for science
The Daily Grind: How much MMO game info should be hidden from the players?
A blog post on The Psychology of Video Games blog a few weeks ago seems relevant to our interests: It explores the "pleasure paradox," which...
EVE Fanfest 2018: CCP Games has big plans for data collection and machine learning
Every day in the sandbox of New Eden, several hundred thousand EVE Online players perform millions of unseen actions. Every item manufactured, module activated,...
Noted statistician blasts 2013 paper that links aggression and video games
Last month, as part of our ongoing dialogue about video games and violence, we covered a brand-new paper that found that playing video games...
GDC 2018: Games can help humanity, be profitable, and get support from gamers
Games alone won't make the world better. They won't even make gamers better. We publish some articles that certainly seem pretty pro-games, but we're...
GDC 2018: Ready Player One Now, billion person gaming, and mitigating abuse
It's no surprise that Ready Player One was constantly being referenced at GDC 2018, especially in VR, AR, and MMO panels. It's not just because of...
GDC 2018: Yokozuna, big game data, and the future of MMO monetization
GDC isn't E3. It isn't PAX. It's not even what I think stereotypical gamers can appreciate. But I think the Massively OP crowd is...
MMO designer Raph Koster reveals ‘Trust Spectrum’ research for online games
If you'll be at GDC this week (we will!), you're in for a treat, as research from MMORPG designer Raph Koster will be on...
For science: New long-term study shows video games don’t make adults violent
Before we start, yes, I'm sure many of our readers are feeling a big wave of "duh" at the statement in the headline, but...
MMO business roundup: Steam, toxicity, Kartridge, contracts, dopamine, and guns
What's going on in the online video games business this week? Let's dig in.
Steam, toxicity, and Kartridge
The Center for Investigative Reporting (via Motherboard) has a...
Academics argue WHO’s ‘gaming disorder’ is arbitrary, criticize lack of evidentiary transparency
Researchers and self-regulatory bodies are continuing their denouncement of the World Health Organization's plan to classify "gaming addiction" as a "gaming disorder." The Entertainment...
German commission takes up lootbox issue as academics link whaling to gambling markets
Germany has added its voice to the anti-lockbox chorus in the US, UK, and Netherlands. According to an article on the German-language Welt (picked...
Academics debate WHO ‘gaming disorder’ classification and global political implications
Remember how the World Health Organization is angling to classify gaming addiction as a "gaming disorder"? Researchers and self-regulatory bodies have been pushing back...
The Daily Grind: Have you ever taken drugs in an MMORPG?
Probably my favorite screenshot in an MMO is the one I took back in 2003 or so, when my Star Wars Galaxies character was...
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"...
