FTUE: Micro Machines

Hello and welcome to Pocket Gamer and Business YouTube channel. I'm John Jordan. And this is our first time user experience playlist. So I'm going to randomly choose an age. Okay, I need to be 30 plus. Okay. That's not very random. Okay, so we're looking at Micro Machines today. So the new version of the well-known PlayStation game. Um and the first thing we see is have to put in our age and then it sends do we want to push notifications? As I'm now constantly bored of saying this is a very bad thing to do. So this pop-up here um I'm playing on an iPad. This is the iOS official push notification prompt. You can only show this once. So once this is up, either I go yes and I get it or go don't allow and I the developer never has a chance to ask me if I want push notifications ever again. Clever developers are now using an

internal um splash screen to say do you want push notifications? If you say yes, it then brings you to this prompt. If you say no or later, you they can serve that up again. So push notifications are quite important. But until I played the game, I'm probably I'm not sure whether I want to have loads of push notifications fired at me. So I think this is a really bad thing. Um they now they've lost their chance to send me push notifications. Okay, anyway, let's get on to the game. Um So straight in at least, that's good. Welcome to Micro Machines. I have opened my first car collection. So there's going to be lots of collection mail. This is an odd thing to show me. I don't really care about mail. Do I? No, I don't want to read all that. No. I want a car. I want the vehicle. Let's I've got some parts. Okay. Hm, then I'll build build it. Okay, well that's something. Drag the bits on four bits to car get a

little reward. That's quite nice and makes it off we go play. No taxi. So, that is good at least quite a while to go through a mail system. Not quite sure. Okay, how do I play? We'll find out in a minute. Tap anywhere. So, it's me racing other people. Don't know how I'm playing. I think it's left and right. So, the controls feel pretty nice. Ooh. I don't know how I'm doing. Ooh. That's a bit dodgy there. And then Okay, they're going to let me win here they obviously are.

They're using the last of their funding or whatever to let me win. Unless I do something really stupid stuff I'm not going to win. Am I going to win? Looks like Okay, not quite sure about the controls but uh there we go. You can change the controls at any time. So, maybe I need to check out the controls. Okay, so we're going to put in a name. Okay. Prizes, that's good. So, I want to first experience what some prizes. Oh. 75 sounds a lot, doesn't it? I don't know what we use gems for. Gold, oh even more. Wow. Oh, that's the same thing isn't it? No, I don't quite have that. Okay, let's go and So, this being a game we're getting stuff in packs. That's why I got a whole lot of gems I can buy packs. Three packs and then to get random bits of cars. Okay, we're going to open them up like it's a real physical thing. So, we're going to get some more taxi bits. Um and

mystery prize. Okay. Collect them all. What's the mystery prize? Got some spares. Spares can be Okay. Okay. A London taxi. I got a rare prize. Okay, so we As it tends to happen in any game now that can have these elements. You have different rarity of elements. So, normally common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary would be a game that would have five different um kind of hierarchies of prize type. The reason they do this is obviously you're buying packs. They It's random what we get in the pack, but it's what's not random is the level of rarity of the items in the pack. So, it's called gacha, which is from um highlighted um came from Japanese RPGs. Um It's kind of like random. Okay. Random prizes and the reason that it works well is you can monetize.

So, you're monetizing on the randomness of the items cuz there's at some point there'll be probably I'll have cars with one important bit missing and I'll be really keen to get that, so I'll keep playing over and over again, buying things over and over again to try and unlock the piece that I need. Okay, have a battle now. So, this probably be even more complicated. Obviously, I'm going to have another another button, I would imagine, unless it's auto fire. Um It's going to be auto fire, then. I'm just going to pick that. So, that I'm winning it. That's how we use the magnet. I'll do it like this, then. Oh, it's good. Okay, the magnet is as fast as we can make it up. I'm king of the world. What is this sort of mine? They're shooting me. Give me a heart.

I've got a jet thing. I don't know what that does. I've got a left gun. This seems quite randomly shooting at me. I've got some sort of football. I don't know what that Oh, back with a hammer. They're not particularly serious combat by the looks of things. All right, let's get to this first. I don't know why I want to do that. Going to win some coins. Great job. Upgrade my car. Okay, so we can see how the upgrade mechanics going to go, what I'm using coins for, what I'm using upgrading using these spanners. I think it's a time limit. Okay, so the spanners are on like a time base.

Also, I'm just using the gems to to speed up the upgrade. Okay, so we're just seeing really how the how the mechanic how the monetization works in terms of how you use the um hard currency and soft currency. And then I've got a mod slot. The mods have become quite popular now. Mods are something you have in RPGs with kind of items and and equipment. Um so I can use a mod EPM not so much with your hammer, not so much with your hammer. They look like the exact same thing. Okay, so again it's another time thing. So there's quite heavy monetization on the game. It's should be quite lightweight. Now try them out and choose a game you'd like and race all the way. Okay, so this is against other players, is it? See how good their uh server technology is. Okay, well, it looks like some chat

here. Okay, there's people around the world playing. I don't know but I'm starting in the back. That can't be right, can I don't think I'm going to win. Mhm. Three laps, not even done with the first. Oh. There's no physics at all, is there? It's straight through.

It was a stupid place to begin cuz you haven't Oh, you don't know the um the lap at all. Oh, this is a hardcore racing game. I was sleeping. The only thing is the camera angles are a little bit hard sometimes. I guess it's just something you'll probably you'll get used to. Which track? It doesn't really help the cornering. Mhm. I want to be more consistent for my life. Mario Kart and winning until the last lap. If you choose the entire

Oh, it wasn't last then, at least. Wait, get some points. Okay. So, that's another car, too, I suppose, in a way. Um so, I need to get a 750 to unlock another pack. Diversion bonus. I don't know what that is. Okay. Gift to my friends. I've done plenty for checking that. Okay, so that's good. Okay, fine. Okay, so this is just for getting better rewards. What's it saying? Check out new achievements. Oh. I can change that. I can log in to Facebook, I suppose, if I want to. Um I can get my daily rewards. So, how much am I getting paid again now? This has that retention moment. Oh, what's this one? Flapping mobile. Oh. A welcome pack.

So, it doesn't actually It's kind of confusing. Doesn't actually tell me how much I'm saving. That's actually very quite complex retailing. What does that one do? I don't know what that is. Okay, so the retailing is a bit odd. So, we can see here these are the bits of cars that I've got. I've got four bits of that one. I'll get that one. Oh, here's the spare man. I'm looking for a new part. Yes. Is that a part I'm looking for? Yes. These are spares. Um I Can I buy anything? Okay, no. Press the wrong button there. Okay. Is it the store or check deals? I might be at the store. Wasn't that what I had before? Yeah, okay. As I have got enough, so I can just buy another pack.

Open now. Let's see why Very likely I'm going to get that one bit that I need. Well, I'm just going to go to the store. I've got some more spares there. I can go back. No, no money Um Micro sent me gift. Okay, Micro. Um No, I'm good for that. Uh so These are the two I've got. Oh, press the wrong button again. Um As it's saying here, I've got three bits of this one, have I? Yeah, I need one bit. Okay, so that's what the numbers are on there. So, okay. So, we can see how the structure goes. So, actually considering Micro Machines is kind of quite a Um you'd think of it as being quite a casual game. Um Maybe skewed a bit younger, maybe I don't know. I mean, there are people who

played the original now. Not very young. Well, not not so young, at least. Um Don't know somebody in there. Too much mail. Got enough mail in real life that I've been mail mailing games as well. I need some more goals. Okay. Some more things to claim. No. Um claim that. Oh. So, anyway, that's Micro Machines. It's not quite what I expected actually. Um I mean the gameplay is kind of what I expected. Um it's quite nice. I I think you get used to used to it. Um probably the racing bit more than the battling maybe, but um I guess when you get more more vehicles and more kind of wacky weapons that that might be a bit more fun. Um And what is quite a well constructed monetization system. Um But perhaps just not quite as seamless as it could have been. I don't know. I'd say maybe

I don't know if this is the kind of game that would monetize kind of particularly heavily. So maybe uh the other thing that is surprising actually, now I think of it, is there's no um doesn't look like any rewarded video ads. You've kind of this is the kind of slightly more casual game where rewarded video ads would be a good kind of um entry point to people spending in-app purchases. So it rewarded video ads you watch video and normally get some either some soft currency or in this case probably some hard currency. That they would then you know, really build you up to buy more packs cuz obviously the whole point of this monetization in this game is um is buying the packs and and and so that's really what they the developers um publishers and Kobojo and Chillingo and EA um would want the people to do. So I'm surprised that's not in there. Um maybe it'll come in there at some point. Doesn't seem to be in there, is it? Can't see any option here to watch rewarded videos. Not looking like it.

No. Okay. Well, there we go. I think we'll leave it there. Thanks for watching. Um so we do a lot of this analysis of uh free-to-play mobile games. If it's the kind of thing you like, do subscribe. Um thanks for watching and hope to see you again.