Skinner boxes

I have noticed and I also admit to being manipulated by what is known as a skinner box.  To make a long story short a psychologist by the name of B F Skinner figured out that he could make pigeons do all kinds of weird things by setting up a reward system for the targeted behavior.  So for example if you want the pigeon to turn around in little circles then every time the pigeon starts to turn a seed is deposited into a feeding tray.  The trick is to drop seeds at longer and longer intervals so that the behavior becomes more and more cemented.  By the time your done the pigeon will circle for minutes in order to get the food.  The reason I bring this up is that the principle is often used in video games to keep players playing games.  This is commonly found in role playing games where at the beginning of the game one gets levels and new equipment pretty fast, and then later on in the game the pace slows down and it takes longer to go up to the next level and get better equipment.  Eventually it may be months in between the time that you see any appreciable increase in the game.  Just as soon as you think you have finally reached the end, you are at the highest level and have the best of the best gear, they bring out an expansion and the whole process gets added onto for the next few months or even years.  And yet players will continue to play because they have been conditioned to do so.

I'm writing this as a kind of rant because I have realized that this process is going on and yet I get pulled into it again and again.  From what I have found in my research this is commonly referred to as a "hook", or an addictive element of a game that keep you coming back again and again even after is ceases to be fun or even remotely entertaining.  The biggest problem I see in this is that people get so hooked on games that they start to neglect almost everything else in their life.  I know that it has been a serious problem in my life on more than one occasion.  So I would like to make an enjoyable game that isn't as addictive as many MMO's have been specifically designed to be.  The other problem I run into is that I know that this is going to take money to work, and not just something to get it started, but upkeep and updates and the list goes on and on. I am hopeful that many people are turning to independent game developers to return to games roots where if it's not fun then players won't play.  It is just the challenge of how do you get people to support the unknown and new.  After all the biggest competition is for the money of the consumer, and business will go to great lengths to get it.  I guess that in the end the goal of making this game and the master's degree will help me even if the game is not successful as I am hoping it will be.

If you are interested to find out more about do a Google search for "video game skinner box".  What you find is pretty eye opening.