The design example I have chosen to discuss and look further into is the Game Design article, specifically the “Keeping Players on the hook” section of the article. This aspect of design is usually implemented from the start of the game and usually starts to become more relevant as the game progresses, for example developers such as Mihoyo use this tactic to keep players on the hook to continuously play their game and spend more money on it. This is done as this particular aspect can be used scientifically to trick the players brain into getting a dopamine high thus giving them more incentive to continue doing what they are doing as they want that rush again and again. Therefore, Mihoyo uses this as a trigger for players to continue to spend money, level up or play the game in general so they can feel that high. More specifically these are called “micro-transactions” that allows the player to spend money to get ahead in the game faster that other players, thus the alluring thought of playing a “free game” is lost into the abyss as the real plan is revealed for making money off of the player.
As stated in the Game Design article: https://medium.com/@anthonydennis24878/operant-conditioning-how-games-condition-players-44df899c920c (Dennis, n.d.)
The game developers and companies give the player and ultimatum for how they will continue their gaming experience, they can choose to spend hours or even days grinding away at leveling up and earning money through just game play and quests, or they can choose the must faster route, pay to win the game, spend money so they can be a higher level faster, this can clearly be seen in Genshin Impact where Mihoyo gives the player a choice to earn the currency themselves or purchase it:
Link to Image: https://751070.smushcdn.com/1311552/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/genesis-crystals-shop.png?lossy=0&strip=1&webp=1
Thus showing the player that they have multiple options, rather than forcing upon the player to pay money for the game instead they strategically set a trap to lure the player into a situation where yes the game is free, however to continue to feel the hit of dopamine they receive when they get rewards or get a new character, they can spend money to get there faster, giving the player an easier and faster option compared to grinding for the currency themselves.
This also creates within the fan-base a source of “friendly” competition as since within the game there are different states for example 4 star or 5 star quality, thus creating an almost battle situation between players for who has the best characters and equipment, this also plays into the “Keep players on the hook” aspect as it sets a trigger off in a players mind when they see other players with high quality items and characters to become jealous and want to get the same as them or even better thus creating a sort of hierarchy within the game and the community to have a sense of friendly competition within the fan-base.
All of these aspects to the games design are done in a very effective way, with the triggers that they set off within peoples mind like the natural instinct to want something others have or have better items than others help to keep the game afloat with the income being extremely high, for example here are the stats for the recent character banners:
Image Link: https://swosh-x.com/news/media/k2/items/cache/da16d7b81bc41742c30f10c33643260b_L.jpg
As you can see with the stats there is a clear sense of earnings and also shows off how much people are willing to spend in order to receive a reward, especially since within the game you only have a certain amount of time to earn the character on the banner- for example you will usually get around 15-20 days between banners to get the character and the weapon on the banner- thus planting into the players mind a time-limit on their choices they make, the time limit that is set between game updates tricks the player into feeling as though they will not have enough time to gather all of the materials and currency they will need in order to get the character they want, thus tricking them into making the decision to spend money on the game instead so they feel as though they are guaranteed the character.
As you can clearly see with the statistics of the game over the past year you can easily tell that the design of the game is very effective against the player, their mind and their choices, as when they finally get the 5-star character after so many pulls, they feel accomplished, but only for a few weeks until the next “prize” is available to them so they can continue to gamble on the game so they can feel superior compared to those players who were unlucky and did not receive the 5 star within the time limit. The design also sets off an almost panic state within the player as the way Mihoyo has designed the game, once a characters banner is run for ex amount of days, that character will not return for a further few months, or in some cases not at all, this sets off a fight or flight mode almost within the players minds to either take the gamble or lose out on the opportunity to gain the prize that others might not get thus allowing “bragging rights” within the community and friendly competition.
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