Have you ever heard someone say a game gave them a “shot of dopamine”? What does that mean, really? That’s exactly what Epic Games’ Ben-Lewis Evans aims to explore in his talk at the 2017 Game Developers Conference, which is just weeks away.
In his talk on “Throwing out the Dopamine Shots: Reward Psychology Without the Neurotrash”, Evans aims to dispel the neuromyths around dopamine and focus on the psychology behind reward systems in game design.
He’ll break down lots of cool stuff, including basic reward principles, cognitive biases that impact reward perception, as well as the importance of progression, control, social interaction, expectation, and the vital role of feedback and UX when designing effective rewards.
This is worth paying attention to if you make games, because when it comes to designing an effective reward, if players like it, have learned how to get it, or are motivated to get it can be different outcomes. Find out why, and why it matters, by attending this talk!
For more details on this and other talks taking place at GDC 2017, head over to the conference Session Scheduler. For more information on GDC 2017, visit the show’s official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Americas
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