World of Warcrack, Farmville, and
NeverQuits: The Rise Internet
Addiction and the Development of
Addictive Games
Internet Addiction Defined
Categorized as an “impulse control disorder” and can be defined as ‘‘an
individual’s inability to control their Internet use/dependence, which in turn leads to
feelings of distress and functional impairment of daily activities” [Shapira, N., Lessig, M., Goldsmith, T.,
Szabo, S., Lazoritz, M., Gold, M. et al. (2003). Problematic Internet use: Proposed classification and diagnostic criteria. Depression and Anxiety, 17(4), 207–216]
Possible basic criteria, with the underlying focus being on the fact that the
addiction “significantly impairs everyday functionality”:
(1) the excessive use of the Internet beyond the time allotted and/o
an irresistible urge to be preoccupied with the Internet;
(2) an impairment, distress or poor functioning in social
settings
caused from a preoccupation with the Internet; and
(3) the excessive use of the Internet is not associate
exclusively with periods of hypomania or mania and
cannot be entirely accounted for by Axis 1 clinical
disorders
One Evaluative Method
1.
Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet (think about previous online activity or anticipate next on-line session)?
2.
Do you feel the need to use the Internet with increasing amounts of
time in order to achieve satisfaction?
3.
Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful attempts to control, cut
back, or stop Internet use?
4.
Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting
to cut down or stop Internet use?
5.
Do you stay on-line longer than originally intended?
6.
Have you jeopardized or risked the loss of a significant relationship,
job, educational, or career opportunity because of the Internet?
7.
Have you lied to family members, a therapist, or others to conceal
the extent of involvement with the Internet?
8.
Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or
relieving a dysphoric mood (e.g. feelings of helplessness, guilt,
anxiety, depression)?
Young (1998) suggests that those who scored over 5 or more can be
considered Internet addicts.
Is Technology an Addictive
Substance?
According to Griffiths (2000), technological addictions, including the
Internet, are a branch of behavioral addictions which engage the six
criteria for addiction:
(1)
Salience
(2)
Mood modification
(3)
Tolerance
(4)
Withdrawal
(5)
Conflict, and
(6)
Relapse
Salience: refers to the importance and dominance that a particular activity has in one’s
life
Mood modification: the subjective experience one has when engaging in a particular
activity, and is synonymous with a coping strategy
Tolerance: the process of increasing amounts of an activity for the purpose of remaining
satisfied
Withdrawal: and the unpleasant feelings that occur when the activity is discontinued
Conflict: refers to interpersonal and intrapsychic issues an individual may experience,
Relapse: the repeated reversions that may occur after one has discontinued an activity
Griffiths found that, “as with most forms of behavioral addiction, Internet Addiction has a
psycho-physiological affect on those afflicted with the condition. That is, disturbances in
both mental processes, particularly thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and bodily
actions especially in relation to withdrawal symptoms from the vice (for example, tremors)
can be experienced.”
Profile of an Internet Addict
Soule et al. (2003) identify several groups of individuals that were particularly vulnerable,
such as

Singles

Young males

College students

Homosexuals

Middle-aged females

The less educated
Interestingly, the study found no statistical difference between the total number of
online hours and recreational hours that males and females spent on the Internet.
Video Clips: “Web Junkie”

40:35

45:03
Prevalence & Consequences
South Korea

After 10 deaths in Internet cafes and a “game-related murder”, the South Korean
government declared Internet addiction “one of its most serious public health
issues”.

As of 2006 the SK government estimated that approx. 210,000 (2.1% of 6-19yr olds)
suffered from internet addiction
China

Government estimates suggest 13.7% of adolescent Internet users meet the criteria
for addiction; around 10 million teenagers
US

While reliable data is not available for the prevalent of internet addiction in the US,
“Internet Gaming Disorder” is included under Section III of the DSM-V as a condition
“warranting more clinical research and experience” before its official inclusion.
The Extreme Cases
In August 2005 a 28-year-old South Korean man
died after playing Starcraft online for over 50
hours straight with very little food and minimal
sleep
In Feb 2012, Chen Rong-yu, 23, was
found dead in a Taiwanese Internet
Café after engaging in a marathon
session of League of Legends which
began around 24hrs earlier; he was
posed in a manner which suggests
that he tried to reach his mouse and
keyboard even as he suffered a
suspected cardiac arrest.
In July 2012 an 18-year-old
Taiwanese gamer died after
playing Diablo III for 40
consecutive hours
Internet Gaming: A Unique Beast?
Many studies fail to distinguish between internet
addiction generally and a category specific to
online gaming; however the fact that games are
particularly addictive is recognized in the DSM-V,
which includes a discussion of “Internet Gaming
Disorder” rather than a more general internet
addiction category
The DSM-V “recognizes studies suggesting
that when individuals play particularly
addictive games, certain pathways in their
brains are triggered in the same direct and
intense way that a drug addict’s brain is
affected by a particular substance”
Video Games and Neurology:
cause or effect?

Charité University Medicine in Berlin study (Feb 2015) has found a correlation
between frequent gaming and enlarged reward centers in the brain.

What is not clear is whether individuals with this trait are more likely to engage in
gaming (because they may experience gaming as more rewarding in the first
place), or whether this increased reward sensitivity develops through game use.
 Particularly notable in the study was that
even when a player failed in the game, they
still experienced stimulation in the reward
center. This connection has also been
identified in those with gambling problems
and is correlated with a lowered
deliberation time in betting or risk-taking.
What makes games addictive?
Game designer Andrea Phillips argues that different types of
games produce different compulsive symptoms by design:

MMORPGS and First-Person Shooters tend to “maximize length
of play session” through techniques such as providing
infrequent save opportunities or running in a 24/7 online
format that rewards constant attention.

Zynga-style social and casual games (Farmville, Bejeweled)
“maximize number of sessions” through what are more
focused, simplistic formats that are “very close to compulsion
loops and nothing else” (no meaningful community,
competition, narrative)
Creating Addictive Games
Compulsion loop: A habitual, designed chain of activities that will be repeated to gain
a neurochemical reward: a feeling of pleasure and/or a relief from pain.
Basically, each action taken by the player feeds into the next and provides enough
reward and/or anticipation to motivate the player to follow the chain.
 Compulsion loops are made most effective in games by carefully scheduling the
release of rewards with a perceived increase in difficulty, so that the sense of
challenge and accomplishment is maintained evenly throughout gameplay.
 The player is constantly engaged in a state of motivation to seek reward and then
given enough reward to continually renew her motivation to seek it.
Action
Reward
(content/
currency)
Anticipation
Basic compulsion loop
(Source: Stephanie Morgan)
Progress/up
grade/
recognition
Exploitation of the Compulsion Loop:
“Freemium” Games and Pay-for-Play
These games are offered for free or at a very low rate (e.g. 99c app) and begin with
gameplay that constitutes an ideal compulsion loop, creating a sense of reward in the
player and ideally motivating him to continue playing.
The inherent balance between challenge and accomplishment or effort and feedback is
slowly disrupted in order to frustrate the player into buying her way back into the loop.
Action
Delay/
Anticipation
Repetition
Requirement
Progress
/
Source: Escapist Magazine
Online
Reward
upgrade
Additional
Delay?
Methods for Exploiting the Compulsion Loop
Delay: the game introduces delays in the
time it takes to complete an action and
access a reward (e.g. increased
production times for new products/skills;
higher and higher point requirements for
advancement, upgrade, new content
access; timers before accessing next level)
Player can pay to reduce or eliminate
delay time, access upgrades more quickly
or automatically access new content
without delay
Disproportionate challenge: the game
introduces challenges or require the player
to achieve additional actions which are
subjectively too difficult and begin to
damage the player’s sense of
accomplishment and lead to frustration
Player can pay for an instant upgrade, such
as level up or better items, skills, etc. thus
temporarily restoring the balance between
challenge and accomplishment and thus
the enjoyment of the game
Disproportionate Repetition: game requires
player to repeat mundane, pointless, or
boring tasks (“grinding”) – repetitious
levelling
Player can pay to skip tasks or for a method
to complete them more quickly or easily, or
to access new content or features that
make gameplay more interesting
Additional Components of Addictive
Games
“Fun Failure”: player receives reinforcement
through “almost wins” (e.g. through randomized
prize drops from enemies which are occasionally
very valuable), maintaining a feeling of “close but
not quite” and that a “big win” is just around the
corner.
This mimics gameplay in the gambling
industry. In both, the player feels intense
satisfaction upon achieving the aim, and a
sense of “fun failure” when the aim is
nearly achieved (you kill the enemy but
the prize drop is poor; you come close to
winning a hand of blackjack or get almost
all of the right images on the slot machine).
Additional Components of Addictive
Games
Exploitation of the Sunk Costs Fallacy: people have stronger emotional ties to things they
have lost (including intangibles such as time or effort) than things they have gained. In
other words, the more you invest in something the harder it becomes to abandon it,
regardless of rational cost vs benefits. The psychological drive to avoid losses or reclaim
lost things can thus result in irrational decision-making. For example:
 Infrequent savepoints can drive a gamer to play longer
than intended/desired in order to avoid losing the progress
made
 A player may be willing to pay or sacrifice in order to gain
back something perceived as lost (e.g. expired crops in
Farmville) in order to avoid the loss of time and effort
 Pay-for-play games encourage a player to continue to pay
once an initial investment has been made, particularly if
failure to pay again may result in losing the advantage
gained by the first payment.
Additional Components of Addictive
Games
Avoidance: instead of relying on
positive feedback and achievements,
the player is instead punished for not
playing enough (e.g. withering of
crops in Farmville, or an online game
where you can suffer losses or miss out
on wins when not actively
participating)
Creating Addictive Games:
Formula Proposal for App Games
Begin user with ideal
effort/reward
environment
through use of
scheduled rewards,
potentially
regardless of merit &
randomized drops
creating false
reward feedback
Include avoidance
features (withering
crops, less relative
plays per turn)
Make certain
features (special
characters, unique
weapons or levels)
impossible to access
without purchased
content
Slowly reduce
rewards relative to
effort, introduce
delays, etc. (at a
point where the user
has sunk
considerable
time/effort into the
game)
Encourage players
to pay for “benefits”
/new features which
restore the balance
and sense of reward
Profit $$$
Creating Addictive Games:
Formula Proposal for MMORPG/FPS
Games
Introduce user to
game with ideal
challenge/achie
vement ratio and
relatively fast rate
of progress
Include features
such as
continuous 24/7
gameplay
and/or costs
associated with
reduced gaming
time
Reduce
challenge/achie
vement ratio so
that subjectively
excessive time or
effort is required
to achieve the
same level of
progress or
introduce
disproportionate
challenge
Introduce pay
features which
allow faster
progress i.e.
restoring the
subjective
challenge/achie
vement ratio
Profit $$
The Future of Addictive Gaming:
Data Mining and Behavioural
Game Design


As data mining and game design become more sophisticated, we can
expect that games will incorporate more and more effective and
personally tailored addictive elements

For example, games developed to perfectly balance the reward cycle or
the “disruptive aspects” of the gameplay (delay, etc.) based on data about
exactly how much a user will tolerate without quitting the game

Games could also incorporate personalized modifications which are
triggered by data collected about your own gameplay style and what you
will personally tolerate
“There’s this huge irony going on, that the companies that are making
these social games that have no gameplay value in them, are actually
playing a much more interesting game than the game they are making
for you to play” – Jonathan Blow (video)
Regulations on Online Gaming
China

Regulation introduced in 2007 ordering online game
operators to install “anti-addiction” software on their games
with the goal of discouraging players under 18 from playing
more than 3hrs per day

The software allows players to earn full points for the first 3
hours of play, at which point they are cut down to ½ points
for 2 hours; after this point they receive no points in the game

In addition, after 5hrs a warning will appear every 15 minutes
reading “You have entered unhealthy game time, please go
offline immediately to rest. If you do not, your health will be
damaged and your points will be cut to zero”

The ultimate impact of this software has been minimal as only
around 10% of China’s gamers are under 18
Regulations on Online Gaming
South Korea

Has already passed legislation prohibiting gaming from 12pm6am

Bill with additional restrictions proposed in December 2013
(doesn’t seem to have passed yet)
 Classifies online gaming as one of the
“four major addictions” alongside
gambling, alcohol, and drugs
 Would increase the “blackout”
period to 10pm-7am, as well as
imposing a 1% tax on the gaming
industry’s revenue, with the money
going into a fund to help addicts
Addictive Games: Good or Evil?
[Jonathan Blow at 50:00]

Is it ethical to create games that have the sole purpose of keeping
users playing and spending for as long or as much as possible?

What are the dangers of allowing firms to combine data mining with
addictive game features and, potentially, personalized gaming
experiences? Or is this just the ultimate end result of modern gaming
developments (e.g. fully individualized virtual reality games)

What are the harms (economic vs societal vs personal)?

Should we introduce regulations, and if so, how?

Is this a parallel situation to Irwin Toy, or distinguishable?