Looking at VIP, let's skip the perks table for now.
Discounts, boosts, gift packs, extra attempts—these things are definitely useful, but they feel more like sales pitches than structural solutions. What really concerns me is whether those who bought in and those who didn’t will truly end up living in two different worlds after some time.
That’s the key.
If there’s no difference, then it’s just a monthly subscription.
If the differences gradually widen, then it starts to resemble a hierarchy.
Chain games have a persistent issue: everyone ends up playing the same role. Everyone farms, sells, and leaves together, resulting in a lack of individual positioning. The system might seem lively on the surface, but it’s pretty flat underneath. While the income here might not be bad, it fails to retain those who genuinely want to dive deeper because it doesn't provide a clear sense of 'moving up a level'.
In the end, when I evaluate this VIP system, I don't first look at how cheap it is, but rather whether it can filter out a more stable group of people. Higher privileges, deeper participation, rarer opportunities, identities that are harder to replicate—once these elements start to really differentiate, $PIXEL won't just be a payment medium, but like a key to a door.
The hardest part of this type of design isn't the fees.
It's all about positioning.
If the positioning is fake, players will quickly catch on. They'll realize that the so-called upper tiers are just saving a few bucks with some coupons, ultimately still looking at the same things and doing the same stuff. So that's still retail, not tiered.
But if the positioning really changes, the whole system's vibe will shift as well. The project won't just be a place for everyone to casually cash in; it will slowly develop stable, active, and deep layers. Once layers emerge, many behaviors will be rewritten, and repurchases and reinvestments will start to have clearer targets.
So I won't see VIP as just leftover scraps.
It's actually addressing a big question: Can Pixels thicken the player structure?
If it thickens, the $PIXEL position will increasingly resemble the cost of an uptrend.
If it doesn't thicken, it's just a fancier package of cheap goods.