I got into making games because I love games. Not because I see players as a balance sheet to drain. But somewhere along the way a lot of the industry stopped shipping things you finish and started shipping things designed to hook you, time you, and quietly bleed your wallet on a Tuesday night.
Loot boxes that are just slot machines with extra steps. Countdown timers built to make you panic-buy. Hyped-up trailers covering for a launch that's broken or empty. Full price games that still nickel-and-dime you for the fun parts. That's not design, that's a casino wearing a costume.
To be clear, I'm not mad at charging money. I sell my own game, and there are optional purchases that keep the servers on and pay the people building it. Charging a fair price for real work is honest. Engineering addiction and hiding a hollow product behind a flashy trailer is not. There's a line, and a lot of people sprinted past it.
So here's my flag in the ground. Fair price. Finished game. No psychological traps, no dishonest hype. You buy it, you own it, you actually have fun. That used to be the baseline. I want to make it the baseline again.
