Unethical Game Design

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[AmPM]

yes,lets compare games to reading a book 
we all know that kids today lock themselves in a room and read 10hours daily...

Twihards....

Seriously, like almost everything else out there, no harm in moderation. Grow some willpower and a brain and take control of and responsibility for, your own life.

[smurfORnot]

Seriously, like almost everything else out there, no harm in moderation. Grow some willpower and a brain and take control of and responsibility for, your own life.

tell that to some 8 year old...he already probably has his whole career planned,and every day he's working on accomplishing that goal!

[AmPM]

Maybe his parents should, you know, parent?

Then again, I'm sure he has $500+ for a comp and another $50 for a game and then he has a credit card to pay his monthly fees too right?

God damn those 8 year olds be ballers.

[smurfORnot]

yea,we all know it's a perfect world and everyone has awesome parents. Cause we all know that alot of parents arent busting their asses to earn enough money,and they dont want to give their kid something that makes him happy.
500$ for PC,thats cheap here,lol

[AmPM]

yea,we all know it's a perfect world and everyone has awesome parents. Cause we all know that alot of parents arent busting their asses to earn enough money,and they dont want to give their kid something that makes him happy.
500$ for PC,thats cheap here,lol

You can also do things like limit the time, allow a couple hours a day and have the router shut the ports for WoW. An actual password prevents the kid fiddling with it. So many solutions.

Stop blaming companies for the failure of people. Parents don't want to do their jobs that is their fault, nobody else. I know we live in an age where blame is to be shifted off of those responsible and onto others, but that doesn't alter facts. If you smoke and are addicted it is only your own fault for doing it. Same thing here. If my kid starts playing too much where it is impacting their health, social life, school etc, you bet your ass I am going to clamp down on it.

Short version, stop blaming companies for your own failings as people.

[smurfORnot]

If you smoke and are addicted it is only your own fault for doing it.

how is it not parents fault? So many minors drinking and smoking,which is illegal. It's probably parents fault for letting them go out in a first place?

[AmPM]

how is it not parents fault? So many minors drinking and smoking,which is illegal. It's probably parents fault for letting them go out in a first place?

Smoking isn't that hard of a habit to kick, did it, been tobacco free for 9 years. Parent's should parent, and in their homes they should set the limits. If you go out and do something behind their back, it's your own fault. You made a conscious decision to do it.

Same goes for games, which is made easier by the fact that if you have 15min and the internet you can look up how to lock down your connection. It's not rocket science. Limit use to a level you feel comfortable allowing and that is not detrimental. Other option, stop paying for the god damned game.

People these days want to blame everyone but themselves for the things that happen to them. Parents blame the TV or games for teaching their kids to behave a certain way, fat people blame McDonalds for selling them food. Shit, soon we are all going to start blaming the government for not making us not do things that are harmful to ourselves.

You did this shit to yourself, own up and take responsibility.

[Sachaztan]

AmPm, I think you are missing the point of the discussion.

As you can see from the thread title, it's about wether or not it's ethical/unethical.

Which, in my oppinion, is NOT the same thing as "who's to blame" and "should it be illegal".

[AmPM]

A product that is made to be what people want and is not forced on them cannot be unethical.

That would be like claiming being a chef is unethical, because your goal is to get people to eat your food and that can lead to obesity.

[marda145]

I would rather compare it to drugs than to food...

[Spartan_Marine88]

I would rather compare it to drugs than to food...

I wouldn't most drugs actually have addictive components to them (nicotine for example) where as food is more of a psychological addiction like video games and gambling. Each of those you can deal with personally, or pay to get a pill from a 'professional' and end up reliant on that and paying more money to a shrink to never actually fix your issue.

[tank130]

A product that is made to be what people want and is not forced on them cannot be unethical.

So increasing the nicotine levels in tobacco products is completely acceptable to you. You think it is ethical to deliberately increase the addictiveness of a product that is proven to kill people?


I also think most of you have either not watched the video or did not pick up on the most important part. They have stated that gaming addictions are more comparable to gambling addictions then drug addictions.

There are similarities to both, but gaming / gambling has less severe physical damage. ie - irreparable brain damage.

[AmPM]

So increasing the nicotine levels in tobacco products is completely acceptable to you. You think it is ethical to deliberately increase the addictiveness of a product that is proven to kill people?


I also think most of you have either not watched the video or did not pick up on the most important part. They have stated that gaming addictions are more comparable to gambling addictions then drug addictions.

There are similarities to both, but gaming / gambling has less severe physical damage. ie - irreparable brain damage.

Are you forced to smoke Tank? I've smoked, I decided it wasn't worth it and quite. You can get nicotine other places by the way as well. I have a lot of prior smoker friends that use gum/e-cigs to curb cravings.

Are you suggesting we should make food more bland and tasteless so people stop eating so much that they get into poor health? Or that we should make all vehicles top out at 30mph because anything over that is much much more dangerous? I mean shit, maybe we should hold everyones hand so they don't have to be responsible for themselves?

Personally, I don't care if they make WoW super addictive. It's a video game, good for it. Get up and walk away, or in the case of minors, parents should do their jobs.

[Smokaz]

On the other hand, what would you think when your kid is screaming on vent for JonnyAustin to turn his 57mm.

Parenthood success?

[tank130]

I was a smoker for 20 years, 2 packs a day.

No, no one forced me to smoke. But what they did do was advertise in a way that was enticing to a young person who does not have the maturity and life experience to make the right long term decisions.

They bait the weak with a carrot, then hook them.

As an experienced adult, we are able to make rational decisions and choose to walk away from the cigaret or the game. The problem occurs when manufactures (both game & tobacco) market the young and inexperienced with unethical means. Specifically targeting a market that just doesn't know better.

[smurfORnot]

I was a smoker for 20 years, 2 packs a day

now do the math how much money you spend on it 

[AmPM]

Cigarettes are easier for a kid to get a hold of than a computer and WoW if the parents have a clue.

As I said, first they need the money for the machine, then the game, then your credit card. Then you have to allow them access to all of these things on a regular basis as well as not setting up your network to only allow WoW access from say, 8pm to 10:00pm.

There are ways to regulate usage in your home. Once they are living on their own it is their own responsibility. If they are legally allowed to vote, smoke, own a gun, and die for their country they can decide to play WoW or not.

[Spartan_Marine88]

Cigarettes are easier for a kid to get a hold of than a computer and WoW if the parents have a clue.

I see computers out in the trash every day, also 30 bucks isn't hard to save up to get. Also there are plenty of cyber cafes that cater to wow players and thats easy enough without parental permission. Cigarettes are not easy to get, i mean i could always get my hands on them but it would have been much MUCH easier to play wow if my parents didn't want me to. (PS i was an underage smoker, also managed to quit, but you sound like the every day douche who touched a cig once in his life and then tries to talk about it all the time.)

[Mister Schmidt]

AmPm's kids must be bored as fuck

[smurfORnot]

AmPm as father...


his kid when it grows up...