An MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game is played on the internet,
set in a virtual world in which many people are playing and interacting
with at the same time. Currently the largest MMO in North America,
certainly the most talked about MMO, is World of Warcraft (WoW).
Besides WoW, however, there are several MMO games targeted at and
marketed to children; recently I started reading about these
"kid-friendly" MMOs and I started to wonder what impact an MMO would
have on children and their creativity.
There are several MMOs out there for kids. There are free versions
(free-to-play) and subscription versions, but they're all built around
one principle: MMO games can make BIG money. How do they do this? They
are experts at creating an atmosphere that gets you to open your wallet
and they employ psychological tools that promote addictive behavior.
Many adults have a hard time spotting this, how can you expect your
kids to?
MMO games - The Financial Cost
Most MMO games have a tiered system, a free portion and a payed
portion. How these two sections of the game interact depends on the
financial structure of the game. There are two primary and distinct
strategies a company could try to use:
One is the monthly subscription model. In this model, to enjoy the full
game you have to pay a monthly fee. Often this means the free portion
of the game is time-limited; you can download the game, play for the
trial period and once it's over, you'll have to pay to keep playing.
Alternately, you might be able to keep playing the free game, but to
unlock better features, new experiences, and places to explore you must
be a subscribing member. Basically, while using the free/trail version
it will take more effort and time to reach the same goals as a
subscribing member, if it's at all possible. The game will typically
remind you, as often as possible, that your life and gaming experience
would be easier if you just send them some money. This latter model is
the one employed by Toontown, an MMO published by Disney and marketed
to kids.
The other is the Microtransaction model. In this system, the game does
not have a monthly fee but they offer options to buy credits (with real
money) that you can spend in the game for bonuses. The "Coins" feature
on Facebook games is an example of this - sometimes, game play is not
affected by these items and they are only for the people who want
bragging rights, but usually they do affect the game and give great
advantages to those willing to pay for them. The term Microtransaction
refers to the fact that typically these purchases are small typically
ranging from five dollars down to just a few cents - small enough to
seem small, big enough to add up quickly.
The attitude and culture of "keeping up with the Joneses" is something
that MMO games actively encourage, whether it is having the latest and
greatest weapon, a special limited edition item, or giving awards to
the top players. It encourages players to play longer and pay more
money.
MMO games and Creativity
There is very little true creativity in MMO games. They are carefully
designed to keep you playing for as long as possible, often doing the
same repetitive tasks over and over again to gain money, experience, or
to meet some other in-game goal. There might be some problem-solving
in-game but, within the confines of the game, there is a limit to how
complex a problem can be and a limit to how creative the solution might
be. There are so many other more creative activities kids can be doing!
MMO games and Addictive Behavior
There are many strategies used by MMO game makers that you should be
worried about. Possibly the most common task in MMOs is "farming" in
which you need to collect a number of objects to turn in for a reward.
You collect 20 blue stars, turn them in to receive a shiny silver
button, and move on to collecting 20 red squares so you can get your
shiny gold button. This strongly echoes the behavior analysis concept
of reinforcement: pull on a lever and get a reward or reinforcement. In
this case, you pull the lever 20 times and get an virtual reward.
Much of the research in this field was pioneered by B.F. Skinner,
whose studies suggested that you can control a subjects behavior simply
by creating a scenario to be played out and a reward for doing so
correctly. MMOs have this down to a science. You perform one repetitive
task to receive your reward before moving on to the next task, a task
that is often just a few shades different from the previous one.
MMO games run on a system of rewards, accomplishments, and
one-upmanship. There is a whole trophy section in Toontown where
players with the top scores for various accomplishments are posted for
the world to see - but to get this recognition you have to play and
play a lot. The human brain does not readily distinguish between
virtual and real accomplishments; working for hours to obtain a special
item in a game is as satisfying as creating something in the real
world, as far as your brain is concerned. This is a very addictive and
dangerous element to games. The mental attachment can be so strong that
some countries such as Korea now recognize virtual goods as if they
were real. An entire industry has sprung up around creating and selling
virtual items and this industry is now worth over 6 billion dollars.
"Collecting" can become addicting behavior and MMO games actively
encourage it. It keeps you playing (even if these items have no direct
affect on the game) and keeps you spending.
They also employ Skinner's theory of "Variable Ratio Rewards" - which
gives you items or rewards at random to keep you playing. Similar to
slot machines, you keep playing because the next one might be the "big
win." Is this the type of behavior we want to encourage in our kids?
All three of these tactics can be combined to create a highly addictive
environment. Take our Blue Stars, for example. We need to collect 20
to receive our Shiny Silver Button (Reinforcement). However, Blue
Stars can only be found under Green Rocks, not Red or Blue Rocks, so
there's a random chance to find the right rock to look under (Variable
Ratio Rewards). Furthermore, they're only found under a quarter of all
Green Rocks (more Variable Ratio Rewards). But, underneath all rocks,
we have a small chance (say one percent) to find a super-rare Gold
Shiny Hat (even more Variable Ratio Rewards and One-upmanship). Once we
finally find all our Blue Stars, we are guaranteed to get our Shiny
Silver Button but now we can try to get our Shiny Gold Button
(One-upmanship) by collecting Red Squares, and the process starts
again. In that simple quest, the designers have managed to fit one
instance of Reinforcement, three instances of Variable Ratio Rewards,
and two instances of One-upmanship. Three different addictive
strategies, applied six times, have guaranteed that the player will
check every single rock they come across while convincing them that it's
worth their time.
Through the use of behavior controls, you can see how such a simple
quest has turned into a huge time sink. We started by just having to
check Green Rocks for 20 Blue Stars, which with a single application of
Reinforcement would require 20 Green Rocks, but thanks to Variable
Ratio Rewards, we'll probably have to check 80 Green Rocks to get those
Blue stars. And because there's a chance at finding a Gold Shiny Hat
(which probably doesn't even do anything besides look shiny), we'll
check the Red and Blue Rocks too. Assuming an even distribution, we'll
end up checking around 240 Rocks in total, 80 of each color. 240 rocks
to find 20 Blue Stars. But at least we'll probably get our Gold Shiny
Hat, right? Too bad everybody else has one too and are now looking for a
Shimmering Gold Cape instead.
This is one of the simplest examples of addictive behavior controls in
an MMO, there are many many more. Now imagine that you could pay a
monthly fee to unlock a Special Magnifying Glass that gives you a
chance to find that Shimmering Gold Cape while looking for the Gold
Shiny Hat. If you're emotionally invested in the MMO, you might very
well become financially invested too.
The Time Cost of MMO games
MMO games
can very easily become a time sink, especially if you do become
addicted to them. They do make a very efficient babysitter but the costs
to creativity and general well-being are too high. There is a fine
line between having time for hobbies and recreations - even television
watching and playing regular computer games - and becoming completely
engrossed. Many adults have not figured out this balance, so our kids,
left undirected, would have no hope.
MMOs are more social than many other games, and often do require
teamwork or some problem solving skills. There are some skills a child
might learn through playing games, MMOs in particular, but practically
all of these skills can be taught or learned in other environments that
are free of behavior controls, hidden costs, time sinks, and virtual
accomplishments.
If you set very strict guidelines such as having the computer in a
public room of the house (remember most games have a chat function),
have your child playing under a parent account you have full access to,
and set a daily time limit, then it is possible to enjoy these games.
At the very least, you can use the game as a learning tool, so you and
your child can identify the marketing and psychological strategies game
makers employ.
There are lots of reasons I do not think that MMO games
are a good idea for kids, but I would love to hear your arguments both
for and against. If you have experiences both positive and negative
with MMO games please leave a comment below.
