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How soul-destroying a job must it be to develop these games? Spending all day designing software to trick more vulnerable people into giving you their money?

by zelos 9y ago

point78 9y ago
You just described probably 80% of video games and software...
- zelos 9y ago
  Certainly addictiveness is an issue for all gaming - I'm pretty sure Blizzard hired psychologists, and look at the increasing use of loot box mechanics, even in full-price console games. That said, there's a kind of distilled evil in the slot machine case. There's no gameplay to hide behind, it's just insert money, win/don't win.
yomly 9y ago
I am sure people agree with you here and there will be plenty of people who find the casino industry distasteful but I would avoid projecting your own value set onto this. For every person whose life has been ruined by gambling, there are many who are able to enjoy it responsibly. Same goes for any of the other classic vices such as tobacco or drinking, or even food. I am sure there are plenty of people who are comfortable distancing themselves with the responsibility of the impact these products have on users but take pride in their ability to improve upon the metrics that warrant success in their field. If it were so soul-destroying, no one would do the job... (unless the pay was phenomenal)
mrweasel 9y ago
>trick more vulnerable people into giving you their money I don't really have an issue with casinos as such, I'm sure it can be fun for a holiday. What I do mind is all the smaller gaming kiosks that started popping up when Denmark opened up it's gambling/betting marked (because EU required it that it not be a government monopoly). There's so many small crappy looking kiosks that now offers gambling on slot machines, but it's not people like myself that pops in on a Friday afternoon on the way home from work to spend the equivalent of $10 - $20 to relax. It's societies weakest members that banging on the door to be the first at the slots and won't leave until their asked to leave at the end of the evening. The people sitting at the slots are the people who can afford it the least. It's absolutely terrible that this is legal.

How soul-destroying a job must it be to develop these games? Spending all day designing software to trick more vulnerable people into giving you their money?

by zelos 9y ago

How soul-destroying a job must it be to develop these games? Spending all day designing software to trick more vulnerable people into giving you their money?

point78 9y ago

You just described probably 80% of video games and software...

zelos 9y ago
Certainly addictiveness is an issue for all gaming - I'm pretty sure Blizzard hired psychologists, and look at the increasing use of loot box mechanics, even in full-price console games. That said, there's a kind of distilled evil in the slot machine case. There's no gameplay to hide behind, it's just insert money, win/don't win.

yomly 9y ago

I am sure people agree with you here and there will be plenty of people who find the casino industry distasteful but I would avoid projecting your own value set onto this. For every person whose life has been ruined by gambling, there are many who are able to enjoy it responsibly. Same goes for any of the other classic vices such as tobacco or drinking, or even food. I am sure there are plenty of people who are comfortable distancing themselves with the responsibility of the impact these products have on users but take pride in their ability to improve upon the metrics that warrant success in their field. If it were so soul-destroying, no one would do the job... (unless the pay was phenomenal)

mrweasel 9y ago

>trick more vulnerable people into giving you their money I don't really have an issue with casinos as such, I'm sure it can be fun for a holiday. What I do mind is all the smaller gaming kiosks that started popping up when Denmark opened up it's gambling/betting marked (because EU required it that it not be a government monopoly). There's so many small crappy looking kiosks that now offers gambling on slot machines, but it's not people like myself that pops in on a Friday afternoon on the way home from work to spend the equivalent of $10 - $20 to relax. It's societies weakest members that banging on the door to be the first at the slots and won't leave until their asked to leave at the end of the evening. The people sitting at the slots are the people who can afford it the least. It's absolutely terrible that this is legal.