>Yes, we maximize for users who spend over $10k.
>I don't want to be creating products for addicts. But what if these users are just rich people who have tons of money to spend off the cuff?
Ahhh, ignorance is plausible deniability bliss.
>I don't want to be creating products for addicts. But what if these users are just rich people who have tons of money to spend off the cuff?
Ahhh, ignorance is plausible deniability bliss.
I once wanted to work at a Lithium Ion battery start-up because I wanted to help create an energy source free of geo-political and climate turmoil. Then I discovered those sources were some of the most toxic to the environment both in the harvesting and the disposing of the material.
I then went on to do graduate research in explosives detection. We created machines that would help detect bombs in Iraq and landmines left in a peaceful villages. But then TSA used the machines to look at people's private parts and there was a mass privacy scare.
My point is: you can't go life worrying who might use the things you create for harmful purposes. You may be ignorant, but the alternative will drive you insane.
If you don't want to make games for addicts perhaps you should stop working for companies that make games for addicts. You're not fooling me.
Isn't this the point of any business?
> If you don't want to make games for addicts perhaps you should stop working for companies that make games for addicts.
I don't believe we make games for addicts. When I show our game to my friends and family they say things like "oh this game is cute", "this creature is funny", etc. The vast majority of our users are people who enjoy casual gaming when they're bored sitting on a plane or on the train.
That is not the point of business for me, most businesses offer something of value.
Would you feel the same way if we changed the business model from virtual currency to a fixed-cost one?
No, you get to decide what the point of the business you work for is. No one else does, you do. There's no rule that says the point of any/every businesses is to get people to part with as much money as possible.
In a way, but at my last employer, the people being socially engineered were employees of our clients who then had to jump through several hoops to justify their plans - often numerically - and get business spending on our services authorized, not putative millionaires trickling down their personal hard-earned wealth.