Dark Game Design Patterns in Online Games: Exploitation, Loyalty and Engagement

This paper by Faltin Karlsen examines how "dark game design patterns," a concept introduced by Zagal, Björk, and Lewis, are used to stimulate increased time investment and loyalty in online games. Dark design patterns are defined as intentional design choices that produce negative experiences for players against their best interests, and the author focuses on the temporal dimension of these patterns, which is the category most directly linked to concerns about excessive play. The aim is not to establish severe detrimental effects on players but to describe how such designs encourage greater and more routine use across the player base.

The analysis is a qualitative, in-depth examination of two contrasting online titles: World of Warcraft (2004), a subscription-based MMORPG, and FarmVille 2 (2012), a social network game monetized through micro-transactions. The author draws on self-determination theory and the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, as well as marketing research on loyalty programs, to interpret how these patterns alter player routines. The study is conceptual and textual in nature, based on the author's close reading of the games rather than on player survey data or a large sample.

The findings indicate that both games contain a wide range of discrete time-related patterns that encourage different kinds of investment. World of Warcraft offers play-by-appointment goals that span timeframes from hourly garrison activities to yearly seasonal events such as the Feast of Winter Veil. FarmVille 2 concentrates its patterns on shorter cycles, primarily hourly and daily activities, which the author links to the games' differing economic models. Across both titles, a large set of parallel goals and social features shapes how these patterns are experienced. The paper argues that players may derive satisfaction from patient, time-based earning rather than from skill, provided the game offers sufficient choice and limited strategic challenge, and that such design can effectively foster loyalty.