Comments for The Psychology of Video GamesThe Psychology of Video Games

Comment on A Tale of Two Talent Trees by Jamie Madigan

Jamie Madigan — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:31:05 +0000

I don’t know of any research on that, but it’s a good, practical question. I suspect that a lot of UI researchers have already looked at some of this stuff, but the whole character selection/creation screen is probably still rife with potential research.

Comment on A Tale of Two Talent Trees by Ade

Ade — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:28:12 +0000

Probably unlikely to have much of a connection, but in the case of all options being presented at once, does the directional orientation of the options matter? For example League of Legends has a descending layout, Rift uses an ascending one, Guild Wars 2 and Neverwinter go from left to right (Some even use hybrids or, in the case of WoW, overhaul their systems) .

Also I find it strange that the only time I have seen such a system go right to left was when it was a part of a circular layout and in that case it was more outward expansion then right to left.

Just wondering…

Comment on The Psychology of Microsoft Points Part 1: Waste Aversion by Progress? | That Angry Dwarf

Progress? | That Angry Dwarf — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:48:17 +0000

[...] us that dislike the practice of converting real money into fake money into digital goods (see more here). It seems like they may still do the “wallet” thing, where you put money into a bin [...]

Comment on Deindividuation + Character Creator = Stab Them in the Face by Kinkalo

Kinkalo — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:02:06 +0000

I see games as a creative, intellectual, and emotional outlet- a substitute for real social interaction. And I treat it as such; I don’t pretend I would hold onto my extensive video game experience if I could have better real friendships instead. This means that video games make me feel ashamed that I am not more socially developed.

And therefore, the escape games give me would be reduced if the character looked like me. But on the other hand, having the character look really different makes me feel a bit lonely and detached, and anything in between is boring.

I don’t know how more customization would work out for me, I might just prefer being given a fake and artificial identity which I can understand and appreciate over personal choice.

Comment on The Walking Dead, Mirror Neurons, and Empathy by Jamie Madigan

Jamie Madigan — Fri, 10 May 2013 21:06:18 +0000

Agreed! Or one that took your facial expressions into account as part of your interactions with NPCs. The technology is at least partially out there, isn’t it? I think I read something about player/avatar facial animation mimicking via webcam in Everquest 2, but I can’t find the link.

Comment on The Walking Dead, Mirror Neurons, and Empathy by Christophe

Christophe — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:58:36 +0000

It would be interesting to create a video game with a face recognition technology that asks you to replicate facial expressions. We could then see if it develops your empathy for the characters in the game…

Comment on A Tale of Two Talent Trees by Jamie Madigan

Jamie Madigan — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:41:23 +0000

I think the subjects in the studies were college students if I recall. The experiments didn’t involve games at all; I just drew those parallels with TR and Syndicate.

Comment on A Tale of Two Talent Trees by Brother Random

Brother Random — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:51:42 +0000

Wow, what a strange effect. I’ve got Tomb Raider and never once wished I could change a skill pick, but then I’m an old school gamer and am used to planning out these type of trees so I compare a lot before assigning points. It also helped that in Tomb Raider I realised fairly early on that you could get all the skills anyway.

Were the test subjects in the chocolate experiment gamers or Standard Issue Civilians?

Personal Note – I am aware that ‘gamer’ may not be a subdivision of human, that could well be just me

Comment on Phat Loot and Neurotransmitters in World of Warcraft by Freemium: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly | Gaming Intersect

Freemium: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly | Gaming Intersect — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:02:38 +0000

[...] reason centers around the tendency in the MMO genre to leverage gambling psychology to keep players hooked. Grinding for increasingly rare and more powerful gear and abilities is a big part of the appeal [...]

Comment on A Tale of Two Talent Trees by Bob

Bob — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:56:27 +0000

I’m sure that developers (well, publishers) would be extremely happy with player regret in some circumstances, especially where those circumstances involve cadging more money out of them, due to the player wanting / hoping for something better and therefore be willing to pay allover again to (potentially) satisfy their regret…