Grinding Gear Games co-founder and one of the authors of Path of Exile, Chris Wilson, has published a video where he breaks down "dark patterns."
According to him, modern games are increasingly using behavioral tricks, rather than honest game design.
I hate all this crap. When I was growing up, games were made for fun, not for manipulation. Back then, there weren't psychologists sitting in studios trying to reprogram me.
According to him, most games-as-a-service over the past ten years have been shaping progression so that internal statistics grow at any cost. Some techniques are harmless, but a significant portion only puts pressure on the player. Wilson reminds us that dark patterns are designs that influence behavior to make you spend more or spend more time in the game than planned.
He describes examples: interface traps, hidden chains of paid upgrades, where buying one upgrade opens up new ones and forces you to spend beyond expectations. Classic cases also include the daily reward. Wilson cites the example of an acquaintance who walked six kilometers with a laptop to maintain a login streak. Players log in not out of interest, but because the system has given them a habit similar to brushing their teeth. Escalating rewards increases the pressure: miss a day - lose everything.
Separately, he notes FOMO mechanics, time-limited tasks, and friend invitations that create social pressure. Gacha games, he says, have taken this to the maximum through temporary character banners.
