12 ms·
It sounds like games are simply being optimized for monetization, not for making you feel good. For example, someone discovered that 'stamina' (like arcade cre
by darkkindness 8y ago
It sounds like games are simply being optimized for monetization, not for making you feel good.
For example, someone discovered that 'stamina' (like arcade credits, but recharging over time even when you're not playing) was a great way to monetize, since people will want to open the app more and play and see ads because if you don't you're Wasting Hearts! That's leveraging frustration for sure, but it turns out frustration keeps people playing as much as fun does. And now you wonder why stamina systems are all over microtransaction-laden mobile games.
- TeMPOraL 8y agoWelcome to capitalism :). The industry didn't change, it's still on the same trajectory of optimizing for profit. Getting ahead by making games more fun, and then making them prettier, were the lower-hanging fruits. We're past those indirect methods now - at this point, more direct methods of optimizing for profit are being applied. This seems to be a pattern I see in every industry, and with every product. Whenever a market is created, things improve up to some point, and after that they degrade. I wish there was a way to stop this evolution at the peak of quality, before the decay and customer abuse takes hold.
- rwnspace 8y agoQuestion: is the absolute number of high-quality games released every year going up or down? It's blatant that the average quality has been on a downhill trend since the advent of mobile gaming. But, are many pay-to-win games also good as works of art? Or just good drugs? I have a feeling the power of contrast is at work, though I'm not really 'into' gaming enough to bring much evidence to bear.