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How slot machines are designed to be addictive

theguardian.com

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Re: How slot machines are designed to be addictive

#61

Post by [deleted] »

dsnuh wrote: post #31
byron_fast wrote: post #18

It may be this stuff is true for current slot machines, but it isn't immediately obvious if you try one. In fact, current slot machines are an incoherent mess. When I played recently, I couldn't tell whether I had a near-miss or even a win until credits counted upward. I couldn't feel any excitement because I didn't know what was going on. It would have taken me several hundred dollars worth of play to even understan…

No kidding. Feels like it should have a QR code on the machine. you can use to download an app that explains what is happening. Or at least a PDF of the probably 10 page payout schedule. And to even get to whatever 3D Ellen Simpsons Plants vs Zombies Wheel of Fortune Jeopardy bonus round. Oh, and those penny slots? Great deal. Only have to wager about $5 per pull to get the good jackpots. Couple that with the strip c…

[deleted]

Re: How slot machines are designed to be addictive

#62

Post by xwvvvvwx »

smallstepforman wrote: post #60

Disclaimer: I design the machines and games for a living. 1) regarding near miss, with basic math knowledge you can easily calculate the odds of near miss. Eg. with 2 special symbols per 30 symbol reel, for a 3x5 reel game, you have a 1:5 chance of seeing the special symbol per reel, or once per spin for a 5 reel game. The odds of a 4 symbol near miss is (1:5)^4, which is 1:625, or once every 30 minutes. With a bank…

I mean, I guess you have to think like that to do the work you do, but are you really disputing the existence of gambling addiction? It seems like a pretty well documented phenomena by now.

Re: How slot machines are designed to be addictive

#63

Post by ACow_Adonis »

smallstepforman wrote: post #60

Disclaimer: I design the machines and games for a living. 1) regarding near miss, with basic math knowledge you can easily calculate the odds of near miss. Eg. with 2 special symbols per 30 symbol reel, for a 3x5 reel game, you have a 1:5 chance of seeing the special symbol per reel, or once per spin for a 5 reel game. The odds of a 4 symbol near miss is (1:5)^4, which is 1:625, or once every 30 minutes. With a bank…

Out of pure curiousity, got any sources for me to read regarding 2).

Just because I read it and thought: "You know what, that would be one hell of an interesting study/experiment...".

Because every possible finding: whether industry involvement/employment had the effect of increasing demand, decreasing demand, or being totally irrelevant/representative of the population at large, would be an interesting outcome...

Re: How slot machines are designed to be addictive

#64

Post by DonHopkins »

smallstepforman wrote: post #60

Disclaimer: I design the machines and games for a living. 1) regarding near miss, with basic math knowledge you can easily calculate the odds of near miss. Eg. with 2 special symbols per 30 symbol reel, for a 3x5 reel game, you have a 1:5 chance of seeing the special symbol per reel, or once per spin for a 5 reel game. The odds of a 4 symbol near miss is (1:5)^4, which is 1:625, or once every 30 minutes. With a bank…

4) people have a natural tendency to arrange cocaine into nice straight lines. There is a natural high people get when they complete a snorting job. I've worked with 3 big coke dealers, and none of them had paid physicians on call - there is no need.

Re: How slot machines are designed to be addictive

#65

Post by vim_wannabe »

xwvvvvwx wrote: post #62
smallstepforman wrote: post #60

Disclaimer: I design the machines and games for a living. 1) regarding near miss, with basic math knowledge you can easily calculate the odds of near miss. Eg. with 2 special symbols per 30 symbol reel, for a 3x5 reel game, you have a 1:5 chance of seeing the special symbol per reel, or once per spin for a 5 reel game. The odds of a 4 symbol near miss is (1:5)^4, which is 1:625, or once every 30 minutes. With a bank…

I mean, I guess you have to think like that to do the work you do, but are you really disputing the existence of gambling addiction? It seems like a pretty well documented phenomena by now.

>I guess you have to think like that to do the work you do

I don't think you need to start this on a free to play/social networking site/on-line shopping developer forum.

Re: How slot machines are designed to be addictive

#66

Post by DonHopkins »

brokenmachine wrote: post #51
Jasper_ wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am sitting here on an upgraded Nexus 9 tablet with the latest Google Chrome. This thing came out less than 3 years ago and yet I literally cannot read this article. I wait ten seconds not touching the page for it to finish loading as fonts, banners, sounds all pop in and try to settle around me. Barely touching the screen to scroll it down causes a button to start sliding around the page, overlapping on top of a bu…

Your Nexus 9 tablet has a fan that spins at 7200rpm?

It's probably one of those bluetooth fans.

http://list.qoo10.sg/item/XIAOMI-XIAOMI-XIAOMI-INTELLIGENT-F...

Re: How slot machines are designed to be addictive

#67

Post by imroot »

Hasz wrote: post #17

I recently read an excellent book about this subject exactly -- Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas, by Natasha Dow Schüll. It has research from every angle -- former addicts, the casinos, current addicts, game programmers, game manufacturers, anyone who has a hand in the industry. It's incredibly comprehensive, and definitely worth a look, if a bit long.

It pains me to say this, but, back when "Gamification" was a major growth tool, I read this book so that I could identify potential avenues for "gamify-ing" the product that I was working on, but, the stories of the addicts are really what drove me away from even considering that for what I was working on.

I'll +1 on it being a really comprehensive book.

Re: How slot machines are designed to be addictive

#68

Post by celticninja »

smallstepforman wrote: post #60

Disclaimer: I design the machines and games for a living. 1) regarding near miss, with basic math knowledge you can easily calculate the odds of near miss. Eg. with 2 special symbols per 30 symbol reel, for a 3x5 reel game, you have a 1:5 chance of seeing the special symbol per reel, or once per spin for a 5 reel game. The odds of a 4 symbol near miss is (1:5)^4, which is 1:625, or once every 30 minutes. With a bank…

Drinking is a voluntary activity but we still have alcoholics, gambling addiction is the same. Of course no one is forcing people to gamble but similarly no one is forcing a heroin addict to keep taking the drug.

Re: How slot machines are designed to be addictive

#70

Post by uh_what »

celticninja wrote: post #68
smallstepforman wrote: post #60

Disclaimer: I design the machines and games for a living. 1) regarding near miss, with basic math knowledge you can easily calculate the odds of near miss. Eg. with 2 special symbols per 30 symbol reel, for a 3x5 reel game, you have a 1:5 chance of seeing the special symbol per reel, or once per spin for a 5 reel game. The odds of a 4 symbol near miss is (1:5)^4, which is 1:625, or once every 30 minutes. With a bank…

Drinking is a voluntary activity but we still have alcoholics, gambling addiction is the same. Of course no one is forcing people to gamble but similarly no one is forcing a heroin addict to keep taking the drug.

Not the best examples considering both alcohol withdrawal and heroin withdrawal can be fatal.
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