Pay To Lose

In my opinion, pay to win games are in reality pay to lose. And what you're losing is a proper game experience.

Well, the reality is, allowing players to pay for an unfair advantage over those who do not pay to play your game, makes money. And we're all about making money right, regardless of how it jeopardizes the integrity of our game? I don't think that's what indies are all about...

I prefer games that are free-to-play, without pay walls (can't progress in the game without spending money), and without any pay-to-win (spend money to have an advantage over other players).

I think you lose as a developer when you treat your player base like children, and I find pay to win does that, at least in a competitive player-vs-player situation. It shows a lack of creativity in how you monetize your game, and ruins what could be a fair, competitive experience. 

Ever play "APB: Reloaded"? Great game, but extremely pay-to-win. It created an environment where you'd want to stop playing the game because another player had dropped $50 for a grenade launcher that obliterated everyone. Sure..it WAS possible to kill them, but WAY harder to do so. And honestly, the experience was ruined.

Similarly it's why I stopped playing Hearthstone. Better cards were better, and you could pay (a lot) to get better cards, or spend an eternity playing for gold, buying booster packs and MAYBE getting good cards. No thanks, I'm not into gambling with my money.

As soon as players think someone has an unfair advantage mechanically (as in, the game itself gave the advantage, not the player's personal skill) they stop having fun, and start resenting the game. It feels like the other player is cheating. And the only way for me to win is to cheat also. 

Personally I hate cheat codes or anything that undermines the intended experience of a game. It's also why I dislike "booster" packs in games. I can pay to get insane XP boosts and breeze through the game. Why do I want to breeze through the game? Don't I want to PLAY it and be challenged? Or did you not design your game to have a fun leveling experience and I need to pay to bypass the torturous grind and get to the actual fun?

But there are plenty of people out there who like to cheat. I'll save that psycho analysis for another day though. 

I don't really mind if developers include cheats in their cash shops. It's the players' choice to purchase it. But, as I stated earlier, I do mind if they include purchase options that give you an unfair advantage over others. 

So for you game devs out there, treat your players with respect. Don't give them any mechanical advantages over their peers, let their skill decide how well they fair. Design your content so that they don't want to skip it.

That's my plea anyway.