Dark Patterns (with Sam Liberty)

Dark Patterns (with Sam Liberty)

From Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast! by Lydia, Stephen, and Mark

May 28, 2026 · Episode 434

About this episode

The episode discusses dark patterns in game design with expert Sam Liberty, focusing on exploitative practices that deceive players.

Your nice hosts have talked a lot over the years about exploitative game design, and this week we brought in an expert on gamification to lay out some of the dark patterns in games that take players' money and time via deceptive framing and UX. https://samliberty.com Sam Liberty - Medium Sam Liberty - LinkedIn Dark Patterns Game Design Why “Addictive” Gameplay Should Never Be The Goal - Lydia Symchych , ELB Learning HEXAD Framework Addiction by Design - Natasha Dow Schüll Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything - BJ Fogg How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be - Katy Milkman How dating apps weaponized loneliness against their users - Sam Liberty

People in this episode

Hosts: Lydia Symchych, Stephen, Mark

Guest: Sam Liberty

Topics covered

  • exploitative game design
  • gamification
  • dark patterns
  • deceptive UX
  • addictive gameplay

Keywords

  • dark patterns
  • gamification
  • exploitative design
  • deceptive UX
  • addictive gameplay

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ELB Learning

Books & works: Addiction by Design, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, How dating apps weaponized loneliness against their users

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