Podcast 61: Twitch Donations

Is it weird that people not only watch other people play games on Twitcha nd similar platforms, but sometimes they actually pay the streamers for it?From a psychologist’s or communications researcher’s point of view, what kinds of relationships do streamers and audience members have? How is it different from other kinds of online relationships? And...

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Podcast 60: Take This (dot org)

Every group is different in some way. I’ve written on the website and talked with previous podcast guests about mental health as it related to games and gamers, and sometimes it seems like there are unique challenges (and opportunities) that people in the gaming community face when it comes to these issues. And what about the people who WORK...

Jun 2020

Deep Rock Habits vs. Rewards

I’ve been doing two things in my free time lately. One is playing Deep Rock Galactic, a co-op mining game about dwarves in space. The other is reading a book by BJ Fogg about habits and behavior change called Tiny Habits.1 Both are good. Fogg has a whole model of behavior change and habit formation that he spends the whole book discussing. One...

May 2020

Podcast 59: What is a Games Researcher?

One frequently asked question I get is “How do I get into this psychology of video games field?” And while I’m not quite sure you can rightly call it a whole “field” at this point, it’s hard to deny that blending psychology and video games is more than an academic exercise any more where literal academic researchers are doing scientific research. I...

May 2020

Good Old Scarce Games

[Psst! Are you a Patreon supporter? If so, I made a video version of this article just for you over at Patreon.com/pog.] I’ve noticed that someone over at the online game retailer GoG.com knows at least one simple trick about how to combine psychology and sales. Specifically, the person in charge of their e-mail campaigns knows about something...

Apr 2020

Podcast 58: Economics and Online Games

When I started this website, I had one basic idea: teach psychological concepts by talking about how they show up in video games. And I’ve pretty much done that. But just as video games can provide great examples of concepts from psychology, they can also illustrate concepts from neighboring fields. Like economics! In this episode, my guest...

Apr 2020

Podcast 57: Mental Models in League of Legends

Mental models are representations that help people understand and predict systems or situations we encounter in life. This could include how to operate a car, how to do our job, or how to play a match in a competitive game like Overwatch or League of Legends. Having a complex, accurate mental model of such a game could allow us to understand what to...

Mar 2020

Video: The Psychology of Video Game Engagement

In January of 2020 I was invited to Lawrence Technological University to give a talk about some of the psychology behind video game engagement. That is, what kinds of things get players to focus completely on a game using great energy, enthusiasm, passion, and effort. The video and slides from that lecture are below. Check out this guy. Talking....

Feb 2020

Podcast 56: RPG Therapy

Say you’re a therapist facing a group of kids who aren’t particularly thrilled about the prospect of going through therapy or whatever it is their parents wanted them to do with you. But you want to help them develop and practice social skills, help them engage in more productive ways of thinking, and generally better equip them to deal with whatever...

Feb 2020

The Perils of In-Game Currency

You should be careful around gold coins. They’re dangerous. Specifically, I mean gold coins like the ones often used by video games as in-game currency. You should also be concerned about purple diamonds, bucks, crystals, silver pieces, shards, or whatever else a game decides to call the fake currency it makes you invest in so that you can buy...

Jan 2020