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Gambling and the desire machine | Pay to Win

Jimmy McGee · commentary · Watch on YouTube

Game designGaming culture & analysisMental health & neurodiversity

What it is

A 70-minute video essay by Jimmy McGee on gambling, addiction and game design, tracing horse racing, slot machines and collectible card markets. It is the first in a series on making money from games.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Recommended as an engaging, well-researched look at the history of gambling machines and how games borrow their psychology.

  • 3 people recommended it
  • 3 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2022, last 2024

What HN commenters said

  1. “it's a genuinely interesting exploration on the murky history of video games and gambling”

    Interesting exploration of murky history of video games and gambling.

    jterrys, 2022-12 · Strong recommendation · in “A real history of video games – Pay to Win”

  2. “I recently saw a good video[1] covering the history and appeal of gambling machines.”

    History and appeal of gambling machines.

    AlexandrB, 2023-11 · Recommendation · in “Casino-like apps have drained people of millions”

  3. “I watched an interesting video essay about slot machines recently[1]”

    Video essay on slot machines and the machine state.

    maxbond, 2024-08 · Recommendation · in “A New Theory of Distraction (2015)”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: gambling, slot machines, addiction, video games, monetization, video essay

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