
Show HN: Dark Patterns in Game Design - offsky
https://www.darkpattern.games/
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offsky
When I found myself becoming addicted to games that I didn't enjoy playing, I
started to do some research about dark patterns in game design, particularly
free-to-play mobile games that abuse the in-app purchase mechanic. I
personally want to create (and play) healthy games that are actually fun and
not just exploiting my neurochemistry.

That's why I created DarkPattern.Games, to share this research so other people
can learn to avoid these dark patterns in games that they create or play. The
site explains all the dark patterns that I have found and allows people to
find and rate mobile games based on how aggressively they use these patterns.

I'm not saying that any game that uses a dark pattern is bad. It's clearly
subjective and depends on the intent of the developer and other factors; I
tried to convey this on the site.

I still have a lot to learn, so I'm looking for feedback on how to make the
site a better resource for improving the healthiness of games. What do people
here think about dark patterns in games?

~~~
yummypaint
Thank you for making this site. I think its important that people think more
deliberately about the kinds of game mechanics they find fulfilling. I would
point out that what may be a dark pattern for one player could be a desirable
feature for another. For example customization can be used to exploit the sunk
cost fallacy to the detriment of casual players, but others might consider
that investment to be a good part of the gameplay as with some rpgs. It might
be useful if people could express the magnitude of effect a pattern has on the
game with some kind of numerical score. That would open up the possibility of
eye catching data visualizations.

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throwaway156503
I can appreciate the effort expended on compiling such a great wealth of
information, but the execution needs work. This site would essentially label
all RPG games as dark games, and anything board game-like as healthy.

Further, I don't think there's anything dark about games being addictive. They
should be, otherwise they're boring. If you obtain no dopamine kick from
playing a game, you're doing chores. When addiction becomes something that is
taken advantage of, then it's a dark pattern.

Maybe that's actually correct, but frankly I find it plainly wrong. So, I
agree with what you have to say. It's clearly subjective-in your words-but
this seems egregiously conservative.

~~~
xiaoxiae
> I don't think there's anything dark about games being addictive. They should
> be, otherwise they're boring.

I don't think that's the case at all, since you'd be playing the game because
you're addicted, not because you're having fun.

Why couldn't you enjoy a game without being addicted to it?

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milkytron
Cool site! Good write ups.

I think I discovered a very subtle dark pattern in one of my favorite games of
all time... Rocket League.

I don't care for the loot boxes and aesthetics or anything like that. It's
actually a very simple game of car soccer.

But the music seems to have some subliminal messages that must be intentional.

Some of the lyrics I've noticed this with:

"I've been putting in the hours, hours, hours..." because people put lots of
time into this game. "Playing with the boys" obviously hits with the target
audience of the game to play with their friends. "Don't pause, press play,
don't pause, press play, press play, press play, press play."

Maybe it's not subliminal, but sometimes I get in the zone and then I hear
these songs and I think to myself that I'm falling victim to their song
choices.

