Videogames are the more complex phenomenon one can actually imagine. They incorporate different layers of meaning that can interest academic researchers, especially those involved in the ethics and social significance of video games. Adrian Petterson’s view on the game industry and the techniques used in games’ development is greatly applicable to the deep look at how Sandy Petersen’s games are created. Although the author of this paper is not an everyday gamer, the complex view on Petersen’s legacy of computer games will be presented through the lens of Adrian Petterson’s thinking.
Theoretical Framework
The brief introduction of the conceptual set for analyzing video games is integral for a more thorough look at Sandy Petersen’s work. Adrian Petterson’s presentation is overwhelmingly based on the article “Dark Patterns in the Design of Games” written by Zagal et al. The authors present the fruitful theoretical toolkit for the analysis of the designs of games, which are abusive and sometimes intend to make players feel anger and disappointment (Zagal et al., 2013). Such ‘anti-players’ game designs the authors call dark game design patterns and define them as “patterns used intentionally by a game creator to cause negative experiences for players which are against their best interests” (Zagal et al., 2013, p. 7). Firstly, games with dark patterns can make players spend less or more time than they expected (Zagal et al., 2013). For example, some games intentionally prioritize the time spent in the game over the skill of players (Perdomo, 2021). Such phenomenon as grinding, i.e., the repetition of the same actions many times to progress in the game, is a fundamental rule for games like The World of Warcraft.
Secondly, some dark patterns manipulate their users through requirements to spend more money in order to upgrade and be more successful in the game. The main goal of such games is to make players “lose track” of how much money they spent (Zagal et al., 2013, p. 4). Thirdly, game developers may produce the ‘social pyramid schemes’ based on the rule to involve more friends in the game to improve game results (Zagal et al., 2013, p. 5). Finally, game developers have a great variety of psychological influences abusing players’ mental weaknesses. For example, in SimCity Social, the system uses the notifications like “One Time Offer! You will NEVER see this offer again!” forcing players to spend money with the desire to use lucrative offers (Zagal et al., 2013, p. 6). All in all, these four features are helpful to understanding the dark side of video games.
Dark Patterns in Sandy Petersen’s Games
Generally speaking, the games designed by Sandy Petersen are some of the most important and influential for the whole gaming community. They acclaimed the highest scores from game critics, with Doom and Quake becoming the masterpieces of the industry (“The Ultimate DOOM”, n.d.; “Quake critic reviews for PC”, n.d.). Therefore, it is hard to find some significant dark patterns in his game designs. While Petersen games have traits of excessive grinding and demand to consume more time for gaming, the ‘social pyramid schemes’, bites for donations, and psychological manipulations are not present there. The latter three characteristics are more dominant in modern mobile games, especially those designed for teenagers having a lot of free time.
First of all, analyzing the content of Petersen’s games, one can distinguish one more factor that was not addressed by Zagal et al. DOOM is intentionally created in dark colors that cause anxiety and unease among players. The main story there is that the portal to hell was accidentally opened, which caused the flow of demons from there. The creatures, which players need to kill, are frightening and cause mentally devastating effects. In addition, players need to move in narrow corridors and low caves, causing the signs of claustrophobia. All that is combined with the great level of violence with which the fights and kills are happening. As a result, although players spend tens of hours in the universe of DOOM, the real-life experience may dramatically change to the prevalence of depression and loneliness.
Another dark pattern feature in Petersen’s games is the extreme difficulties of the game walkthrough. It is especially relevant for DOOM II, which has unbelievably tough levels. For example, the gamer with the nick “Zero Master” spent 19 years to speedrun (complete the mission with no stops made) the level “The Plutonia Experiment” on the “Nightmare” difficulty (Klepek, 2015). The intensity of the game and extreme difficulty of it make players to anger and become more nervous in real life.
Finally, some of Petersen’s games require grinding for the completion of achievements and unlocking of new levels. It is more relevant for his strategies, for example, Civilization and Age of Empires 2. The reason is that players need to farm resources which will help to boost their empires and become stronger. In Petersen’s strategies, farming is a monotonous extraction of virtual currency and resources from trade and own production. It takes a lot of effort from users, so the grinding nature of Petersen’s strategy games makes them dar patterned.
References
Klepek, R. (2015). It took 19 years for someone to beat this DOOM 2 challenge. Kotaku.
Quake critic reviews for PC. (n.d.). Metacritic.
The Ultimate DOOM. (n.d.). Metacritic.
Perdomo, P. (2021). Grinding from a player’s and game designer’s point of view [Dissertation]. Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet.
Zagal, J. P., Björk, S., & Lewis, C. (2013). Dark patterns in the design of games. Proceedings of the 2013 foundations of digital games. Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet.