Week 2: Research into Addictive UX in gameplay
The addiction in these games is often related to completing that mission or beating a high score or preset standard.
The other type of video game addiction is associated with online multiplayer games. These games are played online with other people and are especially addictive because they generally have no ending. Gamers with this type of addiction enjoy creating and temporarily becoming an online character. They often build relationships with other online players as an escape from reality. For some, this community may be the place where they feel they’re the most accepted.
They accomplish this by making a game just challenging enough to keep you coming back for more but not so hard that the player eventually gives up.
“success for a gamer often feels just out of reach”
“game designers always tend to create certain ways so that their games are much more interesting than others and, of this way, increase the amount of time people spend playing on it” (Watson, 2021).
Manufacturing addiction to a game
Playing games is a fun hobby, with more than 2 billion people around the world regularly spending 6 hours a week in gameplay. In fact, the gaming market increase is one of the highest and most profitable.
One of the most essential characteristics of video games is to ask the player for more and that he wants even more, that is, to expose a series of circumstances to make the game much more attractive and not boring. Here are some of them:
The winner’s paradox: implying the intention to maintain an abnormally high percentage of victories, since this is much more satisfactory for the player and would encourage him to continue playing to maintain this gratification.
Reward VS Punishment: Players like to find gold coins for whatever reason. This is considered a reward that relates to the result of a merit within a game. If it is punished too soon, the players may come to think that it is cheating or boring. The first 50 minutes of a game should allow the user to become familiar with gameplay and aesthetic, making it easier to achieve success and feel accomplishment. In later levels, gameplay can become increasingly difficult. We spoke about possibly instead of coins or bamboo, our character collects blueberries. They are what made them blue as they love them so much.
Levels of progressive difficulty: It is necessary to have levels of difficulty as they create a feeling of progress - it is necessary that that there are more challenges to face. In addition, the desire to move to the next level improves playability, as you want your player to feel that they are above average.
Build a great atmosphere and / or style: Creating an essential atmosphere in a video game can pay off well to keep the player going. A good soundtrack that is consistent with the graphics will help the player to constantly keep him in your world.
Factors that increase addictive gameplay
“Games that get players hooked are often designed to be difficult enough to be truly challenging, while also allowing players to make small achievements or some winnings that force them to keep playing.” (Watson, 2021).
Gaining the highest score is the most used hook. The desire to get the highest score each round compels the player to keep trying. Scoreboard
Competitive game - beating rivals – particularly in online multiplayer games. Formation of clans to compete against other players or the ‘Battle Royale’ format. This evokes the need to establish online connections with other players.
In-game improvement: the character begins with very basic attributes in terms of experience, strength, intelligence, courage, powers, etc. It should take only minutes to complete the first level, gaining new strengths and abilities. This has instant gratification and reinforces repeated gameplay. Each level after gets more and more difficult, and this eases the player into an acceptance that more effort is required to proceed.
Role-playing games: It’s more than just play; it is about creating a character that somehow has unique qualities each time. Character customisation is increasing, and it creates an emotional attachment to the character and story.
Discovery: Mostly used in role-playing games; the thrill of discovering an open world you can explore. Break out resource games to snuffle around a world and collect things
Rich in Story: engaging plotlines or stories, decision-based plot changes and different endings.
Relaxation: Slow and repetitive games that are easy to play and require little attention.
Rewards can be offered at variable times. The player becomes more attentive when they are familiar with these schedules. E.g. candy crush once you lose all your lives, you have a time for 15 minutes until the next life is rewarded. Get’s players more focused on playing in real-time.
Players can also be rewarded for completing a certain number of tasks within a specified time or how much time in general has been spent on this. Thinking of rewards on Duolingo.
“the player will never really know how long it will be before the big reward arrives, but if they play long enough it will eventually arrive. This type of rewards program encourages longer periods of play.” (Watson, 2021).
Maybe the player knows that at 6pm a new reward is unlocked.
Night-time/Day-time modes. Maybe it’s real-time, so after 6pm the visuals become night-time mode
Companies often release updates or expansion packs to increase engagement with a game. New areas of the world to explore, new skills. Particularly in games that ask for a monthly fee to play. The gamer plays more to make the payment feel worth it.
Most Addictive Games
Tetris & Pacman – simplicity does not make a game any less addictive.
World of Warcraft & Everquest – Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) – monthly subscriptions.
League of Legends & DOTA2 – Mulitiplayer Online Battle Games (MOBA) – free with micro-payments.
Minecraft – 100 million monthly users, with different updates, derivatives and one of the largest open worlds.
Online multiplayer games have endless variations that make the game replayable.
“What was once a very individual endeavour, now a good number of players opt for titles that largely revolve around competing with other players, this is the popularity of Fortnite or the online version of GTA V. This is largely due to part of the fun and unpredictable nature of pitting our skills against other players, as well as being able to communicate in real time with rivals through specialized headphones.”