Session Name: | Achievements Considered Harmful? |
Speaker(s): | Chris Hecker |
Company Name(s): | definition six, inc. |
Track / Format: | Production |
Overview: |
Achievements, awards, and rewards are ubiquitous in games
these days. They're simply part of the landscape of creating and
playing games, and they are enthusiastically designed into the very core
of most modern experiences. They are assumed to deepen the gameplay,
make players enjoy our games more, purchase them more, encourage word of
mouth marketing, and they are generally accepted by the industry as a
big step forward in game design. Unfortunately, more than 50 years of
psychology research seems to indicate achievements may be doing subtle
but irreparable harm to players and their feelings about playing games.
What is this heresy? This lecture will review the existing research to question the unquestionable. Rotten fruit will be provided at the door for those who don't like their faith and assumptions challenged with data. |