How To Get Back Into A Game, According to Science
Summary
TLDRThe script delves into the common gamer's struggle of leaving unfinished games behind, despite initial enjoyment. It explores psychological concepts like self-determination theory to understand the balance between challenge and reward in gaming. The speaker offers practical strategies such as keeping a gaming journal, seeking positive exposure, and the two-minute rule to overcome the reluctance to resume gaming. These tactics aim to rekindle motivation and re-engage players with their paused games, transforming gaming habits for a more fulfilling experience.
Takeaways
- 🎮 The script discusses the struggle of resuming video games that were left unfinished, despite initial enjoyment.
- 🧠 It delves into the cognitive aspects of gaming, explaining that video games are more than mere entertainment and involve a balance of challenge and reward for the brain.
- 📊 The concept of 'self-determination theory' is introduced, highlighting the psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and connectedness that games fulfill.
- 📝 The 'Quest log' is used as an example of a game design element that leverages the need for competence and provides a sense of progress.
- 🛑 The script identifies 'interruption events' as a key factor that can break the habit of playing a game, leading to disengagement.
- 🧠 It explains that the loss of competence due to long breaks can create a resistance to re-engage with a game, as the brain tries to avoid the effort of regaining mastery.
- 💡 The video suggests practical strategies to counteract this reluctance, such as keeping a gaming journal to bridge memory gaps and maintain progress.
- 📹 Another strategy mentioned is seeking positive exposure related to the game, which can reignite motivation and excitement.
- ⏰ The 'two-minute rule' is presented as a simple yet effective technique to overcome the initial barrier of starting a game again.
- 🔄 The combination of these strategies is recommended for the best results, as they work together to re-engage players with their previously unfinished games.
- 🔄 The script concludes by emphasizing that these strategies are not just theoretical but practical steps that can transform gaming habits.
Q & A
Why might it be difficult to return to playing a game that was previously enjoyable?
-The difficulty in returning to a game can stem from various factors, including life commitments, distractions, and the interruption of established gaming habits. When a habit is broken, such as by starting a new game or being away for a long time, the sense of competence and familiarity with the game can diminish, making it harder to pick up where one left off.
What is the psychological framework that suggests humans have an intrinsic motivation to fulfill three critical psychological needs?
-Self-Determination Theory is the psychological framework that suggests humans have an intrinsic motivation to fulfill three critical psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and connectedness.
How does the quest log mechanic in games relate to the psychological need for competence?
-The quest log in games serves as a visual representation of progress and accomplishments, satisfying the psychological need for competence. As players complete quests, the log shrinks, providing a sense of achievement and progress.
What is the impact of taking a long break from a game on a player's sense of competence?
-Taking a long break from a game can lead to a loss of competence as the knowledge and skills associated with the game fade from active memory. This can create a resistance to returning to the game due to the perceived effort required to regain mastery.
How can the two-minute rule help in overcoming the reluctance to start playing a game again?
-The two-minute rule reduces the mental barrier to entry by committing to only two minutes of gameplay. This minimal commitment can help overcome the initial reluctance and inertia, often leading to continued play beyond the initial two minutes.
What is the purpose of keeping a gaming journal, and how can it help in resuming a game?
-A gaming journal serves to document what a player has accomplished and what they intend to do next. It helps fill in memory gaps formed during a break from the game, providing context and goals that can ease the process of re-engaging with the game.
How can seeking positive exposure related to a game help in reigniting the motivation to play it?
-Positive exposure, such as watching gameplay videos, reading reviews, or engaging with the game's community, can remind players of the enjoyable aspects of the game and stimulate interest, making it easier to return to the game.
What is the significance of the Great Plateau in 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' in terms of player motivation?
-The Great Plateau serves as a giant tutorial zone in 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild', introducing players to Link's abilities and providing opportunities to practice. This initial experience satisfies the psychological needs for competence and autonomy, building motivation to explore the open world.
How does the modern gaming landscape contribute to the challenge of focusing on a single game to completion?
-The modern gaming landscape, with its abundance of choices and the continuous release of new games, can lead to distractions and a tendency to switch between games, making it difficult to maintain focus on a single game until completion.
What is the concept of sunk cost in the context of gaming, and how does it relate to the decision to stop playing a game?
-The concept of sunk cost refers to the perception of the time and effort already invested in a game as irretrievable. When players consider this investment a loss and choose to move on to a new game, they are employing a loss aversion strategy to avoid the potential frustration of relearning and regaining competence in the original game.
What strategies can be combined for the most effective approach to getting back into a game after a long break?
-Combining the two-minute rule to overcome initial reluctance, maintaining a gaming journal to keep track of progress and goals, and seeking regular positive exposure to the game can create a comprehensive approach that helps players re-engage with a game after a break.
Outlines
🕹️ The Struggle to Return to Unfinished Games
The speaker discusses the common issue of finding it hard to resume playing certain games, despite enjoying them initially. They share their personal experience with 'Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,' pondering why it's challenging to pick up the game again after investing significant time. The speaker embarked on a research journey through academic papers to understand this behavior better and discovered psychological strategies to help finish games. The paragraph introduces the concept that video games are more than mere entertainment; they represent a balance of cognitive demand and reward, with game design elements like quest logs catering to our psychological needs for competence and progress.
🧠 Cognitive Demand and the Psychology of Game Engagement
This paragraph delves into the cognitive labor games require and how they balance challenge with reward. The speaker explains that games are designed to challenge players in various ways, from basic controls to mastering strategies. The concept of self-determination theory is introduced, highlighting humans' intrinsic motivation to fulfill psychological needs like competence, autonomy, and connectedness. The speaker discusses how game design elements, such as quest logs, tap into our need for competence, providing a sense of progress and accomplishment. The paragraph also touches on the potential reasons for disengaging from games and the impact of interruption events on gaming habits.
🔄 Overcoming Interruptions and the Fear of Lost Mastery
The speaker explores the challenges of resuming games after interruptions, such as starting a new game or life events, which can disrupt the habit of playing a particular game. They discuss how the sense of competence can diminish over time when not engaging with a game, leading to resistance in returning to it due to the effort required to regain mastery. The speaker also mentions how competitive games can exacerbate this effect, as maintaining a high level of play requires constant engagement. The paragraph concludes with the idea of using sunk cost fallacy and loss aversion strategies as psychological barriers to avoid re-engaging with an unfinished game.
📓 Strategies for Re-engaging with Games: Journaling and Positive Exposure
The speaker suggests practical strategies to counteract the reluctance to resume gaming. The first strategy involves keeping a gaming journal to bridge memory gaps and maintain a sense of progress. The journal should record what was accomplished in the game and set goals for the next session. The second strategy is seeking positive exposure related to the game, such as watching updates, reading reviews, or engaging with the game's community, which can reignite motivation. The speaker emphasizes the importance of discipline in applying these strategies and hints at a bonus strategy for easy implementation.
⏱️ The Two-Minute Rule: A Simple Solution to Re-engage with Games
The speaker introduces the 'two-minute rule' as a simple yet effective strategy to overcome the initial barrier of starting a game again. By committing to only two minutes of gameplay, the mental barrier is significantly reduced, making it easier to re-engage with the game. The speaker shares their success with this method, particularly with getting back into 'Zelda.' They encourage viewers to try this strategy and combine it with journaling and positive exposure for the best results. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the effectiveness of these strategies in transforming gaming habits.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cognitive Demand
💡Self-Determination Theory
💡Quest Log
💡Interruption Event
💡Loss Aversion
💡Sunk Cost
💡Gaming Journal
💡Positive Exposure
💡Two-Minute Rule
💡Inertia
Highlights
Difficulty in resuming certain video games despite enjoyment and desire to complete them.
The balance between cognitive demand and reward in video games is crucial for player engagement.
Quest logs in games serve as a motivational tool by satisfying the need for competence.
Self-determination Theory suggests humans have intrinsic motivation to fulfill psychological needs like competence, autonomy, and connectedness.
Games are more than dopamine rushes; they involve cognitive labor offset by design elements.
Reasons for stopping playing games are varied, including life commitments and distractions.
Interruption events break the habit of playing a game, making it hard to resume.
The loss of competence after a long break can create resistance to re-engage with a game.
Competitive games require ongoing practice to maintain skill, making breaks particularly challenging.
Starting a new game is appealing due to the initial motivation and cognitive ease of the opening hours.
Keeping a gaming journal can help fill memory gaps and maintain progress continuity.
Seeking positive exposure to a game can replenish motivation to play.
The two-minute rule is a simple strategy to overcome the initial barrier of re-engaging with a game.
Combining strategies like journaling, positive exposure, and the two-minute rule can effectively re-engage players with games.
The video offers practical steps to transform gaming habits and overcome reluctance to resume games.
Transcripts
for how much fun video games can be why
is it sometimes so difficult to get
ourselves to play certain games this is
a question I've had for a long time but
it's been on my mind even more recently
we are quickly approaching the oneyear
anniversary of Legend of Zelda tears of
the kingdom and despite my 125 odd hours
with the game this title stands
unfinished in my library I don't even
know How It
Ends the facts of this situation seem so
simple I was really enjoying the game
and I want to experience the ending so
why does it feel so hard to just pick it
back up every time I look over at the
sizeable layer of dust that's
accumulated on my switch I wonder what
it is that's preventing me from jumping
back in today I hope to answer that
question and
more you may be shocked to learn that
this is not the first time I've found
myself in this situation in fact I'm
quite sure this is a challenge that many
of us face so a couple months ago I set
out to understand this behavior and I
had thought I'd be embarking on a
philosophical exploration of gaming
instead my journey took me down an
unexpected path one of academic papers
and controlled
studies through this research I actually
found some compelling explanations for
why this Behavior May manifest in Gamers
but more importantly I discovered real
strategies supported by concepts of
psychology that you can use to help
finish games in this video we'll learn
how to get back into a game according to
science before we can make sense of this
reluctance to resume we need to First
Look at what video games are to the
human brain in mainstream culture and
media video games are often portrayed as
pure entertainment liken to candy for
the brain but as most real Gamers know
they are vastly more nuanced than that
every game will fall somewhere on the
spectrum of cognitive demand a virtual
slot machine while technically
considered a video game will be far less
taxing on the human brain than playing
something like
Civilization and yet if you asked a
season slots player to describe their
Strat IES they would probably have a lot
to say about things like payout tables
and
percentages every kind of game is
designed to challenge the player in some
way from learning basic controls to
mastering optimal strategies even
interpreting narrative elements and
investing emotionally into the
characters of a game can present our
brains with tangible work and in certain
genres like strategy and puzzle games
the compute demand placed on our CPU can
be pretty substantial IAL now if video
games were nothing but a constant chore
for our brains Well we'd all have a
different hobby but of course they're
not what makes games work is the
beautiful balance between Challenge and
reward we want to be rewarded for our
precious cognition and game designers
have figured out some highly effective
incentives to compensate our
attention but it turns out we don't
actually need a lot to feel rewarded
some of the most common techniques are
so Universal across game design that we
barely register when we encounter them
take a simple yet nearly Universal
mechanic The Humble Quest log for
example in sprawling open world games
like tears of the Kingdom Quest logs can
be an important tool to help the player
keep track of activities that they
haven't completed yet said in another
way a quest log is basically one giant
to-do list in addition to being helpful
for the player how having a to-do list
built into the game is also an effective
way for designers to motivate you and
provide a basic sense of progress for
your
actions this idea touches on one of the
core principles of self-determination
Theory self-determination theory is a
psychological framework that suggests
all humans possess an intrinsic
motivation to fulfill three critical
psychological needs competence autonomy
and connectedness
as you can probably imagine
self-determination theory has a ton of
implications for game design but I'll
save most of that for another video if
we think about this Quest log example
it's clearly geared toward our need for
competence as you complete more of the
game The Quest log shrinks and you get
the satisfaction of seeing items checked
off the list this gives the impression
that progress is being made it's visual
proof of your accomplishments and if if
you're able to check off one of the more
challenging quests in a game that can
provide further evidence to the brain of
our growing Mastery of the
experience the main takeaway for now is
that video games represent a delicate
balance between investment and payoff
which is a concept that heavily impacts
the strategies we'll be looking at later
on games are much more than a simple
dopamine Rush there is cognitive labor
involved in most cases and this labor
has to be thoughtfully offset by game
design elements that offer our brains a
reason to engage with them leveraging
our innate drive to get better at things
which is a facet of self-determination
theory is just one example of how
designers motivate players to stick with
their
games so now that we have a bit of
context as to what's going on in our
heads when we engage with games we can
start to unpack what might happen when
we
disengage the list of possible reasons
why we stop playing games is essentially
endless I mean life happens we have
commitments we get distracted and we
forget I talked a little bit about this
in a previous video but the modern
gaming landscape has also played a role
in my own struggle to focus on a single
game and see it through to the end so
I'm not going to get into that piece
right now just assume you have
disengaged with a game that you enjoyed
for some reason it could be anything
maybe you were having a lovely time with
octopath traveler 2
but you got a little too cocky and
decided to ignore that prompt warning
you of imminent
danger now you're stuck in an unbeatable
boss battle with no option to flee and
it's been over an hour since you hit a
save checkpoint that would never happen
to me but maybe it happened to you so
you've moved on for now but part of you
still thinks about octopath traveler 2
part of you may be frustrated that
you've taken such a long break from it
and yet nothing changes you continue to
play other games struggling with the
thought of booting it back up the most
critical factor in a situation like this
is that there was an interruption event
something came along and broke our habit
of engaging with the game now again this
Interruption could be anything as long
as it was significant enough to affect
the Habit we had formed so even a
seemingly harmless decision like trying
out a demo for a new game could be the
interruption that throws the train off
its tracks the event that interrupted my
tears of the Kingdom playthrough was the
launch of Starfield now I knew exactly
when this event was coming so in a sense
I signed myself up for failure but at
the time what I didn't know was that
starting Starfield would lead me to not
finishing Zelda if I could go back I
would have made a different
Choice what I discovered in my research
is that getting the train back on the
tracks can actually be harder for us
than simply finding another train to hop
onto but why is this the case one
potential explanation takes us right
back to self-determination Theory we
talked about how our need to feel
competent is highly relevant to how
games are designed but what happens to
that sense of competence when we step
away for a long time well it's not quite
like riding a bike all the time we spent
learning the ins and outs getting know
the characters the systems training our
reflexes for combat scenarios and other
challenges for most of us that stuff
doesn't get to live in our brains
rentree when we disengage with a game
those circuits go dormant and the
information begins to fade away it
starts to become more memory than active
knowledge and the longer that break is
the more we can lose suddenly we're
staring at an uphill battle when we
think about the idea of booting that
game up again our brains seem to push
back a little that resistance is a
response to the potential loss of
competence in that game and to the
energy that would be required to regain
that
Mastery for really competitive games
like mobas and Shooters this effect can
be even more pronounced and because of
the time commitment needed to keep up at
high levels of play it becomes extremely
difficult to take extended breaks
without losing your
Edge so instead of running a risk like
that your brain might prefer to write
the game off choosing to see all that
time invested for what it truly is a
sunk cost by closing the door it earns
the freedom to move on to the next
challenge but without sacrificing any of
the good feelings and memories
associated with the time you did spend
in the game it's basically a loss
aversion strategy and I sort of get it I
think for certain kinds of Gamers this
is actually their default State they
streak from one game to the next with a
true economist's perspective of su costs
and their brains are constantly
motivated to move on from that
unfinished game and try something new
where the potential for upside seems
like more of a
guarantee to make that even more
appealing the opening hours of most
games are carefully calibrated to hook
in players
specifically so even though we're
technically starting from scratch these
intros sections often build some of the
strongest motivation to engage because
there's a very intentional sense of
progression and typically more
handholding which shaves off some of
that cognitive load take the great Sky
aisle from tears of the Kingdom this is
a giant tutorial Zone that introduces
the player to each of Link's new
abilities and gives you some simple
opportunities to practice with them I
spent like s or 8 hours exploring the
great Sky Isle absolutely floored at
what I could do with ultran so by the
time I dove down to Hyrule my brain was
revving at Peak
motivation not only had I just learned a
lot of new mechanics satisfying my need
for competence but I also now had access
to the entire open world to go play with
those abilities which satisfied my need
for autonomy pair that with the virality
of the game seeing all the content
making its way to YouTube the
conversations happening on Reddit and
Twitter it struck that perfect
self-determination Theory Trifecta of
competence autonomy and
connectedness when it comes to getting
back into games stdt hits us with a
double barreled shotgun the first slug
demotivates us for fear that we've lost
competence in something we've invested
energy into and the second slug tempts
us into starting a new game game
entirely because our brains crave that
opening segment experience of figuring
out how things
work so what can we do about all this
while it's certainly interesting to
explore the theoretical explanations for
this behavior that wasn't my main
objective for this video I wanted to
learn how to prevent myself from getting
into these situations with games and I
wanted to finish tears of the Kingdom
the big question then is how do we
counteract these behavioral patterns
that seem to be so deeply wired into our
monkey
brains well I have good news and bad
news the good news is that I found a
handful of different techniques that can
help us overwrite our native programming
and I'm going to describe two of those
techniques in just a second the bad news
is that these strategies are closer to
supplements than painkillers which means
you'll need a little bit of discipline
to use them
effectively but for those of you who
just want something simple and practical
I have a powerful bonus strategy at the
end of the video that anyone can
Implement so definitely stick around for
that one of the main challenges we
discussed with taking long breaks from
games is that we often lose that sense
of familiarity and progress that we get
when playing something habitually so
what if we had a way to help us fill in
the memory gaps that form over time
keeping a gaming Journal is one really
simple way to achieve this and to get
started all you need is a pen and some
paper or if you want to go the digital
route you can also use your phone or
computer to make this journal an
effective tool it really just needs to
accomplish two tasks it needs to tell
you what you just did and what you want
to do next outside of that criteria your
individual entries can be as minimal or
detailed as you'd like
I'll admit that I was a little bit
skeptical to try this at first because
it seemed like a chore for someone like
me who is typically gaming at night the
idea of writing or typing my journal
entries right before bed felt like
something that could be hard to maintain
so instead of going for the written
entries I just started doing voice memos
after I log off I pull out my phone hit
record and just talk for a couple
minutes I describe what I accomplished
during that play session and I mentioned
one or two things I'd like to do the
next time I jump in here's a snippet
from a recent entry that I did about
valheim tonight was good I I went down
to the southern end of the of the island
the continent whatever and I built a new
portal make it easy to get there for my
base and then I just built a a tiny
little dock and a new boat so I can
access all of the Southern body of water
what whatever it is uh so yeah for next
time I'm just going to explore on my new
boat and check out um that that southern
body of water on my way to the second
boss so yeah that's all it is just a bit
of reflection and then some potential
goals for the next time despite the old
school nature of this approach I was
honestly shocked at how much easier it
made jumping back into the game it saved
me from that initial period of
reorientation when I had had some
context as to where I was and what I was
on my way to do from the psychology
perspective journaling can help us avoid
that fear of losing confidence by
supplementing our own memory and as an
added Advantage stating our own goals
out loud or on the page can further
enhance that motivation to keep
playing the second strategy is one that
I stumbled on by accident but my guess
is that many people have already
experienced this effect maybe without
even realizing it when Halo infinite
finally came out I was pretty excited
but if you played this game at launch
chances are you probably didn't keep up
with it for more than a couple months
despite the solid fundamentals of
infinite the live service strategy was a
total mess the content just wasn't there
and there were a bunch of other annoying
little things that needed work so after
a few months I just stopped playing and
that really bummed me out because I love
Halo for a lot of the competitive games
out there that probably would have been
the end of the road for me but I wasn't
entirely out of the loop I would still
get emails about New Seasons and most
importantly my YouTube algorithm would
suggest videos about big updates that
the game was getting one channel in
particular shout out to Mint Blitz would
post regular news and reaction videos
about the game every so often I would
get curious and check out one of these
videos and hearing about the exciting
progress that the game was making or how
much fun people were having with the new
content that exposure actually
replenished my motivation to log in so
that's the second strategy seek out
positive exposure related to the game
you're trying to get back into in
whatever medium works best for you this
can also be customized depending on what
kind of game it is for mult mul player
and live service games watching
competitive gameplay or following new
content updates might be effective for
single player titles you might find it
more impactful to read through fan
Praise on the game subreddit or maybe
have a conversation with a friend who
you know loves that
game my personal go-to method is to read
or watch positive reviews of the game
these reviews remind me of many of the
reasons that caused me to like the game
in the first place making it much easier
to build up motivation to experience it
again the additional benefit of positive
exposure seeking is it can trigger that
third component of self-determination
Theory our need to feel related or
connected to others seeing other people
especially those We Trust talk
positively about a game is a powerful
motivator because we want to be able to
connect on that experience
together all right all right bonus
strategy time this one is the most crude
but also by far the easiest to implement
it's called the two-minute Rule and it's
something that James Clear outlined in
his book Atomic habits the two-minute
rule is deceptively simple if you're
struggling to start a task commit to
doing it for just 2 minutes this rule
works wonders on the positive habits
that we'd like to build in our lives but
it could just as easily be applied to
video games sometimes the hardest part
about getting back into a game isn't
actually the time you'll spend
relearning mechanics or sorting out the
story it's just taking the first step to
start the game up again that small
amount of friction can be enough to
repel us so here's how you use the
two-minute rule to break through this
barrier tell yourself you'll play the
game for Just 2 minutes that's it boot
up the game and commit to a couple
minutes of gameplay you can do whatever
ever you want in those 2 minutes it
doesn't matter as long as you make it
past the title screen after 2 minutes
the choice is yours if it was really
unpleasant to experience then by all
means move on but chances are you'll
keep playing for a while that's the
beauty of this strategy by reducing your
commitment to something so minimal you
effectively lower that mental barrier to
entry once you've started the inertia
that was keeping you from the game has
already lost most of its power before
you realize those 2 minutes will turn
into an hour and just like that you're
fully re-engaged and the train is back
on the
tracks this 2-minute rule is what
finally got me back into Zelda so if you
only try one strategy from this video I
hope that you'll give this one a try in
fact let me know in the comments what
game you would use the two-minute rule
on I'd be curious to see if there are
any common trends
getting back into a game especially one
that you put on pause for a while can
feel like a daunting task it's a
situation that is all too common for
gamers and I don't see it becoming any
less prevalent in the future thankfully
there are super smart people out there
who study why humans behave the way we
do and how our brain circuitry actually
works and by exploring some of these
behavioral principles like
self-determination Theory we can work
around around them to overcome this
reluctance to resume so the next time
you find yourself staring down that game
you've been avoiding try to remember
these strategies whether it's journaling
to keep your progress and goals on track
seeking out positive exposure to boost
your excitement for a game or just
committing to a quick 2 minutes of
gameplay there's always a way to get the
train back on the
tracks the last point I'll make is that
while each of these strategies can be
effective on their own combining them
together will yield the strongest
results starting with the two-minute
rule will get you over that initial
obstacle but if you also build in a
journaling habit and regular positive
exposure that will be a hard game to put
down this combo approach is the one I
have ultimately adopted and I couldn't
be happier at this point I can confirm
that these aren't just theories they're
practical steps that have fundamentally
transformed my gaming habits and I
believe they can do the same for
you thanks for watching if you found
this video helpful or insightful leaving
a like or comment will really help my
small Channel grow and if you're
interested to see more videos like this
in the future consider subscribing to
the channel I would love to have you on
board take care y'all
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