Gaming Addictions Maria Alandes Pradillo – M1 MSc Smartedtech, Co-creativity and Digital Tools for Educational Innovation – Digital Culture and Ethics – January 2021
Table of Contents A short video game history...... 1 What science knows about addictions...... 2 Gaming disorder...... 3 The Social evolution of gaming...... 4 Monetisation in games...... 4 The most addictive games...... 5 Ethical Aspects...... 6
A short video game history The first ever known computer game was designed by Edward U. Condon in 1940 for the Westinghouse display at the World’s Fair in New York. He designed the Nimatron computer game that competed against a human player at the traditional game Nim. Tens of thousands of people played it. Later on throughout the decades of 1940 and 1950, several initiatives developed basic computer games to play chess, tennis or exit labyrinths [1].
Video Game Timeline – (Source: Infographics Design 2012)
In 1962, MIT student Steve Russell invents Spacewar!, the first computer-based video game. Although Spacewar was fun to play, it was never released to the general public, since computers were still too expensive for personal use. To play Spacewar one needed access to a research facility’s computer, which kept the game’s influence limited to the small computer technology sphere [2]. But few years later, in 1967, Ralph Baer develops his "Brown Box", the video game prototype that lets users play tennis and other games on the television. Millions of televisions were already present in many households. Then, in 1972 an arcade version of this game was released, it was called Pong, and it was a tremendous success. The first generation of video game console was created later in 1975, with a home version of Pong released by Atari Inc [3]. Early 80s see the advent of popular arcade games like Pacman [4], Tetris [5] or Super Mario Bros [6]. It is also when the first personal computers appear in the market, with best sellers like the Commodore 64 [7], which could play games in addition to running a multitude of other programs, and seemed a more logical investment than buying a system devoted solely to gaming [8]. However, a revamping of video consoles happens in 1985 with the launching of Nintendo Entertaining System [9]. Nintendo finishes the decade with another greatest hit: the Game Boy [10], that will popularise handheld gaming and bundle all the popular arcade games. PC prices start to decline by the late 80s, with a wave of consumers purchasing inexpensive IBM PC clones in large numbers for home. In the 90s computers became the most important platform for computer game companies [11] and bring the popularity of real time strategy games like Warcraft or Legend of Zelda, attracting millions of players all around the world [12]. Sony releases the PlayStation [13] in 1995 and in 1997, IMB computer Deep Blue beat the world chess champion after several days of game with massive media coverage [14]. With the 2000s internet becomes a truly world wide network with millions of active users. Boosted by innovations like the social web and mobile technology [15], internet allows the game industry to create new game paradigms. Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games [16] create entire virtual universes for players and redefine how gamers play and learn. Social games like Angry Birds [17] gets millions of people who would have never considered themselves gamers to spend while away hours playing in platforms like Facebook. Also in 2001 Microsoft enters the video game market with Xbox [18]. Nintendo, on their side, gets gamers off the couch and moving with Nintendo Wii [19] in 2006. In the last decade, an especially in the last year with the worldwide sanitary crisis, people have normalised many of the possibilities of a truly interconnected digital world at all levels of possible human interactions. E-sports tournaments, that existed almost since the birth of video games, are nowadays broadcasted in platforms like Twitch, that for instance, have allowed millions of viewers to watch the League of Legends world championship, rivalling some of the most popular athletic events in the world [20]. Online games like Fornite make multi billion profits [21] and are increasing their partnerships with other entertainment sectors [22]. COVID-19 have definitely boosted user engagement with video games and e-sports [23].
What science knows about addictions Addiction is a relationship between a person and an object or activity. With addiction, the object or activity becomes increasingly more important while previously important activities become less important. Ultimately, addiction is about the complex struggle between acting on impulse and resisting that impulse. When this struggle is causing suffering related to health, family, work, and other activities of everyday life, addiction might be involved. Addiction experts are beginning to move away from the notion that there are multiple addictions, each tied to a specific substance or activity. Rather, the Syndrome Model of Addiction suggests that there is one addiction that is associated with multiple expressions. An object of addiction can be almost anything — a drug or drug-free activity. For addiction to develop, the drug or activity must shift a person’s subjective experience in a desirable direction — feeling good or feeling better [24] Addiction to media refers to excessive use of video or online games, smart phone, social networks, TV, internet, etc. Professionals report that addiction often leads to severe social withdrawal and is related to obsessive and compulsive problems and an inversion of the sleeping rhythm [25]. Researchers are still trying to figure out exactly how and why video games affect the brain. One 1998 study showed that video games raise the level of dopamine in the brain by about 100 percent, roughly the same increase triggered by sex. (And that was more than 20 years ago — today’s games have evolved far beyond what was available then.) More recent research found measurable changes in the parts of the brain linked to cognitive function and emotional control after study subjects spent one week playing violent video games [26].
Gaming disorder The World Health Organisation added “gaming disorder” to the 2018 version of its medical reference book, International Classification of Diseases (ICD) [27]: Gaming disorder is defined in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as a pattern of gaming behaviour (“digital-gaming” or “video-gaming”) characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences. Addiction to gaming is also described in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which is used by american mental health professionals to diagnose mental disorders. Although in this case, the American Psychiatric Association estimated that there was not sufficient evidence to determine whether the condition is a unique mental disorder, but it recognized internet gaming disorder in the section recommending conditions for further research [28]. There is in any case common agreement that anyone experiencing five or more of the signs below over one year [29], should seriously reconsider their approach to gaming: • Thinking about gaming all or a lot of the time • Feeling bad when you can’t play • Needing to spend more and more time playing to feel good • Not being able to quit or even play less • Not wanting to do other things that you used to like • Having problems at work, school, or home because of your gaming • Playing despite these problems • Lying to people close to you about how much time you spend playing • Using gaming to ease bad moods and feelings Statistics show that more than 2 billion people play video games globally, 150 million in the United States. Several surveys indicate that Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) affects between 1-10% of Europe and North America. In a study conducted on adults in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany, researchers found that 0.3% to 1% of the general population fit the criteria for an IGD diagnosis; A national survey of “internet addiction” was carried out in Japan, and the samples that exhibited signs of IGD ranged from 0.7% to 27.5%; Another study done on gamers from Norway found that 1.4% of the sample could be classified as addicted gamers, while 7.3% were problem gamers [30]. The Social evolution of gaming The way people interact with video games has changed and evolved considerably over the years. This is very much related to technological advancements and the advent of internet and social networks. Gaming’s evolution in terms of social patterns is summarized below [31]: In-Home consumer console (from the 70s to the 90s): • Solitary Home Gaming – single-player console-based games • Social Home Gaming – multiplayer console-based games • Solitary Portable Gaming – single-player portable device gaming The internet Age (from the 90s to 00s): • Social Online Gaming – multiplayer online-based games • Social Online Console Gaming – multiplayer console-based games connected online • Social Competitive Portable Gaming – multiplayer portable device gaming The social network revolution (from the 00s): • Social Gaming on social networks – single and multiplayer online gaming Game addiction has become a true concern as ‘mobile gaming’ requires greater self-regulation skills than games playable only on a stationary computer [32]. Countries like Korea, which is one of the most wired countries in the world and where 95% of adults own a smartphone, faces a serious problem: Almost 20% of the population — nearly 10 million people — are at serious risk of Internet addiction, according to a 2018 government survey [33].
Monetisation in games Video games as a consumer product have changed significantly with the advent of in-game purchasing systems (e.g., microtransactions, ‘loot boxes’). Today, video gaming is a billion‐dollar global industry which is continuously growing and evolving [34]. An important innovation has been the expansion of digital purchase options, including the emergence of virtual goods, that can be purchased from within the game in small payments termed ‘microtransactions’. Microtransactions enable players to obtain additional game content or premiums (e.g. virtual items, textures/skins, currency, levels or power‐ups). These types of purchases are common in mobile game revenue models where the base game is ‘free‐to‐play’, but the player is encouraged to spend money to make unimpeded progress in the game [35]. The most addictive games A new study has revealed which games available right now are classified as the most addictive, shedding some light on game addiction [36].
Figure 1: Games with the Most Addicted Players
For some of these games, like Fortnite, there are already online guides for parents [37]. Some online resources also exist to warn about game addition for some of these games with tips on how to overcome it [38]. Ethical Aspects Harmful gaming is influenced by many factors like players’ personality (and vulnerability), along with other social and environmental aspects that affect the progression and recurrence of gaming. Today, games are unregulated products which are carefully designed by multi-billionaire corporations to capture users’ attention and promote never ending play. Thanks to advanced technology and engineering, games offer today complex narratives, immediate rewards, immersive virtual environments and social reinforcement. Most popular games (like massively multiplayer online role-paying games, multiplayer online battle arena or battle royale genre) are very far from embracing values like gender equality, diversity or inclusion. They are on the contrary very much criticized for promoting violence, sexism and racism, not only in the game itself (like in the character appearance, clothing, game situations, etc), but also among the interactions of the players in the online forums. Monetized mobile games use behavioral tracking to alter in-game conditions to incentivize continuous spending and persistent playing. Regulation is necessary to create a safe space for game users, in particular for parents and children. A game classification system defined and controlled by governments should be defined and agreed worldwide, involving the expertise of psychologists, sociologists and neuroscientists. Engineers should also help develop better parental control mechanisms to ensure that only children of a certain age can access and play a game. A certification system could be put in place to get a “non- addictive” label for those games that are not seeking and developing mechanisms to keep users playing forever. An auto regulation mechanism could be also developed to help more sensitive users to better control their gaming time, by for instance, not letting them play more than x hours per day or per week. More public awareness is also needed to condemn the existing toxic culture that promotes violence, sexism and racism in games. Code of conducts could be defined and enforced to create a culture of respect when playing online games. Engineers and game designers should also reconsider the proposed game scenarios and interactions. They should rethink their vision and promote more- ethical designs. Further research is also needed to better understand the effects of gaming on children and adolescents. More information about possible risks should be better advertised by governments via sensibilisation campaigns, school interventions or dedicated web sites where people could find reliable and scientific contrasted data on this topic. Finally, users should be also protected from predatory economic practices when online games involve in‐game purchasing systems that disguise or withhold the true long‐term cost of the activity until players are already financially and psychologically committed. 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