Fall 2013 contained three notable references about kids and technology. First, Common Sense Media came out with their latest Zero to Eight report which demonstrated how the number of kids who have access to mobile devices keeps growing. Second, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a policy statement encouraging families to follow a plan for kids’ media use. Third, NPR broadcast a story about how American families are struggling with the pull games are exerting over their kids. Given three credible sources remarked on kids and technology in a single month, I figured it was due time to update the blog.
The most compelling snippet of information I found after reading the reports, was the statement from the NPR interview transcript about how big game companies employee people called “Game Economists” whose “job is to get people to buy virtual goods inside of games.” The existence of specialists and professionals in the gaming industry, whose sole purpose is to reel you in, was more of a reality check to me than any of the mobile device usage statistics.
So I decided to download one of the games referenced in the NPR transcript, Candy Crush, to see if I could figure out how these professionals were doing their job. Here is what I was thinking while I got familiar with the game:
If you are reading this post in text, and cannot view my graphics, I included six screenshots from the game along with my commentary. That commentary states my impressions about the game, which were “it was social, it contained words to make me feel special, it conveyed a sense of urgency, it let me buy my way to instant gratification, it made me wait for more free play, and it played to my emotions.” After spending 30 minutes with Candy Crush, I longed for a media limit, so I turned it off.
This experience made me thankful for the hundreds of independent app developers who make apps with the simple educational goal of learning a letter, number or fraction. Thank you for making wholesome content for kids, void of these gamey tactics.
Great insight Lorraine, thanks. Yeah, I heard that article on NPR as well and since I don’t play those kind of games either, it was good to see screenshots of the game mechanics called out like that. Thank you!
Very very interesting, as an app developer myself, I look for signs like this to make my apps more engaging and fun for users! Great read.
Thanks for your comment Brent. I would recommend any parent with this topic on their mind listens to the NPR audio, which is only about 7 minutes long. It’s insightful! It’s everyones choice what they play, but I find it helpful to know the contents in advance of making it available in my home.
Hi Martin, “fun” is a term that can be implemented in all sorts of ways, with various outcomes. What I noticed with Candy Crush, is that it’s style of “fun” was to try various tactics to extend my play. So if I were able to put a “label” on this app, I would title it something like “Designed for Extended Play”, and that way parents would know upfront it was designed to keep going.
Thanks for the great analysis. When we were developing our app Flip4Gold, we had many suggestions to include these types of incentives, player feedback and in-app purchases. Coders explained the “gaming mentality” and I will admit, when coded to be “addictive” the feel of the game was different and game play was much faster. In the end it was important to us to have an authentic math learning game that was safe and fun to play.