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"Let’s Play!" by Glenn Carstens-Peters is licensed under CC0

How Video Games Are Getting Inside Your Head— And Wallet

By Steve Henn, for NPR2013

In this informational text, Steven Henn discusses young gamers’ interest in gaming and how gamecompanies are continuously improving their products based on the user’s experience. As you read, takenotes on how gamers are influenced by the games they play.

Max Kelmon, 13, has his own little version of aman cave in Palo Alto, Calif. Behind the familykitchen in a converted garage, he has an Xbox, abig-screen TV, headphones and a microphone.There’s an old couch covered in a sheet. And thatcouch where he parks himself, surrounded byboxes and Christmas lights, is one of Max’sfavorite places on the planet.

From that couch, he connects to friends all overthe globe — and he spends hours, pretty muchevery day, honing1 his skills in Call of Duty.

The first commercially successful video game,Pong, invaded Americans’ living rooms 38 years ago. Since then, the industry has evolved from a simplebouncing ball in the Atari2 original to games with astounding graphics and sound, most of themconnected to the Internet.

That means that kids like Max can play with people spread across the globe. It also means that gamingcompanies can analyze how gamers play — each and every decision they make.

So when kids sit down with a game, they are actually sitting across a screen from adults who arestudying them — and, in some cases, trying to influence their behavior in powerful ways.

Researchers in game companies tweak games to get players to stay on longer, or to encourage them tospend money on digital goods. They study gamers’ reactions. It’s become a science.

And parents like Max’s mom, Vanessa Kelmon, often feel outgunned.3

“I hate it. I really do,” she says. “He could play Xbox for 12 straight hours. [He has] friends in Mexico Cityand friends in England.”

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1. Hone (verb): to perfect something over a period of time2. a home video game console3. to be surpassed in power

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Vanessa says Max is addicted to video games. “When I took it away, he started to cry,” she says. “MyGod, I am offering you to go play tennis or go play golf ... and I am making you shut this down, andyou’re crying about it.”

Tracking Clicks And Purchases

In millions of families, video games are a source of intense love and intense hate because they can beso incredibly compelling. You might not believe that if you don’t play them, but you can get lost in agreat game. They make you feel good.

And it’s no accident, says Ramin Shokrizade, the game economist for Wargaming America.

“The technology for this has gotten quite sophisticated,”4 says Shokrizade, who began his career inneuroscience5 and behavioral economics. “At this point, every major gaming company worldwideeither has in place a fully developed business intelligence unit, or they’re in the process of buildingone.”

Today’s game design is dominated by research, he says. As we play games, game developers aretracking every click, running tests and analyzing data.

They are trying to find out: What can they tweak to make us play just a bit longer? What would makethe game more fun? What can get us to spend some money inside a game and buy something?

So as millions of people play, designers introduce little changes and get answers to all of thesequestions in real time. And games evolve.

For example, most games today sell virtual goods right inside the game — like a new gun in Call ofDuty or a cow in FarmVille. Shokrizade’s job is to get people to buy them.

One of the tricks of the trade is something developers at Zynga — which created FarmVille — used tocall “fun pain” or “the pinch.” The idea is to make gamers uncomfortable, frustrate them, take awaytheir powers, crush their forts — and then, at the last second, offer them a way out for a price.

John Davison, who works at video game company Red Robot Labs, says free-to-play smartphonegames like Candy Crush Saga and Puzzle & Dragons have become brilliant at using these tests to figureout how to get people to spend money.

And the research is working. Davison says those games are making millions of dollars — every day.

Kids Who Cash In

When adults play games, they consent6 to share that personal information about how they play. ButShokrizade worries about the millions of kids who play. “If it’s a child, how do you even get consent forsomething like that?” he says.

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4. Sophisticated (adjective): developed to a high degree of complexity5. the sciences that deal with the function or structure of the nervous system and brain6. to give permission for something to happen

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©2013 Steve Henn for National Public Radio, Inc. News report titled “How Video Games Are Getting Inside Your Head — And Wallet” by SteveHenn was originally broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition on October, 2013, and it used with the permission of NPR. Any unauthorized

duplication is strictly prohibited.

Many of the people spending cash are kids, including Davison’s children. Game consoles sell gift cardsat convenience stores that allow kids to make purchases on video games, even if they don’t have acredit card.

Davison’s kids started playing Clash of Clans this year. In the game, developed by Supercell, you get torun your own little Viking village and team up with friends. To protect your clan, you can spend moneyon forts and weapons.

It’s free to download — but because of these virtual goods, it’s one of the highest-grossing apps inApple’s store.

Davison’s two boys loved it. “They were clearly getting a lot of enjoyment out of it,” he says. “But it didget to the point where my wife and I were like, ‘Do you really want to be spending everything on this?’ “

And this is coming from a man who has devoted his life to video games.

“I was trying to sort of total up in my head how much the kids had spent on this game,” he says. “Butthere was also a degree of admiration for the team at Supercell, that they had managed to get undermy 10-year-old’s skin to this degree.”

Apple recently settled a class-action lawsuit7 about kids making in-app purchases like this without theirparents’ permission, and the European Union is considering new regulations on games.

Some regulations are taking place on a smaller scale. In Menlo Park, Calif., Michelle DeWolf banned her10-year-old son, Austin Newman, from playing games during the school week.

Originally, she gave him 30 minutes a day, but that didn’t work.

“He couldn’t think about doing his homework. He couldn’t think about walking the dog or helping inany other way, because he couldn’t get his mind off the idea that he had 30 minutes coming,” she says.

“Once he knew there was nothing, he didn’t think about it during the week, and he almost — maybe I’mnot objective — but he almost seemed relieved.”

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7. in which a group of people with the same issue with a product sue the company responsible as a group

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Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. PART A: Which statement best expresses the central idea of the text?A. Game companies specifically target children because they know they have a low

impulse control.B. Children and teens can develop addictions to video games if they don’t regulate

how often they play.C. Game companies research ways to influence gamers, encouraging them to play

longer and to spend more.D. Playing video games negatively impacts other areas of your life, if you don’t take

regular breaks.

2. PART B: Which detail from the text best supports the answer to Part A?A. “From that couch, he connects to friends all over the globe — and he spends

hours, pretty much every day, honing his skills in Call of Duty.” (Paragraph 2)B. “Vanessa says Max is addicted to video games. ‘When I took it away, he started

to cry,’ she says.” (Paragraph 9)C. “What would make the game more fun? What can get us to spend some money

inside a game and buy something?” (Paragraph 14)D. “But Shokrizade worries about the millions of kids who play. ‘If it’s a child, how

do you even get consent for something like that?’” (Paragraph 20)

3. What is the author’s main purpose in the text?A. to show how game companies’ research techniques violate people’s right to

privacyB. to explore how game companies are getting gamers to be more invested in their

gamesC. to encourage parents to limit the amount of time their children can spend

playing gamesD. to warn parents about the addictive nature of games and their negative effects

on gamers

4. How does paragraph 9 contribute to the development of ideas in the text?A. It stresses how important video games are to Max.B. It proves that Max is indeed addicted to video games.C. It shows how negatively video games impact children.D. It emphasizes the importance of children spending time outside.

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5. What is the relationship between game companies’ research and gamers’ actions in thetext? Cite evidence from the text in your response.

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Discussion QuestionsDirections: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be prepared toshare your original ideas in a class discussion.

1. In the text, Max’s mom claims that he is addicted to video games. Do you think that videogames are addictive? Why or why not? How would you differentiate between someonebeing addicted to video games and merely enjoying them?

2. John Davison works at a video game company but questions some of his own kids’ behaviorwith games. What are the disadvantages of technology, such as video games? Do you thinkthere are any benefits to video games? If so, what are they and do they outweigh thedisadvantages?

3. In the text, video game companies observe their users to learn how to manipulate theiractions with the games. How do video game companies better understand their productsby observing users? Do you think game companies’ actions violate the privacy of videogame users? Why or why not? How do you feel about video game companies collecting dataon you and using it to improve their product?

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