TL;DR November 2024
A compendium of the comings and goings in research, development, and news about our digital playgrounds from November 2024.
Here are some things you may have missed from November 2024.
Research & News
Roblox updates parental controls
This month, Roblox announced a significant update to their parental control toolkit (Patrick Klepek wrote a wonderful summary of it in his newsletter, Crossplay). The TL;DR: parents are gaining remote access to parental controls, can view their child’s friend list (but cannot edit it), and can set daily screen time limits. Roblox is also adding content labels (rather than age ratings) to their maps, in order to help parents and children make more informed decisions about the places they want to play. You can learn more here.
As a related (and only slightly tangential) aside, this month, Alice Hunsberger retold a story about how her child’s school asked if she could share a bit about digital safety (inspired by the social media bans that have made their way into the most recent news cycle…which is a whole OTHER THING). I found her TL;DR to be really great, and for all those parents out there who find themselves looking for some clear, research-based advice around social media and digital safety, this one is for you.
Steam found to be rife with extremist content
A new report from the ADL this month found extraordinary amounts of hateful content on Steam Community pages. Specifically, they found 1.83 million unique pieces of potentially extremist or hateful content and 1.5 million unique users and 73,000 groups that have used at least sone potentially extremist or hateful symbol. This report has led to congressional action, with US Senator Mark Warner reaching out to steam accusing them of “normalizing hate and extremism in the gaming community.”
The normalization of hate, harassment, and extremist sentiment is something many of us in the research community have been talking about in my work for the last few years. For example, just a few months ago we published a paper demonstrating an alarmingly high rate of frequency for exposure to extremist content in-games. When hate normalizes in one space, it can normalize in all spaces. You can read the full ADL report here.
With all of that said, I am hopeful that the gaming industry is starting to address these issues more head on, which is something Dr Elizabeth Kilmer and I talked about it at Games for Change last year.
What children think about “age appropriateness” in games
A new report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center (Sesame Workshop) explores the idea of child appropriate game design. Over a three-year project, they hosted play focus groups with children aged 6 - 12, asking them all kinds of things about games and play, such as how they make decisions about what to play? How do they spend their time playing? The most notable to me is the fact that one size does not fit all when it comes to “age appropriate” (...she yelled into the void as people continue to talk about age-based social media bans). The researchers also found that some kids like scary things, suggesting content warnings would be more effective/clear than age ratings based on content alone. Their results from the first year of this work also highlight the centrality of YouTube kinds in kids’ gaming culture (as a mom of three, I can confirm). You can see the full, Year-One report here.
Designing for children’s well-being in digital play
This month, UNICEF released its RITEC Design Toolbox, which is essentially a blueprint for game designers to incorporate and support children’s well-being into their game design process. Developed with input from a wide variety of industry stakeholders, the framework incorporates eight dimensions of children’s well-being into a digital play/digital design framework: safety and security; diversity, equity, and inclusion; autonomy; emotions; competence; relationships; creativity; and identities. You can learn more here.
Innovation in transparency: Radical auditability
This month’s newsletter is quickly becoming an Alice Hunsberger appreciation newsletter (but honestly, I’m here for it). This month, she proposed an idea on how to fight complexity in transparency reports… with auditability. In her blog, Everything in Moderation, she suggested that an innovative approach we could consider to better force policy is to be radically transparent with clearly audible metrics.
For me, one of the biggest challenges in the trust and safety space (in games specifically) has been the lack of consistency and transparency across studios and platforms ...which, on the one hand is desperately needed but on the other hand there also needs to be room for flexibility. Alice’s suggestion of users having a say in policy edits actually has somewhat of a precedent in games with Runscape, who has had a”vote” feature for some time.
Alice also suggests as part of this radical auditability we move towards consistent feedback to reported users. This is an idea that has been mulled around in games for quite some time and has already been demonstrated to lead to greater reporting consistency, reduced recidivism, and increased play satisfaction (see: Natasha Miller’s 2019 GDC talk)
I love to see new conversations about innovations and this one is one I am for sure going to bring forward in the conversations I am having.
Donkey Kong Country turns 30!
I’m sorry, what? How can this be! Donkey Kong Country turns the big 3-0 this year. I spent so SO many hours playing this game…even long after the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 entered our household (probably because the SNES is the only console my older brother would let me claim for my room). How is it that some games seem to just really stand the test of time while others don’t? Maybe nostalgia makes me feel this way? Or maybe it was just really good game design.
ICYMI: Psychgeist
We are nearing the end of the year, and while I had hoped to squeak out one more video this month I alas, have not. HOWEVER, I do have some exciting Psychgeist news on the horizon.
In honor of Taylor Swift’s birthday, The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Taylor Swift will be released on December 13th. It’s got it all: Eras, Easter Eggs, Earthquakes? (Spoiler Alert: The last chapter in the book is titled Ten Ways Taylor Alison Swift Has Shaken Up Pop Culture, From an Experienced Earthquake Enthusiast, written by the one and only Ashley Esqueda)
To keep you satiated for the next two weeks until you can get your hands on it, why not check out the latest book in the Psychgeist Collection, The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Stranger Things
If you are looking for something a little more science-y… tis the season to reshare my top 10 essential readings in gamestudies (which could be considered my science + games you should buy these books holiday list)
What I’m watching: The Penguin (HBO). Why have we been sleeping on this show? It is so. so. good.
What I’m reading: Well Played - For The Love of Games (Play Story Press). A lot of us have a special game that inspired us to get more deeply involved in making, studying and playing games as part of our professional and personal lives. It may be the game for you or just a game that means a lot, and you find yourself replaying it regularly. It could even be a couple of games, or a games series, or a game that disappointed you enough that you were inspired to try and make one even better. Whatever the case may be, the newest book from Play Story Press - Well Played: For the Love of Games - is a collection of essays exploring why certain games and experiences have had such an impact on us, and how it helped define our love of games in general. You can find the book here (PDF is free as always!)
(ALSO, Play Story Press is currently compiling a special companion issue which has an open call for participation, and will be out early next year.)
What I’m Playing: Red Dead Online (Rockstar Games). I know I am behind them times but hear me out. I have actually been playing several games this month. More games than I’ve played in a long time… between work, and game pass, I’ve been living my best gamer life. That said, the games I have had a chance to explore have been ones I do not traditionally play and I am reminded why I don’t like games that require quick. Precise, hand eye coordination. Looking at you Red Dead Online. Don’t get me wrong, it is a GORGEOUS game. Just not for me 🙂
That said, I do appreciate you can get a camp dog and yes I named my horse Roach.
Other places you can find my musings…
Personal Website, for more about my research and upcoming events. Which I recently updated! Take a look if you haven’t been there in a while (#OpenToWork)
Psychgeist, my YouTube channel dedicated to the science of digital games. New videos are released sporadically on Wednesdays and if you aren’t a subscriber yet, please click that link and hit that big red button. Subscribing is FREE and is the easiest way to support my work by increasing engagement and making the algorithm happy.
BlueSky, for those who have migrated over
LinkedIn, if that is more your style
Most Recent Save Podcast, go ahead, give it a like. I promise you’ll love it.