This is still happening, and the only reason I can think of is to try and hit people’s dopamine receptors much more intensely.
Seriously, we aren’t all fools, some of us can see the matrix- this bright flashing when opening packs is COMPLETELY BY DESIGN, to hook those with addictive personalities.
Adolescents are particularly susceptible. I can even see a tiny bit of the orange-blue flame effect (that normally surrounds a Mythic+ card), for a fraction of a second.
They have added a touch of that Mythic+ color for each card opened, in an attempt to prime our receptors to get excited by it, to subconsciously train us.
For shame! This is truly a disgusting, shady, behind-the-scenes move. Prove me wrong, if you can. The evidence is clear, many research papers on the industry have denoted it as a common tactic.
We evolved finding comfort and safety in the flickering of a campfire, and these apps are designed to exploit that 100%.
They didn’t do a great job of hiding this, as they bumped it up to about 11, rather than a gradual increase- that would be harder to notice (I just close my eyes when opening packs now). Some of us are sharp/old enough to pick up on it, but I bet we are a fraction of the player-base. Teens and young adults are the main target of this.
I noticed right away, but were I still in my early 20’s or younger, probably would have lapped it up unknowingly.
I have a very hard time believing this is not by design. Everything in this industry is by design. Other than bugs, very few things happen by accident here.
The mobile-gaming industry’s ethics are not much better than casinos, the tactics used here to dazzle are the same. They just can’t go for adolescents, but PQ can and does.
I have seen the amount of money some people spent, and wonder if perhaps they regret it.
As someone who’s had family members w/ gambling addiction, which hurt us immensely, this makes me absolutely livid.
You have to be aware of these tactics to become immune to them, and even then, you may not always notice how it affects one’s self. What may look cool to some, is also hammering on youth’s brain receptors, with much ferocity.
I miss the days where games didn’t go above and beyond to addict us. Some of my favorite games even have anti-addiction measures built-in, and they work very well. This game does not make that list, not even close. Quite the opposite.