We have some decent theories for understanding the appeal of many different types of video games. But one thing I've always struggled to explain is why people love really difficult games (like Dark Souls) or really easy games (like Cookie Clicker). In this episode I'll explore one theory about uncertainty reduction that helps explain why we find ANY kind of game engaging.

Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/pog

Audio Credits:

• “Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
• "Chill Wave" by Kevin Macleod

My publisher is running a Kickstarter to offer discounted, early copies of my new book on the Psychology of Dungeons & Dragons. To help you decide if you want to back it (I think you should, but I'm arguably biased), this episode contains excerpts from multiple chapters and some of my own inside commentary.The book will be available for sale widely later this year, but this is a great chance to get an early copy for 25% off. Print, audiobook, or ebook. You can also bundle in any of the other four books in the Geek Psychology series, so worth a look!

If you need a link to the show on another device, just go to psychologyofgames.com of psychologyofdnd.com. The Kickstarter will be the top story at both places until it's done.

Audio Credits:

• “Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Is technology or game design more important for determining whether we feel immersed and present in the world of a video game? What kinds of things will make us forget about the screen between us and that world, the controller in our hands, and the other things around us so that we start to feel like we're actually inhabiting the virtual world of the game?

Audio Credits:

• “Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

What do psychologists and games researchers have to say about the idea of role-playing, when you pretend to take on another person's persona, point of view, thoughts, and state of mind? What effects can role-playing games have on us? Tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons feature this as a central part of the experience, and some video games also ask you to do it.

Audio Credits:

• “Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
• "Heroic Age" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What can the psychology of loot drops tell us about the evolution of the Diablo series?

Audio Credits:

• “Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Can playing a lot of games lead us to become better at explaining why a given character or behavior is moral or immoral?

Audio Credits:
“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

"Sneaky Snitch" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I'm flying solo and doing a deep dive into what one theory has to say about why we're motivated to play video games, with an emphasis on grinding in particular.

There's a growing trend among therapists who bring people together --often children, but sometimes adults-- to play Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games in a therapeutic context. Run by game masters who are qualified mental health professionals, these sessions help people dealing with ADHD, autism, learning disorders, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and many other diagnoses. Using their expertise both in the game and in providing therapy, these dungeon masters set goals, guide players into encounters that help them reach those goals, and then pause so that the group can reflect, ponder the application of what they've experienced to life outside the game, and grow.

How does it work? How WELL does it work? What makes tabletop role-playing games such a good vehicle for therapy in this way? Those are all questions I will ask of this episode's guest expert.



Audio Credits:

• “Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
• "Friendly Day" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

I talk about some of the psychology behind sales, especially digital sales that have no physical items or storefronts involved. What are some of the things that digital storefronts do --either intentionally or not-- that you should know about so that you can approach sales on your own terms?

Could we develop a training regime for esports teams? It happens all the time in other kinds of sports. Coaches assign certain types of weight training and drills to soccer players, baseball players, football players, and any other kind of professional or even collegiate athlete you can think of. Could we do the same thing with esports athletes? What's the current state of research on training professional game players in esports?

I share a lecture I recently gave on the psychology behind nostalgia, that bittersweet remembrance of times past. We'll explore why nostalgia has led to so many remakes, remasters, and reboots of old gaming franchises. And why that's not necessarily a bad thing.

How can watching people play Critical Role or playing D&D yourself lead to transformative, psychologically meaningful experiences? And is that a thing you want?

Have you ever become attached to a place in a video game? A virtual environment that you've obviously never visited in the flesh but which you start to think of it like a real place?  Maybe the dwarven capitol of Ironforge in World of Warcraft? The spaceship The Normandy in Mass Effect? Link and Zelda's land of Hyrule? Maybe you you have become so familiar with those virtual places through repeated navigation and interaction that you attach importance and character to it like you do your childhood home, the first place you ever had a part-time job, or the neighborhood through which you walk your dog? Or even a whole city?

This is a relatively new concept that some researchers, such as my guest expert this episode, call "sense of place."

Why are fans so ready to get in fights over their preferred game properties or gaming consoles ?

Could a commercial VR game you're playing be used for therapy? What should therapists and their patients know about VR and related technologies being used in therapy?

What's the psychology behind when and why people cheat? What can we apply from that research to cheating in video games? Find out in this lecture I recently gave on the topic.

My guests and I talk about how platforms like Twitch are changing how researchers think about parasocial relationships. Is it only one-sided when there's audience interaction?

Why do gamers sometimes engage in toxic behavior and what psychology can developers leverage to curb it?

My guest and I discuss how a physician can specialize in caring for the mental and physical health of professional gamers. Lindsey Migliore, MD is one of the foremost experts In esports medicine, trusted by the leading esports organizations and industry leaders. Through her work as GamerDoc, she applies scientific principles to the field of competitive gaming to definitively improve performance and expand the life span of the esports athlete. Her handbook of esports medicine, the first of its kind, was published in 2021 by Springer Medical. She is currently the Director of Player Performance at Evil Geniuses.

What's the psychology behind what makes video games engaging? Why will people invest their whole time, vigor, and attention to some games and not others?

My guest expert Dr. Shane Tilton and I discuss memes and how communities like gamers create and communicate through them.

Ever seen or heard something from a video game while you weren't playing? Ever had an urge to climb a building or select from a dialogue wheel hours after you pushed away from the keyboard or controller? In this episode, I talk with my guest expert about these kinds of "game transfer phenomena" and their implications.

My guest expert and I talk about the psychology behind geek fandom conventions, how people behave at cons, and how Covid has changed them.

Many of us have considered ourselves "passionate" about one thing or another, including video games or even specific game series or franchises. But what does this mean and is it always a good thing? When can passion become a detriment to our lives and our psychological well-being? These are the kinds of questions I'll discuss with this episode's guest expert.Audio Credits:

• “Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

How can psychologists help esports athletes improve, stay healthy, and thrive? I talk to a guest expert with a background in sports psychology and other areas who is doing just that.

When games have a message that they try to convey through systems and gameplay, do players listen? Do they hear what the designers expect? Does anything tend to change as a result?

Audio Credits:

“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Polish_Ambassador/Diplomatic_Immunity/05_Robot_Motivation

Satisfactory Dev Highlight Music by Sleeper's Delight https://soundcloud.com/sleepersdelight/satisfactory-dev-highlight-music

I talk with authors of the new book Surpassing The Limit Break: The Psychology of Final Fantasy. About, well, THAT. Topics like the psychology behind Final Fantasy's storytelling, its use of gender subtypes, how its music enhances our enjoyment, how we develop attachments to characters, and how the game makes use of fundamental psychological drives.

Audio Credits:

“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Gymnopedie No. 1 by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3837-gymnopedie-no-1 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Video games sometimes have an image problem. Honestly some days it feels like one black eye after another. But, let's not lose sight of the good stuff. There's plenty of evidence to suggest that video games help people and make our lives better. They create scaffolds on which we can build social support. They motivate us to improve. They get us into healthy mindsets around problem-solving, developing new skills, and cooperating with others. And a lot more. In this episode, I talk with my guest expert Dr. Ryan Kelly about the overlap between video games and positive psychology.

Loss aversion refers to the fact that we feel more pain from a loss than we do pleasure from an equivalent gain. Losses are worse than gains are good. Most of the time game designers want to avoid triggering this feeling, but not always. I talk with my guest expert this episode about how game designers can incorporate --or not-- loss aversion into their game design. In fact, he wrote a book about it!

Audio Credits:

“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Despair Creation by Max Lija, Othercide OST (https://www.maxlilja.com/)

Why do people troll other players in video games? Do they get something out of it or are they just "broken"? A lot of us like to think the latter, but some researchers are starting to investigate exactly why people troll in video games and in general.

Links:

https://twitter.com/christinelcookl
https://socialinteractionlab.com/
Audio Credits:

“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Hitman by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3880-hitman License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Children Laughing Sound by Mike Koenig http://soundbible.com/1848-Children-Laughing.html

What kind of relationships exist between Twitch streamers and their audience members?

How is it different from other kinds of online relationships? And why do people offer monetary support to streamers? Why do some streamers get more donations than others? Is it because they're super hot? Do they do a good job of making lonely people feel included? Do they do something to make their audience members feel like they're just two friends hanging out online? Put another way: If you were a Twitch streamer, what lessons could you draw from the research that has been done about all this?

These are the kinds of questions that I will investigate and answer with the help of this episode's guest expert.

I mean, wouldn't it be nice if there were organizations out there that were dedicated to helping people in the gaming communities cope, be healthy, and get the help they need? Wouldn't it be great if there were someone offering aid in our quest to get through life healthy, happy, well prepared? Well, I'm going to talk to someone from one such organization that has adopted the mission to do just that.

“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
One Sly Move by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5759-blippy-trance License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

People with psychology degrees fill a lot of roles in the gaming industry, including researchers working within a game development company. I talk to one such researcher who works at Riot Games, maker of League of Legends and Valorant, about what she does, how she got where she is, and what advice she has for those interested in charting a similar course.

“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5759-blippy-trance License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Just as video games can provide great examples of concepts from psychology, they can also illustrate concepts from neighboring fields. Like economics! In this episode, my guest expert walks us through his adventures in using basic knowledge of economics to wreak havoc (and have fun) in a massively multiplayer online game. And what kinds of issues designers of these kinds of games have to take into consideration.

In this episode, I'll explore some research on whether or not video games can make you smarter or help you develop certain cognitive skills.Audio Credits:

• “Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Mental models are representations that help people understand and predict systems or situations such as a match in a competitive game. My guest expert this episode reports on his research into understanding the differences between the mental models of League of Legends players at different levels of expertise and accomplishment. Can understanding how these mental models are structured and developed help players become better and suggest ways that game designers can facilitate such development?

How therapeutic Dungeons & Dragons sessions are reaching people who need help in an engaging way.

What are some of the ways that video game level designers look to psychology for helping players can navigate, move through, and make sense of their virtual worlds?

Should you expect playing as a sexually objectified avatar like Lara Croft to impact women's attitudes towards their own bodies or to create other harmful attitudes? My guests this episode engaged in what they called "adversarial collaboration" to run a study and find out. One didn't think they would find an effect from playing as Mrs. Croft. The other did. Find out who was right.

Are friendships and other relationships formed in online games substitutes for offline relationships? Are they better?

Welcome to part two of this two part miniseries on Psychology of Games summer reading. In this episode I talk with author and consultant Nir Eyal about how to use psychology and other methods to avoid being distracted by video games and other technology when you don't want to be. It's all in his new book, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, available now.

Nir discusses the psychology behind distraction and its opposite, which he calls "traction." Along with this, we talk about specific strategies for getting more traction and when it's okay to be distracted by video games, social media, and other technology.

Psychology of Games Summer Book Club begins with an interview with Dr. Pete Etchells, author of the newly released Lost in a Good Game.

My guest experts and I discuss how moral choices in video games are different from other media and what makes them so difficult. We also discuss some of our favorite and most compelling choices from games.

Empathy --the ability to understand and share the emotions of others-- is a powerful tool for those wanting to create games where the goal is to get players to think differently and have powerful emotional experiences. It can be used to great effect and probably plays a big part in more games than you realize.

But leveraging empathy in games has its own risks and pitfalls. Designers who do so need to be aware of these so that they can successfully create the outcomes they want and so that players aren't abused or exposed to undue distress.

Fortunately, my guest expert on this episode, Kelli Dunlap PsyD, is here to help us explore and understand this psychological concept.

Special ALL HAWAII EDITION! To give me a little breathing room after finishing up my book manuscript, here are two complete interviews I did while researching the recent loot box podcast episode. One is the full interview with Representative Chris Lee, and the other is with Ed White, who has provided testimony during hearings on the topic.

In this episode, I talk with an expert on how video games elicit nostalgia and what it means for players and consumers.

Audio Credits:

• “Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

What is the relationship between loot boxes and problematic gambling? Should loot boxes be considered a form of gambling? In this episode I talk with Chris Lee, a politician, and David Zendle, a researcher, who are both very interested in the answers to those questions.

How do game developers make virtual items as collectible as physical objects?

I talk with Dr. Anthony Bean and several of his collaborators on a book about psychology and the Legend of Zelda.

I talk with Dr. Richard Landers, an expert researcher on gamification and game-based assessments. We discuss some of the psychology behind why gamification does (and does not) work, as well as why it's so difficult to do it well. We also talk about the use of actual games to assess people's skills and abilities. Is it possible to create, for example, a game that measures people' general mental ability?