How to design a profitable browser game

Many people want to make money online, some are interested in browser game development and believe that they could make a killing in the online game business. They could be right, or wrong.

If you are interested in getting into the online game industry, it's better that you are a game fan yourself, play a few games and see how other people are doing. If the players really enjoy the game, most would not mind sparing a few dollars or more for some better features and stuff. From a player point of view, what would make you interested in purchasing game gold?

Here I want to show you one example - Rail Nation. Rail Nation is a free online railway simulation game which is about hauling goods to cities, the association and city which haul the most win the endgame. I'm in no way affiliated with the game company. While I'm playing the game, I found the developers quite smart in designing the game features.

In the game, a high level lab requires a certain amount of game money to upgrade. If you do not use game gold, you will be required to wait a few days to save up enough game money to first upgrade your bank a few levels and then your lab. If you use game gold to buy the "plus" account, you instantly get your bank account double in size. I believe if one likes the game enough, one would not mind spending a few dollars per week for the extra feature. Then there are many other ways for you to spend game gold, normal game upgrades would take hours to complete, with game gold you get your building upgraded with one click.

Another huge difference between this game and others is that, this is not the ordinary hit and slash game, you won't get destroyed by your competitors. It's all about logistics planning, where to lay a track, what to haul, where to make a stop. This is an interesting game that requires your brain to do some careful planning. Since nobody can destroy what you built, you can play at your own style or work with others and have more fun.

A game without new features would bore people easily. According to the latest game newsletter, the upcoming update will include some new engines, new tech tree, new game rules, and better interface. That's exactly what game developer should do - get more features and new items, and keep the players interested in.

Is your browser game making money? Do you need any creative ideas or features? I would be happy to throw you an idea or two.