Dark Pattern Games
darkpattern.games
Dark Pattern Games
1–10 of 141 posts
Re: Dark Pattern Games
#2I like the idea, but their ratings seem.. dubious at best. For example: Hyperrogue, which hit the frontpage a few times and which I can confidently say does not feature any dark patterns, is rated just 1.19 [0] on a 5 (best) to -5 (worst) scale.
[0] https://www.darkpattern.games/game/18554/0/hyperrogue.html
Re: Dark Pattern Games
#3I like the idea, but their ratings seem.. dubious at best. For example: Hyperrogue, which hit the frontpage a few times and which I can confidently say does not feature any dark patterns, is rated just 1.19 [0] on a 5 (best) to -5 (worst) scale. [0] https://www.darkpattern.games/game/18554/0/hyperrogue.html
also funny how those first 3 'dark patterns' are basically just the core appeal of the genre
Re: Dark Pattern Games
#4I like the idea, but their ratings seem.. dubious at best. For example: Hyperrogue, which hit the frontpage a few times and which I can confidently say does not feature any dark patterns, is rated just 1.19 [0] on a 5 (best) to -5 (worst) scale. [0] https://www.darkpattern.games/game/18554/0/hyperrogue.html
also funny how those first 3 'dark patterns' are basically just the core appeal of the genre
Yeah, can't take this site seriously when it lists some of my favorite mechanics as dark patterns.
Re: Dark Pattern Games
#5Any game with any in-app purchase at all already feels unhealthy, even if its just a trial unlock.
The healthiest games are consistently ones where you pay one large amount upfront, and then are never bothered about money again, because there is nothing else to buy. The developers are so confident you will enjoy it they don't bother with free trial offers. If you really don't like it, you just return for a full refund. Feels good.
Re: Dark Pattern Games
#6I made something like this a while ago, for mobile games: https://nobsgames.stavros.io
Unfortunately, the manual part of it (reviewing user submissions) is too much for one person (me), but it should be fairly useful still.
Re: Dark Pattern Games
#7Any game with any in-app purchase at all already feels unhealthy, even if its just a trial unlock. The healthiest games are consistently ones where you pay one large amount upfront, and then are never bothered about money again, because there is nothing else to buy. The developers are so confident you will enjoy it they don't bother with free trial offers. If you really don't like it, you just return for a full refun…
I don't mind a trial unlock, or a one-time purchase. Any sort of currency is right out.
Re: Dark Pattern Games
#8Any game with any in-app purchase at all already feels unhealthy, even if its just a trial unlock. The healthiest games are consistently ones where you pay one large amount upfront, and then are never bothered about money again, because there is nothing else to buy. The developers are so confident you will enjoy it they don't bother with free trial offers. If you really don't like it, you just return for a full refun…
Nah that’s going too far. 90s shareware was sold exactly that way — free trial and pay if you want more — and there were plenty of great creative games in that category.
Re: Dark Pattern Games
#9I like this. I'm currently working on a (simple) iOS game, mostly because I got fed up with all of the dark patterns that are so highly prevalent on the market.
I'm even thinking about naming it something like `Pay Upfront: Strategy Game` to underline the single purchase model, but perhaps it's silly to go that far?
Re: Dark Pattern Games
#10I like the idea, but their ratings seem.. dubious at best. For example: Hyperrogue, which hit the frontpage a few times and which I can confidently say does not feature any dark patterns, is rated just 1.19 [0] on a 5 (best) to -5 (worst) scale. [0] https://www.darkpattern.games/game/18554/0/hyperrogue.html
Yeah I think this clarifies the core issue with this kind of thinking (imo).
The venn diagram between 'mechanics that make games fun' and 'dark patterns' (as described by this site) is basically a circle. The important thing isn't the patterns themselves, it's that they're used to make you spend money on microtransactions.
Looking at just the mechanics divorced of any context of the surrounding business/marketing/monetization is missing the point.