My thoughts about crowdfunding FOMO and bloat. That…
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My thoughts about crowdfunding FOMO and bloat. That feeling of looking at a €300 "All-In Pledge" with 45 unlocked stretch goals and feeling absolutely nothing but relief that it isn't in your house is priceless.
This ~~recent~~ trend of publishers using crowdfunding and FOMO tactics to sell overpriced, bloated boxes of stretch goals, add-ons and expansions is alarming.
Publishers have realized that it is far more profitable to sell the fantasy of an epic, 100-hour campaign with your 4 best friends than it is to sell a game you will actually play on a Tuesday night.
Those giant boxes of stretch goals aren't designed to improve the game. They are designed to trigger the dopamine hit of getting exclusive items and a "good deal" during a 30 day campaign. It is purely fabricated bloat, engineered to exploit the completionist mindset.
When I look at those massive Kallax shelves filled to the brim with shrink-wrapped huge KS boxes in other people's game rooms, I feel that I'm looking at a warehouse of guilt. I honestly feel sad, like watching gamblers being unable to resist one more spin at the slot machine.
Every one of those huge unplayed boxes is a chore waiting to happen. It is an administrative tax they paid €300 for. They have to dust it, they have to organize it, and every time they look at it, a little voice in the back of their head says, "I really need to figure out the rules for the Shadow-Realm expansion and how to add the stretch goals...".
Unfortunately many content creators(I call them hype peddlers) are actively making things worse by over-hyping every single Crowdfunding project and luring people into this compulsive consumerism trap either because they are getting paid or simply to keep people engaged and attract more views.
They have turned a fun hobby into a logistics job and a sea of overpriced, bloated junk that takes up physical space and mental load. I am just relieved I no longer fall into this trap.
PS: I do value deluxe components and tactile upgrades (for example dual player boards and acrylic tokens) so purchasing the deluxe edition of a game you enjoy makes sense as long as everything is included in the box.
Two good examples are Harvest (Golden Edition), or A Place for all my Books (Bookcase Edition). These are deluxe, tactile upgrades that look and feel amazing without adding any bloat or cognitive load.
#games
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This ~~recent~~ trend of publishers using crowdfunding and FOMO tactics to sell overpriced, bloated boxes of stretch goals, add-ons and expansions is alarming.
Publishers have realized that it is far more profitable to sell the fantasy of an epic, 100-hour campaign with your 4 best friends than it is to sell a game you will actually play on a Tuesday night.
Those giant boxes of stretch goals aren't designed to improve the game. They are designed to trigger the dopamine hit of getting exclusive items and a "good deal" during a 30 day campaign. It is purely fabricated bloat, engineered to exploit the completionist mindset.
When I look at those massive Kallax shelves filled to the brim with shrink-wrapped huge KS boxes in other people's game rooms, I feel that I'm looking at a warehouse of guilt. I honestly feel sad, like watching gamblers being unable to resist one more spin at the slot machine.
Every one of those huge unplayed boxes is a chore waiting to happen. It is an administrative tax they paid €300 for. They have to dust it, they have to organize it, and every time they look at it, a little voice in the back of their head says, "I really need to figure out the rules for the Shadow-Realm expansion and how to add the stretch goals...".
Unfortunately many content creators(I call them hype peddlers) are actively making things worse by over-hyping every single Crowdfunding project and luring people into this compulsive consumerism trap either because they are getting paid or simply to keep people engaged and attract more views.
They have turned a fun hobby into a logistics job and a sea of overpriced, bloated junk that takes up physical space and mental load. I am just relieved I no longer fall into this trap.
PS: I do value deluxe components and tactile upgrades (for example dual player boards and acrylic tokens) so purchasing the deluxe edition of a game you enjoy makes sense as long as everything is included in the box.
Two good examples are Harvest (Golden Edition), or A Place for all my Books (Bookcase Edition). These are deluxe, tactile upgrades that look and feel amazing without adding any bloat or cognitive load.
#games
source
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