How To Get Back Into A Game, According to Science

Summary

The 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

00:00

🕹️ 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.

05:01

🧠 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.

10:03

🔄 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.

15:04

📓 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.

20:06

⏱️ 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.

Keywords

💡Cognitive Demand

Cognitive demand refers to the mental effort required to engage with a task or activity. In the context of the video, it highlights the varying levels of mental challenge different video games present to the player, ranging from simple games that are less taxing to complex ones like 'Civilization' that demand substantial cognitive resources. The script mentions that even simple games can have strategic elements that engage the player's brain, emphasizing the nuanced nature of gaming beyond mere entertainment.

💡Self-Determination Theory

Self-Determination Theory is a psychological framework suggesting that humans have an intrinsic motivation to fulfill three psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and connectedness. The video uses this theory to explain how game design can motivate players by satisfying these needs, such as through the use of quest logs that give a sense of accomplishment and progress, thereby fulfilling the need for competence.

💡Quest Log

A quest log is a game mechanic commonly found in open-world games that serves as a to-do list for players, tracking tasks and missions they have yet to complete. The script explains how this feature not only helps players organize their in-game objectives but also serves as a motivational tool by providing a visual representation of progress, which ties into the concept of self-determination by satisfying the need for competence.

💡Interruption Event

An interruption event is a significant occurrence that disrupts a habit or routine. The video discusses how such events can break the habitual engagement with a game, leading to a discontinuation of play. An example given is the launch of 'Starfield', which interrupted the player's playthrough of 'Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom', illustrating the impact of external events on gaming habits.

💡Loss Aversion

Loss aversion is a concept in behavioral economics that states people prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains. The script uses this concept to explain why players might resist returning to a game after a long break, as the brain may perceive the effort to regain mastery as a potential loss, thus preferring to write off the time invested as a sunk cost.

💡Sunk Cost

Sunk cost is an economic term referring to a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. In the video, it is mentioned in the context of the time and effort invested in a game. When players consider the time spent on a game as a sunk cost, they may be more likely to abandon it and move on to new experiences, especially if the perceived benefits of continuing are outweighed by the effort required to re-engage.

💡Gaming Journal

A gaming journal is a tool for recording gameplay experiences, which can include what was accomplished in a session and goals for the next playthrough. The video suggests that maintaining a gaming journal can help bridge memory gaps formed during breaks from gaming, providing a sense of continuity and aiding in re-engagement with the game. It serves as a practical strategy to counteract the effects of interruption events.

💡Positive Exposure

Positive exposure refers to the act of seeking out and engaging with positive content related to a game. The script suggests that by watching videos, reading reviews, or following news about a game, players can maintain motivation and excitement, which can help in overcoming the reluctance to return to a game after a break. It leverages the social and emotional aspects of gaming to reignite interest.

💡Two-Minute Rule

The two-minute rule is a strategy from 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear, which suggests committing to a task for just two minutes to overcome initial resistance. In the video, it is presented as a technique to re-engage with a game by reducing the perceived effort to start playing again. This simple rule can break the inertia and mental barrier that might be preventing players from returning to a game.

💡Inertia

Inertia, in a psychological context, refers to the resistance to change in a current situation or behavior. The video discusses how the inertia of not playing a game can be a powerful deterrent to re-engagement. By using strategies like the two-minute rule, players can overcome this inertia and re-establish the habit of playing the game.

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

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