http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2009/10/16/using-dual-currency-systems-for-better-revenues-and-engagement/

Their game does not enable you to buy things interchangeably with either currency – certain items can be purchased with “free” money, and others are only accessible with paid money. This provides a number of excellent benefits: the paid players and the free players form a symbiosis, where the game can’t exist without both types of players. And you all but guarantee that you’ll be paid real money, because there are all sorts of items that time-poor players can access unless they buy coins and trade them for “free” currency. Smart, smart smart.

i’m still trying to catch up to everything they did in Puzzle Pirates, and meanwhile, Three Rings is on to three currencies in Whirled, which strikes me as overkill. It’s like those disposable razors that keep upping the ante with more and more blades.

Gillette Lackey: How about four blades, sir?
Gillette Boss: FOUR blades? That’s exactly what our intel says that Schick is gonna do. EFF it – we’re going to STRAIGHT TO FIVE!!!

i wasn’t saying that you could buy a badge through Pogo. While researching, i found at least one site that purported to unlock badges for you if you paid them money. i don’t know whether they hire some gold farmer to play for you, or they hack Pogo’s database, or (most likely) it’s phishing scam. It just gave me the idea to cook up a website where you pose as an unauthorized awards re-seller, because i don’t think a gaming community could stomach the idea that you’re allowing people to pay for things you should rightfully earn.

Man, Pogo’s got their strategy down pat. Sure, i’m interested in an invite – please hit me up using the email address at the bottom of the site. Thanks, Storm!

- Ryan

As a Club Pogo (paid subscription) member, you can also pay $ for Gems then use the Gems to pay for albums which consists of specific predefined sets of game challenges (not a part of regular weekly challenges but additional to it) that you play until you achieve the badge in order to brag about all the challenges you completed or the album of challenges you completed! They even have a “build your own” album you can pay Gems for so that you can pick your favorite games to build the album of challenges.

Oh, they also let you decorate your avatar. You get free avatar items by default and you can use your in-game earned tokens or $ paid Gems to pay for items. Some items are token exclusive and others are Gem exclusive.

I have friends that are addicted and you really didn’t give it any credit. You should try it before judging. I can give you a free guest pass if you are nice to me. Members can give out a 7 day guest pass to anyone who in turn gets to play completely for free for 7 days! That’s another cool idea! Demographic is probably more female and older crowd (my friend and her mother is hooked on Club Pogo) but there are men too. It is a good time and game play goes quickly!

The only other way i’ve thought about doing this is to build in the rich class/poor class concept into the game design.

Let’s say it’s a game about gladitorial combat. The money-poor, time-rich players can craft their own weapons, and the very best players can build weapons so powerful that they can take on all comers. So are you going to be a wealthy leisure-fighter and buy all your weapons, or are you going to be a scrappy underdog and build weapons to clobber the elite?

Well, there are a lot of added risks and design considerations for the functional items that aid competition. That might warrant putting it in a separate category.

I would have liked to see you go into more detail on the “Friendship” items, however.

And that recognition thing is an interesting idea – pay to make the trophy a real item.

“…but ONLY if he kisses seventeen muskrats.”

This is genius. I will have to include it in a future game as an inside joke… :p