Simon Parkin

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    How Video Games Satisfy Basic Human Needs

    Psychologists found that video games that allowed players to play out their “ideal selves” (embodying roles that allow them to be, for example, braver, fairer, more generous, or more glorious) were not only the most intrinsically rewarding, but also had the greatest influence on our emotions.Illustration by Ferino Design / Flickr Grand Theft Auto, that […]

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    How Designers Engineer Luck Into Video Games

    The responsibilities and challenges of programmed luck.

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    How Designers Engineer Luck Into Video Games

    The responsibilities and challenges of programmed luck.

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    How Video Games Satisfy Basic Human Needs

    Grand Theft Auto, that most lavish and notorious of all modern videogames, offers countless ways for players to behave. Much of this conduct, if acted out in our reality, would be considered somewhere between impolite and morally reprehensible. Want to pull a driver from her car, take the wheel, and motor along a sidewalk? Go […]