Problems in Game Land: IAP Fees Get Gamers Up In Arms

07. King of Thieves - ZeptoLab

In an eery twist that borders on hilarious, mobile app/game King of Thieves may have been very appropriately named indeed, especially considering the groundswell of emotion that the game has generated since its launch; emotions ranging from mildly annoyed to downright angry!

Created by the wizards over at ZeptoLab (better known for its popular game series Cut the Rope), King of Thieves offers gamers who're into mobile gaming on iOS platforms a chance for pvp-based escapist fantasy gaming entertainment that has a decidedly old-school Ali Babba feel to it.

While game play is largely focused on its story and the various tools and tactics that are used to advance it, there is a seemingly unhealthy fixation on locks - and opening them - that also happens to be at the root of the issues when it comes to the in-all purchase scheme and the anger and resentment that it has created among mobile gamers.

As is invariably the case in such games there is a multi-currency system in the game -- in the case of KoT that is Gold - which is generously awarded for completing missions, thwarting intruders, settting traps, and generally for completing all of the sundry other activities in game play.

The next currency is gems -- which in addition to functioning as a special currency also happen to be the primary means by which players keep score of their progress in the game and its story - but more important, also establish your social status among players of a similar level as you.

There is a third currency - one that does not actually feel like and is not represented as BEING a currency in the game - and that is the Lockpick.

Considering that KoT is a game with a primary focus towards opening locks, you can probably imagine that tools like Lockpicks would be pretty important, right?

Where the hard currency in the game is used for everything from reducing the dangers of having your gems stolen to upgrading your dungeon defenses, to adding more gem slots and, most important of all, helping to skip through the ever-present timers that seem to do little more than encourage the player to open their wallet wider.

An alternative to Lockpicks for opening locks are keys. Well naturally! You got a lock, it has to have a key, right? But as is the case with other critical elements in such games, keys are not infinite - and getting more of them means spending real-world money or waiting out timers. Natch!

The reason that this has been elevated to become an issue of anger is down to defensive play because in the world of KoT defenses directly translates to more locks. And opening locks requires either keys, or Lockpicks. Each lock requires one key - or one Lockpick - to open. You with us so far?

So the thing is, keys? Not so easy to get. Lockpicks? Wicked easy to get - if you have the funds - but utterly unreliable, being more a tool of luck than skill! That equation we made above about you know, one lock, one key, etc? Well it never works out to one lock, on Lockpick - at least not unless you are wicked lucky that is.

So when you start thinking about the math in terms of one lock, six or more Lockpicks, you get closer to a more accurate assessment.

When you run out of Lockpicks -- and you WILL run out of Lockpicks -- you have a choice to make: watch a short advertisement video to score two replacement Lockpicks, wait out the timers to get one, or spend 9 Orbs and you completely restock your capped Lockpick count. For now.

Orbs - if you have not yet guessed this - cost real-world money. Specifically $2.99 (£1.99) will get you 100 Orbs, and $49.99 (£39.99) will get you 4,000. Obviously spending fifty bucks makes way more sense than spending three, right?

That is worthy of notice due to the cost of Lockpicks but also due to the fact that pretty much all of the other objects in the game that are desirable and worth having ALSO cost us Orbs. The best outfits in the game? Orbs. Better traps? Orbs. You get the idea?

In situations like this when the resources and in-app purchases are intentionally balanced this would all work out rather nicely. In the case of KoT though? Yeah, not so much. What is worse it is not just the cost of in-app purchases - or the fact that they are absolutely required in order to complete levels that is generating all of this anger!

You see KoT is what is known as an asynchronous multi-player burglary competition game - emphasis upon the word “competition” that, thanks to the high cost of playing the game pretty much encourages players to steal from each other on a massive scale.

This is so big a problem that typical game play has been publicly described by reviewers as: a base-building romp in which you create your base, create what you think are very clever and safe defenses, and then watch as players with more experience and a better grasp of the game simply walk through your defenses and traps as if they weren’t there, and then steal your gems to fund THEIR base building!

You experience that failure in the form of messages that scroll past - often quickly - on the game status screen, while at the same time you get to enjoy your rank on the leaderboards dwindle!