Looking for new ways to use ads that don't intrude on players gameplay.

I love this way to make free games accessible to players who may not be able to pay for a game. Ads help insure that developers get some compensation for their hard work on a game that they're passionate about. Unfortunately, if you go into the Play Store, you will find more games that seem less like games and more like downloadable advertisement. These Advert-Apps (as I like to call them) are just that, advertisement with a small hint of gameplay.

Often these so call games that have so many advertisements in them are not very good or fun to play. Games that are fun to play, do have the possibility of losing retention because of poorly executed monetization. But this topic is about the monetization of unity games by using ads in a way that may not seem very profitable but will make your game more enjoyable. Most of this is theory that I am will to test myself to see if it works. I am not an expert on the matter, this is just my opinion.

First thing is to try to get away from setting video ads on a timer. Your game will have to be pretty special and engaging to pull off an ad on a timer and keep a any retention. I am sure that there are games out there that does that well but most can't. To break that immersion into your game with an ad can become irritating to gamers. When the player dies or when the player restarts is a good place to put them, but not every time the player press pause.

I would like to play a game that is totally free with no ads and no in game purchases, but I know I don't live in a perfect world. In my game W.I.W.W.Y.(What Is Wrong With You??!!), I am currently putting my theory to the test. The game itself is still in progress but I do have a version in the Play Store for you guys to somewhat get an idea of where i am going with this idea. I know I am thinking more of the players experience than my bottom line. I still have a day job therefore I am really a hobbyist. Next what I plan to do is to implement a ads counter system that keeps track of how many times the ad starts. This number is stored in a Players Prefs and when it reaches a predetermined number like 40 for example, no more ads at that point. The game becomes totally free getting rid of the pay to remove ads concept in the game.

In conclusion of my mad ramblings, the only thing i am stressing is that we make games fun in the Play Store. Most Games in the store seems to focus less on the game and more on the advertisements to increase how much money that the developer can make. I would like to see mobile gaming become even more profitable to more people who make these apps but it is not going to happen if we continue to flood that market with games that we ourselves wouldn't play for hours on in. And then we ambush our players with ads at every given moment when they are trying to have fun. I really hopes this changes. Thank you everyone for putting up with my crazy monolog and bad grammar. I look forward to reading your comments.

P.S.
Basically with my game i plan to put ads in position like unlocking a storyline or (like I have right now) play in a special game mode or side mission. You will also notice the ad shows up once per game section for that particular mission set. You can leave that mode by going into the square again and as long as you are in the same game section (not going to the main menu), you can return to that mode without any ads.

 

Have you tried Crossy Road?
I think they did it pretty well with the rewarded videos and timed free gifts.

If the player doesn't wants to see ads, he may just avoid the "watch video" button, as he can keep unlocking characters by just collecting coins and the timed free gifts.

A not-so-great idea that some studios have and I also consider to be nice is that of giving "remove ads" after the user has purchased ANYTHING with real money, it doesn't matters if he bought a $ 0.99 product or a $ 99.99 one.

 

Crossy Roads is a great monetization model. You are Completely right MarceloBarce. I guess what i should've said was that we should make our games monetization more like Crossy Roads rather than go into a five paragraph rant about the quality of Android games we are making.