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StackSmith commented today^ that apparent bugs and other unexpected behavior in a video game, in particular bugs that give the player an advantage, are very powerful hooks to keep the player addicted. When the game "glitches" and gives me a hundred of a rare item, I wonder what caused it. Can I replicate the "bug"? Is this an oversight by the programmers, a exploitable loophole in the logic, or simply a clever way to "reward" me for playing?
Many of my college friends are arcade enthusiasts. We collectively own dozens of gaming cabinets from many different makers, we perform maintenance at the local arcades, and some of us even help to design and sell games. As a result, I've seen a lot of the backend of video games as a service. Arcade games in particular need a hook to keep customers coming back. It's not enough to simply make an enjoyable game--players might feel that the game isn't challenging enough, feel that they've reached the limit of their skill, or simply lose interest in doing the same thing over and over again.
Years ago, when arcade culture was more prevalent in the United States, the primary player incentive came in the form of score challenges. Many games from the 1980s and '90s had simple game mechanics but were difficult to master, and the thrill of getting one's name on the high score list was more than enough to keep quarters flowing into coin slots for years. But as arcades fell out of relevance after the 1990s, developers needed a new way to draw players--and dollars-- to their machines.
Mobile game developers run into many of the same pitfalls. Microtransactions and advertisements are the primary source of revenue for them, both of which can only be lucrative if players keep coming back for more. To that end, they need to incentivize players to constantly play again while simultaneously making them feel like they're making some kind of in-game progress.
Arcade games and mobile games did not solve this problem in identical fashion. Arcades have one advantage that mobile games don't: the player is required to pay a fee before every round. Imagine being required to pay a dollar or more upfront before every round of Candy Crush! The game certainly wouldn't have been a commercial success with a business model like that.
One tactic that is common in both realms, however, is the "jackpot". After many rounds of trying to achieve the goal of a high score, a huge in-game currency bonus, or a huge number of redemption tickets, every now and then the game will suddenly give the player a huge advantage. It's random, it's fleeting, and it's irreproducible, but it leaves the player wanting to hit that jackpot again.
Crane games are a good example of this behavior. Crane games (of the American variety) are an arcade game in which several prizes, usually stuffed toys, are placed in a large pit, and the player operates a claw that attempts to pick up a prize and drop it down a chute for the player to collect. When the player collects a prize, this is known as "paying out". Operators can influence a crane machine's "payout" rate via a setting that affects how strong the crane's grip is: for several rounds, the crane's grip will be too weak to pick anything up, until the machine is allowed to "pay out" and use sufficient grip to pick up a prize.
This kind of behavior adds an element of random chance to the game that transcends a player's skill. Especially in skill-based games, it can set off all sorts of addictive triggers, similar to gambling. "If I keep playing, I might see that item underflow glitch again, and next time I'll be ready to use it!" Meanwhile, the advertisements keep showing, the microtransactions keep processing, and the developers are making more and more money.
In the case of the behavior StackSmith saw with "Bubble Shooter", I'm convinced that the "bugs" were intentionally programmed into the game. They're also one of the more insidious ways they get people hooked. To me, it's a warning sign that I'm being manipulated into spending money, and an indicator not to play again.
^ How to get me addicted to a game
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[Last updated: 2022-05-11]