Part 1: MLA Citation
Siu, William. “Opinion | I Make Video Games. I Won’t Let My Daughters Play Them.” The New York Times, 2 Oct. 2022. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/02/opinion/video-game-addiction.html.
Part 2: Summary
In the article “I Make Video Games. I Won’t Let My Daughters Play Them,” by William Siu, it talks about why he forbids his young daughters from playing the games he once created. William Siu, who was a former gaming industry entrepreneur and founder of Storm8, dives deeply into how the gaming industry uses data strategies to maximize the user’s engagement, a strategy that he was deeply involved in as he made games for longer player retention and making money of them. Another way he made users play the games he made longer was to limit gameplay to develop a habit and desire to return to the game. However, his perspective changed when he considered the impact of these addictive design features on his own children, realizing that the video games he once made as business successes, were being used to exploit people. Knowing these facts led him to advocate for parental caution, since he now views gaming habits in children as potentially harmful. “As a gaming entrepreneur…I don’t think parents are doing enough to protect kids from the potential harms of video games,” he says, explaining how gaming addiction can develop from these industry tactics. Siu’s concerns are shown by global examples, such as China’s strict gaming regulations, which show increasingly worries about the psychological and developmental effects of excessive gaming on young children. In the end Siu begins to make educational games for children to create a more engaging environment to help children learn and improve, as he shows an example of his own experience by showing a major outcome after some children use these games and went from not being able to count accurately, to counting to a hundred and even the ability to do simple addition.
Part 3: Rhetorical Analysis
The article, “I Make Video Games. I Won’t Let My Daughters Play Them,” is an opinion piece, also adding his personal perspective on the topic. His writing style is straightforward and self-analyzing, and he uses a cautious and reflective tone as he questions the impact of video games on young children. Siu uses ethos to convey his credibility as a former gaming industry leader to highlight the risks of game addiction, considering his firsthand experience with designing games that promote habits and desire to play. Siu also uses pathos by sharing his individual experiences and concerns about his young daughters to show an emotional response from readers. His intended audience includes parents and policymakers, since he urges them to recognize the potential harms of gaming, especially on children. Siu’s article topic comes from global discussions on technology and gaming regulations, motivated by government actions like those in China to limit gaming among young children. The New York Times is a very credible source as they are known to be the largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, and they have also won many awards and prizes. The article was made in 2022 which makes the article very current as also the topic itself is still being discussed to this day.
Part 4: Notable Quotes
“Such as bans may sound outrageous even for an authoritarian country like China. But as a gaming entrepreneur in the United States for 13 years and a father of two young daughters, I don’t think parents are doing enough to protect kids from the potential harms of video games.” (Siu)
“Thats the ultimate goal: to build habit-forming games that have players coming back every day. In other words, it takes away decision-making. We wanted people to reach for their phones first thing in the morning and jump right into our games, just as they check their social media and emails.” (Siu)
“According to World Health Organization, ‘gaming disorder’ can result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning.” (Siu)
