Games as a service

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Morkonan
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Re: Games as a service

Post by Morkonan » Fri, 3. May 19, 23:12

Mightysword wrote:
Fri, 3. May 19, 08:29
...<important stuff, to be sure, but...>...
Let me just try to sum this up, OK?

What I am concerned about is the gradual migration of game format and distribution from the way it is now, which I'm barely comfortable with at best, to a format and distribution method this designed more to benefit continued revenue streams for developers with little or no continued benefits for consumers.

We can and do "vote" with out wallets for games we "like" to purchase and play.

But, if that game has a wrapper on it that not only provides the "game we like" but couples that with shady data collection policies, direct manipulation of the user's experience to promote microtransactions, continued enhancement for "ease of access" to online marketplaces hawking wares that are not only promoted by the game's designers, but have been specifically targeted to be favored for purchase by the game's design, itself, then things are getting far out of hand.

As was illustrated by that patent, the intent is already there to exploit the developer's access to the consumer's "brain" using classic manipulation techniques to encourage them to give the developer more money. It's not a "sale" that they're going for, it's the purposeful design of a game to manipulate a consumer into what would have otherwise been, in a sensibly constructed atmosphere, a non-purchase.

In the case of Star Wars: Battlefront, again we see the "intent" behind the design and the manipulation of the consumer who truly likes the franchise, but may be susceptible to certain design practices that target spontaneous purchasing behavior.

Not all gamers are so naive, thank goodness. The Gamer Community pushback resulted in severe penalties for these unethical infractions. Producers have taken note of this.

In the latest fiascos, Activision-Blizzard has received a ton of negative press over their "mobile only" Diablo 4'ish release. Though, it's not really intended for the Western Marketplace as the sort of mobile gaming they have targeted is much more popular elsewhere. In point of fact, the title was released to expand their franchise to those markets and the huge revenue streams they can generate.

EA, the whipping-boy of every favorite gamer, has taken large hits due to their manipulative practices. That's good. It shows that, right now, the gamer community is still effective in some capacity. SW:BII was forced to drop its gorrilla-marketing-compulsory-purchase model in favor of one that produces much less than the projected profits they had planned for.

But, we have seen "intent" in other actions that are much more subtle making their way into the "PC Gaming Market." With EpicGames we saw the remnants of code designed to collect third-party data from user's private account information. That was their intent. And, that intent was not clearly addressed to consumers. One also must question the excuse of "legacy code left in by accident" in a launcher that was meant to be the vanguard of a multi-billion-dollar "Steam Killer" endeavor...

Picture the next upcoming "Greatest Game Ever I Want To Buy." It could be "X5: The Terrans Attack!" Ooooh, boy, I'd be all over it! (Provided I had a machine that could run it...) So, I jump into buying it and find out it has a launcher. "OK, no problem, lemme play teh game!" Then, I'm taken to the "X5: The Terrans Attack" Community Page. On it, behind the scenes, and entirely for "my convenience" are all the social media web bugs and trackers so my "Friends" can see my progress and so I can Share my game with them. OK, fine, whatever, I just "want to play the game." So, I start playing and there's a button in the game I can click that takes me to a "Uber Awesome Exclusive Just For You Storefront Tailored to Your Profile." Uh... OK.. <click>

Now I see all my friends are buying the Super-Duper-Star-Destroyer for $1.00. As I'm staring at the storefront screen, I see a notice that says "Mightysword has purchased the Uber-Awesome-Destructomatic-Doomsday-Device!" Wow, OK, I guess he wanted that. What's so special about it? And, I read the description, see that it's very hard to get in-game because it takes fifty-bajillion e-cells and I'd have to do ten full playthroughs of The Hub mission in order to finally get the credits to purchase it in-game...

That's the kind of "gaming" I don't want to see.

I don't want to see us evolve the gaming market to push gaming from an "activity for fun" to one modeled on the practices of Zynga.

Yes, sure, the gamer can and will still "vote with their wallet." But, at some point, the concern about game quality needs to be taken as more of a holistic approach with careful attention being paid to what the developer has done in terms of attempting to generate continued revenue streams. And, if we, as gamers, don't recognize these mechanisms, and they are not always easy to see, and if we casually disregard them then we will be doing so to our own detriment.

There will always be a competitive market, but even the "competition" will soon be able to take advantage of the same sorts of strategies their larger opponents are using today. As the game industry continues to expand to unknown heights, the "money grabbing" will continue to expand as well. There are few, if any, "regulations" that anyone is willing to bring to the table to help prevent this kind of exploitation.

That's my primary concern no matter what else we may have discussed. It's my opinon. That's all it is. In a few years, three or more at least, we'll see how it bears out. But, now that EpicGames is challenging Steam, the "War" is going to start and there are only so many avenues of attack available for e-distributors. What happens when Steam, in a competitive effort to justify its larger take, offers an in-game Storefront API for all its carried developers? "Free of charge, just pay shipping and handling... " Steam isn't a platform for "The Gamers." It's a e-distribution platform for producers and developers. What will their "intent" be and how will that be realized?

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