Cracked.com - 5 Creepy Ways Video Games are Trying to get you addicted

[Chaos]

http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html

Just finished reading this.  Interesting bit of psychology.

Thoughts?

[Seifer]

"This is the big one. When you level up in WoW a goddamned plume of golden light shoots out of your body.
How much harder would we work at the office if we got this, and could measure our progress toward it? And if the light shot from our crotch?"

[ARTgames]

Nothing here that's new to any one. But i will say #4 is true to me. I think something they missed was exaggerating and giving instant feedback of when you accomplish something. Its like virtual Cheer leaders to keep you playing longer.

[Lucifer]

Haha, I was actually thinking about exactly this the other day. That's the funny thing, ain't it? We all know what they're doing, and we beg for more.

Now excuse me while collect head shots in CoD4 to put pretty colors on my weapons...

*Edit*
I swear Meiun wrote this. Stick Online is nothing BUT rats in a cage. Many people play games because of the nice graphics and cool effects, Stick Online has none of those (comparatively, I think they're sexy.), all it has is the addiction, the lever and the pellets. Will that bandit drop a Short Sword? Will a BBB spawn? Is that SG going to give me a legendary sand sword!? The entire point of a random spawn and loot system is to keep them at it, provide enough chance that they don't loose confidence as they see others around them getting what they want, and a low enough chance so that they never get it. Will they stop? Eventually, but I'll tell you most people who stopped playing Stick Online were level 99/100 and/or had most if not all of the items at the time they quit.

Virtual Crack.

[Lingus]

I completely agree with this. I was addicted to several MMOs and no longer play them. It upsets me that they specifically design the game so that people like me will become addicted, and that people who don't have quite as addictive a personality will continue to spend money. As they mentioned, it's like the tobacco industry.

I swear Meiun wrote this. Stick Online is nothing BUT rats in a cage. Many people play games because of the nice graphics and cool effects, Stick Online has none of those (comparatively, I think they're sexy.), all it has is the addiction, the lever and the pellets. Will that bandit drop a Short Sword? Will a BBB spawn? Is that SG going to give me a legendary sand sword!? The entire point of a random spawn and loot system is to keep them at it, provide enough chance that they don't loose confidence as they see others around them getting what they want, and a low enough chance so that they never get it. Will they stop? Eventually, but I'll tell you most people who stopped playing Stick Online were level 99/100 and/or had most if not all of the items at the time they quit.

Virtual Crack.

I think you're right, but there's certain aspects that don't quite fit with the model. For instance, as you mentioned, higher level items are nearly impossible to acquire. This is something that would eventually stop people from wanting to play. There would have to be a much more long term scaling of rewards. As it is, there's a very big drop off point once you get all of the mid level items and reach level cap. But of course, that's understandable as the game is not fully developed.

What is great is games that are like MMORPGs, but don't rely on the grinding aspect to keep people interested. For instance, Guild Wars is designed to focus on the PvP aspect of the game. The level cap is very low, so you can start a character and reach that cap relatively easily and start playing PvP. In addition, you can also start a character at the level cap and skip right to the PvP. I should add that Guild Wars is not a monthly subscription, so there's probably reasons for them using a different method. As well, there's plenty of "item hoarding" you can do so that certainly draws people in.

I guess the point is that SO would be far better suited for that kind of gameplay. Much more focus on PvP and/or clan v clan instead of exp/item grinding.

[Jackabomb]

This is downright frightening.

[EpicPhailure]

I laughed at the last bit with Erepublik. I played that game.

[Cactuscat222]

Even if its true, I'm sure as hell having fun. And that is exactly what I want.

[Lingus]

Even if its true, I'm sure as hell having fun. And that is exactly what I want.

That's not what the article is about though. They're talking about game developers getting people to continue playing the game even after they are no longer having fun. Basically the whole "grinding" of most MMOs. People play for hours and hours doing the same repetitive tasks over and over and over, and they are definitely not have what most people would refer to as fun. They may be feeling some sense of accomplishment, which is exactly how the developers designed the game, but they aren't having fun.

Now, if you actually have fun grinding, then that's a whole different subject. You clearly have issues.

[stick d00d]

Wow, this is pretty scary, it is all very damn true too... also-

Haha, I was actually thinking about exactly this the other day. That's the funny thing, ain't it? We all know what they're doing, and we beg for more.

Now excuse me while collect head shots in CoD4 to put pretty colors on my weapons...

*Edit*
I swear Meiun wrote this. Stick Online is nothing BUT rats in a cage. Many people play games because of the nice graphics and cool effects, Stick Online has none of those (comparatively, I think they're sexy.), all it has is the addiction, the lever and the pellets. Will that bandit drop a Short Sword? Will a BBB spawn? Is that SG going to give me a legendary sand sword!? The entire point of a random spawn and loot system is to keep them at it, provide enough chance that they don't loose confidence as they see others around them getting what they want, and a low enough chance so that they never get it. Will they stop? Eventually, but I'll tell you most people who stopped playing Stick Online were level 99/100 and/or had most if not all of the items at the time they quit.

Virtual Crack.

That is so true...

[Cactuscat222]

Even if its true, I'm sure as hell having fun. And that is exactly what I want.

That's not what the article is about though. They're talking about game developers getting people to continue playing the game even after they are no longer having fun. Basically the whole "grinding" of most MMOs. People play for hours and hours doing the same repetitive tasks over and over and over, and they are definitely not have what most people would refer to as fun. They may be feeling some sense of accomplishment, which is exactly how the developers designed the game, but they aren't having fun.

Now, if you actually have fun grinding, then that's a whole different subject. You clearly have issues.

It depends on if the grinding is fun, not if you are having fun grinding!

But I suppose by definition, "grinding" implies something that isn't fun. But think if you could replace the grinding with fun grinding. That'd be amazing.

I mean, I don't like grinding much, but occasionally I don't mind blasting away at mobs for a good long while.

[Lingus]

Yea, the goal of the developer is to make you think you're having fun even though you're doing the same thing over and over again. By definition, I think, something you do over and over again is not fun. That's called tedious. No matter what the action is, if you repeat it enough it becomes tedious. Same concept behind people who choose not to do something they enjoy as their day job. Eventually they would no longer enjoy it. But, the other side of grinding is that you inevitably get rewards from it. It's the rewards that make you happy. Not the grinding itself.

[Cactuscat222]

Yea, the goal of the developer is to make you think you're having fun even though you're doing the same thing over and over again. By definition, I think, something you do over and over again is not fun. That's called tedious. No matter what the action is, if you repeat it enough it becomes tedious. Same concept behind people who choose not to do something they enjoy as their day job. Eventually they would no longer enjoy it. But, the other side of grinding is that you inevitably get rewards from it. It's the rewards that make you happy. Not the grinding itself.

Are you saying sex becomes not fun after the 10th time or something? Oh lord! XD

But maybe you consider sex a reward... haha.

[stick d00d]

This was a great article... it reminds me of how sad it was when I played Runescape for hours on end, pathetic... It took me a long time to get out of this addiction, and Im damn sure glad I finally did. Also read this if you have the time, it's a real eye-opener for all you MMO addicts out there... Link: http://kotaku.com/5384643/i-kept-playing--the-costs-of-my-gaming-addiction

[Chaos]

This was a great article... it reminds me of how sad it was when I played Runescape for hours on end, pathetic... It took me a long time to get out of this addiction, and Im damn sure glad I finally did. Also read this if you have the time, it's a real eye-opener for all you MMO addicts out there... Link: http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html

Uh, I think most of the people in this topic already READ that article, since it's the one the entire topic is about... o.O