The ABCs latest Four Cornersreportis an investigation into how video games are deliberately designed to get people hooked.
The Four Corners program asks, are you being played?
Image via via ABC 4 Corners program
How do game companies use data?
Video game production is increasingly supported by collecting large amounts of player data.
Game developers use this data to optimize game design and, perhaps more commonly, how games are monetized.
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Today data analytics are relatively cheap, accessible tools aimed at bothbigand smallindependentdevelopers.
This could include players geographic location, their machine and operating system and their spending habits.
GameAnalytics interface tracking a games new users over time.
These tools are framed as allowing both large and smaller developers to create conditions which increase player spending.
Whats the data on the data?
Are you being manipulated?
The recent Four Corners report frames the gaming industry as a largely manipulative one.
It attacks the industrys calculated pricing strategies, which can affect how we value in-game purchases.
But these same strategies are also widely used in therestaurant industry.
Even supermarkets are designed socustomers spend as much time as possibleinside.
Yet, we dont think of these subtle techniques as completely robbing us of our agency.
So why does the gaming industry draw so much criticism?
Are there solutions?
A virtual outfit can still help someone express their identity.
Although, the way some games target whales toencourage unlimited spendingis a source of genuine concern.
When it comes to monetizing responsibly, game platforms and developers both have a role to play.
The solution may be to introduce spending limits, which research has found helps gamblers avoidproblem gambling.
Speaking tothe Four Corners team, one psychiatrist frames gameplay through language such as detox and relapse.
Children have theright to playand thisextends to the digital world.
