Video: Making games about rich experiences, not addiction

"This trend [of Skinner Box design] is actually not only morally reprehensible, but actually bad for business if you just design down the hole leading to addiction."
At the GDC 2014 'Rant Apocalypse" session, academic and author Heather Chaplin delivered an argument against game developers modelling the games they make to take advantage of addictive behavior.

Her premise was simple: As a game maker, do you want to play to addiction in order to make money, or create a game that people want to keep playing?

It was a frank talk that's well worth watching, and if you missed it you can now watch it for free over on the GDC Vault's new YouTube channel .

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vaultand its new YouTube channeloffers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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