Have you ever been so captivated by a video game that you believed the world you are in is real, that you are the character you are playing as, and that every decision matters? Do you remember that scene when you frantically run through the crumbling dungeon, debris and rubble falling all around you, you can feel the floor beneath your feet shaking and giving way. You glance down and see cracks forming in the stone, spreading like a spider's web as the ground crumbles and falls away into a bottomless abyss. Your heart races as you realize that one wrong step could mean your demise. But somehow, through sheer determination and quick thinking, you manage to jump over the crumbling sections of the floor and make it to safety just in time. As you catch your breath, you can't help but feel a sense of triumph and accomplishment, even though it was just a video game. It's moments like these that make the gaming experience so immersive and memorable.
If that rings a bell it's likely that the game's developers employed various tactics and psychological manipulation to keep you invested and engaged in the game, keep you on track, and sometimes help you win. Yep, they basically lied to you. But it was harmless, it was FUN! It was all done for you.
So what are these tactics and psychological manipulation techniques that game developers use to create such immersive gameplay experiences? Let's take a closer look at one of the most common methods employed in the industry.
Artificial Difficulty
At first, you might be "duh, I choose my difficulty level at the start of the game", and yes you might say that this makes the difficulty artificial since if you chose Easy, you might be able to breeze through the swarm of enemies Rambo-style but on the Super Hard settings, a Level 1 suburban rat that just crawled out from that pipe over there killed you with a single bite.
We're not here to talk about that though. These techniques are somewhat sneakier, knowing that they exist won't ruin your FUN, I promise.
There are different reasons to use this technique:
Sense of Fairness
One example of this technique is the "warning shot" mechanic, where enemies always miss the first shot they take at the player. This can be seen in the older classic like Bioshock, where enemies would fire a shot that would intentionally miss the player, even if the player was standing directly in front of them. This technique is often employed to give the player a chance to react and defend themselves, rather than being immediately killed without warning. In this way, the warning shot mechanic helps to balance the game and makes it more fair for the player. It also adds a sense of tension and unpredictability to the gameplay, as the player must be ready for the possibility of being fired upon at any moment. Overall, this technique is an effective way to keep the player engaged and on their toes, while also maintaining a sense of fairness in the game.
And that's not all! BioShock devs implemented another hidden mechanic, that ensures you never die from the first shot that hits you, and keeps you alive at 1% HP for at least a little bit longer. This cranks up the tension even more and gives that much more satisfaction when you successfully beat the encounter on the brink of your life.
So even though devs are clearly pulling off shenanigans to keep you alive (you're not that good bro), you could say that it clearly helps with the experience. But does that equal more FUN though?
Tension and Excitement
This mechanic is likely familiar to many gamers. It's kind of the opposite of making things fair, but it can really be worth it when used correctly in racing games, specifically. You could probably guess it by now, yes we are talking about "rubberbanding". In short, if you aren't familiar with the term, a slightly incorrect version goes like this: Rubberbanding is a hidden mechanic in racing games that basically makes players in the back faster, and players in the front slower.
Some might argue that it takes away from the skill and strategy involved in racing, as players may feel like their success or failure is largely determined by the game's mechanics rather than their own abilities. But the question is would the game be as enjoyable without rubberbanding?
Let's think about this for a second. Mario Cart isn't just a racing game where you are trying to go as fast and make it perfectly through the corners, the usual "racing stuff", but also, the game is designed around different power-ups and items you can use to interact with other players. With rubberbanding, you are constantly keeping players closer together, so the opportunity to use those items is almost always there, and because of it, players will more often switch positions and the winner will be less obvious until the end. Sounds more FUN, right? Well, as with any game mechanic, rubberbanding is a matter of personal preference and can be a divisive issue among players. I'd say it really depends on the actual game it is used in.
In other words, being first in the race is cool and all, but it can be lonely to be so far away from everyone so they fixed it. You're welcome!
What is your stance on this one?
Because You Don't Understand Probability
Yeah, you read that right. But it's true, usually. Most people have an intuitive understanding of how probability works, even though they are wrong. For example, when you hear that there is a 50% for something to happen, like getting head or tails right. You would expect that every second time there would be heads. But that's just wrong. That's why game developers use this technique to manipulate probability in the way they expect you to believe probability works. That is called "Dice fudging". In the heads or tails example, devs would manipulate the odds in a way, where, let's say you see tails, on the next coin flip the chances for heads would be 75%, and on the next 99%, to basically guarantee that your expectations are validated.
You might've recognized the game from the image, but if not, that's X-Com. X-Com is a turn-based strategy game in which players control a crew that battles against a bunch of aliens in various terrains (basically). To make the game unpredictable and exciting, almost every action has some chance of working but is never guaranteed, so there's always tension. This game uses Dice fudging in many ways, the mechanic has greater effects depending on the difficulty and luck. For example, if you are playing on easy difficulty and you miss three shots in a row. You will be guaranteed to hit your next shot, no matter what the game tells you. This might sound like your skill doesn't matter, but it's actually helping only players that really, I mean really, suck at the game. But this little nudge can make their experience much better and help them have FUN.
Sooo... now you know, your gaming experience is a lie, kind of. How does it feel? Haha, jk. But for real though, these techniques aren't implemented in games just so that some devs secretly laugh at your clown ass that falls for their tricks. It's designed for YOU, so that you can have an immersive and exciting experience. So that you can tell your friend an awesome story of how you clutched in a really intense situation during your playthrough and how you felt proud after that. So what if it was a lie, it didn't hurt anyone, did it?
I guess that's the biggest question in the end. Is that morally okay? I didn't want to discuss this in the first part of this topic because there is a lot more to cover. It seems harmless, but how far are developers willing to go so that "You can have FUN"? I would love to hear what you think.
Thank you for reading! If you like themes like #science, #nature, #philosophy, #mystery, #gaming, and similar topics feel free to Follow me for more content like this. Also, if you have any suggestions to make these posts better or just want to hang out, please leave a comment so we can chat.
Sources: