A Good Game or Just Tons of Dopamine?

[HTBandicoot]

I recently started a newer game on my phone. I think I was really enjoying it and getting into it. However, in the following days I didn’t feel as hooked. So I think instead of really liking it, I just liked the constant dopamine it produced, without realizing it.
For example, there are never a lack of goals to complete. Upgrade this, click here, do that. And you get rewards after each task is completed. So you’re constantly doing something all of the time…and the tasks never run out.


Can anyone relate? Have you been deceived into thinking you were enjoying a game, but it was only because of the constant dopamine it produced?

 

[Waffles]

Yeah, sure.

Most RPGs, for example, are extraordinarily fun and engaging until you realize that most of those games never account for "downtime", and that hurts immersion to an almost unfixable degree.

If you aren't moving or completing an objective, the world remains the same and the "dopamine" just stops flowing.

 

[HTBandicoot]

True. I just meant in this example I was just upgrading stuff all of the time which produced dopamine and completed tasks, but besides that, I was doing very little in regards to gameplay.
That’s when I was like, wait a second…am I really enjoying this?

Then again, I may also be too new into the game. But it’s easy to see how the newer games can hook and addict people.

 

[Octopus]

I used to essentially be addicted to Dota 2 so I can definitely relate. At first I genuinely enjoyed it as it was good fun with some of my friends, we'd have some laughs and essentially hang out over discord as we played. After awhile it just started grinding me down, especially once we started getting more into it and taking it more seriously. I think I have about a little over 3000 hours in it combining my two accounts, and it was at about the 1000 hour mark I first started thinking "I'm not having fun anymore"; but like you said the dopamine and social aspect of it kept me in it. Eventually, I just stopped cold turkey as it's genuinely one of the most infuriating games out there and it was actively angering me to play it, no regrets; don't recommend playing Dota 2.

 

[dropsmegamega]

I am not sure if is the same you are talking about, but lately I have seen lots of games with this casino like design, something like vampire survivors, that is constantly giving the illusion of progress and getting stuff, but having 0 substance. There is always something to achieve, and when you get it there is a flashy animation and (in the case of free games) they join this "look at all that you are getting" with "pay for a chance to get even more stuff". Is the epitome of "press a button and something awesome happens!" and its somehow impressing a lot of people. Join this with the MMO-esque design of wasting as much time of your life as possible, because the more time you sink the more likely you are of buying in-game stuff and you have the biggest waste of time possible.

 

[CRTRebel]

From what I understand this experience of yours is essentially based on those modern games that can be downloaded to smartphones or tablets.
It's something I've hardly ever tried as these types of games I see them as a bit like money-eating gimmicks, lacking substance. I am probably too old to understand what you feel.

 

[Sayo]

I certainly have, all those Vampire Survivors clones are just dopamine factories without any of the nuance or fun of a regular videogame, I swear.

 

[DunkeyKong]

This is like most of the games nowadays that have big, open, endless world, endless tasks but yet…it makes you feel like you're wasting time

It's feels like a wakeup call since you realised that you didn't discovered or accomplished anything new but rather you feel like you're doing extra chores…in a game

 

[HTBandicoot]

Thanks everyone for your responses so far. I think I’m overly conscious of how I’m spending my time. Which is why many games don’t last long on my phone. I can tell when I’m becoming addicted or tricked into playing more. It’s a benefit at times, but also hard when I want to find games to enjoy. I should probably stick to the older games for better enjoyment.

 

[Inkingsama]

Take in consideration that we as players have grown up with games and they have changed accordingly to how our brains approach the world. When we were kids, we didn't have 99999 games to pick and play, we had at most 1 or 2 so we played those games to death, so the entertainment came from the simple fact of playing the game, in this day and age, the entertainment comes from completing an objective/reaching a threshold

Back then there was no problem if you got stuck at one level because hey, how cool, you got to play 2 hours today and one enemy dropped this really powerful weapon. Nowdays you get frustrated because you been grinding for 2 hours and the enemies didn't drop that weapon you are looking for.

However, it's also true that the games of today are filled to the brim with stuff that really isn't fullfiling or anything, just so the game has over 100 hours of "gameplay". There are many factors to this conversation, but i think that, at its core, the problem is that players are no longer satisfied by just playing the game, they need to follow the carrot in front of them (even if they are aware it's tied to a stick hanging above their heads) to stay engaged or else they lose interest.

Think about it, how many reviews have you seen where the reviewer talks about "things to do" in the game as a negative or positive aspect?

 

[CRTRebel]

Thanks everyone for your responses so far. I think I’m overly conscious of how I’m spending my time. Which is why many games don’t last long on my phone. I can tell when I’m becoming addicted or tricked into playing more. It’s a benefit at times, but also hard when I want to find games to enjoy. I should probably stick to the older games for better enjoyment.

Great idea, if I were you I would download Retroarch for Android or iOS depending on the device you use, if you haven't already!

 

[HTBandicoot]

These are all good points!!

I may check it out. I’ve been using Delta mostly with a couple GBA games…and also, I’ve tried Gamma.
I use an iPhone 6 still. So I run the risk of apps stopping to make updates for iOS versions as old as mine. So there’s always that chance.

 

[CRTRebel]

These are all good points!!

I may check it out. I’ve been using Delta mostly with a couple GBA games…and also, I’ve tried Gamma.
I use an iPhone 6 still. So I run the risk of apps stopping to make updates for iOS versions as old as mine. So there’s always that chance.

The cool thing about most Android/iOS emulators or frontends is that you can eventually use a bluetooth joypad if touchscreen controls are inconvenient, at least, that's how it is for me... Indeed, the iPhone 6 is a bit dated but there must certainly be a possibility to get an older version of Retroarch compatible. Unfortunately, I am unable to help you in this regard, but surely by doing the appropriate research you will certainly find a solution.

 

[Spike]

Any MMORPG.​

Like Black Desert Online, i play for a while and then i realize it's just an unpaid job.​

Go there kill x of those.​

Go that way retrive 10 x.​

...etc​

​

It's just chores, do your own chores!
I think that feeling happens because the game has no physical or intellectual challenge, only takes time and anyone can do it. A game that doesn't challenge you in some way feels like a chore i think.​

 

[GVSE]

Any MMORPG.​

Like Black Desert Online, i play for a while and then i realize it's just an unpaid job.​

Go there kill x of those.​

Go that way retrive 10 x.​

...etc​

​

It's just chores, do your own chores!​

I think that feeling happens because the game has no physical or intellectual challenge, only takes time and anyone can do it. A game that doesn't challenge you in some way feels like a chore i think.​

I don't know if it's just the lack of challenge... at least in my case. I think at least a bit of "ludicism" is fundamental. Like, being involved in some symbolic aspect, anything that makes you do mechanical stuff without feeling as you are merely working. That's why I hate grinding in JRPGs, for example, this breaks me out of any playfulness and throws me into the realm of pure labor. :c

 

[BinaryMessiah]

I used to love those dopamine time wasters as a teen and into my mid-20s. I don't have time anymore thanks to my career, family, and life. I rarely ever find games that keep me engaged all the way through. As @Inkingsama suggested, we grew up differently. I was one of those that had a handful of games to play for the entire year, and they were mostly rentals. My parents couldn't afford to buy games outside of Christmas. I now heavily nitpick and question what I play to make sure it's worth my time.

I have such a massive backlog that I doubt I will ever get through every game in even 10 years. Many games look or seem interesting but are rarely worth completing. I usually have to force myself. I am finding myself replaying older games that I enjoy and go for achievements. I'm a sucker for remakes and remasters because these are games I played a lot growing up and I know my time playing will be worthwhile.

 

[moonbits]

I recently started a newer game on my phone. I think I was really enjoying it and getting into it. However, in the following days I didn’t feel as hooked. So I think instead of really liking it, I just liked the constant dopamine it produced, without realizing it.
For example, there are never a lack of goals to complete. Upgrade this, click here, do that. And you get rewards after each task is completed. So you’re constantly doing something all of the time…and the tasks never run out.


Can anyone relate? Have you been deceived into thinking you were enjoying a game, but it was only because of the constant dopamine it produced?

Nope, for some reason in my teenage years the moment I saw achievements pop up on my Xbox 360 I said: "nope"

I felt like they were going to become like a gateway drug for that sort of dopamine. superficial goals, rewards, unlockables.

the reward to me has always been enjoying the great gameplay, a cool cutscene and defeating a boss fight. I tend to avoid these homework like type of games.

 

[RetroLaw]

Musou games do this to me, especially the ones that have different ways of leveling up (Hyrule Warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors, the One Piece Games...).

Probably Star Wars Hunters too.