Coping with our responsibility as game designers on players wellbeing

General
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I have spent so much time in front of a computer. It’s fine, it’s my job. But not everybody’s. Long work sessions give me a great feeling unlike lengthy play sessions. Those make me look through my window, with my eyes slightly hurting, and say… How beautiful is reality; wish I could spend more time looking at it and not at the monitor.

I dare to think many game designers have probably had, if they don’t still have, a tough relationship with videogames. They have given me so much that I can even dedicate myself to them and yet, they have taken also precious time, skills and health. The reason should be pretty clear to us as designers and still we throw wood to the burning fire. Let’s make the most entertaining game! Jump on any trend, catchy visuals, rewards, hooks, feedback, JUICE!!! Things only get worse if you’re designing for a highly competitive market.

Don’t you sometimes feel bad about it? I mean, maybe I’m the only, but I don’t think so. Trust me, this is not about entertainment not being useful. Everybody and her mother nowadays seems to want to live on a forest homestead. But this is not that escapism story. It’s another piece of our lives. We need games, we truly do, as any other thing, no matter how useless or misused it can get. But, still, there must be something we can do about the bad while keeping the good.

Just as food providers keep us (in theory) away from putting ourselves in risk, what do you do or can we do to help our fellow players. If nothing is your answer, fine, but tell me your tips to sleep well at night. It is kind of getting me.

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True, I guess it’s the difference between the creator and consumer. I barely watch anything nowadays, and gaming happens once in a blue moon. I feel jealous while playing other games because I have the ability to make them, but I didn’t. The dev is on a yacht right now… And I am playing his game..

I kind of hate it that I’m not interested in those but other people at my age are.

If you ask me how many games I have played this year, the answer is 4 (3 of them are made by my friends)

You are not alone : )

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Honestly, while I have quite the experiences, I still don’t really understand anything you said. At all.

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Me too xD
I just understood the first few lines xD

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Today’s theme is confusion. It seems.

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Books, radio, television, computers, internet, smartphones, games… they all were this thing that focused people’s attention throughout the time

As long as you’re not making terribly obvious time eating games, it’s not that bad really

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Aye, indeed.

If modern games give you that feeling, try playing retro games, I really havent had much problems with this before, honestly straining my eyes trying to work on a day my mind isnt having it does worse than me spending a while playing games.

For me, it is “research”, first of all, (Yes and i enjoy the game Aretha the Super Famicom, feel free to google it if you will, the box art looks amazing btw)

Screenshot 2026-05-30 121418
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And second of all, most of us who chose to become gamedev do it because they love games,
and usually the games we make are targeted at those who are similar to us developers,

and all of us gamedevs know the struggles of debugging, as well as the joy that comes from being able to say “It works! I did it!!!”,
I personally believe that as long as you arent sending a bunch of horrible-quality vibe-coded games, there is nothing to worry about.

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My bad, I guess I got a little finicky with the language. This is not about my own grip with games and productivity and that… it’s actually quite the opposite. @NOTIdealDev got it better. Games are another form of entertainment, something that we need and has always existed in one form or another. They sure feel like the new kid in the block though and that’s probably because they are catchy, really catchy. We’ve gotten better and better and still strive for making more engaging games, because that’s what they are about. But can we speak about the ethics for a moment?

We are in a bad space to discuss this, all of us will be biased here. So extrapolate it to something different. Short form content, social media, junk food, smoking, gambling. They all offer entertainment and even promise some things in exchange like connections, money or even health impacts. We know how it goes, come on. No one will die from just one of these, but that’s not how they’re designed. Not addicting enough? Pour in more sugar, better content personalization, more nicotine, bigger prizes. Designers of these are constantly striving for more, that’s what their job asks for.

It’s hard for us to compare games to any of these, but again, be honest, we’re biased. We don’t have to get to the point of r/StopGaming, just acknowledge games can be exploitative. Sure put the blame on the player, they decide how much to play and yeah: smokers decide how much to smoke… Right? Yeah, no.

Let’s not be blind to the fact that our job, what we pour hours, money and our lives into is making these great. Making games that grab people’s attention and become their thing. Or isn’t that true? Please, reframe this as a question for designers aiming for entertainment. Maybe that’s not the right definition. Maybe designers shall carry feelings, ideas and moments with a game, not necessarily just raw entertainment. Still, you get what I’m saying, we try to make games fun.

Now, I reformulate. Isn’t it hard for you to cope with the fact you’re creating something that’s a little exploitative? You can’t do nothing for those who are long gone down the road of addiction. But is it necessary to hook everybody? To get every single person to be chained to your game by will of their neurobiological reward systems? Examples may help: roguelikes are hell, it’s just so easy to play them cause they’re always calling for more; they’re a top decision for indies for how repetitive but engaging they stay. Now, ambiental games? ABZU, Journey or, hey, The Long Dark. It’s easy to put them down and I’m not saying it as a bad thing, more as a good one. They are not drooling for my attention, they let me be me.

I already framed this issue of mine a while ago around the concept of time-gating. I have always thought there has to be some implication from us developers in keeping players safe. From the occasional “take a break” messages as a minimum to something more involved like (not forcing because we will never like that) but hinting that it might be over for today. Designing games with an ending, warning about excesses or even teaching through them, I think we can do better with games and how they treat those who play them. Foster a healthier relationship with the medium and forgetting the term “gamer” as opposed to “I often play games”. I think defining a hobby as a trait shows the flaws in how we perceive this thing we love.

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Ok, maybe you can say all that in a singular paragraph next time. So I can actually read it.

Or include a tl;dr. Because what I read was a big nothingburger.

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I dont truly think it could possibly be considered unethical unless it is literally a gambling sim, hentai VRs, or a game that literally only exists so people will get addicted to buying a fake currency or such and such.

Really speaking though, I do not really ever create anything “exploitive”, i wouldnt say anyone else here does either, as far as I know, for instance, Logisnesia (my game), Monkanics (@Demetrius_Dixon’s game), etc. are literally just projects filled with things that us devs enjoy.

Back in the day, games used to be designed to end in sessions, in the 80s, 90s, when as there ever been a “video game addict”? And even when games became more “addicting”, they simply had little “You may want to take a break” messages. I never listened and my mental state is perfectly fine.

Really there is a lot more to cover, but using literal logic, there isnt anything to worry about “ethically” for programming videogames, and intent is also a big player in things.

If you make a game that is engaging, good job.

Took a bit of brute-force for me to read it :smiley:
(OK 90% of it being entirely transparent)

Really, though, whenever I came across a “You should take a break message”, I would always ignore it, I will stop when I feel like it regardless of what messages pop up.

I know that you have a good intent here most likely, but really upon examination,
I would say it is somewhat sweating small stuff. Games that I care to play are supposed to be fun,
and I will say that i find games that take the mind solving problems are most fun.

Actually heres a solution; Games back then required thinking about puzzles, sleeping on them, deep arithmetic, etc. in order to beat a single part or chapter; nowadays most games are completely oblivious to the fact that players can think.

Quest markers, etc. allow for people to just continue to play forever without using the mind much, if you want to believe there is an ethical problem, then try making difficult puzzles and whatnot with short, minimal hints.

So, yeah. Another option is you could make the most boring, lame, and uninteresting game ever, but then no one would play it, but then you would solve the addiction problem :smiley:

—Apologies if it sounds a bit sarcastic, etc. i just find it a bit odd of a discussion, being fully transparent.

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Yup. Doesn’t get anymore simple than this.

I’m not sure what demons the original poster’s anxiety created, but they’re outta control.

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Indeed. However, I fear you may be understanding this as a much deeper issue, with the mental state thing. No matter how silly it sounds, your body does need those breaks. Playing for 2 hours on end is bad, physically, short-term.

That’s, as I’ve mentioned, a big contributor to not getting entangled in games. Marking clear milestones makes it easier for us to anchor ourselves to time and thoughts. They didn’t do this out of love but for money or limitations still.

Definitely. However:

I definitely think we should be more cautious about that. Would you say making a roblox-esque cash grab like “Steal a Brain Rot” is ethical? If yes, what separates it from an ethical game? Is a game like Megabonk ethical? Yes? Because it’s on Steam? And compared to the deep narrative of Pathological?

This is, with all transparency, as you’ve put it, what I kind of have come to. It’s hard to not think that maybe a more cautious approach to making games “ethical” is by not relying on proved things. Sure it’s not as rewarding as striking some kills on your favorite shooters and getting those crazy builds in Risk Of Rain 2.

But isn’t it beautiful? What The Witness, Outer Wilds, Return of The Obra Dinn or The Long Dark leave you with after toning down your senses. Not to say that these games are fun. They’re just not as extrinsic as intrinsic in how they motivate you.

– tl;dr: It’s easier to read my reply now

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I have played for far longer than 2 hours on-end of numerous titles, your point does not seem to stand; I am perfectly fine still physically and mentally. If you need advice, try an old small moniter.

Search up how Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Warrior, and Final Fantasy for the Famicom came to be then. Even then, the creators of each game genuinely enjoyed their projects, and formed bonds with their teams in doing so; those games and the bonds they made also formed bonds between players of those games. And on the money and limitations thing,
I myself need money if i intend to survive, however if i diddnt need it to live, I would not have any interest in it.

I diddnt grow up with Roblox or Megabonk, I am almost completely unaware of what they are,
however from what I have heard about the owner’s of Roblox’s behavior toward different things, and due to the fact of the allowing of brainrot and goodness knows what other unholy things, I would say out of all things to consider, no I would not consider it ethical, however I do not find it unethical either; it is neutral even if i dislike it.

It sounds like you are talking another language, I literally have never heard of any of these before, What I grew up with is Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Joe & Mac 2, Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, etc. I seriously have practically zero knowledge on probably 90% of the modern games you could mention:
Being fully honest, I cannot give a proper output.

Nevertheless, I will say that I dont particularly find “kill counts” to be rewarding, I like puff puff in Dragon Que— uhh, I mean UH, “Research”, (yeah thats it… totally… trust please… hahahahh)
to be more intriguing.
(most of you will hopefully not get the reference )

I am a slow-paced RPG guy, really crunching numbers and finding rare encounters,
seeing the stories of different characters, etc. are the things I mostly like, however if we want to talk NES, I particularly enjoy Mystery of The Murasame Castle, which is basically Zelda but before zelda and with samurai and ninja, still, I have never watched my mental state degrade to nothing nor has my body disintegrated from these, but hey, if you like playing with chalk on the side of the road, be my guest.

(again, apologies if this is a bit blunt, or not blunt, i mean rude moreso.)

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I think our role is to produce entertainment. In film terms, sometimes that is a 3 hour black and white heart-breaking historical drama, and sometimes it’s an animated family comedy about little yellow minions. Entertainment comes in many forms, and is not always relaxing.

Yep, me too. Although I still often marvel at the creations others have built and like massive bridges, dams or skyscrapers, am awed by the amount of work that went into them.

Just don’t do the more toxic aspects. Like pay-to-win, gambling, pornography or data scraping etc. I think that making a £5 game that sells, is addictively fun and endlessly entertaining providing potentially hundreds of hours of entertainment is a noble endeavour.

I still play games about three hours a day. However I rarely watch TV, I find it boring in comparison to gaming.

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honestly it is a really good idea! tho it is impossible because there will always be that one player who grinds for hours.

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@StJava ‘s reply has been wild :distorted_face:

Anyways, this is actually eye-opening. It really seems like we have different views, definitely. I also grew along the games you’ve mentioned, just along. I got a computer early on, barely any Nintendo so yeah, I gravitated towards other games.

It’s still obvious how it seems to have shaped my taste for games. I often discuss with my friends how… I just don’t like Pokémon. I have not grown with it so no feelings towards it. Good thing is all of the games you’ve mentioned are, effectively, state of the art games that do not incur in toxic behaviors as mentioned by others.

Which is what I see

here. If you compare other forms of entertainment that have come up, there’s a clear difference. A movie or book will not practically give you endless hours of entertainment. On the other hand? We aspire to do that with games, it’s feasible. And I honestly think that is a problem.

The destiny of an endless game is to be forgotten and hated, in my opinion. When you drag on a game you end up burning it. There’s no end, no points to anchor your memories to. It might be just my experience, but games that have lasted me just 10 hours, across multiple session, have become much more memorable than my 100h+ games.

Returning to the health point, I honestly feel like the impact is much more seamless than it seems. Without disrespecting no one, check your head to toes flexibility, manage to do some pull ups, look for a contracture on the upper back. Those are the usual areas of impact of gaming (and sedentarism). You may not be dying of lung cancer but there’s still something going on.

With no background in medicine, all of the above issues happen more because of the sustained effort than the volume of it. It’s not playing 3 hours it’s playing 3 hours without breaks that stiffens the body. That’s why those breaks are important.

Sadly, that’s the case. Someone will always eat burgers till’ the have a heartache. But you might as well not profit on top of that and keep running McDonald’s? Hamburgers can be a healthy dish if you cut on the sauces and added sugars.

You might regard that analogy as making boring games, but that’s not what I’m saying. A hamburger is still thousand times more rewarding than what our ancestors ate, mostly herbs. Just don’t get cloying with your craft. Hard when your environment pushes for it.

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You may have a point, but u may also be overthinking it.

If you don’t make an addictive game for me to escape my life, I might just sit in a place and stew and fume, or doom scroll, so one bad habit is replaced by another.

While asking such a question and refusing to take part in this is noble, you may be overthinking and overestimating the role your game plays in someone’s life.

I think what would make me go jogging is if a pretty lady flirted with me every time she passed me in the morning everytime I went for breakfast and I saw her jogging. So the point I am trying to make is that, the person’s community and family needs to provide that support in them having healthy habits, and that goes beyond saying “video games are bad for you” and just nagging.

So perhaps you are right, but the blame isn’t all yours to bear :wink:

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Hunter/Gatherers. Don’t forget about the juicy Mammoth burgers!

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Understatement of the century.

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It’s a videogame. You click play, do your thing and walk away.
It’s not hakita’s fault if some dude spends 6 hours of his day livestreaming attempts at minos prime P-rank brutal difficulty.
Rather than accept that the videogames are that fun (they are not), the player should reconsider if the world outside is that lame.