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Freemium?

As we played Valiant Hearts - the game is free only unto a point - it becomes chargeable. And the game, engaging as it is, stops at a crucial point and says, "Want to know what happens to these heroes?".

It is as great as a pull as you can get. The game was engaging - for all of us across age groups and it was particularly interesting because everyone was involved, taking charge, guessing and working it through.

And as you might imagine - we purchased the first episode. Not sure if we will buy the rest (though they have used some really smart behavioral psychology methods) - because it depends on interest being sustained etc., but the post purchase experience has been good either. The graphics, the game, the clues, the interest - have all been flawless.

What if we did this with learning experiences? What if, we were able to give a teaser of a learning experience (of anything - online, offline, virtual - whatever the mode)? And tell the learner that if you want more, you need to do something - maybe pay, maybe perform, maybe learn...something.

Would the design of learning experiences change if we used this approach?

(And I am not talking of the free sessions organization run - those are marketing. This is something more than that. This is designing an entire learning experience based on the above approach...)

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