Why do we play video games?
Understanding player motivation and why we like some games more than others
Why do we play video games?
The first game (toy) I remember playing was probably my Barbie doll. Dressing her up and letting my imagination wild was my favorite thing to do as a child. As I grew older, games took other forms, from Monopoly, to Hide-And-Seek, to Sims to World of Warcraft. Games were a part of my life even before I remember. They are so fundamental to how I see myself and the world. So why do we play video games? The easy answer is because they are fun. But what makes a game fun?
Psychologists and game design experts have attempted to answer this question for a long time. What motivates us to play video games? What motivates us to do anything? One popular and commonly accepted framework is the Self-Determination Theory (Edward Deci and Richard Ryan). The theory identifies three basic psychological needs – competence, autonomy, and relatedness – as core principles underlying human motivation.
Competence: the need to feel effective at what we are doing. This includes being challenged appropriately and developing mastery.
Autonomy: the need for volition and freedom in our decision making and to feel that we are responsible for our own experiences.
Relatedness: the need to feel supported and understood by others. The vice versa also holds true when we understand and share a collective goal or experience with others.
Satisfying our needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness creates sustainable motivation. When we are motivated, we are compelled to do something because we find it innately satisfying, enjoyable, or fun. The self-determination theory could be applied to different environments, including at work, in school and while playing. In subsequent studies, Deci and Ryan did just so – applying the theory to the gaming space. The duo conducted a variety of studies and found that player satisfaction on competence, autonomy and relatedness is highly correlated with their perception of “fun” and the overall commercial success of the game.
Why do we like certain games more than others?
GTA V.
Minecraft.
Among Us.
Gardenscapes
God of War.
Final Fantasy VI
Call of Duty.
League of Legends.
The Last of Us.
Genshin Impact.
What do these games have in common? Let’s apply the self-determination theory to and try to understand why they stand out as some of the best games created.
Competence
The best games are those that are easy to learn but hard to master.
Competence: To satisfy competence, games need to have the right level of challenge. Why do we spend hours and hours attempting to beat our Flappy Bird high score? Why are we so energized when we finally defeat that tough boss? Because overcoming these challenges satisfies our intrinsic need for competence. Research shows that people are most satisfied when they are optimally challenged. That is, the best challenges are those that are tough but achievable. When players are optimally challenged, they are completely immersed with the task at hand. Polish psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes this state of immersion as flow.
“The flow is a mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing. It is a state and a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of an activity.”
Games that succeed in creating flow find the right balance between skills and difficulty. They give us the feeling of “This is hard, but I am getting better” and “Damn it, I could do it if I have another try.” These games challenge us just enough so we can grow and cultivate mastery with effort. Flow is not limited to one game genre. In fact, my favorite “competence-inducing” games include both core and casual games, from Genshin Impact (open world RPG) to Gardenscapes (puzzle Match 3). What both these games have in common are:
Not all games have optimal competence designs. They often undermine player’s effort or fail to balance skills with difficulty. Common characteristics include
While competence is a universal psychological need, it is also relative across regions, cultures, and player type. For example, pay-to-win is much more acceptable in the Chinese gaming culture than Western culture, although that attitude in China is beginning to shift. Some games, such as Dark Souls and Demon Souls developed by From Software, are difficult even for experienced gamers. Competence or difficulty curve is not a one size fits all and good games are designed with player needs in mind.
Autonomy
Games that succeed in satisfying the basic need of autonomy offer players meaningful choices and interesting constraints. Players emerge from the game feeling like they curated their own experiences. Strategy, sand box and open world games come to the top of mind when thinking of games that offer autonomy because players are given a vast world with a lot of choices, customization, and agency. Autonomy also exists across different genres, from interactive to strategy games. One of my favorite games, Detroit: Become Human, scores high on autonomy for me
The positive effects of autonomy have been demonstrated by various studies in addition to those by Deci and Ryan. However, “choice” could also backfire if not designed properly. For example, players can lose confidence in the game if a choice is “fake” and autonomy just an illusion.
Like, competence, autonomy is also dependent on region, culture, and demographics. For example, according to research, “personal choice generally enhanced motivation more for American independent selves than for Asian interdependent selves” (Iyengar and Lepper 1999). Overall, games that score high on autonomy not only allow players to create their own experiences, but also use constraints such as culture and region to enrich gameplay.
Relatedness
Games that succeed in satisfying relatedness make players feel supported in the ecosystem. This is often considered the “social” feature of the game and could be achieved through guilds and parties where players have a sense of belonging. However, relatedness is not limited to multiplayer games. Relatedness can also be achieved in single-player games when players connect with the characters and NPC (non-player characters).
Final Thoughts
Competence, autonomy, and relatedness are psychological needs that could be satisfied through video games. Great games often satisfy more than one of these needs in a very authentic manner. In our lifetime, we may encounter and play many games. But the games that impact and define us are those that helped us grow through challenges, allowed us to curate our own experiences and made us felt connected to a group or a cause.
What are your favorite games and why do you love them?
Extra reading
RSA ANIMATE: The surprising truth about what motivates us
Scott Rigby and Richard Ryan: Rethinking Carrots A New Method For Measuring What Players Find Most Rewarding and Motivating About Your Game
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Hi Sophia! My newsletter's much like yours, only you seem to go WAY deeper. That's awesome! Would it be ok if I cited/linked to this post? I'm preparing a series on the psychology of gaming and would love to tap you and your newsletter as a source.