The Gamer Brain

7/26/2019 The Gamer Brain

1/49

The GamerBrain

Using psychology in game designto boost fun and protability

Erik Asmussen


2/49

Topics!

Using psychology to make gamesfun

Using psychology to make moneyA case study (in progress


3/49

ho"s this guy#$tarted de%eloping i&$ in

'arch )*)

+eft regular ,ob in -uly )*)

*. published apps/ in acti%ede%elopment/ a bunch morein planning stages

0o formal 1$ background$tudied 2sychology and

0euroscience instead


4/49

Using 2sychologyto make games fun


5/49

hy do 3e game#

e spend thousands ofhours4dollars gaming e%ery year/ forlimited benet5

Gaming has a %ery high le%el ofintrinsic re3ard5

hy are games

fun#

i5e5 67un8


6/49

&ur 9at Brain


7/49

9at Brain

2sychology'oti%ation comes from the 67our 7"s8:; 7eeding

; 7leeing

;7ighting;9eproduction

Gaming emulates theconditions that trigger theseresponses


8/49

9at Brain Games:

7eedingGames that re


9/49

9at Brain:

7leeing47ightingGames that create (andresol%e tense emotionalstates/ rees

and heightened attentionle%els


10/49

9at Brain:

9eproductionE>aggerated 2hysical1haracteristics

1ompetition and?ominance


11/49

$kinner Bo>es

But simple stimulus4response beha%ior cannot e>plain (the ma,ority of games" appeal


12/49

@igher;le%el

'oti%ationThree main

sources:

Autonomy'astery

2urpose

?ri%e/ ?aniel @5 2ink/ ))


13/49

Autonomy

@a%ing the ability to direct youro3n actions/ e>plore 3here you

3ant/ determine your o3n tactics


14/49

'astery

$elf;impro%ement/ purposefultraining/ learning from feedback/becoming more procient

Gaining an understanding of ano%el en%ironment and its rules

Telling $ho3ing $elf;disco%ery


15/49

2urpose

Achie%ing something that Cmatters"


16/49

7lo3 A state of consciousness ofconcentration and deep en,oyment

Triggered by ideal challenge le%eland high moti%ation

@appens 3ith 3ork too (e5g5 Game?e%elopment

Dt"s the conte>t that determinesmoti%ation/ not the action itself

?e%elopers can control games"conte>t

But the real 3orld is too comple>for optimalautonomy4mastery4purpose

scenarios


17/49

Using 2sychology

to 'ake 'oney

E i 9


18/49

Emerging 9e%enue

'odels1lassic 'odel:

; 'ake a game players en,oy; They 3ill tell their friends/ and buy future games

; 2rot!!

0e3 model:; 'ake a free game that players 3ill check

out; @ook them and make them spend realmoney to purchase in;game items; 2rot!!


19/49

7reeconomics


20/49

'anipulation and

'orality7reemium games are 3here these

boundaries of game design morality arereally getting tested

Good game design 3ill fre


21/49

'anipulation and

'oralityThey are not inherently Cgood" orCe%il"

Too much rat brain moti%ationbegins to feel like manipulation555555but if the gamer ultimately en,oys

the e>perience/ is there a problem#

+ots of grey area


22/49

The Basics

2eople 3ill pay for things that ha%e%alue to them

Df you 3ant to makemoney/ you need toadd or create %alue

alue is hea%ilydependent on conte>t


23/49

1reating perception of

%aluealue can be created by applyinge>pertise in order to process ra3materials into an end product of

higher function or aesthetic appealBut game designers can create

%alue from thin air


24/49

@o3 do you create

%alue in a game#Enhances gameplay4empo3ers player

; Bigger guns/ no%el maps/ ne3 challenges

9emo%e barrier or something annoying; 7aster reloading/ fast tra%el/ bypassgrinding

$carcity&pportunity 1ost (double F2$a%e real;3orld time

; 6$murfberries8


25/49

$murfberries

(cont"dAny in;game currency that sa%es youtime/ and can purchase po3erful in;game items

1an only be earned in rare situations/ bycompleting annoying tasks/ or by payingreal money

our o3n time has e>tremely high %alue

H $elling your o3n time back to you


26/49

The false dilemma

2layer can either:; ait for a really long time; ?o some annoying thing; 2ay real money

&f course/ player can also:; 0ot play the game

6?o you 3ant to clean youroom before or afterdinner#8


27/49

Anchoring

&ne option that ischeap/ anotherthat is more

e>pensi%e but aCbetter %alue"

&ne %erye>pensi%e optionto make the otherones seem cheaper


28/49

2layer ?isempo3erment

7irst %e or si> le%els progresse>tremely fast

0e>t le%el takes a 'U1@ longertime to complete (6The all82layer becomes accustomed to

positi%e reinforcement of le%eling/ itis no3 3ithdra3n/ feels urge tospeed up process


29/49

9einforcement

$chedules

BOOOR

RRINNGG

BOOO

RRRINNGG


30/49

9einforcement

$chedules9e3ard timing is %ery critical9andom 9e3ards H e>tremely high response

They ,ust ha%e to not kno3 it"s coming


31/49

?on"t be e%il

These tactics are eIecti%e/ but are

they moral#

@o3 3ill you balance makingmoney %s5 making the game you

3ant to build#


32/49

The Arms 9ace

0eed to make money! But more andmore resistance to paying upfront5

Both gamers and de%elopers makingthe Crational choice"


33/49

The Arms 9ace$o ho3 much 3ill game design change

in order to make money#

1an you still design the game you3ant to build/ 3hile incorporatingthese elements#

ill players begin resisting freemiumas 3ell#

hat"s the ne>t phase of this battle#


34/49

A 1ase $tudy


35/49

Dnitial 1hallenges

0o 'oney?o e%erything myself

?on"t kno3 3hat D"m doing


36/49

2rogression


37/49

Earnings

9ough e


38/49

hat ha%e D

learned# $ingle;player e>perience is important 2olish is critical (e5g5 %isual feedback

$mall J focused is a better approachTurn;based much better than simultaneous

multiplayer

Users are (almost ne%er happy H scope creep Good re%ie3s K @igh $ales Game forums are your friend Good idea to supplement 3ith other 3ork


39/49

2ricing $trategies

2aid7ree7ree;L2aid2aid and 7ree

2aid;L7ree;L2aid;L7ree;L2aid;L7ree (2eriodic $ales 3orks thebest

Th f


40/49

The po3er of app

salesGet picked up by t3itter;bots and auto;blogs on mainstreammedia sites

@elps if you ha%e a fe3 contacts in the media to magnify

M)k free do3nloads in a 3eekend %s5 )k lifetime (paid andfree

h f


41/49

The po3er of app

sales@ilariously/ 1olony +ite (3hich 3asfree the 3hole time had about N)do3nloads during the same period


42/49

&ther Tips

?o3nload topapp store gamesand see 3hat

they do 3ell


43/49

&ther Tips

Dterate! Oeep building ne3 stuI allthe time

$ource: 3335streamingcolour5comde% sur%ey
http://www.streamingcolour.com/http://www.streamingcolour.com/


44/49

&ther Tips

Get an artist

%s5

+uigi Guatieri'e


45/49

A 0e3 Approach

E>tremelysimplemechanic

?esigned tomake theprimaryaction asre3arding aspossibleusingpsychologicalprinciples


46/49

A 0e3 Approach


47/49

ill it 3ork#

TB?But it"s a great game design

e>ercise

2ros:; This perspecti%e can help sol%e

game design challenges

1ons:; Artistic 1ompromise# 'aybe e%il#

&r ,ust being practical#


48/49

$ummary

As a game de%eloper/ you ha%e entire controlo%er the moti%ational conte>t for players

The 7our 7"s and Autonomy/ 'astery/ and2urpose/ can increase user en,oyment and

re%enue

1reate %alue for your playersThere are other/ sneakier tactics you can use to

aIect players" beha%ior/ please use responsibly

Game design is being changed based on ne3re%enue models

Dterate/ start small/ polish/ and try app sales


49/49

Thanks!

erikPQapps5com

PQapps

3335Qapps5com
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

Documents

The Gamer Brain