
Show HN: I made a platform for free-to-play games - ldobreira
https://www.freetogame.com
======
raspyberr
Unfortunately not for me. Cloudflare + Google in the site. Have to make an
account for "free" games. "score free premium loot, earn ranks, unlock
exclusive rewards" uhh.... why gamify the system?

About: We built FreeToGame to create an ecosystem that brings all the best
Free-to-Play Games and MMO Games into one place . Our vision is to create the
most exciting and rewarding gaming experience by breaking the inflexible
concept of digital storefronts. You get more value... and it's all still
completely free.

>brings all the best Free-to-Play Games and MMO Games into one place

So a list?

>while rewarding gamers with free premium in-game loot, special offers and
exclusive perks

I don't need a list to do that to me.

>by breaking the inflexible concept of digital storefronts

How has this done that?

>You get more value...

Is the value the collection in one place? Or is it the little treats to hand
out.

I'm not really sure what this is for. I reckon about 100% of those games
require an account first. So this account is just for your "exclusive
rewards".

~~~
ldobreira
Please note you still can use the site without the need to create an
account... But the account unlocks more features like for example special
offers:
[https://www.freetogame.com/giveaways](https://www.freetogame.com/giveaways)

~~~
sm4rk0
I can't use it because "Play now" links lead to server.cpmstar.com ("real-time
bidding advertising platform and monetization solution leveraging machine
learning and code generation") which is blocked by Blokada - the
software/service I trust.

~~~
ldobreira
Please read the FAQ at
[https://www.freetogame.com/faq](https://www.freetogame.com/faq)

~~~
sm4rk0
Thanks for replying. I read it but I couldn't find a solution to my problem -
"advertising", "monetization", "machine learning" evil standing between me and
free games.

Edit: Now I see that _some_ "Play now" links are leading directly to the
game's website.

------
agscala
I would like to be able to filter out games with in app purchases. Or more
specifically, in app purchases that impact gameplay.

I don't mind cosmetics but whenever someone spending money has an advantage, I
don't want to touch that game.

~~~
jfkebwjsbx
Please keep in mind that games without gameplay-enhancing in app purchases
want you addicted as much as possible.

The reason is that they profit with the ones that pay a lot, and those players
only stay if there are many others that play too.

Then there are the ones that put advertising inside the games as an
alternative way of making money. Same thing...

Games that have no in app purchases of any kind and no DLCs either are the
best, because they have designed the game _without_ profit being a factor in
gameplay.

~~~
watwut
That does not make them different then any other online games. Trying to be
addictive is current trend no matter what monetization model.

The only games that don't need to be addictive are single player one time
payment games. And those are very limited in terms of who they attract.

------
nottorp
I can use it as a list of games to avoid?

I’m too poor to afford free games.

~~~
watwut
You can actually play free games, have fun and never pay.

Steam discounts are much more expensive.

~~~
cy_hauser
> You can actually play free games, have fun and never pay.

But it will never be as fun as it could be if there were no in-app purchases
and no ads. That always sits in the back of my mind and prevents me from even
trying a game with in-app purchases.

~~~
watwut
It is not true. A while ago I moved to free to play games, because pay in
advance games were either disappointment or not for me at all. Pay in advance
meant that I am paying too much for games that turns up not as advertised, I
end up not liking, end up hating or cant possibly continue playing with time
limitations I had.

------
huhtenberg
Yep, as others said - no way to get to the actual game without going through
3rd party trackers.

And that's without getting into the actual idea of promoting the worst type of
games possible. F2P is an plague.

I can only guess that the commission on all these referral links pays well
enough to not bother with any ethics.

~~~
NoPicklez
Free to play is not all a plague.

A significant chunk of the world's largest games right now are free to play.

As an example, I can play Fortnite with my friends on other platforms for
free. That's impressive.

~~~
huhtenberg
Yeah, not all. But OP's site is packed with "traditional" F2P games that sell
expendable resources to negate the effects of artificial progress delays or
generally subpar free playing experience. No pain points = no sales. So the
gameplay is rigged or screwed to create said points where none needed.

Fortnite is an exception. It pioneered the model of selling cosmetic and
vanity items that have no direct effect on the gameplay. Good on them.

Similarly, New Destiny 2 is a repackaged shareware model - a demo for free
with the full game for $. Again, it's a fair arrangement.

Not so with the pay-to-dominate and pay-to-accelerate games that OP's site is
peddling.

~~~
watwut
That means they are not for you. Games for people that are not you are not
plague.

~~~
huhtenberg
These games are exploitative and unethical by design, but, yes, you are right
there are people who play them.

~~~
watwut
They are however not the kind of games that makes people addicted, sleep
deprived, getting in trouble in school or neglect family. The games that have
worst consequences on people who don't manage them well are not free to play
category. They tend to be big online games.

------
llagerlof
Nice! I have some suggestions.

\- Allow search games by name, description and tags.

\- Filter by game genre would be nice.

\- Add a section to show paid games that are being sold by 0 money. Like the
free games of the week from Epic Games. When the game is no more free, it can
be removed from the site.

\- Allow users to suggest games (this can even help you).

~~~
ldobreira
llagerlof you can already select the genre/tag at
[https://www.freetogame.com/games](https://www.freetogame.com/games)

Thank you for your suggestions :)

~~~
llagerlof
Oops, now I found it. I briefly checked this page but didn't immediately saw
the filters. Maybe put them on top, below de navigation bar, above the "Best
Free to Play Games for PC and Browser in 2020!" section?

Thank you!

------
kelvin0
I applaud your efforts, but the selection of games I see (at first glance to
be honest) does not seem to appeal to me.

Is it a coincidence the first games I see are all 'scantily-clad-chesty-
wizard-princesses' themed games?

Wishing you all the luck, it's a nice platform!

~~~
ldobreira
Thanks kelvin0 :)

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drusepth
This looks really awesome. Great design, loads super fast, and has a ton of
good information.

Where are you getting reviews from? Some of them are many weeks ago; did you
source them from somewhere or are these all from people using the platform
already?

~~~
ldobreira
Thanks :) Most reviews are from current users, but there is some old reviews
that I moved from my old blog.

------
dimitar
Nice! Really pleasant interface.

However, everything returns MMOs and Strategy returns RPGs for some reason.
Steam does this as well and I think if filtering is fixed it can really set
the site apart.

~~~
ldobreira
Thanks for the feedback. Can you send me the link with the issue? Please note
some RPGs have strategy elements...

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thih9
I entered hoping I could filter the list. I wanted to find browser based games
that don't require third party account creation (or any other account
creation). I couldn't figure out how to do it, so I left.

If filtering is possible, please make that more visible in the UI (assuming
you want to target users like me).

~~~
ldobreira
Thank you for your suggestion :)

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abrookewood
Congrats on the launch! Although these are games I wouldn't normally play, the
site looks very professional and stylish. Well done.

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tech-historian
Nicely done. Clean and fast.

~~~
ldobreira
I'm glad you like it :)

