SEPTEMBER

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Issue 399

Never mind the Moloch

I often hear criticism of games along the lines of ‘if it were half the length, it would be twice the game’. I tend to agree. Game makers seem to be falling further into a play-time Moloch Trap. Or could they be actively sustaining it?

Moloch is the name of the force of bad incentive, where core values are sacrificed to gain an advantage. This compels the competition to do the same to keep up, while everyone ends up worse off than before. That may sound abstract or overly philosophical, but Moloch is happening all around us. An everyday version is the idea that bad news sells. Bad news stories attract the most views, comments and discussion, often because of the toxic conversation around them. News corporations can’t afford to let these stories go unreported without taking a financial hit, because their competition is doing exactly the same. In doing so, they distort the stories we see and our world view. Although that’s quite a serious analogy, the bones of Moloch are present in the videogame landscape.

One instance is that a longer game equates to better sales. The player doesn’t necessarily benefit from the extra play time, but now expects it because many publishers have bought into this skewed idea of value for money. Since our view is distorted by years of this practice, a longer game is the norm, so it looks more attractive to our wallets.