UX Dark Patterns in Games
User-centred design
User-centred design (UCD) is an iterative design process in which designers focus on the users and their needs in each phase of the design process. (Ref from IDF)
Deceptive User Experience : Dark Patterns
To increase the sales or the popularity of the products, companies approach a way of using UX Tactics to manipulate users and to make certain decisions for the users without them aware of.
It is basically cornering them to make a specific decisions.
Nowadays, it has outgrown to an extent where we can find them in most of the products or apps.
Dark Patterns in Video Games
Within the context of video game design, a dark pattern is a motivational design pattern “used intentionally by a game creator to cause negative experiences for players which are against their best interests and likely to happen without their consent.”
The illusion of choice : Confirmshaming
Confirm shaming is “the act of guilting the user into opting into something,” according to Harry Brignull, the U.K.-based UX expert who coined the term.
“The option to decline is worded in such a way as to shame the user into compliance.”
Seduction to Deception : Classic Conditioning
Pavlov’s theory of “ Classical Conditioning” is a learning behavioural process. In the case of a neutral stimulus that doesn’t issue a response. But produces an unconditioned stimulus will issue an unconditioned response.
Repeating this process will eventually have the neutral stimulus issuing an unconditioned response, and this end process is called the conditioned response.
An almost win : Near misses in games
Near-misses are more arousing than losses as indexed by increased heart rate and greater subjective arousal. Near-misses were also subjectively rated as the most frustrating of all outcomes. Most importantly, of any type of outcome, near-misses triggered the most substantial urge to continue play.
Near misses, also called near-hits or near wins, can generally be said to occur when the elements of a game or task “suggest” to a player that they have almost achieved a favourable result.
Round the clock : Pause or Save
Many games have “save points” that you must reach before you can safely save your progress and stop playing. If these “save points” are too far apart, this dark pattern can appear. Forcing players to continue playing longer than they want to, just so they can save their progress, is a waste of the player’s time.
There is one reliable way that might work, to pause the game in Single Player you must put your console in Sleep mode. The console will go into hibernation, and you can later resume from the exact same point. This works during the quest. In PS4 this is called as Standby Mode. You have to go to the console screen, then select Power. Choose Enter Standby Mode.
Caught a fish : Bait and Switch
Bait and switch in games tricking players to perform certain action showing the false information on the Ads through animations or deceptive UI elements
