Manipulative game design: How Dark UX tactics drive player engagement

Abstract

This thesis looks into what is manipulative game design in free-to-play video games and dark UX tactics which are at its core. Goal was to understand what they are, how they are implemented and how what is their effect on player engagement.

Dark UX tactics in this context refers to design patterns which intentionally create pressure, loss of control and overall confusion in order to steer players towards monetization.

Through a mixed-method approach in survey and interviews research has captured player’s spending behavior, their recognition of the dark UX patterns in video games as well as emotional responses to them. In addition to that active free-to-play players provided richer insights into their lived experiences which made the results more well-rounded.

The results show that manipulative UX tactics are widespread in free-to-play video games, particularly limited-time offers, premium currencies that obscure real prices and gambling like mechanics in shape of loot boxes and gacha. These tactics can increase short-term engagement and spending but in the long run they make players associate games with guilt and regret, causing frustration and inevitable churn.

This thesis concludes that relying on dark UX may undermine long-term player trust and may hurt the sustainability of F2P business models. It suggests that game companies should shift towards more transparent and autonomy-supporting monetization design which will allow them to maintain their revenue while reducing harm to the player base.