The Ethics of Game Experience

Hyrynsalmi, Sami; Kimppa, Kai K.; Smed, Jouni

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-37643-7_11

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…Research has also considered microtransactions more broadly, seeking to delineate what may be defned as ethically problematic, illegal, or potentially harmful to players. In terms of ethicality, researchers especially in game studies have brought a range of ethical frameworks to bear on game monetisation, including Kantian deontology [31], consequentialism [21], virtue ethics [20], and objectivist ethics [19]. While each ethical framework highlights diferent issue sets and frames them diferently, common problems raised are deception/lack of transparency about costs and rewards, impairing player self-determination through coercive or even addicting design techniques, and negative impacts on player wellbeing.…”

Section: Background 21 'Problematicness' Of Microtransactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and Salience of Problematic Microtransactions in Top-Grossing Mobile and PC Games: A Content Analysis of User Reviews

Petrovskaya¹,

Deterding²,

Zendle³

2022

Preprint

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Microtransactions have become a major monetisation model in digital games, shaping their design, impacting their player experience, and raising ethical concerns. Research in this area has chiefly focused on loot boxes. This begs the question whether other microtransactions might actually be more relevant and problematic for players. We therefore conducted a content analysis of negative player reviews (n=801) of top-grossing mobile and desktop games to determine which problematic microtransactions are most prevalent and salient for players. We found that problematic microtransactions with mobile games featuring more frequent and different techniques compared to desktop games. Across both, players minded issues related to fairness, transparency, and degraded user experience, supporting prior theoretical work, and importantly take issue with monetisation-driven design as such. We identify future research needs on why microtransactions in particular spark this critique, and which player communities it may be more or less representative of.

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Section: Background 21 'Problematicness' Of Microtransactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and Salience of Problematic Microtransactions in Top-Grossing Mobile and PC Games: A Content Analysis of User Reviews

Petrovskaya¹,

Deterding²,

Zendle³

2022

Preprint

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“…Generally, the ethical problems present in the platform are related to how it is taking away the interactor's control of their resources such as money, time, attention, social capital, mental and physical energy and security (Hyrynsalmi et al, 2020). When one uses an interactive storytelling application, one is willing to invest these resources: the interactor invests money to use the application, reserves time for experiencing the story, uses social capital to invite others to join in the platform, exerts mental and physical energy to progress in the story, and assumes to be secure in the real world whilst engaged in virtual risks in the storyworld.…”

Section: Platformmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethics of Interactive Storytelling

Hyrynsalmi

Kimppa

Smed

2021

International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology

Self Cite

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When used in its best way, interactive storytelling has the power to create unique, adaptive and unforgettable stories for an interactor. However, the same mechanisms that are able to create elements of surprise and joy can be used to construct ethically questionable and even malevolent experiences. As the creators are often held responsible for their work and their consequences, whether these are intentionally done or not, ethical consideration should be taken into account as early as possible. This chapter seeks to line out possible threats and their ethical consequences in the design and implementation of interactive stories. To approach the ethical issues at hand, we divide interactive storytelling into four key elements -designer, platform, storyworld and interactor -and review separately the ethical considerations related to them.

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“…Although microtransactions bring in large amounts of money for the industry, many developers (e.g., [3]), players (e.g., [4,5]), researchers (e.g., [6,7]), and ethicists (e.g., [8][9][10][11]) see them negatively. Microtransactions are criticised for being unethical and unfair, and for exploiting players [6] and taking away their control over gameplay.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“These People Had Taken Advantage of Me”: A Grounded Theory of Problematic Consequences of Player Interaction with Mobile Games Perceived as “Designed to Drive Spending”

Petrovskaya

Zendle

2022

Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies

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Many games which incorporate microtransactions—uncapped, repeated in-game purchases—are described by players as having had their 'dynamics designed to drive spending'. Such games are perceived by players as designed primarily to encourage spending, rather than with the improvement of the player experience in mind. However, it is unknown how playing these games affects players. We addressed the research question of “What consequences might there be of interaction with games perceived as having had their dynamics designed to drive spending?” considering adult players. We conducted semi-structured interviews and used a grounded theory method of analysis. Our findings revealed five life areas of problematic consequences: financial issues, problems at work and education due to distraction and lack of productivity, emotional consequences for self-perception, problems sleeping, and social consequences. These outcomes emerge from the interaction of players with certain vulnerability traits with these game mechanics. We discuss these findings in the context of gaming disorder and the gamblification of games.

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The Ethics of Game Experience

Cited by 5 publications

References 14 publications

Prevalence and Salience of Problematic Microtransactions in Top-Grossing Mobile and PC Games: A Content Analysis of User Reviews

Prevalence and Salience of Problematic Microtransactions in Top-Grossing Mobile and PC Games: A Content Analysis of User Reviews

Ethics of Interactive Storytelling

“These People Had Taken Advantage of Me”: A Grounded Theory of Problematic Consequences of Player Interaction with Mobile Games Perceived as “Designed to Drive Spending”

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