Skin shop with in-game money

[JonathanDegoede]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

Nope

Describe the solution you'd like

I would like an in-game economy where you get money from playing games. More money if you win your games, smaller amount when you lose. With the money you can buy custom skins in a shop. For people that played Tetris Friends, a shop similar to the one that game had, but without having to invest actual real money / watching ads. Other people can see your skins.

Describe alternatives you've considered

Not a shop, just being able to change skin on your profile. But if we go this way, we lose the essence of being proud to have expensive skins (shows that you deserve it because you had to play a lot to get there).

Additional context

[ZaptorZap]

I'd like to reference #348 alongside my reply there as well:

I would also like to touch on osk's thoughts on the matter, as shared through the qna hosted by Blink some time ago:

Blink: Ah okay. "Do you have any plans to extend the level system in TETR.IO?"

osk: Level system as in player level or?

Blink: Yeah I'm guessing the player level stops at 130 something or whatever. The level just from playing? Is that what you're asking Tanarus? Wait, who asked that? It was Kinetic, if you want to clarify your question.

osk: I mean if it's just about player level then yeah. Generally I don't know what I can do with it right now. What I might do at some point is make it, if you wanted to, tokens for it, and you can have some skins that actually show to other players right? There's already a really really cool plugin that allows you to use custom skins. It only works on Firefox, but it's a really cool plugin.

Blink: Oh, I haven't seen that yet. I didn't realise that you could us- Only on Firefox?

osk: Yep, it only works on firefox so of course other people can't see your skin right? So I might do some sort of thing with the level system later on, where you can build towards unlocking those skins. I know what chat's thinking right now, but I don't want to take it in the direction of pay to win or having to do microtransactions to unlock them, because I just really don't like that.

Blink: How would that be pay to win? Skins shouldn't affect the gameplay right?

osk: Well not pay to win, but rather in general, micro payments.

[JonathanDegoede]

Thanks for the reply !

[github-actions]

This issue has not seen any activity in 30 days. If the issue is still relevant, please comment on it or the issue will be automatically closed in 7 days. This way, the issue tracker can be kept clean. Thank you!

[lanye74]

Still relevant

[ghost]

it would also be nice to have ranked rewards, where you get custom skins for getting top500, or for being top1%

[o5k]

Pinning this: I'd like to see some discussion about how these skins should be unlocked, mainly in terms of monetization. Paid loot boxes are off the table, but please tell em what you think is a good way to get skins.

[UniQMG522]

(Assuming paid skins are ok as long as they're not random, and that random skin drops are ok as long as they're not paid.)

Summary of some things that have already been sort of discussed on discord:

Per-mino idea

• Random drops while playing the game.
• Skins drop by the mino.
• For the first few skins, the more minos of a skin you have, the higher the drop rate for that skin.
• Real money/paid currency can be used to complete skins that you already own any part of instantly.

Straight currency idea

• In-game currency and premium real-money currency.
• Whole skins can be bought directly with either currency (Some might be restricted to premium currency only).

My own ideas

Skins and effects

• In-game currency and premium real-money currency.
• Whole skins can be bought using either currency.
• Skin effects (filter, particles, etc.) can be bought using premium currency (potentially also available via random drops).
• Effects are skin-agnostic and can be used with any skin.

Skin rarities

• In-game currency and premium real-money currency.
• Randomly dropped skins have csgo-style rarities with different visual effects applied based on the rarity.
• New, worn, cracked, shattered, etc.
• Premium currency can be used to buy any skin in any rarity.
• In-game currency can be used to transmute an existing skin into a given rarity.

Mino packs

Personally I like the per-mino idea best because it allows for a large drop pool without needing a huge number of skins available.

It could be improved by offering 'packs' which change what kind of minos you get, for example:

• Completionist pack: Prioritizes skins you already own.
• Variety pack: Prioritizes minos from skins you haven't started yet.
• Event pack: Prioritizes minos from limited time event skins (Assuming you have those).
• Memory pack: Prioritizes minos that your recent opponents have used.

Packs allow non-paying players to prioritize what kind of minos they want to obtain, though they don't guarantee anything. Paying players have the option to instantly buy whatever skin they'd like.

[o5k]

I really enjoy the pack idea, would allow for splitting skins into minos (which would otherwise be very weird), which would greatly increase the drop pool. Wondering if maybe the price for buying a skin should go down for half-completed skins?

[aragocz]

I had an idea you could make a Supporter only skin, so the supporters can show that they support the game, in-game.

[UniQMG522]

Mino packs
[...]

Another derivative idea: Allow supporters to use any skin they want (as long as they're a supporter), and not have any currency at all. Packs should be sufficient to make completing skins possible for non-supporters.

[orangetriangle]

I have a couple suggestions:

I believe premium, real-money currency as suggested by UniQMG522 is not a good idea because it distances the real money from purchases made using the premium currency, so players have less of an idea of how much the purchased items are worth in real money. Fixing the premium currency to the Euro (or any other real-life currency) at a simple exchange rate is not a good solution because not all players are familiar with the Euro. Additionally, if the premium currency is purchased in packs (say, packs of 50, 250, 1000, etc.), there might be some wasted currency after all intended purchases with the premium currency have been made; this wasted premium currency translates to a waste of money.

In the event that the selected skin is visible not only to the player, but also to the opponent(s), this may be distracting when the player views the opponent's board for strategical and tactical decisions. I suggest an option to view the opponent's board with one's own tetromino skin in order to counteract this.

[o5k]

I believe premium, real-money currency as suggested by UniQMG522 is not a good idea because it distances the real money from purchases made using the premium currency

While I agree with this on the concept of making purchases more disconnected with their monetary source, I feel like forcing one-transaction-per-purchase would be quite a messy option as well, mainly due to payment processing fees, which in turn would cause the costs to be far higher (example: back when on Patreon, Supporter was far more expensive). It also gives a bad image IMO, to open a store and see real money displayed.

[FishPyramid]

I think getting a skin for obtaining badge would give more of a reason to try and get a badge

[ZXN7]

What is the goal of an in-game skin system for TETR.IO?

The goal of an in-game skin system is allow players to collect skins. This allows players to customize their in-game style and show off their cool skins to other players.

It's clear this feature isn't for revenue, even confirmed by osk. This is a feature that increases player engagement and game depth. You can easily expand this by tying skins to achievements and milestones, which would aid in increasing player retention.

Now that we understand the goals of this system, how can we design the system to achieve them?

The minimal viable product is straightforward: players buy skins from a shop and equip them through a skin inventory. But how can we improve this product from here? (Listed improvements are not in any particular order of priority)

1. Add depth to the Shop.

• Please do not dump every skin in the Shop and never touch the Shop again. This is a huge mistake by TF's shop shown by OP.

• Add a shop rotation. Give the players a reason to check the shop. Engage them with new content. This will result in players checking out the Shop weekly, or even daily, depending on how the shop is rotated.

2. Avoid premium currency.

• This should be a freemium feature. The currency should be earnable in-game but also available for in-game purchase.

3. Add depth to Supporter system.

• Many games take advantage of subscription-based cosmetics. Give supporters and non-supporters an additional reason to support with a super cool supporter exclusive skin.

• Supporters earn a fixed amount of in-game currency per month, depending on their star level.

4. Add rewards to achievements, milestones, and badges.

• When the user wins certain achievements, reward them with a cool themed skin.

• When the user wins a badge, reward them with an exclusive skin!

• When the user reaches certain level milestones, they receive a skin.

5. Add skin attributes

• Introduce a rarity system. Skins should be distinctive from each other. Certain skins should feel more special than others.

• Each skin should display a name, rarity and a small description on the source of the skin.

6. Add the ability to view other people's skins.

• This will indirectly engage players towards unlocking more skins.

• Players that own an extremely exclusive skin will be able to show off it's incredible rarity and attributes.

7. Display unowned skins in the bottom of the inventory.

• Players should be able to explore the whole library of skins. This engages players to work towards specific skins they like.

8. Add a daily/weekly task system.

• A daily task system is crucial for player retention. This will keep players coming back every day.

• Tasks can be simple: Do 3 T-Spins, clear 50 lines, etc. The reward will be the in-game currency, which the player will use to buy skins. This creates a core loop of completing tasks > earning currency > buying skins.

9. Add TL rewards.

• Every month, give the player in-game currency based off of what rank they are. This will incentivize players to push their rank.

• Reward players in-game currency for winning and losing games in TL, with a daily cap. This will incentivize players to play TL daily.

All 9 of these additional suggestions are system frameworks with no systematic specifications. If any of these have implementation potential, feel free to ask me for a more in-depth spec.

[Mr-Turnip]

I feel that TETR.IO PLUS has made the idea of an ingame currency redundant as my (limited) experience with tetris friend's, where skins are mostly just a change once thing and never look at it again. Though this could because of point one of ZXN7's list where the devs did not engage players with new content.

I think the real issue is to convince player to put in the effort to to obtain skins. It's really easy for a players to right click, save, and import through T+ or find a clone hosted somewhere. You should take every single moment possible to show off a skin/collection so authenticity will provide itself as an incentive to not steal skins.

[SimplyTolex]

I feel like forcing one-transaction-per-purchase would be quite a messy option as well

how about making a cart system, where you add multiple skins you want to buy and then proceed to buy them at once, instead of one by one.
It still would be a problem if the user decides after the purchase that they should've bought this skin as well, but i think it is still better then it would be

[aytimothy]

I'm all for more customization, but I'm not for any sort of itemisation of it in a shop of any sort.

As for prestige, isn't a badge already good enough, since the whole point of badges is prestige.

The last thing I want to see is tetr.io becoming yet another Tetris Friends/Battle.
Also, how would you feel if jstris and Nullpomino/Nullpomino started locking skins behind a paywall?

[ZaptorZap]

Actually, Jstris does lock skins behind a paywall....

[aytimothy]

Actually, Jstris does lock skins behind a paywall....

I mean, to be fair - It does let you use some for free.

[MrMeCoding]

I like this idea just please dont call them t bux

Additional ideas:
Make some of them seasonal, so like you can only earn/buy them during a holiday or event
Have some skins relating to rank (Special skin for top 100, or X rank)

[sibeliius]

This would be a great addition, but honestly I think it would be interesting to have a combination of paid (either through winning in-game currency or direct purchase) and earnable skins, with paid ones being slowly cycled in and phased out and earnable ones through either competing in special events, reaching certain ranks in TL, and achieving certain offline/lifetime statistics (40L times, blitz lines,lifetime playtime, etc).

[Maylit336]

I would like for this or that achieved level or rank. or the received badge you receive the corresponding skin.

[User670]

things I would not like:

• an item that requires extreme amount of playtime (or grind) to obtain. eg, something that requires playing 10000 hours, or something so expensive that requires 10000 hours of playtime to get that amount of money.
• an item that requires extreme luck to obtain. eg, something that is awarded 1/100000 chance after a game. (would rather that be converted to a grind type item rather than a luck type)
• an item that requires very high skill to obtain, eg something that requires a sub-30 sprint.
• a large number / portion of items locked behind a paywall (eg supporter only). Having some is okay for me, having a lot (most) of them is not.
• a large number / portion of items locked behind a timed event (eg, "2025 Xmas") and/or a number-limited event (eg, "top 10 in Example Championship 2025", where only 10 players can get it), without the item eventually returning (eg "Xmas event" that repeats each year and the items returning each year is fine). Again, some is okay, a lot is not.
• an item with a very basic/simple design being locked behind a significant requirement. eg a solid color skin (some call it "flat" skin) being locked behind 300 games worth of coins or a sub-60 sprint.
• vast majority of items being locked behind multiplayer. I'd like to be able to unlock at least some items by playing solo.

[CookiesHavePoison]

I think this was touched upon in previous posts but I believe that other customisation options should also be available to provide a more customisable experience
In addition to block and shadow pieces:

• board skins
• board grid skins
• sound packs / schemes
• effects:

• line break
• garbage sent / received projectile thing
• level-up and/or damage bar
• "fire" effect (can be something else like electricity or smth)
• top-out warning (instead of (just) turning red, could be something like a ringing bell or power surge animation)
• player profile card and profile picture effects / skins (this can be implemented like with discord? so that supporters keep the perk of having a customisable banner, maybe allow this to be animated too - as in a gif?)
  ^ this is not exhaustive but all I could think of in the moment

I feel that "packs" or whatever you call them should also be offered which include one or more of the things mentioned above but in a theme so that cohesive customisation is available, although i personally think that aspects of the pack should still be obtainable / useable separately.

I am in favour of:

• providing some skins for supporter
• allowing supporters to earn more in-game currency (like a multiplier / booster) and/or automatically gain on a monthly basis depending on stars, but not too much so that they still have to work hard for them like everyone else
• having animated customisation options but with the option for all to disable the animations
• having the in-game currency being available to purchase
• providing customisation options attached to unlocking achievements, badges, account levels, account playtime and ranks although I can understand and agree that some may not want these to be too extravagent as other players may feel left out
• earning the igc through playing tl, and gaining xp and tr
• giving players the option to force the game to render other people's board with their skin or the default. This is particularly important for people with poor vision

I am against:

• making (a large number of / all) customisation options (particularly very desirable / special ones) pay only
• locking (a large number of / all) customisation options (particularly very desirable / special ones) behind supporter
• making the igc super cheap to buy (as this is unfair to those who do not have money to splurge)
• making time-specific / locked options readily available (or for longer) to supporters / through a paywall (as this is unfair to those who are just as dedicated to the game but have no such opportunities)
• turning the rewards system into a monetized battlepass-like mechanic (at the very least, do not make a paid "track")
• preventing players from purchasing a skin with igc if they do not meet a limit (like "you have to be x rank" or "you must have a sub 30s sprint time" )

If a battlepass-esque design philosophy is chosen for unlocking customisation options, breaking up a skin or sound scheme into parts (so like for each piece of a skin) and having players earn (and only through earning) these progressively bit by bit could be good for player retention as they can have tangible progress in obtaining their chosen option. These can be intergrated with a daily / weekly / monthly mission mechanic but only for tasks which are not necessarily "skill dependent". Examples include:

• achieve a total b2b of x
• perform x TSDs
• perform x TSTs
• achieve an x combo or greater y times
  ^yes I know these are technically skill dependent but I meant that as in "only the top 1% of players will be able to get this skin", unless the customisation option in question is intended to be a super rare one.
  However, gaining these parts should not be random (in terms of "of which skin or scheme it is a component of") and the reward(s) of each mission should be clearly labeled to avoid confusion or players feeling cheated by the system. If a player fails to complete all the missions to obtain the full set, they should be able to "cash in" these rewards for the igc or keep them for when the skin becomes available to earn again.