exolab

There are size-limits on ads. Actually there have always (read: for the last 10+ years) been limits. Also, ad servers are usually rigorously tested with regards to performance, speed etc.

Not all sites enforce these limits, but major publishers are very aware of users' interests.

The problem is that if you visit an average website, there will probably be 20+ servers involved in serving the page, the javascripts, analytics, ads, etc.

One of those systems occasionally underperforms, which would not be a problem if everything but the main content was simply loaded asynchronously, possibly in the order of importance a website owner attaches to each content type.

The quality of targeting differs greatly depending on

a) the technology used b) how much exposure you have to technology that can capture your interests (or your socio-demographic profile etc.)

If you use Gmail you will find that their ads are usually quite a good match for your interests, because the amount of exposure with Google is huge for the average user, and because they can use semantic contextualization on your mails...

And now, after lv. 3, I think I understand your approach. IMHO you should explain that buying for cash is an alternative for the lazy. Still I think that if you go down the IAP road, you should only ever charge for additional content (e.g. the next 50 levels), and not for power ups for the game.

Just my 2 cents (sorry, couldn't help it).

And then I get the vanilla sword for free after lv.2? Dude, you are confusing me. What would have happened if I had bought that sword after lv. 1?

I bought the game to see how you implemented that. The game is 99 cents. Before the second(!) level, I am asked to buy a blade. Turns out

a) I have to buy money to buy a blade (WTF?! Either you charge for the game or the in-app purchases) b) I cannot close the buying menu without buying anything c) It is completely unclear to me how the practice blade is different from a "real" blade

You talk about how you detect players' intentions. My intention was to buy a game for 99 cents. Not for 10 bucks.

Seriously...

I know how you feel. I invested a lot of time in a game that just isn't selling. Nor is the free version. I mean what is wrong with free games? :)

I think sometimes we just fail to see that our games are really crap. I totally fell in love with the idea of a real-time multiplayer quiz for the iPhone. But nobody else did.

[EDIT]I am not saying your game is no good. I haven't really played it. More of a general comment on how we may not fairly judge our own work[/EDIT]