Dad Warns Developers "If you try to trick my kid into buying stuff, you’re dead to me."

JCFordJCFord Member Posts: 785
edited March 2012 in Miscellaneous
Dad Warns Developers "If you try to trick my kid into buying stuff, you’re dead to me."

With the introduction of Klip & Playhaven ads in the free version, this is an interesting article regarding young children as end users from UE expert Rian van der Merwe: http://www.cultofmac.com/152583/dad-warns-developers-dont-trick-my-kids-into-buying/

Comments

  • mynameisacemynameisace Hull, UKMember Posts: 2,484
    I've not read it, but being dead to somebody I don't know and have never met is not a huge problem to me :P

    Ace
  • quantumsheepquantumsheep Member Posts: 8,188
    edited March 2012
    Quite right too!

    (in response to the original post, not Ace's!)

    Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
    Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io

  • mynameisacemynameisace Hull, UKMember Posts: 2,484
    edited March 2012
    @quantumsheep I was only pulling your wooly leg...

    Ethics, especially among children are really important. A friend of mine's daughter spent hundreds on in app purchases without him knowing. As @SaladStraightShooter said though, advertising, whilst still not ethically right has been happening since the dawn of man and Kiip is advertising, not purchasing.

    Ace
  • beefy_clyrobeefy_clyro Member Posts: 5,394
    Simple .. If you have a kid that deems it necessary to have this technology then either have them have their own bank account details registered which will likely have limited to no money in or register yours but don't tell them the password, they must come to you to authorise the purchase.
    I dont agree with trying to almost trick kids into purchases but surely its the job as a parent to safeguard against the kid being able to in the 1st place?
    As a developer we have ethics we should adhere to but in the real world, ultimately its the parents responsibility to make sure what they're giving their kid cannot be abused.
    Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
  • HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
    Yah, after adding PlayHaven and IAPs into Honey Tribe I decided to take it out of the kids category.

    There are some countries that have banned adverts aimed at kids on TV. I think that's a pretty interesting idea. Then again stuff like this could have never existed if the US adopted that policy.



    Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
  • Fal01Fal01 Member Posts: 460
    Quite right! My kids are always trying to look when I'm typing my password,but I'll never let them know that it's HouNdDog23. Doh!!

    It’s not a bug – it’s an undocumented feature

  • beefy_clyrobeefy_clyro Member Posts: 5,394
    Quite right! My kids are always trying to look when I'm typing my password,but I'll never let them know that it's HouNdDog23. Doh!!
    Haha you'll have to go back to the default of 'password' now
    Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    I think its crap to put IAP or ads into a kids game. but its also in the parents hands. My son has an iPod guess what he nearly never sees the ads. they don't seem to show up for some reason. and even when he clicks them safari is disabled. so not really a big deal and Apple has restrictions built in that disable iAP for the device. Parents need to grow up and take responsibility for their kids actions. They have the control to block the !@#$% away. My mom paid the price on her android phone when I told her don't give him your phone. he will find a way to buy !@#$% if you have any of it enabled. "Oh no, I don't think he could do that….." 10 mins and $25 later she learned a valuable lesson.

    I even have the app store disabled on my sons iPod. When yes its a pain in the ass to add stuff but you know what. I have never had to pay for be irresponsible with his device.
    Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
  • CloudsClouds Member Posts: 1,599
    edited March 2012
    I agree with the guy in the article - and especially the example he used - my 4 year old son loves Taliking Tom Cat, but it can almost be unusable at times as he is constantly being lead to the app store to buy an IAP or download another game from the same developer, a sizeable percentage of the time using TTC is spent bringing his iPod over to me so I can sort out some pop up or he's confused as he has ended up back in the app store again . . . for a 4 year old such a simple app becomes almost unusable.
  • EatingMyHatEatingMyHat Member Posts: 1,246
    As a dad I blocked IAP on my devices, I also changed the password requirement on my iPhone to be always on (no 15 min grace). This was after my 5 years old went on a a buying spree in the App Store (after I downloaded a free game for him). It was only $20 and Apple were very quick in giving me the money back once I opened a request.

    Based on my kids and experience, when you put too much ads and IAP content in your game you are hurting yourself. When my kids get frustrated since they find themselves in an Ad limbo via a game, I just delete the game (no harm done, there are 500,000 other apps to choose from). If my kids will buy something in accident, I will report it to Apple (takes 1 minute) and they issue a refund (I even got a $-1 transaction once). If I'll feel that I or my kids got tricked into buying something, I'll complain to Apple (and than it is the developer problem). Apple made it very easy to handle these kind of issues, the only problem is that people are not aware of it.

    Follow Eating My Hat on Facebook and the Blog
    Check out my templates in the GS Marketplace or at the store
  • butterbeanbutterbean Member Posts: 4,315
    edited March 2012
    I personally don't like iAP in games, but the ultimate responsibility is the parent.

    Just as EatingMyHat said, you can change the PW for iAP. You can also: Put parental controls on your computer. Limit TV time. No Facebook or social networking.

    I feel sorry for kids nowadays, and irresponsible parents :(

    (Seems to be the consensus that ultimately, it's the parents responsibility)
  • EatingMyHatEatingMyHat Member Posts: 1,246
    No need to feel sorry about the kids, compared to when I grow up - they are spoiled as hell... some parental guidance and control is welcome (which is greatly missing nowadays). I agree with @butterbeen - it's all about the parents, it is not the kids, their friends, schools or anything else, it starts and ends with the parent responsibility or lack of.

    Follow Eating My Hat on Facebook and the Blog
    Check out my templates in the GS Marketplace or at the store
  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    yep forgot about the pw setting to be instant also. I have that on my sons phone. I researched all of that stuff before even allowing him to have an iPod. I honestly was pretty against it to begin with since he's 4 but hey its a cool device and my wife and I are good about only letting him use it for a short period each day.

    But yes ultimately it lies in the parents hands. Unfortunately the parents these days are more looking for someone to blame for why their kid is fucked up.

    I fully agree their should be no apps with IAP or ads for kids but it happens so as a parent you have to be responsible enough to deal with it. The dev needs to make money and if your to cheap to buy their paid version you need to expect and know how to respond to the ads that are likely helping feed his own kids.
    Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
  • EatingMyHatEatingMyHat Member Posts: 1,246
    Problem grows as they grow. They meet friends after school on Minecraft servers (or a different game), friends come over with laptops, everybody are on Facebook and so on. It is getting hard to know what is the right balance since it is part of their social lives today and you definitely don't want to mess around with a pre-teen social life (unless you really have to).

    Follow Eating My Hat on Facebook and the Blog
    Check out my templates in the GS Marketplace or at the store
  • BazookaTimeBazookaTime Member Posts: 1,274
    edited March 2012
    Well I have six kids and multiple devices and I think it is my responsibility to make sure my kids aren't getting into things they shouldn't. I am not a fan of IAP but a simple option adjustment can prevent accidental purchases from happening. I am not going to tell another parent how to monitor their kids but to say someone is dead to them for something like this gives me an idea of the type of parent this guy may be.


    www.paulmcraelind.com
  • LiquidGameworksLiquidGameworks Anchorage, AKMember, Sous Chef Posts: 956
    My next series of games will target kids (Have a fantastic one coming up soon!), and as most of you, I want to provide entertainment without indundating the experience with advertisements. The general option here is to only offer paid apps. However, parents are as stingy as every other app purchaser, so are drawn to free apps. I watched a friends nephew play with a poorly executed game (having fun, but I'll improve on it), when an admob ad for ITTtech popped up. Not inappropriate, but I doubt a 2 year old is considering attending.

    I think I may have found a solution. I really would like to offer parents an opportunity to try out my app, and see that its worth purchasing the full package. I think I want to try offering an app free, with an IAP option to purchase the full game. The screen for this will be set up so that a young kid can't easily engage the IAP. Maybe a, "double tap here to purchase full game", with an easy exit for kids to stumble on. This way, if a kid unintentionally arrives at this page, it's easy for them to get back without engaging the IAP. If the parent did intend to go to this page, they could read the directions and make the purchase.

    In my mind, this provides a solution to the no-ad, no trick IAP free trial dilemma.
    Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
  • The_Gamesalad_GuruThe_Gamesalad_Guru Member Posts: 9,922
    edited March 2012
    We develop for kids and we will never do IAP or Ads other than our own links to our other kids content. As a child developer being trusted is priority one! But there again if one is that serious about developing GS Pro is a must and then it's a non-issue. In the business world $500 isn't a big investment. I know life sucks and it's hard and stuff cost money but it's just how it is. I also raised two boys and one is now an IT professional on all platforms so he was a really smart kid and my wife said to me maybe we should put some parental controls on his computer and I laughed and said what so he can hack it..lol. We taught our kids about life and not to be fooled. We didn't try to shelter them from life but prepare them for the scumbags life throws at you. My youngest who is 15 is the same and he's learning game development. It how you raise'em

    Guru Video Channel   | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS  

Sign In or Register to comment.

© Vanilla Keystone Theme 2024