> It's just to replicate the ritual of ordering food and give you the dopamine that the real process gives you.
I’m confused. How does the food-ordering process give you dopamine? It generally just gives me anxiety due to the uncertainties involved, until the food arrives in good condition, which here it won’t.
I once had the strange experience of playing such a game. It was an "instant game" on Facebook Messenger, that simulated a slot machine casino. It didn't have a cash-out, so it was really just a game.
It had an auto-play, so I watched the dials spin and lights flash until my money ran out, and it prompted me to buy more.
The game played entirely by itself, until it inevitably lost. It ran with no meaningful player action other than selecting which slot machine and buying coins.
And it had a leaderboard, with Facebook profile photos and names of big winners that I can only assume spent real money to be there.
There were fintechs that did this, I think yotta and one other that was acquired by a big bank. I think it was (is?) popular but if I remember correctly they lost customer funds because of Synapses failure and the way the customer funds were organized they weren’t insured.
That would be interesting. Probably works best as a non-profit with donations or grants. Be a normal gambling setup, but with the expected value of all the games zero instead of negative. Advertise to existing gambling addicts. You might also be able to invert some of the dark patterns to encourage less addictive behaviour.
I expect the main threat would be that it might be possible to extract money with the system with clever statistical tricks.
Well the context is that it was posted to a subreddit for people who struggle with binge eating. So I guess you can think of it as the equivalent of sucking on a lollipop when you're craving a cigarette.
It's an absolutely a thing. My closet full of retro consoles, cyber decks, old monitors proves it. Anyone need an Apple Studio (2000's aluminum) for free? I can't stomach throwing it out or selling it for $20.
Do you get anxious when you order at a restaurant? There is the same exact uncertainty there compared to ordering ahead by 10 minutes while you are on the way there.
There is a very different uncertainty with a far shorter loop to remedy any problems. I have never sat in a restaurant thinking that [any food delivery-specific failure mode] will arise.
No, I am not driving over, I am at home waiting for a delivery. If there is a problem with what is delivered there is a much longer remedy loop: restaurant kitchen to their table versus to my home.
I actually thought the Reddit context was quite helpful. I wouldn’t have guessed that this would be particularly meaningful for people with a binge eating disorder.
The hardest part of food delivery is the tip section. It's where you use all your brain power to make a decision. That's the only part I would have given me dopamine hit from pretend tipping. Missed opportunity.
I was really hoping to add some fries, a drink and to customize my burger. Not that I customize my burger except maybe take off the pickles or remove the ice from my drink, but it adds to the dopamine factor.
OK, this actually worked as advertised. I feel dopamined.
I just wished the delivery took longer and there was a payment process that longer than an instant. Could have a saved card on file that you could use.
Looks like a riff of the fake online shopping site. Kinda funny that the premise could be legit: All the novelty seeking and exploration behaviour and none of financial burden (or in this case, calories)
I somehow want to make a brick and mortar shop with products with 5-digit price tags and the famous brands, but they're all fake, and visitors can pick and choose all the fancy products they want. They can then go to the cashier and go through a simulation of the purchase of all those products, but walk out with nothing... Or maybe even a receipt so you can look at it and pretend you just bought those things, hah.
"The keys to the Lamborghini Aventador, and a Louis Vuitton bag. That'll be 350,000 dollars. How will you pay, ah with the made-up cheque? Certainly sir!".
Charge $40 for half an hour of this sort of entertainment (or more for a virtual chequebook with a bigger account behind it), rake in the bucks...
Whaaaaat?? In a world where brick and mortar retail has been almost completely replaced by Amazon and a handful of mega big-box retailers there's a market for people going through literally all of the steps required to shop local retail (including spending money)....to end up having purchased nothing? Are y'all on drugs??
Growing up poor and seeing luxury stores, I thought that's how they work. i.e. they are just money laundering fronts. I could not fathom that someone would actually spend 20k on a handbag.
I’m confused. How does the food-ordering process give you dopamine? It generally just gives me anxiety due to the uncertainties involved, until the food arrives in good condition, which here it won’t.