: Carnage is expected to release this May for iOS and Android. Thanks to Roadhouse for their time.
