Game Research

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May 25, 2025

Degamification of Online Dating

ArticleInsightGamificationDegamificationOnline DatingBehavioral DesignDigital Ethics

An investigation into how dating platforms exploit reward systems and competitive mechanics—and how dismantling them might lead to deeper, healthier connection.

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May 13, 2025

Why Ray’s Game Is the Antidote to Shallow Gamification

InsightGamificationBehavioral PsychologyGame Design

Most gamified habit-building apps rely on surface-level rewards. Ray takes a radically different approach—one that centers emotional connection, internal motivation, and psychological depth.

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April 28, 2025

Game Design Document Preview: Pawn Shop (with a twist)

Game Design DocumentSimulation Game3D ModelingLLM IntegrationPlayer Economy

An ambitious simulation where players scan or generate 3D items, negotiate with AI and real traders, and manage their own pawn shop in a dynamic, player-driven market.

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April 26, 2025

Why I Canceled My App “mymasal”

ArticleReflectionAIAI EthicsPersonalizationDigital ParentingSocial PolarizationBehavioral Design

A critical reflection on the unintended social and ethical consequences of personalized storytelling for children—and why I chose to cancel an AI-powered app I had passionately built.

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April 19, 2025

Dave the Diver and Split Fiction Are the Same Game!

ArticleInsightGame DesignGame MechanicsAttention EconomyNarrative Structure

A surprising exploration of how two seemingly unrelated games—Dave the Diver and Split Fiction—reveal a major design shift in the age of attention fragmentation and genre fluidity.

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April 12, 2025

Gamification or TikTokification?

ArticleInsightGamificationBehavioral DesignAttention EconomyExperience DesignFlow

A deep dive into how behavioral design is evolving: from goal-driven gamification to flow-based TikTokification—and what this means for attention, engagement, and digital experience design.

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March 18, 2025

Game Design Document Preview: Ray's Midnight Routes

Game Design DocumentSleep IntegrationStory-drivenMobile GamingAtmospheric GamesGame Design

A mobile game that blends real-life sleep tracking, story-driven gameplay, and meditative night drives—offering players both meaningful progress and a unique interactive routine.

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March 10, 2025

Game Design Document Preview: MAKE GAMES NOT WAR

Game Design DocumentPolitical StrategyMultiplayerMini GamesSatireTeam-based

A satirical, multiplayer political strategy game where teams resolve Cold War tensions not with weapons, but by competing in fast-paced, legendary mini-games inspired by the history of gaming.

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March 3, 2025

What Was Right About Wordle?

InsightGame DesignBehavioral PsychologyExperience Design

An exploration into how deceptively simple game design—guided by psychological principles, habit loops, and social mechanics—created one of the most viral word games in recent memory.

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February 14, 2025

Tycoon Games → Simulator Games → What's Next?

InsightGame DevelopmentSimulationDigital Culture

An exploration into how simulation games evolved from capitalist fantasies to therapeutic rituals, and what radical transformations lie ahead for the genre.

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