Kainoa Lau

Hello!

Hi everyone, I am Kainoa Lau! I attended and graduated from Pearl City High School in 2022, and a little fun fact about me is that I graduated high school with honors AND already fulfilled a whole semester of college due to me taking a lot of early college classes my senior year. If I was an artist's tool, I’d be a terrain brush in a level editor. It's the tool that quietly shapes the world the player walks through. It lifts mountains, smooths paths, and creates the rhythm of discovery without taking center stage. That’s the role I like: helping sculpt spaces where game ideas can actually live and breathe.

Research Topic: Microtransactions in Video Games

Research Question: How can ethical microtransaction systems impact player engagement and trust in casual games?

Abstract:

Microtransactions have become a dominant monetization strategy in digital games, offering players the ability to purchase virtual items or advantages with real money. While profitable for developers, this model raises significant ethical concerns and highlights the growing need for regulatory oversight. This paper examines the negative implications of microtransactions through the lens of exploitative design, consumer vulnerability, and the emerging public health concern of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). By leveraging psychological manipulation techniques — such as variable reward systems and time-limited offers — microtransactions often target individuals susceptible to compulsive behaviors, including adolescents. These practices blur the lines between gaming and gambling, raising concerns about informed consent, digital well-being, and the moral responsibility of developers. This paper focuses on the negative aspects of microtransactions from both a developer perspective and a consumer perspective.

Capstone Project: Video game

Project Title: The Crashers

Capstone Proposal:

CREATIVE PROCESS:

The concept of creativity has come a long way. The Old Greeks would call those creative forces muses, other religions referred to them as God. Today people still mostly treat creativity as an aha moment outside the area of influence. However, just by looking at the creative process one can tell, that creativity and creative work is more than just that one "Aha-Moment" (insight). It is clear that generating ideas demands planning and preparation, identifying something of interest like a problem, an opportunity or a challenge, doing research. This then leads to thinking of a solution, allowing time to incubate and iterations before arriving at something “complete.” Students learn that hard work is what makes their ideas come to life and sticktuiveness is what helps them get better.

DELIVERABLE:

For his senior capstone, Kainoa created a simple game designed to test whether microtransactions can negatively influence player behavior, building directly from his research on the ethical concerns surrounding in-game purchases. His study examined how microtransactions rely on psychological manipulation—such as variable rewards and time-limited offers—and how these mechanics can exploit vulnerable players, particularly adolescents. By developing his own game prototype, Kainoa was able to explore these dynamics firsthand, observing how design choices might encourage compulsive tendencies or blur the lines between gaming and gambling. His project highlights the need for greater awareness, regulation, and developer responsibility in monetization practices, offering a critical look at the impact microtransactions can have on digital well-being.

Go and check it out!

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