Philips Magnavox Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution Trigger Happy - Manual (Page 297)

Trigger Happy
299
Amis quotes the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov,
invoking both the above motivations: “Kids like the
computer because it plays back . . . it’s a pal, a friend,
but it doesn’t get mad, it doesn’t say ‘I won’t play,’ and
it doesn’t break the rules.”
Considerations such as these may bring the player
to the table, but what keeps him playing? Well,
psychologists have applied the term “reinforcement” to
denote the fact that, in general, any behavior that is
rewarded will be repeated in anticipation of more
reward. “The rat gets crunchy food, while the
videogame player gets higher scores and free games,”
explain the authors of Mind at Play, an early book on
videogame psychology. But such rewards must be
balanced. Videogames deliberately provide only partial
reinforcement, because their rewards (attaining the next
level; getting a new gadget, car or weapon to play with)
are only intermittent; the gamer keeps hoping another
one is just around the corner. In fact, this is another
way of discussing the demand/skill match we talked
about earlier. If a game provides continuous
reinforcement, then it is too easy and boring. If, on the
other hand, it is too hard, there will be no initial
reinforcement and thus no reason to keep playing.