We are being trained like seals ...
May 16, 2016 1:18PM
edited May 2016
... and conditioned towards addiction.
Came across a very interesting post in the Star Trek Timelines forum, full thread can be found HERE. Admittedly that game has more problems than SWGOH (namely no real gameplay) but the parallels are striking nevertheless.
Came across a very interesting post in the Star Trek Timelines forum, full thread can be found HERE. Admittedly that game has more problems than SWGOH (namely no real gameplay) but the parallels are striking nevertheless.
Some people respond to forum complaints about this game with: *sneer* “Well, why do you play then? Why did you spend money if you don’t like it?” Accordingly, I thought it would be useful to talk about why I (or any Trek fan) wanted to play a Trek mobile game, was even willing to spend some money, but also became fundamentally **** off at this point. I wasn’t always so disappointed, but looking at the past four months objectively it is the only logical conclusion.
I. Things You Would Want In A Trek Game
Here are some highlights regarding what one might want or expect in a Trek-based mobile game:
Collecting Characters - Anyone who likes the franchise of course likes the idea of collecting their favorite Crew (along with whatever crew are strongest or funnest) to play with in-game. It is an immediate hook into the game.
Advancing Characters - Growing your characters abilities, even maxing them out, is a hallmark of all RPGs and many games that aren’t strictly RPGs, but instead are other gaming genres.
Collecting & Advancing Ships - Same as for Crew, really. Iconic ships that I can play with in ship battles against other iconic ships.
Playing a Game - Whether turn-based or real-time strategy, 2D platformer or RPG, we all would like to have some FUN playing with these Crew/Ships and there are some time-worn ways of doing so (it ain’t warp-core science).
Social Gaming - The chance to compete in events, either to win or just for the fun of competing with fellow Trek fans.
II. How What You Want Is Ruthlessly Used Against You In A Trek Game
Largely, this game includes all but one of these elements. It should be said that it is fundamentally lacking gameplay—and that may be it’s most unforgivable flaw. However, the things that it does have (Collecting, Advancing, Social) are all implemented in the most offensive, greedy and disrespectful fashion. It cannot be understated how this game is designed to exploit addictive behavioral patterns that exist in all human beings (some more than others).
Anything that could conceivably involve money does. Not just acquiring Crew and Ships, but speeding up shuttles, or playing Dabo, or buying Chronitons, or buying Credits, or buying Items, or buying Cadet Tickets… (pauses to catch breath). This game has four… (no, wait, FIVE!) ...forms of fictional currency (Chronitons, Credits, Merits, Cadet Tickets & Dilithium). Oh yeah, and let’s not forget the real currency: our money (Dollars, Euros, Rupees, what-have-you).
But that’s not enough, the game also cannot be fun. Here’s why: if you have any fun, you won’t be bored/impatient enough to spend money. Chronitons exist and accrue at a modest rate, Shuttle missions are timed, Cadet Challenges are timed. By getting you to log in multiple times a day, they are training you like a seal to develop a repetitive habit of checking in. This isn’t a game you can devote a few hours to on a weekend, you have to check in every three hours about five times a day.
RNG: let’s talk about that. It serves at least two purposes: 1) it involves no real thought. The developer isn’t making a level of a game that involves strategy or timing or puzzle-solving, it’s just RNG so they save a lot of time they would otherwise have spent building an actual game. 2) You can set the RNG to a low enough level that people can spend hundreds of dollars and still not have every Crew or Ship in the game and, oh yeah, not have the items they need to advance their Crew.
III. How They Ease You In
In the early days of this game, I enjoyed getting Crew and Ships and trying to complete missions and advance. But after awhile I realized that I wasn’t “playing” anything. I was, however, constantly being incentivized to spend a little more money to try and get crew that would more easily complete higher level missions, or speed up a shuttle so I could move up in Event rankings. They don’t hit you with the need to spend money upfront, because they know you would just leave. So they present you with many ways to get invested in the game AND THEN create a ton of pain-points and bottlenecks that can only really be solved by spending money.
IV. The Voyage Home (I mean, Conclusion)
Sadly, this isn’t a game. It is a carefully-crafted, highly addictive drug masquerading as a game. I bet if you asked some of the game developers without any repercussions, they would admit how depressed they are. These are people who want to build games that are fun to play, but instead they are building a slot machine that exploits a beloved franchise and deliberately triggers addictive behavior in the pursuit of profit.
The fact that huge chunks of the gaming industry have moved in this direction doesn’t exonerate it. We already know from the Panama Papers that thousands of politicians and millionaires have been evading taxes for years—that doesn’t change the morality of it.
Post edited by Kurki on
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I think many people are going to snap out of it when they realize the cost demands of lvl 80+ and gear X+
It's free to play, pay to win. Always be that way.
We knew what we were getting into the moment we downloaded the game. It didn't stop us, because deep down, we like this kind of game.
Paying players like to pay to crush competition, free players like to be able to compete with paying players to show they have superior skills.
They're making profit off our egos, and we love it.
Maybe you need to spend more?
I have to echo your post, my thoughts exactly.
Btw, I'm taking a wild guess that this thread will breach TOS in all sorts of unforgivable manner and soon be closed or deleted so read while you can.
Really it was a great story and not far from the truth, we all know how freemium works but still its very hard to accept.
Say that to people that get tunnel visioned through addiction and don't realise they have paid so much money that they can no longer afford their rent that month and their card gets locked out.
Generalising a little bit too much. Gambling ruins some peoples lives. What you said applies to SOME of the player base, not all.
Guy starves to death because he spends his money on a game is called natural selection.
No, deep down, we like Star Wars, and the promise of collecting and developing the characters associated with that franchise. EA exploits that not by delivering, but by NOT delivering, which is what is supposed to trigger the vicious cycle of addiction and spending.
It's not the freemium or P2W concept that is at fault here, it is its application in StarTrekTimelines that the original poster from that forum is complaining about. People are hooked by a franchise and a promise that is by design never fulfilled. The game is designed to be NOT FUN, or at the very least frustrating, and that is what makes people spend.
Company that turns it's back on this problem and does not acknowledge its responsibility in the equation is immoral and no better than a drug dealer.
on a side note, you can be game addicted without spending money in freemium games, eventhough you play freemium games.
Point to be noted!
There is nothing unethical about charging a price that people are willing to pay. Also, the only person responsible for an individual's "addiction" is that individual.
They do so because they like it. They enjoy playing these games, they enjoy the gambling.
But they knew what they were getting into.
You don't enter a casino thinking "I'm just going to spend 20$".
Regulations dont keep addicts away... its not even in the scope of their intent.
true and false.
gambling is regulated. (most) drugs are illegal. ponzi schemes are illegal. Sometimes its the job of the overseeing authority to protect the population against addiction or any other issue that might damage them.
it wouldnt suprice me if freemium games would get regulated in the near future.
But i do agree that it is each individual's own responsebility to not get hooked on a freemium game up to a point where its not healthy any more for them. comparable with when you go to a loanshark and end up having your leggs broken, you knew this was a possibility before hand.
Drugs in many cases are illegal because many can be deadly. Ponzi schemes are illegal because it is a scam and misleading. No logica comparison here. I see nothing misleading in this game. Just high prices. As far as regulation, IMO that is incredibly silly. Governments already waste way too much time protecting people from themselves.
Let's not forget that gambling in certain states is illegal.... unless you gamble in the state sponsored POWER BALL!! WOOOOO!!!!
That sounds eerily familiar....wait a minute!!
-enter fusion furnace-
https://forums.galaxy-of-heroes.starwars.ea.com/discussion/23789/game-update-3-31-2016#lates
Worst thing to happen to this game yet. And I can guarantee more stuff like this is on the way...
What do we have, 7 currencies now, 8? I lose track. I'm sure at least two more will be added with ships.
Most should agree with this statement....
Mods know their reputation is in the toilet. Everyone knows they on a power trip. So they are in full on damage control