Toxicity in video games has been a long-standing and long-studied problem. In this episode, I talk to someone who has not only studied toxic behavior among gamers, but specifically looked at how players deal with it --or don't deal with it-- and what game companies can do to help gamers when they see or experience it.Audio Credits:“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
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Episode 98 - Embedding Values in Games
Many games put forth some kind of value that they hope will be communicated to players, be they ones that see obvious (like the value of empathy) or subtle (like experiencing life under capitalism). When the insertion of these values into game development is deliberate, what do we know about how it happens and what effects it has on players?Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/pogAudio Credits:“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0"Chill Wave" by Kevin Macleod
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Episode 97 - Why We Like Really Hard (and Really Easy) Games
We have some decent theories for understanding the appeal of many different types of video games. But one thing I've always struggled to explain is why people love really difficult games (like Dark Souls) or really easy games (like Cookie Clicker). In this episode I'll explore one theory about uncertainty reduction that helps explain why we find ANY kind of game engaging.Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/pogAudio Credits:“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0"Chill Wave" by Kevin Macleod
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Episode 96 - Psychology of D&D Book Kickstarter
My publisher is running a Kickstarter to offer discounted, early copies of my new book on the Psychology of Dungeons & Dragons. To help you decide if you want to back it (I think you should, but I'm arguably biased), this episode contains excerpts from multiple chapters and some of my own inside commentary.The book will be available for sale widely later this year, but this is a great chance to get an early copy for 25% off. Print, audiobook, or ebook. You can also bundle in any of the other four books in the Geek Psychology series, so worth a look!If you need a link to the show on another device, just go to psychologyofgames.com of psychologyofdnd.com. The Kickstarter will be the top story at both places until it's done.Audio Credits:“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
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Episode 95 Sense of Place
Have you ever become attached to a place in a video game? A virtual environment that you've obviously never visited in the flesh but which you start to think of it like a real place? Maybe the dwarven capitol of Ironforge in World of Warcraft? The spaceship The Normandy in Mass Effect? Link and Zelda's land of Hyrule? Maybe you you have become so familiar with those virtual places through repeated navigation and interaction that you attach importance and character to it like you do your childhood home, the first place you ever had a part-time job, or the neighborhood through which you walk your dog? Or even a whole city?This is a relatively new concept that some researchers, such as my guest expert this episode, call "sense of place."
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