Millions of Borderlands 3 players are now collectively listed as contributors to a peer reviewed scientific paper, after participating in a minigame that helped provide researchers with real-world DNA data on gut bacteria.
Forget the results. This seems underhanded and manipulative.
Don't get me wrong, it's kind of cool...actually really cool. But the fact that it was essentially an experiment exploiting gamers without their knowledge sucks.
Let's change it to gamers solving mini games to generate cryptocurrency for T2. Feels a bit more exploitive that way right? But we should feel proud because it was for the greater good? (Insert hot fuzz meme here)
Oh that's a relief. The article didn't say so, and given the climate these days I'm not ready to give benefit of the doubt. Thanks for reeling me in. 😉
It is. There were tons of articles too about the concept when it first came out since it was one of the first in a major AAA game. People were super into it as well.
It has a video explaining the game and the goal. It was perfectly clear from the start that they were doing it, and it actually made me excited about it. I played the mini game more than I would have because of it