Eight Important Psychological Aspects In Video Games
That technological evolution is growing exponentially to enormous levels is no secret. In the same way, the video game industry is doing it, with the technical characteristics of these and the money they generate increasing. So that, We are in a stage of full swing of the video game industry and with this, in the face of an expansion process that is occurring at a dizzying speed.
The generational technical leap is one of the most surprising factors in this industry since current video games are achieving increasingly higher levels of graphic realism, which allows us to have a much more immersive and vivid experience. However, the most important milestone in the entire history of video games may be the moment of consolidation of the e-Sportswhich has given a great boost to the entire industry and has allowed its growth to a point that was difficult to imagine previously.
One of the new paths that has opened in this industry is the entry of psychologists as active agents in the development of video games. We will try to shed some light on this new field still in its earliest phases but which aims to change the current paradigm.
Psychology and video games: a possible combination?
Psychology is responsible for the study of human behavior, its mental processes and its sensations and perceptions. Since the main objective of video games is to provide the public with a pleasant and fun experience, Why not apply psychology to them to improve their mission? And even more: Given that playing video games involves explicit mental activity, do they have consequences on our levels of cognitive functioning? To make this article more understandable, we will begin by answering the second question to give rise to the first.
Gaming, a way to enhance certain cognitive skills
One of the primary characteristics of video games is their visual nature, to which is added a motor component for interaction with the video game, and several secondary elements such as music or dialogue. Due to its primary visual nature, spending time playing video games can enhance the players’ spatial-visual skills (Alloza, Costal & Jiménez, 2016), to the point of greatly improving this skill in those people who carry out this activity during many hours.
Thus, authors such as Green and Bavelier have been studying these phenomena for many years and trying to analyze all the visual processes that are enhanced, in addition to including processes such as attention (Alloza, Costal & Jiménez, 2016). At the level of attention processes, we also see that substantial improvements occur in their basic performance and that this same improvement translates or generalizes to other activities (Wilms et al., 2013). All these implications in the functions of the human being could be broken down and analyzed in a much more specific and complete way, in addition to analyzing many others that also have implications; but this would lead us to write a much longer and more scientific article.
From the previous paragraph it is concluded that Video games produce great changes (mostly beneficial) in people’s cognitive functioning In addition, they also produce improvements in motor skills and are increasingly being used in the rehabilitation of patients who have suffered a stroke (a type of syndrome that involves a sudden suspension of brain activity, accompanied by a variable degree of muscle paralysis) or to improve cognitive function in the elderly, including for the treatment of phobias. For these reasons, video games can turn out to be great tools for the work of a psychologist, but the implication of this figure within the industry is not limited only to these functions.
8 aspects of a video game in which a psychologist has something to say
Psychology within video games can be used in many ways and the truth is that, really, A psychologist can be of great help at any stage of their development or in any area within a company dedicated to video games.
Some of the elements that a psychologist can provide are:
1. Emotions, sensations and experience linked to gaming
A psychologist could perform analysis functions on the quality of immersion produced by a video game Knowledge of the human mind and its behavior helps to decipher what the context of the game should be like, along with all the elements that make it up, to generate the desired emotions or sensations.
Continuing with the previous point, a psychologist can design in addition to diagnosing whether an element is well designed or not In this way, topics such as lighting or music, for example, would be key factors in certain video games that a psychologist could design appropriately.
3. Mechanics and reward systems
You could also take on the role of analyzing game mechanics, providing your expert vision of the human psyche, to feed them with features that facilitate and provide greater fun. Again, you can also take a more active role and design the mechanics that limit the game in order to generate certain sensations in the players. A couple of examples are the basic mechanics of positive reinforcement (rewards) to keep the player playing and thus increase user retention. Or the social part of the video game, designing a competition or social interactions to increase the engagement and motivation of the players, not being the only way to do it.
4. Personality profile of the characters
Furthermore, also I could easily design the personality profiles of the different characters that appear in the video games****s In certain games there are pathological characters and who better than a psychologist to specifically design the behavior patterns that they should show.
5. Level design and progress
The psychologist also plays an important role in the creation and design of video game levels, or the way they have of showing the progress that the player has made in him. Whether it is levels of Candy Crush, secondary missions in a classic RPG, or different circuits in a racing game, the figure of the psychologist can contribute his or her grain of sand, thus increasing the quality of the product and providing added value.
6. Economic aspect: monetization
Even on an economic level, An expert psychologist could play a very important role in the monetization of video games for being a great connoisseur of consumer profiles, and due to the innovations that are currently being made in the way of monetizing them.
Outside of the product, The psychologist could also fit quite well in a company dedicated to the development of video games In fact, there are already professional psychologists actively working in many company departments today, and video game companies are no exception. Some of the examples are figures of Community Manager, Customer Experience Designer and even in the Human Resources department.
8. Sports coaching
Finally, Psychology could also be applied with professional competitive teams that participate in the e-Sports as sports coaching in the same way that it is used with professional athletes to prepare their emotional and mental state for certain competitions or life events.
Much to discover, much to advance
However, the role of psychology in video games is still in an early phase, although large companies such as Valve, Ubisoft either EA Games They already have psychologists on staff as designers. However, there is a lot of reluctance about what our profession can contribute to the development of video games, which is undoubtedly a lot.
The role of video games in neuropsychology
Psychology can not only intervene when it comes to improving the entertainment experience or artistic expression that takes place in video games. In addition, it can help create video games capable of supporting psychotherapeutic and neuropsychological intervention processes. Syncrolab is an example of this, as this digital platform takes advantage of Artificial Intelligence technologies to create cognitive training exercises that therapists can apply in their professional help service to patients.
In this way, Sincrolab offers a series of games with which each person can recover or develop their cognitive abilities individually and with personalized plans. The games of this digital tool are based on Artificial Intelligence, their intensity is adapted to the needs and performance of each person and reports are periodically generated automatically to recognize the characteristics of progress.
