5 ms·

WoW is ethically worse than, say, Mario, but better than a slot machine, which is in turn better than everything from Zynga.

by pi18n 14y ago

jetti 14y ago
How are ethics involved in WoW? (Sincere question)
- pi18n 14y ago
  Oh, I mean in the sense that it is manipulating players into continuing, I think it's ethically questionable.
  - jetti 14y ago
    See, as somebody who was addicted to the game for a few years during college, I don't see how it is manipulating anybody? The game is fun and it has a lot of content and they keep adding content. It was MY lack of self control that led to me playing the long hours I did, it had NOTHING to do with Blizzards "manipulation". Blizzard is in the business of making money through making games. It is in their interest to keep users playing month to month because of their recurring fee. In order to do that, they need to keep the game fresh so they introduce a lot of content. People want to play this new content so they keep playing.
    - pyre 14y ago
      The idea of manipulation in games is when they add specifically add game elements meant to keep the user in the game, and encourage them never to leave. Sure it's all a matter of self-control. Not losing your life-savings at a casino is also about self-control. That doesn't mean that casinos can't do ethically dubious things to take advantage of people without self-control. E.g. The inside of a casino always looks the same, even at night. No windows (being near the entrance is the exception), lots of bright lights. It makes it easier for a gambler to lose track of time.
- sigzero 14y ago
  If she posted "I played WoW all day and did not do any work" on the face that is a genuine ping on her work ethic. You have to look and see what kind of "work" she does though to ascertain that and other details like did she bill her time anyway.
- roc 14y ago
  Game design can quite trivially trigger obsessive and compulsive responses and progressively increase time/money commitment to the next 'hit'. (see: Zynga) Before Zynga and before free to play games were popular, MMO's like WoW were the default case study for arguments about where the line is, between a pass-time and a conditioning chamber.

WoW is ethically worse than, say, Mario, but better than a slot machine, which is in turn better than everything from Zynga.

by pi18n 14y ago

WoW is ethically worse than, say, Mario, but better than a slot machine, which is in turn better than everything from Zynga.

jetti 14y ago

How are ethics involved in WoW? (Sincere question)

pi18n 14y ago
Oh, I mean in the sense that it is manipulating players into continuing, I think it's ethically questionable.
- jetti 14y ago
  See, as somebody who was addicted to the game for a few years during college, I don't see how it is manipulating anybody? The game is fun and it has a lot of content and they keep adding content. It was MY lack of self control that led to me playing the long hours I did, it had NOTHING to do with Blizzards "manipulation". Blizzard is in the business of making money through making games. It is in their interest to keep users playing month to month because of their recurring fee. In order to do that, they need to keep the game fresh so they introduce a lot of content. People want to play this new content so they keep playing.
  - pyre 14y ago
    The idea of manipulation in games is when they add specifically add game elements meant to keep the user in the game, and encourage them never to leave. Sure it's all a matter of self-control. Not losing your life-savings at a casino is also about self-control. That doesn't mean that casinos can't do ethically dubious things to take advantage of people without self-control. E.g. The inside of a casino always looks the same, even at night. No windows (being near the entrance is the exception), lots of bright lights. It makes it easier for a gambler to lose track of time.
sigzero 14y ago
If she posted "I played WoW all day and did not do any work" on the face that is a genuine ping on her work ethic. You have to look and see what kind of "work" she does though to ascertain that and other details like did she bill her time anyway.
roc 14y ago
Game design can quite trivially trigger obsessive and compulsive responses and progressively increase time/money commitment to the next 'hit'. (see: Zynga) Before Zynga and before free to play games were popular, MMO's like WoW were the default case study for arguments about where the line is, between a pass-time and a conditioning chamber.