Video Summary: 7 Ways Games Reward the Brain by Tom Chatfield | TEDGlobal

Tom said that the gaming industry was worth $10 billion in 1990 and it’s worth $50 billion globally in 2010, with no sign of slowing down. He said that it was estimated to be worth $80 billion by 2014. This makes it the fastest growing media industry.

Players became engaged with games by wanting and liking processes. Wanting makes the person become ambitious and drives them on. Liking makes the person enjoy the game and its elements. He mentions the ability to fly in an online game, World of Warcraft.

Tom calls games ‘box openers’ where millions of players open boxes hoping to find a better reward. The games can adjust their reward system so to keep the perfect balance between special rewards and motivating the player to continue playing.

Tom said the first way games reward the brain is through experience bars measuring progress. Players see their game avatars constantly progressing small increments which they feel are their own.

Tom said the second way games reward the brain is by giving players many different short term tasks. He said collecting 5,000 pies would be a boring task, while 15 pies would be much more interesting.

Tom said the third way games reward the brain is by rewarding effort and not punishing failure. Every little thing the player tries yields some sort of small benefit.

Tom said the fourth way games reward the brain is by giving feedback to players as a response to players’ actions. He mentioned how things like global warming and pollution are hard to relate to because the consequences are in a distant time and space, but games show consequences almost immediately.

Tom said the fifth way games reward the brain is by using uncertainty, regarding whether a reward will be given to the player. He said that when we are unable to predict something perfectly, we get excited about it. (See Video summary: You can grow new brain cells. Here’s how by Sandrine Thuret)

Tom said the sixth way games reward the brain is by making players have an audience which can see their progress and accomplishments. He also mentions how games influence levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward-seeking behavior.

Tom said the seventh way games reward the brain is by employing fair play systems developed by the community, which ensure that all players are rewarded in virtual currency even if the in-game rewards are inadequate. He said that this player-developed system is used by millions of players.

Tom said the methods games use to engage players could be used to enhance a business or a political decision. He said we could break things down into highly calibrated small tasks, reward effort consistently as everything fields together and so on.

Tom finished by focusing on ‘engagement’ and said that observing what reasons make people tick, work, play and engage on a grand scale in games could be revolutionary. (See Video Summary: How to become a memory master by Idriz Zogaj – TEDxGoteborg)