One of the bigger concerns when building an online virtual world is monetization. That is, how will your project make money?
The reason this is a concern is because a project like Camp Lizard is not free to build or operate. At this time, I'm looking to obtain a desktop computer for Camp Lizard development purposes (My MacBook is more for multimedia development, after all). After that, I'm going to need to pay for artists, moderators, support agents, and more.
Early on, however, the biggest expected expense is actually going to be server hosting. I've already committed myself to paying for the camplizard.com domain on a yearly basis, but that is the easy part. Anyone can afford a domain. You can afford a domain. They're extremely cheap.
However, for server hosting, things are going to be different. The server that brings Camp Lizard online is not going to be free. This is an expense that I will have to figure out how to pay. Further, while I can certainly rely on GitHub Desktop early on for the website, this is not, and never will be, a permanent solution. Should Camp Lizard grow in popularity, I will have to get a proper web host.
In other words, it is necessary for me to figure out how to get Camp Lizard to make money. But how? There are a few ways to accomplish this.
Early on, Camp Lizard can rely entirely on donations. You may have noticed the new "Donate" button at the bottom-left of this website. That button is powered by Ko-Fi, and is a great way to financially support this project. I can use that money to pay whatever expenses I need to make Camp Lizard work.
But Camp Lizard is not planned to be a charity. As cool as that would be, I want Camp Lizard to grow. In fact, it would be my dream for Camp Lizard to get even close to as big as Club Penguin was. That, of course, is quite a far-fetched dream, but I'll never get even half that far by relying entirely on donations.
The way I see it, there are four possible options:
- Advertisements
- Subscriptions
- Microtransactions
- Merchandising
If we look back at Club Penguin, they relied almost entirely on a subscription model in-game, with merchandising coming out very early on. With Walt Disney purchasing the game, merchandising was immensely upgraded, even including two Nintendo DS games and a Wii game. Eventually, they incorporated some advertising into the game as well.
It's important to understand that "advertisements" does not necessarily have to involve Google Ads or any other form of targeted ads. The form of advertising we saw in Club Penguin came in the form of sponsorships. While controversial, these can be important to bring in funding. Unfortunately, it's extremely easy to get this wrong.
The only form of monetization that was never incorporated was microtransactions. However, we don't need to look far to find any children's games that incorporated all four forms of monetization.
Neopets had actually incorporated all these forms, and infamously even attempted to enter into the realm of NFTs. This was back when Jumpstart still existed and was owned by Netdragon.
It incorporates advertisements in the most obvious way: banner ads. It also took sponsorships back in the day; there was literally a McDonald's in Neopia Central for some time. I do see a future where Camp Lizard has a few sponsored rooms, such as a Nike Store for sports gear or a Starbucks for the coffee shop.
It incorporates subscriptions in the form of Neopets Premium. I am actually a subscriber to this premium membership, and although Neopets is quite fun without it, Premium provides a number of perks that make the game more fun. In Camp Lizard, the subscription will be more similar to Club Penguin's memberships, though more about that will come in the future.
It incorporates microtransactions in the form of Neocash, once called Nickcash back when it was owned by Viacom. This premium currency can be used in the NC Mall to obtain a number of extravagant items to dress your pet in, as well as to obtain UC forms. In Camp Lizard, the premium currency will be used to enable non-members to obtain members-only items, as well as to gain access to members-only features in parties.
Finally, there are a number of Neopets merchandise that you can pick up, including apparel, plushies, and even magnets. I intend to sell many of the same things, as well as toys, books, and spin-off games.
More information about how many of these features will be implemented in Camp Lizard will come closer to when they are ready to drop. In addition, I will discuss how I intend to keep Camp Lizard fun even for those whose parents are unwilling or unable to spend money on Camp Lizard.
- Stay Safe, and Keep Exploring
