

The Anatomy of Addictive Gameplay - Splines
http://www.innesoft.com/blog/2010/06/the-anatomy-of-addictive-gameplay/

======
siculars
This talk, mentioned on HN a few times, is must watch tv for anyone in this
space.

<http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/multimedia/schell-dice.shtml>

On a personal note, I can attest to the addictive nature of these games. My
crack of choice was WoW and oh how I chased that dragon. But like all highly
addictive substances, it is my firm beliefe that this area will come under the
regulation of government... to protect the children. But in reality it should
be regulated like any other addictive form of entertainment like gambling,
alcohol, tobacco, or narcotics. Not outlawed, but regulated. Like S.Korea
regulating play time, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/12/south-korea-
imposes...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/12/south-korea-imposes-
midni_n_534782.html).

~~~
dhimes
Maybe this will save someone some time: Adblock Plus blocks playing of the
Schell vid. Turn it off for the page.

------
Splines
Someone on reddit pointed out that the morality of making addictive games was
never discussed. What does the community here think about this?

~~~
Dove
Calling a game 'addictive' is a playful compliment. Let us not mistake it for
a serious assessment of the situation. Games do not foster physical
dependency; they do not coerce the player to chase a diminishing high until
his whole life is a ruin. Except WoW. ;)

I think addictive games come in two flavors, one negative and one positive.

The negative type are games that don't let you go, that you wind up playing
long after you've lost interest in them. Games that are centered around a
guild that needs you, so your friends draw you in. Games that must be played
regularly and so form habits. Games that threaten to punish you severely if
you don't frequently check in. This is a negative sort of 'addictive'
gameplay: it eats up time, demands attention, serves as a second job. Games
like these should be enjoyed briefly and then escaped from. Lucrative though
they may be, I would not want to develop one.

Then there is the positive sort of 'addictive' gameplay, which I might call
more accurately 'fascinating'. These are games that dazzle and delight, that
eat your brain, that you wind up playing for 16 hours a day for a week because
you can't stop thinking about them. Like a fascinating problem or a motivating
vision, they push you to perform and learn. This sort of addiction always dies
out eventually, but while it lasts it is enjoyable and rewarding. I would go
so far as to say it's what gaming is _about_. Yeah, it may cause the
occasional day of missed work, but it gets the odd hacker in a serious groove,
too. I think games with this quality are excellent and even make the world a
better place. I would strive to make any game I built so 'addictive'.

~~~
thalur
Out of curiosity, what games would you put in which category?

I would class something like WoW as negative and games like Civilisation as
positive, which makes me think it has something to do with where you do the
"work". In WoW, the "work" is all in-game, killing monsters for rewards etc.
In Civilisation much more of the "work" is done planning your next moves,
which is more of an out-of-game activity, meaning you can continue "playing"
the game while you do other things.

~~~
Dove
Every Facebook game I've ever played is in the first category. Some MUDs. WoW,
apparently -- I haven't played it, but its effect on friends who have seems
negative.

In the second category . . . well, my choices are going to reveal my age and
biases, but here goes. Starcraft, Nethack, and Descent are the big three that
have eaten whole years of my life through simply excellent and deep gameplay,
so they're my standby examples. Any of the Civ games would count. Deadly Rooms
Of Death is a puzzle game that's a genuinely tasty hacker snack. And one of
the most direcly addictive games I've ever played was Starscape.

I agree with your distinction between in-game and out-of-game work. Bad games
convert time into progress. Good games convert time into skill into progress.
Great games convert concerted mental effort into progress.

