Trigger Happy
Amis quotes the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, invoking both the above motivations: “Kids like the computer because it plays back . . . it’s a pal, a friend, but it doesn’t get mad, it doesn’t say ‘I won’t play,’ and it doesn’t break the rules.”
Considerations such as these may bring the player to the table, but what keeps him playing? Well, psychologists have applied the term “reinforcement” to denote the fact that, in general, any behavior that is rewarded will be repeated in anticipation of more reward. “The rat gets crunchy food, while the videogame player gets higher scores and free games,” explain the authors of Mind at Play, an early book on videogame psychology. But such rewards must be balanced. Videogames deliberately provide only partial reinforcement, because their rewards (attaining the next level; getting a new gadget, car or weapon to play with) are only intermittent; the gamer keeps hoping another one is just around the corner. In fact, this is another way of discussing the demand/skill match we talked about earlier. If a game provides continuous reinforcement, then it is too easy and boring. If, on the other hand, it is too hard, there will be no initial reinforcement and thus no reason to keep playing.
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