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Do you need computer vision to tell a have is running? Do you need an app to prevent you paying games? Did you start a for-profit tech company just to "help" pe

by Y_Y 9y ago

Do you need computer vision to tell a have is running? Do you need an app to prevent you paying games? Did you start a for-profit tech company just to "help" people?

foxbarrington 9y ago
The computer vision is not to detect if the game application is running, it's to detect if the game application is running and the user is in the middle of a "match". In other words, if the application can be shut down without negatively impacting the player's stats or team members. I don't think that whether or not someone "needs" an app for self-control is the question. It's whether or not outsourcing that self-control is useful. I've seen many comments from people who get benefit from blocking HN, reddit, and FB for specified periods of time.
hanrelan 9y ago
We don't need blob detection to tell us the game is running, but one of the core features of Temper is that it doesn't block you while you're in the middle of the game. To do that, we need to know when the game ends which we do by capturing the game screen and detecting when UI elements corresponding to the end of the game show up. Definitely not all gamers needs an app like Temper, but we have noticed a fair number of people (including ourselves) benefit from the additional nudge to not play that extra game or two and go to bed instead. To your last question - we do think that we can both be for-profit and build an app to help people. One similar model that we often think of is apps like MyFitnessPal - a tech company built to help people lose weight. All good questions, thanks!
smt88 9y ago
> "Do you need an app to prevent you p[l]aying games?" This is like asking if people need drugs/therapy/whatever to prevent them from smoking cigarettes. Games are addictive when designed innocently, and many modern games are designed to create addiction. Loot boxes are possibly the most visible example right now. > "Did you start a for-profit tech company just to 'help' people?" Helping and charging people are not mutually exclusive. I'm certainly not a hard-core capitalist, but I do know many people whose passion is to help others and the rate that they charge is to allow them to have good quality of life at the same time.

by Y_Y 9y ago

Do you need computer vision to tell a have is running? Do you need an app to prevent you paying games? Did you start a for-profit tech company just to "help" people?

foxbarrington 9y ago

The computer vision is not to detect if the game application is running, it's to detect if the game application is running and the user is in the middle of a "match". In other words, if the application can be shut down without negatively impacting the player's stats or team members. I don't think that whether or not someone "needs" an app for self-control is the question. It's whether or not outsourcing that self-control is useful. I've seen many comments from people who get benefit from blocking HN, reddit, and FB for specified periods of time.

hanrelan 9y ago

We don't need blob detection to tell us the game is running, but one of the core features of Temper is that it doesn't block you while you're in the middle of the game. To do that, we need to know when the game ends which we do by capturing the game screen and detecting when UI elements corresponding to the end of the game show up. Definitely not all gamers needs an app like Temper, but we have noticed a fair number of people (including ourselves) benefit from the additional nudge to not play that extra game or two and go to bed instead. To your last question - we do think that we can both be for-profit and build an app to help people. One similar model that we often think of is apps like MyFitnessPal - a tech company built to help people lose weight. All good questions, thanks!

smt88 9y ago

> "Do you need an app to prevent you p[l]aying games?" This is like asking if people need drugs/therapy/whatever to prevent them from smoking cigarettes. Games are addictive when designed innocently, and many modern games are designed to create addiction. Loot boxes are possibly the most visible example right now. > "Did you start a for-profit tech company just to 'help' people?" Helping and charging people are not mutually exclusive. I'm certainly not a hard-core capitalist, but I do know many people whose passion is to help others and the rate that they charge is to allow them to have good quality of life at the same time.