this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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[–] Esoteir@hexbear.net 35 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

dont even need to watch the video fr i fuck with the title, outer wilds fuckin slapped especially bc you can only play it once lmao, remove progression systems from games inshallah

[–] NephewAlphaBravo@hexbear.net 12 points 2 weeks ago

under communism the only progression system allowed will be the checklist from kirby air ride

[–] TraschcanOfIdeology@hexbear.net 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I played a lot of Hades because the play cycle was fun, and getting good was enjoyable. But once I finished the story, and I romanced who I wanted to romance, I've never picked it up again. And I like it that way.

[–] Esoteir@hexbear.net 11 points 2 weeks ago

i liked hades but i would have liked it better with less "+10 health/+10 damage" type metaprogression tbh, something like FTL where you're mostly unlocking sidegrades and new gameplay options instead of straight upgrades alongside the narrative

[–] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 23 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

berdly-actually "Addiction is a specific thing that requires biological dependency therefore you said the wrong word and everything you said is invalid!" berdly-smug

I posted that there so pedants don't have to.

[–] aaaaaaadjsf@hexbear.net 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

I absolutely hate that argument, it would mean gambling addiction is not real. In other words: one of the most harmful addictions to public health is not an addiction by that definition, because there's no "biological dependency".

[–] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That's exactly how the struggle session went.

It was despicable, shameful treat defending from fairweather leftists.

[–] The_sleepy_woke_dialectic@hexbear.net 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Wait we had a struggle session about gambling of all things?? How are you going to be anti-capitalist and pro-gambling industry?

[–] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 5 points 2 weeks ago

Because some fairweather leftists are so preoccupied with "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" that even talking about the problem got them very defensive, up to and including "people that get pulled into gambling and ruin their own lives and the lives of their families had it coming" very-leftist takes.

[–] Belly_Beanis@hexbear.net 2 points 2 weeks ago

no biological dependency

....which is a weird claim to make since gambling addiction is 50~70% genetic. The genetic factors have been known for a long time. Here's a study from a decade ago in Nature where they compared addiction genes in rats with addiction genes in humans:

Nature.com

At the bottom of the page you can find other studies done on the links between genetics and gambling addiction. A lot of overlap with the genetics that make people more prone to alcohol and drug addiction.

[–] Gorb@hexbear.net 15 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Skinner box game mechanics suck and are just hollow "entertainment" but are manufactured very carefully to maximise fomo and engagement. They're very profitable though which is ofc why its used, battle passes, timed events, seasonal content, lIvE sErVicE shite.

It's designed specifically to prey on people who are vulnerable to these tactics, I even fell into it myself around the modern warfare reboot getting extremely worked up over battle passes. Hated every minute of it but just couldn't stop myself until someone hacked my Activision account and stole it breaking me out of the cycle.

Fukn crapitalism.

[–] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 8 points 2 weeks ago

That shit's effective and that's the reason it keeps being done. Every smug freeze-gamer looking down on people that get caught into it under pretense of feeling superior can fuck off forever.

[–] BashfulBob@hexbear.net 3 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Skinner box game mechanics suck and are just hollow "entertainment"

All Vidya Gamez are fundamentally Skinner Boxes. At the same time, when you're trapped in a cube all day, it's nice to get a food pellet. Stop shaming people for food pelleting themselves.

Hated every minute of it but just couldn't stop myself until someone hacked my Activision account and stole it breaking me out of the cycle.

My original experience with online games was in a big social circle that whittled away over time. It's less the game pass model itself (which always just descends into "How much pop culture can we shove into your generic Blood Gulch shooter/looter?") than the fact that I'm playing with an endless parade of anonymous that nobodies I ultimately find so upsetting.

I play chess with a co-worker every lunch break we're free, and it's far more fun and fulfilling than the time I spent grinding amid a sea of faceless nobodies.

At the same time, it feels cruel to tell people who don't have an active social circle to just not be online at all.

The only thing worse than the Skinner Box is solitary confinement.

[–] Are_Euclidding_Me@hexbear.net 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

All Vidya Gamez are fundamentally Skinner Boxes.

No they are not and I will fight you. If you mean multiplayer online games, well maybe, you might have a point, but I don't play those games and so I will make no claims about them.

However. If you call Outer Wilds or Pathologic/Pathologic 2 or Disco Elysium or A Short Hike or Journey skinner boxes, well, you're just wrong. Games are experiences, they're stories that can be more immersive than a movie or a book and if they're done well, holy shit are they good!

Games are (can be) amazing, and I'm sick of pretending they're not.

[–] BashfulBob@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Games are experiences, they're stories that can be more immersive than a movie or a book and if they're done well, holy shit are they good!

They're still feedback loops of input and reward. That the reward is "compelling narrative" rather than "loud ding with big number go up" changes the quality of the treat dispensed but not the nature of the box.

Games are (can be) amazing

Skinner Boxes are tools to gauge the behaviors of their subjects.

The form can still be artistic and the reward for interaction can be sublime and the thing itself can still be what it is.

[–] Are_Euclidding_Me@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

do you think a novel is a skinner box

[–] BashfulBob@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

No. There's no human input that determines the response.

[–] Are_Euclidding_Me@hexbear.net 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Goosebumps choose your own adventure novels.

But to take you a tiny bit more seriously, ok? So what? Why does "I have some agency in this story" make a story bad? What actually are you getting at here?

[–] BashfulBob@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Goosebumps choose your own adventure novels.

Primitive, but closer to the mark.

So what? Why does "I have some agency in this story" make a story bad?

I don't think it does. The box is just a mechanism. In the same way that a book or a painting can be good or bad, a gameplay loop can, too.

What actually are you getting at here?

You can have a Beautiful Skinner Box in the same way you can have a Van Gogh or a Tolstoy novel.

[–] Are_Euclidding_Me@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So you're using some weird definition of "skinner box" where you simply mean "human inputs lead to various outputs". Why use this definition? By this definition a fucking mathematical function is a skinner box.

I simply do not understand, in general, what you're trying to say.

[–] BashfulBob@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

you simply mean "human inputs lead to various outputs"

More specifically, its to refer to an experimental device to gauge psychological responses through IO. Well made games attempt to collect and convey more complex information through the mechanic of IO.

By this definition a fucking mathematical function is a skinner box.

The original Skinner Box existed to devise mathematical functions through experimentation. The goal was to quantify behavior in a controlled setting.

Video games repurpose the tool for entertainment. But they are ultimately intended to be revelatory. Games exist to measure and eventually train behavior. A "good" game provides useful insights and beneficial behavior patterns. A "bad" one exists to extract vulnerabilities and exploit them to nefarious ends.

[–] Gorb@hexbear.net 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

jesse-wtf

Somehow you missed the point completely about predatory business practices preying on vulnerable people to draw out massive profits.... The entire thing this comment and post is about

[–] BashfulBob@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

predatory business practices preying on vulnerable people

Krogers employs predatory business practices on people. What are you going to tell them? "Don't eat!"

People play these games to escape the horrid reality of daily life.

[–] Gorb@hexbear.net 2 points 2 weeks ago

I haven't told anyone to do anything you're arguing with something you made up in your head

[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 2 points 2 weeks ago

I found a YouTube link in your post. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: