Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

Free, Fremium, and More in the Great Recession

So recently I put the game Dungeon Fighter on my Asus Netbook.  Dungeon Fighter is an interesting game - a side-scrolling beat-em-up game and an MMO at the same time.  You play one of several unique classes (that at times vary from fantasy archetypes or expand them), fight monsters in modular dungeons, and have colorful sprite-based fun.  It's easy, simple, surprisingly deep, and the Priest class whacks enemies to death with giant crosses, scythes, and rosaries, so how could I resist.

The game is of course free-to-play, but you can blow cash on getting extra equipment, respecs to re-build your character, and, of course, character clothing so you don't look like everyone else.  Very standard model.

So as I played this game, I debated if I wanted to get some credits in the game for extras.  It suddenly struck me that the freemium, free-to-play, and other free-but models differ from the usual monthly-charge MMO games in another way besides the obvious.

They allow you to timeshift your expenses.

Frustration Friday: The Thing We Lost

Yes, I know the Great Recession has caused many, many losses.  If I wasn't a news fanatic I wouldn't be able to avoid the stories anyway - and as it is, I seek them out.

Everyone talks about the loss of money.  X billion dollars vanished. 

Everyone talks about the loss of jobs.  This country has Y percent unemployment.

Everyone talks about the loss of national prominence.  The whole world is going through a self-esteem crisis apparently.

What no one is talking about is that among all this there's been a huge loss of something else, a resource that can be made and destroyed - and once destroyed is hard to remake.

That resource is TRUST.  The pundits and economists don't talk about this nearly enough.

The Two Sides Of The Geekonomy

Those of us working in - or hoping to work in - the Geekonomy are always trying to understand it a bit better.  It's a bit of an obsession of mine, because I feel like there's "something" out there for us progeeks and profans to grasp, but I haven't fully grasped it yet.  I can get some idea of the form of the Geekonomy, but its still fuzzy.

I've said for awhile that the Geekonomy, that place where geekiness, fandom, and industry comes together, is information-driven.  Its computers and video games, anime and novels, and at least a bit self-referential as everything ties into each other.  The fangirl that writes fanfic also uses Facebook and debates publishing on Lulu.com.  The dedicated otaku uses Photoshop to do art, makes web pages, and buys manga at the bookstore.

Of course, this is leading up to a recent insight of mine.  Namely, that the Geekonomy has two sides that are intimately intertwined.

Frustration Friday: There's Not Going To Be Normal

I'm a news junkie, which is about as obvious as saying that Yao Ming is a tad tall.  One of the flaws of being a news junkie is you are exposed to large quantities of Stupid, especially if you read pundits or analysis.  Even the wisest people wiff it occasionally, which may occasionally help you forget some paid analysts are complete morons.

One of the moronic ideas kicked around by the wise and the stupid is the talk of what happens when the economy of America - and indeed the world - gets "back to normal."

Frustration Friday: Be a little worried

Let's not mince words.

The world economy is not in good shape, and the economy that affects you directly, dear readers (mostly US, North America, and UK judging by my records) has problems.  The economic situation for many is at best a recession, and at most a growing catastrophe that still has yet to play out in our lives, bank accounts, and futures.

Yet I meet a lot of people who don't care, or don't pay attention.  Some are in this state due to apathy or indifference.  Others don't care out of ignorance.  The worst are people who are very convinced they know what's going on, and of course are dreadfully wrong.

If you are not at least a bit worried about the economy you are either very well off or wrong.  There's no middle ground here.

Predictions: The Economy in 2009

Predictions for 2009 are here.

Predictions for 2010 are here . . .

Weekly Challenge - What's the Next Crisis?

I'm not an unnecessarily cynical person.  I just think of myself as cautious and forward thinking.

Think of me as a necessarily cynical person instead.

In my career I've been impacted by many recessions, economic changes, business changes, etc.  I've been there in the dot-bomb, I got cut in mergers, I was there when industries melted down.  I tried to keep on top of those issues with a moderate amount of success.

We're still in a recession or the tail end of a recession as I write this.  I expect we've got a recovery that's going to take 2-3 years on average, but the long term recovery will mean pain.  Dubai is having its own economic meltdown.

So, despite the fact we're in the middle of a financial crisis, here's your challenge for the week.

1) Ask yourself what will the next economic crisis be once this one passes and has been forgotten by the short sighted.
2) Ask what this means for your career - and your ideal career.

You don't have to be totally cynical, but it never helps to keep an eye out and notice what may go wrong in the economy of your nation and the world or what trends are coming to an end (if you wish to sound less cynical).

So go on, what do you think?  Me, I'm betting the next decade will bring a few general corporate mergers and collapses caused by the economic fallout and the changing economy, and  probably a mini-financial crisis in the next 5 years when a few more financial institutions can't keep faking it.

- Steven Savage

Weekly Challenge - The Next Country . . .

As I've noted a few times, Japan is a country that obviously has had major influence on the North American Geekonomy.  Video Games, anime, sentai and more.  From Battle of the Planets decades ago to Power Rangers and Bleach, from Space Invaders to Final Fantasy pick-a-number, Japan has had a huge effect.

At this rate, Japanese influence on pop culture and major Geekonomic areas is more than obvious.  I'm not sure how much more influence can be had (though my guess is Kodansha is looking for more).

But there's always a hunger for new products and entertainments, foods and culture, and business models and opportunities.

So here's your challenge for the week: what country do you think is going to be next to have a big cultural/pop cultural influence on North America?

South Korean and it's growing media?

India with it's tech opportunities and the power of Bollywood?

More British influence now that Doctor Who is Reborn and series are getting remade (again)?

Think about what's next.  After all, my fellow progeek, you're going to be living it in the years to come . . .

- Steven Savage

(And as for my answer?  I'm still thinking that one over.)

A company from spare parts?

Electronic arts cuts staff and onboards an expensively-purchased social media company.

Gamestop goes for DLC and talks about building the company by acquisition.

Mergers, acquisitions, outsourcing has all made me wonder this:

• There is a lot of common technology (databases, Office docs, etc.)
• The internet and these technologies let companies collaborate and combine efforts faster.
• It's a tough economic time.
• Companies want to change and move fast, and building new divisions is hard.

So I've wondered if what we're going to see in the future is an outburst of Frankencompanies, pieced together from the acquired parts of other companies, merged-in studios, and mass-hired consultants.

Fandom, Geeks, Jobs, and the Japanese Economy

On and off I encounter speculation that Japan's economy is going to get worse. I'm sure you've seen much the same news over and over.

I'm not able to speculate in detail, but I can see that Japan has had its trouble since its own economic meltdown, doesn't seem to have solved it's issues, and is having problems with its workforce.  In my own opinion as a non-economist, I can at least see why people are concerned.

Geekonomically and fannish-job-wise, I wonder what will happen to the major geeky industries of video games, anime, and manga if Japan's economy does take a serious dive (again).

(This is why following economics is important to any career.  Period.)