The strong reaction against IAP from many people (including me) comes from counter-aligned goals between the designer and the player in games with IAPs.
In a traditional game, I trust that the designer wants me to finish the game and if I'm stuck, I just need to play a little more or retrace my steps and look for the correct method of continuation.
With IAP-based games, when I'm stuck, I don't know if additional effort is going to be helpful or if I just need to pay the bribe to continue. As a result, I feel like I'm being coerced any time I have difficulty with the game.
The enjoyable tension of well-designed traditional game becomes a constant feeling of coercion to spend more money. It's just not fun.
The strong reaction against IAP from many people (including me) comes from counter-aligned goals between the designer and the player in games with IAPs.
In a traditional game, I trust that the designer wants me to finish the game and if I'm stuck, I just need to play a little more or retrace my steps and look for the correct method of continuation.
With IAP-based games, when I'm stuck, I don't know if additional effort is going to be helpful or if I just need to pay the bribe to continue. As a result, I feel like I'm being coerced any time I have difficulty with the game.
The enjoyable tension of well-designed traditional game becomes a constant feeling of coercion to spend more money. It's just not fun.