Dopamine is the chemical that gives us pleasure and that our brain uses to decide if something is worth doing over and over again. A desire to chase dopamine from a certain source at all costs leads to addiction, while a healthy relationship with dopamine creates excitement and tension during leisurely pursuits. In the world of gaming, there is one thing that delivers dopamine like nothing else: unpredictability.
The universal trigger for dopamine and why it really matters
A gambler will often cite the unknown as their reason for playing one more hand, and a lover of racing games will likely highlight the thrill of a sudden crash up ahead as something that got them pumped up. Unknowns and unpredictability keep the brain guessing, forcing it to attempt to rapidly compute the most likely outcome based on past experience. And although we all naturally want to win, if the manner in which we do so becomes prescriptive and has a feeling of predetermination about it, we soon grow bored.
Unpredictability makes the same game feel different every time
We remember the big wins and the frustrating losses, and all of the shades of gray in the middle feel like they largely merge into one as we look for trends and patterns. The point here is that, rather than simply winning or losing, we have an experience that feels like it is different every time we engage. Unpredictable gaming engines and rapidly changing probabilities of particular outcomes mean that we feel like we cannot adopt static strategies. Our brains are fully dialled in and looking for emerging patterns, and dopamine is released when something happens that either shocks us or entertains us.
Introducing unpredictability in a variety of different ways
Odds-based games on platforms such as LV BET will naturally evolve and differ over time, strategy games will present players with different difficulty levels, and multiplayer games will add in the unpredictability of other human players. The key point here is that the manner in which the unpredictability is introduced must be aligned with the ethos of the game.
If you are playing Gran Turismo, for example, it’s reasonable to expect that the responsiveness of your car won’t suddenly change beyond all recognition. In the event that the developers decided to make this a variable, they would be frustrating players who have chosen to play the game based on its reputation for realism. In the example of such a title, unpredictability has to come from things such as weather variations and track conditions, the actions of other drivers, and the pressure of the moment that is experienced by the player themselves.
Dopamine is something that needs to be nurtured and controlled
Enjoying a dopamine hit is perfectly natural and a healthy thing to do, but constantly chasing a high is not. Games, by their very nature, are typically developed and built in such a way as to encourage players to engage for longer. The secret for players who want to continue to enjoy these hits in a way that is healthy and sustainable is to balance the highs and lows of gaming with external pursuits that are innately more predictable. If this is done on a long-term basis, the dopamine produced by the gaming experience stands alone.
