The Psychology of why you are still playing GTAO

[§†range]

I found this link in another thread, yet found it worthy of it's own topic. Players who grind, players who glitch, players who want to unlock achievements and rewards. The article may very well open some eyes to the design of GTAO and also explain delays in DLC and other content you may have been waiting for.

 

http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html

 

 

As requested a summary: It is based on the intermittent reward system as observed in casinos and experiments with rodents as to why they do what they do even if they don't enjoy it. A perfect example in GTAO would be RR grinding. Are you doing it because you enjoy it? Glitching for millions, is that actually fun? The answers are simple and defined in this article .

 

 

Edited April 29, 2014 by Sum-gUy

[CrazyRay]

Ah yes, the "Hey guys, read/look at this and tell me what you think" type of thread...how about you summarize it for us because 95% of the posters here aren't going to your link...where did you think this thread was going to go???

Edited April 28, 2014 by CrazyRay

[darkwar854]

Hmm, interesting, that article accurately represents the players who grind and glitch for hours upon hours to get the most amount of money. Good thing i'm not one of those people.

[Dottie]

CrazyRay, on 28 Apr 2014 - 7:37 PM, said:

Ah yes, the "Hey guys, read/look at this and tell me what you think" type of thread...how about you summarize it for us because 95% of the posters here aren't going to your link...where did you think this thread was going to go???

 

A locksmith

Edited April 28, 2014 by Winning001

[CheaterMcCheat]

f*ckin' heist ideas over here, amateur psychologists and philosophers over there, when will the torture stop?

[§†range]

Ah yes, the "Hey guys, read/look at this and tell me what you think" type of thread...how about you summarize it for us because 95% of the posters here aren't going to your link...where did you think this thread was going to go???

Maybe, just possibly a thought provoking discussion.

[ky1e1792]

I didn't even click the link.

 

I play in the hope of better content. Boredom is usually the main factor as to why I play, or the fact I have nothing better to do.

[Staten]

Actually, a lot of those reasons in the article could be used to explain why people use forums all the time...

[K-ROSE]

I keep playing because I don't feel like spending money on a PS4 and new games.

[§†range]

LOL. It's funny. The article is somewhat describing players as addicts. Even addicted to virtual rewards that have no real life benefit yet will still continue to play it, as the sense of achievement becomes real in the players mind. I find it true in some regard, why the hell do I want and need my bank roll at x amount and no lower ever?

[saintsrow]

While I would agree that the variable ratio rewards keep some people playing (race or survival, for example) with the hope of being a winner next time, most things in GTA0 are not so random. People (like me) grind for predictable rewards, because we just need to keep accumulating money or RP without end, to get out of our disadvantaged condition. It's not addicting like Tetris or Candy Crush or Missile Command or other mindless games. We need those RPs and $$$.

 

But I think that the mechanism that keeps most GTA0 players coming back is simple sadism. There is a thrill in making someone else suffer, and many GTA0 pricks seek out the cheap easy kills to get that thrill. If it were a simple situation of playing a self- challenging minigame, such as "How many NPCs can I melee kill in 5 minutes?" or "How many NPC vehicles can I blow up in 5 minutes?" they could do this in a Solo online session. And perhaps they do, but we would not see them.

 

But I think most of them are in free-roam, so they can make other players miserable and ruin their gaming experience. Sadism - it's at the very core of GTA0. Good work, Rockstar.

Edited April 29, 2014 by saintsrow

[Staten]

LOL. It's funny. The article is somewhat describing players as addicts. Even addicted to virtual rewards that have no real life benefit yet will still continue to play it, as the sense of achievement becomes real in the players mind. I find it true in some regard, why the hell do I want and need my bank roll at x amount and no lower ever?

It's because we're not guided by rational thought most of the time, we just react to emotion. That keeping your bank roll at a certain amount is to avoid the feeling of discomfort you'd get if it wasn't.

 

One thing that I think the article doesn't really take into account is that all games are repetitive to a greater or lesser extent (in that the same sort of things happen every time we play a game of something) and that repetition can be used to reach more complex goals (e.g. grinding RR for money to buy ammo for free-roam battles).

[SnyderGuy]

I DON'T grind or glitch for money, because I DO NOT enjoy it.

 

I guess I have more will power than others.

[rob602pa]

Explains those empty crates (treasure chests)...

[havingfunz]

I work a lot, and don't really have the patience right now to start AC4, also I'm waiting for High Life dlc to release, maybe after I get bored of the High life dlc, I will change over to another game, till heists come out.

[§†range]

@SaintsRow excellent point. I didn't nor the article take into account other games that offer the reward of sadistic pleasure. I think a majority of GTAO players may have never played a previous one. This game though allows them to get that void filled in GTAO that they couldn't IRL.

 

@Staten You are right, the game is playing on an insecurity or discomfort in me. I have to have x amount and keep coming back.

Explains those empty crates (treasure chests)...

Exactly.....no R* conspiracy theory here though.

[grand theft spaghetti]

dont even mention the obvious. half the people playing are stoned off their ass.

[§†range]

dont even mention the obvious. half the people playing are stoned off their ass.

LOL, yet another factor. I guess in retrospect scientific studies leave out a ton of variables, one such as this.

[Glumok]

BMX. Once in a while, a little ride with my beloved bicycle.

[trhacker01]

I still play because I enjoy being in the GTA world, and the personalization of character creation is my biggest reason for mp over sp. Reached the point with $ and rp that it doesn't matter any more, no need to continue a grind. To me I guess GTA (playing since gta3) is like a more fun version of life (able to have cool things i cant afford irl) with no real consequences (not just the sadistic stuff, but all around). Even so, I see myself as addicted to a certain extent. Lots of good points in that article that are visible in gtao.

[Fail_At_GTA]

Making a thread with a link to a long article is not a good idea. Nobody is going to click and read the entire thing.

[§†range]

@Glumok you are surely in the minority if that is all that brings you back to GTAO.

Making a thread with a link to a long article is not a good idea. Nobody is going to click and read the entire thing.

My bad I will try to add the main points in the OP.

[NegSpec13]

I've thought about leaving for another game on numerous occasions now and still haven't. Why? Part of it is that I would actually miss being part of a virtual world that has become such a mainstay of my everyday existence. Another factor that keeps me playing is what the next DLC will bring. I know for a fact that within a short time I'll be bored of the new cars, weapons and clothes but I hang in there nonetheless. I think that if I quit playing I would wonder what I was missing out on.

[§†range]

I've thought about leaving for another game on numerous occasions now and still haven't. Why? Part of it is that I would actually miss being part of a virtual world that has become such a mainstay of my everyday existence. Another factor that keeps me playing is what the next DLC will bring. I know for a fact that within a short time I'll be bored of the new cars, weapons and clothes but I hang in there nonetheless. I think that if I quit playing I would wonder what I was missing out on.

Yeah Kind of in the same position. I'm thinking there is going to be a next big thing.

[AgentExeider]

@OP,

 

It's called Operant Conditioning and it's a design strategy used by MANY games not just GTA:O, in fact it's the use of the Operant Scale, that drives the design of many Free to Play games, determining how often content of some kind MUST be released to keep people interested, while not allowing them to fully satisfy their desire as to basically become disinterested.

[Pyromythical]

. I think that if I quit playing I would wonder what I was missing out on.

This is going to be TL;DR for a lot of people - I have suffered gaming addiction, and more so, I have since studied psychology - so yeah, kind of a passionate subject.

 

Back in the day, around 7 years ago I hit a very low point in my life (which is not relevant other than it sucked bad) and I turned to World of Warcraft to hide from my miserable existence and suffered from an addiction to it.

 

What I have quoted there is essentially what caused me to become addicted - I sought out 'safe' social interactions, and when I was away from the world that gave me that interaction - I felt like I was missing out on something.

 

Variable Reward Ratios, Fixed reward ratios and so on are a great way to explain addiction (and they are correct, I am not disputing that) - however there are a lot more factors/variable things that one can become addicted to.

 

For me, it was the Social aspect of online gaming - I made real friends (yes, real friends who I still interact with, although this is maybe one or two from those days out of hundreds I played with) and more so, I was accepted by this group, by my peers - they liked me, and I was needed.

When it came time to step away from that world I had lived in (when I realised my life wasting away, the things I was missing - and when I was ready to face all of it again) the only thing I had trouble stepping away from was the people I had interacted with.

 

Where is all of this going?

GTA Online is a very social experience.

 

I have only a handful of people I actually talk to on a regular basis (which is my small, but quality crew), however recently I have noticed something happening (which I also put down to the population of GTA:O becoming more stable, with more only the die hard hanging around and a trickle of new players).

What's happening is I am starting to see people I know just from bumming around in free roam with them - whether its in a negative space (griefing, killing, ruining their day or them ruining mine) to a positive space (Random cruises, impromptu burnout sessions etc).

While no words are spoken, a type of familiarity can be formed. This creates a social space that seems more alive, akin to the people you interact with on a day to day basis but may not know the name of - once they leave your space you don't think about them until the next time you run into them.

 

Variable reward systems in this game are interesting - because it only truly exists in the levelling system and how well you perform. If you such bananas then you will likely earn less RP and level slower. Variable reward ends there (unless there is aspects I have not considered) However what we do have is a lot of fixed reward ratios.

 

You gain that level and it is clear you have unlocked X and Y, and Z.

You gain money which gives you a fixed reward schedule by knowing exactly how much you need to buy that car, or weapon, or clothes.

 

Deathmatch and other game modes are not variable ratio - they are entirely dependent on skill, with no random dice rolls or drops to change the outcome.

[Sw1ft562]

 

dont even mention the obvious. half the people playing are stoned off their ass.

LOL, yet another factor. I guess in retrospect scientific studies leave out a ton of variables, one such as this.

 

i prefer a few hydros sometimes

[Pyromythical]

 

 

dont even mention the obvious. half the people playing are stoned off their ass.

LOL, yet another factor. I guess in retrospect scientific studies leave out a ton of variables, one such as this.

 

i prefer a few hydros sometimes

 

 

Drugs make no difference - it still fills a void that exists.

You get high, you need something to do - you play games.

Not to mention that gaming under the influence gives a much more immersive experience - where one can be completely lost in the game they are playing.

[§†range]

@pyromythical nice honest post.

@OP,

 

It's called Operant Conditioning and it's a design strategy used by MANY games not just GTA:O, in fact it's the use of the Operant Scale, that drives the design of many Free to Play games, determining how often content of some kind MUST be released to keep people interested, while not allowing them to fully satisfy their desire as to basically become disinterested.

yeah I was adding it as an example for GTAO for this forum. As in the article it mentions multiple games that use this "strategy"

[Sw1ft562]

 

 

 

dont even mention the obvious. half the people playing are stoned off their ass.

LOL, yet another factor. I guess in retrospect scientific studies leave out a ton of variables, one such as this.

 

i prefer a few hydros sometimes

 

 

Not to mention that gaming under the influence gives a much more immersive experience

 

not really.