ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Dot Dot Fire makes fun educational games for kids and schools in STEM and financial literacy topics. Guest Hilary Lok is the Founder and Chief Designer.
THEME:
The Fine Line of Ethical Design
BIG IDEA:
For-profit video game designers have to carefully operate between traditional extremes; the traditional tactics of freemium games are too exploitative, yet making boring and free games isn't sustainable. One way DDF has done so is by making their apps relatable rather than addictive. If players can relate with the protagonist's story, they'll be emotionally invested in a much more positive sense than if they were encouraged to mindlessly repeat price-extracting actions (eg using a loot box).
FAVORITE QUOTE:
"If people are happy buying a textbook with quality educational content, why shouldn’t that be the same with video games? We’re hoping to change the status quo so that people will recognize that if something is valuable to them and they’re paying for it, then they are the customer and the company is serving them."
Pic of Hilary's Cat on our blog post
If liked this episode, checkout: News Feed Eradicator and Future Ethics
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