7 Psychological Tactics Used in Games
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Transcript of 7 Psychological Tactics Used in Games
Successful F2P games are a brew of persuasion techniques designed to achieve fast engagement and revenue.
Here’s a short list of the 7 most notorious persuasive methods that can be found in casual games today:
Loss AversionPeople strive to avoid pain. And losing is painful. We experience loss in twice as intense a manner
than we enjoy a possible gain.
A classic “loss aversion trap”. Players are reluctant to lose the progress they have made in a level and pay to avoid loss.
Game: Love Rocks Starring Shakira
Notice the strong language, “Don’t abandon the baby pandas!” that aims to trap users in the loss aversion corner.
Game: Panda Pop
Timers are often used to stress users into a quick decision.(BTW, nothing happens when this timer hits zero).
Game: Panda Pop
READ MORE about loss aversion and more psychological tactics you can’t afford be ignorant of!
Endowed ProgressPeople who feel they’ve made some progress toward a goal
are more committed to achieve that goal.
Level systems are made with the endowed progress effect in mind.A “progress” is made immediately after the first play.
Game: Temple Run 2
All “timer based” games are built around starting processesthat players feel compelled to finish, only because they started.
Game: Minions Paradise
Progress bars, especially those who offer concrete milestones backed by rewards work wonders on players.
Game: Minions Paradise
Milestones
Rewards
Ever wondered how come you always have some of the ingredients needed to complete a mission? Now you know why.
Game: Hay Day
Envy/EmbarrassmentAn emotion which occurs when a person lacks another’s superior
quality, achievement, or possession.
World building games often show players their neighbours’ achievements to tap on their envy - embarrassment axis
Game: Simpsons Tapped Out
Some games would let players play with superior equipment during tutorial phase, only to take it away on the first level.
Game: CSRacing
Watching your friends progress while you lag behind is a classic envy - embarrassment motivator.
Game: Candy Crush Saga
Finally, leaving your awkward family group on Whatsapp is too damn embarrassing for you to even think about it.
Game: Whatsapp
ReciprocityResponding to a positive action with a positive action. When
someone gifts us we feel obligated to give something in return.
Receiving gifts on Candy Crush would make players more probable to return the favour when their friends are in need.
Game: Candy Crush Saga
This is such a strong social norm that some games would force players to give gifts.
Game: Angry Birds 2
On this game, friends can retrieve gems that were stolen from a player’s treasure. The grateful owner would feel obligated to
return the favor.
Thank You!
Thank You!
Return Favor
Game: King of Thieves
“Special offer” with “limited time to purchase” makes the offer seem unique. This is known as false scarcity.
Game: Hay Day
Players that won that gun have only 1 hour and 39 minutes to use it. A tactic made to enforce play.
Game: Shooty Skies
Player’s motivation: to play more.Developer’s motivation: Players to enable push notifications.
Game: King of Thieves
Bad triggering: Waze offering me to stop by Whole Foods when they know I’m on my way to someplace else. (And I’m late!)
Game: Waze
Endowment EffectWe overvalue things just because we own them.
That’s why it’s so hard to leave a game we’ve invested in.
Well Done!Please share those psychological tactics for awesome Karma Points! Read more about users’ behaviour on DoriAdar.com