Slashdot Mirror
Videogame Developers Are Making It Harder To Stop Playing (wsj.com)
Videogames have gotten harder to turn off, mental-health experts and parents say, raising concerns about the impact of seemingly endless gaming sessions on players' lives. From a report: Game developers for years have tweaked the dials not only on how games look and sound but how they operate under the hood, and such changes have made videogames more pervasive and enthralling, industry observers say. The World Health Organization in June added "gaming disorder" to an updated version of its International Classification of Diseases, warning about a condition in which people give up interests and activities to overly indulge in gaming despite negative consequences. It is expected to be formally classified in January 2022.
Many games today are free, available on multiple devices, and double as social networks. Where once games were played and put away for a while, now game companies are routinely delivering new content aimed at keeping players constantly engaged. Some new content is available only for a limited time, a maneuver that tugs at people's fears of missing out, psychologists say. "Videogames are engineered specifically to keep people playing," said Douglas A. Gentile, a research scientist focused on the impact of media on children and adults. "They're designed to hit the pleasure centers of the brain in some of the same ways that gambling can."
Many games today are free, available on multiple devices, and double as social networks. Where once games were played and put away for a while, now game companies are routinely delivering new content aimed at keeping players constantly engaged. Some new content is available only for a limited time, a maneuver that tugs at people's fears of missing out, psychologists say. "Videogames are engineered specifically to keep people playing," said Douglas A. Gentile, a research scientist focused on the impact of media on children and adults. "They're designed to hit the pleasure centers of the brain in some of the same ways that gambling can."
We could still be plugging quarters into the machine.
When my kids were born, I stopped playing and never went back. I would play for hours and feel empty afterwards. That was before pay to play I could see where it was all heading. Instead I started to work on development side projects (when not spending time with my family), and now I have a resume a mile long.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
It is in the interest of every business model to get more customers, and to get current customers to use the company's products more frequently.
It is in the interest of society to regulate business, through government interference, when it is determined the business promotion is to the detriment of the current societal belief set; but damn, everything's not a disease.
Gaming Disorder.?.? Just, wow. It's not your fault, you poor addict.
There are certain groups that are really angry that young men are choosing to enjoy video games rather than go out in the world, get married, have children, and participate in society in the way they demand.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
It is society that is making it hard for game players to stop playing. As a long time player let me explain why.
I hate games that use RNG as a difficulty crutch (some rouge likes), gambler logic (loot boxes), and Feed and Starve (candy crush/pay for lives/continues) to hook me. Why ? because it makes me angry when playing their games because I know what gambling is and how it works on the mind, but more importantly, because I am looking for MORE from my game than simple risk/reward gimmicks.
It would be interesting in a study to see if people with more developed intellectual capacity fall for these game types than people who have not cared to develop their intellectual capacities. I admit that I believe that some people are hooked on these games because they either do not care or are shallow enough to allow their time to be used in this way.
That said, I think the distinction in such a study needs to be on people that actually have some form of addiction. It does not need to be major, but enough of one where it is clear that their gaming habits are at least noticeably affecting their work/friend/love/life balances.
People who play these games just to pass the time as they move from moment to moment in life should not be considered, regardless of the types of games they play. They are clearly immune or are able to see these gimmicks for what they are.
As a gamer myself, I hate most MMO's as a never ending grindfest, mobs stand around like cattle, bosses never really die, the environments are not really changeable by the players actions, though so mmo's try to emulate this with updates. I mean nothing says it more than... go kill 10 slimes and return here. Or running the same stage over and over and over ad nauseum where one mistake can lead to disaster and angry people because game balance in MMO's always mean as a single unit you are never strong or capable. Sure teamwork is nice but if those monsters are really that strong how can the popoulations the players represent live in those worlds? O right, I forgot, bosses are immortal, over sized and never have to leave their lairs and just happen to have mobs of defender acolytes for what reason again?
I liked terraria for the exploration, world modification, and creative boss fights, though I do not think the boss fights are really balanced.
I liked factorio for its complex crafting and logic gameplay, but mobs on even the hardest configurations are pie cake to deal with and at best annoyance.
I very much appreciate games that provide at least semi plausible reasons for things going on, not just being used as plot devices or macguffins.
it is my opinion that because society is more about giving people knowledge without actually attempting to teach them "why" that knowledge if valuable, they waste it or misunderstand it leading them to become easily suckered by so many things... least of which is a game with mechanics so simple that only a simple mind can enjoy them! Or in short, shallow risk reward mechanics! People who require "deeper" and "more meaningful" experiences are busy doing something else because these games are just too shallow to hold their attention.
So can you really blame game developers for figuring out how the simple minded tick? Nope! Just give them their money, they earned it! Or rather, they earned tricking it out of their pockets!