You don't need a degree in psychology to design casino games, but the surprising intersection of gaming and psychology is changing the gaming world. Game developers are spending much of their pre-game research in examining how different areas of the brain react to different stimuli and what people's underlying needs and expectations are as they outline and execute plans for new games.
With the online casino launching several new games every month, it's more important than ever to integrate elements to the games that will meet the conscious and unconscious desires of casino gamers.
What Research Tells Us
Early research on how psychology influences gaming and on how gaming influences psychology dates back several decades. The first researchers were interested in understanding how playing games affects human behavior. However, today, the focus is shifting as game developers recognize the importance of gearing as many elements of their games – visual, auditory, sensory, interaction and gameplay – to players' essential innate needs so that they'll enjoy a more satisfying gaming adventure.
How is this being accomplished?
Visual Stimuli
The gaming world has always placed a great deal of emphasis on games' visual stimuli. From the way that visual stimuli affect the brain's activity, processing and responses, it has long been recognized that players are more likely to engage in a game that attracts them visually.
Game designers are specifically looking at how a game's visual elements influence the viewer's attention and emotion. It's clear that a visual presentation has a tremendous influence on how a person reacts psychologically to outside stimuli. Visualizations engage specific brain regions. For instance, the inferior temporal cortex reacts to objects, the fusiform face area responds to faces and the middle temporal area is specialized for movement.
When graphic designers create the game's graphics, they must consider how every aspect of a game's visual presentation will influence the player's psychological responses. Can they evoke sympathy and empathy through their imagery? Will they be able to inspire a bit of risk-taking? By exposing the gamer to specific visual stimuli, will the player ease into an adaptive mode that will encourage him to coordinate the gameplay based on the visual input?
Auditory Stimuli
For many individuals, auditory stimuli are as important, if not more important, than the visual aspect of a game's psychology. A game's audio track is typically created by a team that is comprised of sound designers and audio engineers who collaborate under the direction of an audio or sound director. It's the director's job to ensure that the game's audio track matches the game's visuals as well as the game's plot and theme.
In many cases, it's the game's audio track that creates the atmosphere that makes the player want to move through the game's levels and see the final result. For instance, if the game is meant to be humorous and light-hearted, a soundtrack of whimsical music and sounds will keep the atmosphere fanciful and will encourage a put of capricious and impulsive behavior during the gameplay.
If the game involves suspense or intrigue, sounds that convey an atmosphere of uncertainty and indecision may set the stage for players' focus on completing all the stages of the game to see what the finale has in store.
Sound influences a person's emotions, behaviors, and mental state which, in turn, impacts the surrounding casino environment and the gameplay in which each individual is involved.
Types of Games
One of the biggest revolutions in the casino gaming world involves social gaming. Early research on the benefits of gaming focused on the importance that gaming has in helping people connect, communicate and build relationships through shared experiences.
Until relatively recently, casino games tended to involve single-person gaming experiences, but today, the demand for more social gaming has been a catalyst for game designers to focus on ways to bring social gaming into the casino world.
Through social gaming, players can build friendships and communities where they meet others with similar interests. Interest is growing in exploring ways to integrate collaborative gaming into online casino events so that players will share responsibilities and rewards.
Game developers recognize that, by incorporating elements of social gaming, people who may have difficulty socializing in person – sometimes due to social barriers but also due to geographic or physical constraints – can enjoy both the games and the connectivity that goes along with such experiences. Significant numbers of players report that they are able to build their confidence and enjoy non-threatening social interactions through social gaming.
Currently, the new generation of casino social gaming centers around tournaments and Crash Games where players can display their scores for others to see, observe the scores of others and compete in a digital environment.
In the future, there will be a wider emphasis on social gaming, including the integration on hybrid platforms where players can switch easily between free social games and real money games. Enhanced social features and community engagement is also expected to grow through features like chat, leaderboards, and shared achievements. Online casinos may soon start to build player communities around specific games, much of it through Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies.
How Does Psychology Affect Gamers' Choices?
Psychology plays a significant role in shaping gamers' choices, in the way that they interact with a game, on the decisions that they make within a game environment and on their preferences. Psychological elements including auditory and visual stimuli and the presence of social cues are of great interest to game designers when they create games.
Psychological principles that come into play include reward systems and reinforcement, motivation and goal-setting, cognitive biases and social influence, and identity.
The effect of psychology on casino game design cannot be overemphasized.
