“Games and Money”

 

I used to work as a scriptwriter at a video game company.

 

I love games even now. I still play and enjoy them as a user.

 

I never did any great work in the game industry. But sometimes I get concerned about games these days.

 

I get concerned about the billing.

 

When I was a game creator, there was no on-line shopping or in-app billing.

 

People used to buy video games at game shops. If we bought a game, we paid money at the shop. We would buy the whole game. The billing would happen just once.

 

That was simple. But there were bad companies. They spent most of their budget on the designs of the boxes. They hired a good designer and copywriter. They sold good-looking packages. Many people loved the looks and bought them. But the contents were shabby. Those companies made a lot of profit in those days.

 

Don’t judge a game by its appearance.

 

Samurais need chivalry. Merchants need chivalry. Game creators also need chivalry.

 

Now those companies can’t continue such business. People can check the reviews of the games online.

 

These days, billing systems have changed. Smartphone games are basically free. Game creators need money to live. So, naturally, they should ask the users to pay. The point I am impressed by is the timing they choose to ask to be paid. If a user pays, then the user can enjoy more of the game. Most of the games are really good at creating situations that make the user want to pay. The creators are good at choosing when to ask the user to pay. They are too good. Some children spend too much of their parents’ money on such games. It is almost dangerous.

 

Once I played a smartphone game. In the game, users run a farm and go on adventures. The user would grow crops and feed animals. Sometimes, they would explore the world. I had played the game for a few weeks. But I couldn’t find a way to get food for the animals. They were hungry. Then I finally found out that I needed to pay a fee to feed the animals. I was outraged. The animals couldn’t die because of hunger. But they kept asking for food because they were hungry. Could I go on an adventure to address this situation?

 

If a child plays that game, he or her could grow up as an adult who doesn’t care about other people’s pain. The game creators undermined people’s good nature.

 

Samurais need chivalry. Merchants need chivalry. Game creators also need chivalry.

 

I quit the game. We should not forget to have a conscience in any of our dealings.

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Picture by Keiigo.K