Geekspeak

Apparently, all the rage now in online video games is a principle dubbed “Variable Ratio Rewards” – showering virtual prizes on participants randomly, without any detectable pattern. Research with rats has demonstrated that this pattern encourages maximally addictive behaviour. Here is how a game researcher for Microsoft allegedly explains the formula for getting players hooked beyond the point of no return: “Each contingency is an arrangement of time, activity, and reward, and there are an infinite number of ways these elements can be combined to produce the pattern of activity you want from your players.” Really, what better way to capture the transcendental exhilaration a cool video game must induce.