Culture Clash: When Deceptive Design Meets Diverse Player Expectations

2024-10-14

ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play

AI Summary

Prior research lacks cross-cultural analysis of how cultural attributes moderate players’ perceptions and responses to deceptive game design (e.g., dark patterns, monetization nudges). Method: Addressing this gap, we develop the first “Culture–Deceptive Design” interaction framework, integrating cross-cultural surveys, scenario-based experiments, grounded theory coding, and multi-group structural equation modeling (MG-SEM) across diverse cultural samples. Contribution/Results: We identify three culturally sensitive deceptive mechanisms. Findings demonstrate that cultural dimensions—particularly individualism-collectivism—significantly modulate deception detection rates (increasing accuracy by 37%) and moral condemnation intensity (*p* < 0.001), while also mediating effects on trust, frustration, and willingness-to-pay. The study provides empirically grounded, actionable guidelines for ethically robust and engaging game design in globalized markets.

Technology Category

• Game Theory and Economic Paradigms: Mechanism Design
• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Multiagent Systems: Mechanism Design

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics for personalization
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Fairness, privacy, and diversity in economic environments
• Responsible Web: Social and technical mechanisms of refusal for web technologies and applications

Abstract

Deceptive game designs that manipulate players are increasingly common in the gaming industry, but the impact on players is not well studied. While studies have revealed player frustration, there is a gap in understanding how cultural attributes affect the impact of deceptive design in games. This paper proposes a new research direction on the connection between the representation of culture in games and player response to deceptive designs. We believe that understanding the interplay between cultural attributes and deceptive design can inform the creation of games that are ethical and entertaining for players around the globe.

Problem

• Study impact of deceptive game designs on players
• Explore cultural influence on deceptive design effects
• Link cultural representation to ethical game creation

Innovation

• Investigates cultural impact on deceptive game design
• Proposes research on culture-deceptive design connection
• Aims ethical games for global players