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Exploitative Patternsin Games

Exploitation

Also: exploitative design

Taking unfair advantage of an asymmetry or vulnerability — even when the user is not deceived.

Exploitation is the heart of the games problem: the gravest harms — randomised monetization, whale-targeting, personalised pricing — are often exploitative even when fully transparent. On the autonomy theory of exploitation, this is an autonomy violation, and it usually cannot be fixed by disclosure alone.

See also

References

  1. Brenncke, M. (2023). A theory of exploitation for consumer law: Online choice architectures, dark patterns, and autonomy violations. Journal of Consumer Policy. doi.org/10.1007/s10603-023-09554-7 · citing patterns
  2. Helberger, N.; Sax, M.; Strycharz, J. (2021). Choice architectures in the digital economy: Towards a new understanding of digital vulnerability. Journal of Consumer Policy. doi.org/10.1007/s10603-021-09500-5 · citing patterns
  3. King, D. L.; Delfabbro, P. H. (2019). Unfair play? Video games as exploitative monetized services: An examination of game patents from a consumer protection perspective. Computers in Human Behavior. doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.07.017 · citing patterns