Gamers, Gambling and Psych 101Follow

Let me preface this post with a disclaimer.

We are surrounded by people and companies that want us to buy product from them or vote for them in an election or want to sell us some gizmo or gadget. SOE is no different from any other company in this regard. I'm not trying to make SOE out to be an evil corporation hell bent on leather to rule the gaming world. I like EQ2 and will continue playing it.

Just to make the context of this post a bit more clear.

The voluntary SOE psychology test (post EoF launch) was very invasive and duped unwitting under-aged teenagers into revealing personal information about themselves - all for a worthless shiny sword. Parents would howl bloody murder if an insurance company like Blue Cross or mutual fund like Fidelity tried to develop a profile of their children via the same test that SOE did in fact administer to its subscribers. How many adults would freely allow their children to take this test if it were administered by the FBI or local law enforcement agency? I believe no parent would allow this to be done.

SOE paid a university to develop the psychology test, collate the information and analyze the results - so dismissing the psych test as a minor event seems uniformed to me and was far more important than it appears on the surface.

What did SOE do with the information gleaned from the test and how has the test results manifest itself in new product or additional content to current product?

Here are three simple examples that fit within my narrative.

Gibblegurgle the Gambling Vendor - EQ1 players used to run numbers games and scam naive gamers of their gold. Three Card Monty in the digital world. So this was addressed by adding an EQ2 gambling vendor. No testing needed - the SOE dev team knew the problem existed.

Scrying Stone Rainbows.

More subtle than Gibblegurgle but a slot machine none the less. Use a token and get a prize, or maybe not. Digital slot machine.


Psychology: mind of a gamer?

The sound of the EQ1/2 level "ding" has always seemed like a way to condition players - the same way a slot machine sounds as it "pays off" a "win" to a gambler.

Crafting tables:

The crafting tables in EQ2 use the same sort of audio/visual "conditioning" technique employed by the casino industry. Each progress bar (one of the four bars) on a crafting table have an audio/visual associated with the mini ding "pay off" and are reminiscent of the individual "wheels" on a slot machine. Casino slot machine "Cherry" or "Double Bar" pays triple.

End result/finished pristine products associate a separate "conditioning" sound and audio "pay off" component - slot machine disgorges coin into holding tray for a "win".


Visual and audio elements:

The visual elements include a burst of light and color which emanates/pulses from the center of the crafting table per each "mini ding". The audio of the crafting process on the Loom reminds me of the background noise inside casinos with prominent up front sounds of analog/mechanical slot machine wheels spinning until each individual wheel clicks into place for a mini ding "pay off".


The big pay off:

Pristine crafting table "wins" are rewarded with visual light bursts, audio bells ringing and now a third element - colored text - which are flashed prominently on the upper third of the monitor screen.


NOTE: The "conditioning" agents of the EQ2 crafting tables are reminiscent of the sounds and lights heard within a casino .. its not like they are a direct rip from a casino pit but are a stylized version/form of that environment which is designed to invoke the thrill of gambling and all the emotions which it entails.


So this long winded post boils down to a few simple questions:

Is MMOG gaming just a subclass of gambling? - remember loot boxes are the coin dish on a slot machine and SOE just changed the way the "slot machine" pays by adding new class/armor set drop rule sets.

Is Legends of Norrath one of the end product(s) of the EoF psychology tests?

Is it immoral or illegal to administer voluntary psychology tests to under age teenagers without parental consent? Slot machine paid out a fabled sword.

Flame is set to /on.

Edited, Aug 5th 2007 1:35pm by Trappin

(it was a staff!)

It was a goodie. They dug hard at the sex and violence aspect. People would get done and log in going "Did anyone else think that survey was really.... weird?"

Now I'm even more disappointed. I would have totally aced that test. Sex and violence are like, totally my two best subjects.

So... the results of the psychology test showed that kids like flashy lights and 'ding' noises?

Like was said previously, all games, and in fact most things in life, are based around rewarding certain behavior. The audio and visual prompts in EQ2 are nothing more or less 'evil' or 'exploiting' than any other activity.

However, the actual act of conducting this survey and collecting the data without the express knowledge or consent of a minor's legal guardian is another issue. My guess is, though, that through the Terms of Service in the game, collection of data like this on a voluntary basis was well within SOE's rights.