1.
Video Game Psychology
and
Product Engagement
Presented at Habit Summit, 2016
Jamie Madigan, Ph.D.

2.
www.psychologyofgames.com

3.
Quests

4.
The Zeigarnik Effect

5.
The Endowed Progress Effect

6.
Things to try…
• Keep track for users
• Endow progress
• Threaten to take
things away
• Force choices

7.
Competition

8.
RelatedAttribute Hypothesis

9.
The Frog Pond Effect

10.
The McKayla Is Not Impressed Effect

11.
Not all rungs in a ladder are equally spaced

12.
Things to try…
• Facilitate
comparisons to
similar others
• Find ways to cut data
to put player near
top of smaller lists
• Find alternaGves to
points and ranks

13.
“Free” To Play

14.
$10
$20

15.
$10
$20

16.
Free is an irrational number

17.
15¢
1¢

18.
14¢
0¢

19.
Things to try…
• Experiment with free
or non-$ opGons
• Contrast them with
paid opGons
• Find ways to reduce
risk for paid opGons
• Be careful about
contrasGng with free

20.
Let me know how it goes…
• www.psychologyofgames.com
• jamie@psychologyofgames.com
• @JamieMadigan on TwiSer