Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Social games are "evil"

There is interesting article at gameindustry.biz and PCgamer where Jonathan Blow chats about the evil minded game companies like Zynga etc. And I agree with him.
I think it also shows part of reasons why I stopped playing WoW sometime ago.

So here's what usual evil designer thinks:


'My goal is to get people to think about my game and to put more money into my game and get other friends to play my game to the exclusion of all other games and all other things that they might do with their free time.' 

That is the job description of those designers. And that's evil. It's not about giving people anything. It's about taking from people.

PC Gamer: Do you blame the player? I mean, is it the player’s fault for getting involved? Even if they don’t realise they’re being harmed?

But the thing about these games though is they’re made to look really light and friendly or whatever. So it’s very difficult especially for someone to think about games and how their design affects the world – which is most people in the world, they don’t think about that, right?
It’s very difficult for them to see how this could possibly be detrimental in any way. They’re just like, “Oh, I’m clicking on the items, I’m having fun”. You know, whatever.
Lähettänyt Noock klo 8:50 AM
Tunnisteet:

27 comments:

  1. NoMoreJediMarch 2, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    This was very eye-opening. You bring up alot of valid arguments. I look forward to reading more about these kinds of things. +1 follower.

    ReplyDelete
  2. baxxmanMarch 2, 2011 at 9:13 AM

    Like the pic :-)
    http://baxxmans.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. DocStoutMarch 2, 2011 at 9:44 AM

    Not sure I agree that being motivated by profit is inherently evil, but certainly, "social" games are habit forming/addictive by design. That aspect could certainly be called evil.

    ReplyDelete
  4. PietjeMarch 2, 2011 at 11:04 AM

    idk what to say about this.

    Good post, followed!

    ReplyDelete
  5. InnovationsMarch 2, 2011 at 11:32 AM

    I want that bag of money!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pappa PüllïMarch 2, 2011 at 11:40 AM

    Well done, you are absolutly right. Thanks for keeping it straight.

    ReplyDelete
  7. BernTMarch 2, 2011 at 11:42 AM

    Social games can be really bad if you don't know your limits, the world is so f*cked up sometimes it's normal to want to escape

    ReplyDelete
  8. muckyourselfMarch 2, 2011 at 11:53 AM

    everyone just want to make money, so do the developers. can u realy blame them ?

    ReplyDelete
  9. LiMarch 2, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    Good post! Very thought provoking!

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousMarch 2, 2011 at 12:16 PM

    Sure, that's the brain of a designer! Who doesn't think that way is pretty wrong. Everyone just wanna get rich.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousMarch 2, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    I am antisocial so yea.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousMarch 2, 2011 at 12:36 PM

    I stopped playing WOW 2 years ago and have never looked back since.

    ReplyDelete
  13. NaturalscienceblogMarch 2, 2011 at 1:08 PM

    I agree with your comments about this.

    Maybe thats why Minecraft has been a huge success, due to that it focus on fun and not eating the players life.

    ReplyDelete
  14. NaturalscienceblogMarch 2, 2011 at 1:10 PM

    Oppss... I forgot, Minecraft is not a social game, but I hope you get the point.

    ReplyDelete
  15. NoockMarch 2, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    @Naturalscienceblog
    Yes that is good point.
    I think lots of indie games are much more caring about the player, as it's nice way to gain good reputation etc.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ilya311March 2, 2011 at 1:35 PM

    This is a good post. Very true

    ReplyDelete
  17. brugMarch 2, 2011 at 1:42 PM

    Good blog mate, following :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. FreekMarch 2, 2011 at 1:51 PM

    There's an actual science behind making a game addicting. It all boils down to giving the player an artificial feeling of being rewarded. The work becomes pleasurable, and the loot becomes very very real.

    ReplyDelete
  19. SKS FKFMarch 2, 2011 at 1:53 PM

    The ding sound when you complete a quest or level up is like the bell for Pavlov's dog. This is especially evil with monthly fee games. That's why I prefer GuildWars.

    ReplyDelete
  20. PauliMarch 2, 2011 at 2:08 PM

    Great post! I will follow you!

    ReplyDelete
  21. UnknownMarch 2, 2011 at 2:24 PM

    OH lord, Zynga games. I've had to block every single one on facebook because the spam became unbearable. I have little interest in those unfun, complete wastes of time.

    ReplyDelete
  22. ryanthedirtpoorbloggerMarch 2, 2011 at 3:43 PM

    ZYNGAcoughcoughcough

    ReplyDelete
  23. HarvengerMarch 2, 2011 at 6:44 PM

    Zynga = fail.

    ReplyDelete
  24. SpikeMarch 3, 2011 at 3:03 AM

    thanks for the share man

    ReplyDelete
  25. MeMarch 3, 2011 at 3:08 AM

    this is very scary

    and i don't play these games

    and i pitty those who spend real money on them

    ReplyDelete
  26. AnonymousMarch 3, 2011 at 4:52 AM

    Should I release my game? In-house purchases are not a bad thing - It allows for expansion! NoiseDiary

    ReplyDelete
  27. VoitMarch 4, 2011 at 4:00 AM

    This is an all-time trend of going for the easier. With games it first was the decline from pc towards game systems because they were easier, cheaper and more social. Now it's the same with crappy half-games like zynga's - again, they're easier, cheaper and more social.

    On the other hand, I presume that most people playing fb games are ones who didn't play any games before.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)