Psychology of Games, Level 1

One of my intellectual weak spots is for psychology, and my recent interest in games has been quickly growing. A quick google search on “psychology of gaming” yielded poor results, mostly relating to addiction. So, I’m on a quest to find useful, factual, enlightening information pertaining to the psychology behind games- anything that helps explain the psychology behind games and gaming.

Some initial research questions, from what will surely turn into an infinite list, just to start us off:

• why do people enjoy games?
• how do they enjoy games?
• why are some games better than others?
• what kinds of games appeal to what kinds of people?
• what factors make a game better than another one?
• why are people willing to spend exorbitant amounts of time mastering seemingly useless things (like plastic guitars)?
• why are people willing to dish out varying amounts of cash for virtual goods?
• why are the buttons on a game controller a certain color?
• what are other good questions for this list?

Influencers of Behavior

The most useful article so far has been Dan Lockton’s, over at Design with Intent, who outlines 11 influencers of behavior that are achieved through design, that is, with purposeful intent. I found it doubly useful since these principles are not game-specific; quite the contrary, Lockton is extrapolating these principles from game design into general design: “My main interest here is to extract the design techniques as very simple design patterns or ‘gambits’ that can be applied in other design situations outside games themselves, where designers would like to influence user behaviour.”

The 11 influencers:

• Challenges and Targets
  - because accomplishing a challenge leads to a thrill
• Unpredictable Reinforcement
  - waiting for that surprise
• Scores
  - feedback, also competition against others and yourself
• Levels
  - make progress
• Rewards
  - positive reinforcement encourages continuing use
• Playfulness
  - more fun
• Storytelling
  - who isn’t engaged by a good story?
• Gaps to Fill
  - standing out is deliberately enticing
• Role-Playing
  - you become a character or a hero
• Collections
  - humans are hoarders
• Make it a meme
  - viral sharing and spreading

Some of these I’ve heard about, but some are new and thus interesting. It is highly encouraged to read the full article here for examples on each of these, and many more resources.

Next, I’ll examine each of these elements as I find more evidence of their relevance and importance.

Tags: design with intent, psychology of games

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