for science
Crowfall’s Raph Koster goes into insane depth on the cost of creating video games
If you have an exceptional memory, you might recall that a couple of months ago, Crowfall and Star Wars Galaxies designer Raph Koster wrote...
Game Theory explores the psychological exploitation at work in lockboxes
"It's as easy as one, two, insert your credit card number here!" So begins the parody at the beginning of the first of two...
WHO attempts to defend its proposed ‘gaming disorder’ classification
At the tail end of last year, we caught wind that the World Health Organization is planning on classifying gaming addiction as a "gaming...
HEVGA argues WHO’s proposed ‘gaming disorder’ classification scapegoats and stigmatizes games
Is gaming addiction a thing worthy of its own classification? The World Health Organization is thinking about saying yes in its update of the...
Raph Koster on MMO ecosystems, the balance of power, and tennis
Most MMORPGs have the core sandbox problem: Whoever gets there first, controls all the toys and has the power to drive everyone else away....
How video game lockboxes use psychology to manipulate you
We here at Massively OP can't get rid of lockboxes, but by gum, we're not going to roll over and give up on fighting...
ESA pushes back against World Health Organization’s gaming disorder classification
In case you missed it over the holiday break, but the World Health Organization announced it would be adding "gamer disorder" and "hazardous gaming"...
A look back at the MMO and gaming science topics of 2017
Over the last couple of years, we've redoubled our efforts on our science-related articles, as you may have noticed from our roundups in 2016 and 2015....
Academics weigh in on ‘gaming addiction’ claims
We've previously discussed that according to the Manual of Mental Disorders and the industry standard Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, gaming addiction isn't a...
Extra Credits on how to win, lose, and measure gamer trust
How does a "great series get driven into the ground," eroding player trust? That's precisely the subject tackled in a recent edition of the...
Gaming industry roundup: SWBG2’s poor sales, Gambling Commission, slot machines, and parody games
Don't agree that lockboxes, lootboxes, and gambleboxes were the biggest story of the year? We've collected so many news tidbits just on that over...
Exploring the psychology behind losses, gains, and grouping results in video games
Getting five batches of 100 gold feels better than one batch of 500 gold, and being forced to spend three separate 100 gold fees...
EVE Online uses city urban planning in its design
Who would have ever thought that something so mundane and everyday as city urban planning would be of immense inspiration to a game like...
Researchers document Pokemon Go’s vehicular casualties, Niantic raises $200M for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
Pokemon Go developer Niantic just got enough money to build a second pool in which to put all that money to roll around in....
For Science! Researchers find link between fluid intelligence and elite MOBA play
In a new paper released last week, University of York researchers sought to examine whether research that strategy gaming (like chess and arcade games)...
This is why ‘playing alone together’ still makes you feel connected. But is it helping?
Whenever the topic of playing solo in MMORPGs comes up, invariably the expression "playing alone together" is worked into the conversation. This is the...
MMO blogger dives into the theoretical math behind lockboxes
MMO blogger Serrenity, whom many of you will recognize from his clever comments here on MOP too, has a compelling blog post on his...
Activision secures patent for software to trick you into buying cash shop stuff, seriously
Hey, gang, this is absolutely wonderful. Activision has filed and been granted a patent for software designed to push you into buying cash shop...
Frontier Expo 2017: Science, history, and gaming make for a great first con
This past weekend was not the first time I have attended a developer's convention, but Frontier Expo 2017Â was one of only a very few...
The Daily Grind: Are you a fan of ‘automatic helping behaviors’ in MMORPGs?
We've been complaining about lockboxes a lot lately as an unwelcome psychological trick in gaming, so this morning, I wanted to talk about a...
