Psycogaming, a project that brings psychology to the world of video games.

An innovative and much needed idea. Today we interview the promoters of Psycogaming.

Research and studies in psychology are increasingly soaking more and more areas of the market related to new technologies and cultural products.

The electronic entertainment sector is no exception, and that's why it is increasingly more and more often teams of psychologists are incorporated into the development plans of video games, or offer indications and advice for the or offer indications and advice to help create totally immersive gameplay sensations. And we are not only talking about brain training video games, but almost any aspect is susceptible to be reinvented by psychologists dedicated to this interesting field.

Psycogaming Interview

In Spain, one of these examples of entrepreneurship between basic psychology, the creation of video games and the dissemination of the potential benefits that these can offer beyond entertainment is the company Psycogaming, created in 2013 by Sergio Alloza and Marc Costal. We set out to interview them to learn more about this relatively little known marriage between psychology and video games.

Psychology and MindHow did you come up with the idea of starting this project?

PsycogamingWell, the initial idea came during the last year of my degree. It was the second semester and we were not sure what we would do when we finished. After a class, in which we were asked to try to unite our passion (whatever it was) with psychology, we began to think about how to unite the broad field of psychology with the huge world of video games. And out of that union came PsycogamingThe aim of this project was to analyze video games from a psychological point of view, but it has grown over time.

What is the aspect of video games that most interests you as psychologists?

Marc: I am very interested in the design aspect of the videogame itself. Giving background to the characters, making them more in line with the type of personality you want to convey, finding contextual flaws in the scenarios that may interfere with the immersion felt by the player, or even making the emotional situations that occur in the plot of the game consistent with the emotion you want to make them feel.

Sergio: Undoubtedly, motivation and engagement techniques and the flow phenomenon. How a person can feel immersed in a video game and lose track of time, think and feel in a virtual world. And, also, how our brain adapts and changes to these routines and how certain abilities are trained intrinsically.

How have you been learning about the relationship between psychology and videogames? Are there any books or magazines that you recommend?

PG: Well, since the beginning of the project and after finishing our degree, we realized that our training was going to be self-taught. Since there were no postgraduate courses on this specific subject, we began to train ourselves, studying the bibliography resulting from past and current research on the relationship between video games and psychology. In addition, we took several courses on video games and learning, game design and game development. Even today we are still training in these subjects, among others, and expanding our knowledge.

We recommend, above all, in addition to the existing bibliography, a book entitled: Don't bother me mom- I'm learning!by Prensky, which captures some of the above ideas quite well.

Do video game developers already use teams of psychologists, or is this something relatively new?

PG: As far as we know, only a few large companies have a psychologist on staff to help design the games with the rest of the team. We certainly think it's a great idea, as the merging of various disciplines always results in better work.

In most videogames there is a narrative dimension and a gameplay dimension, in which of these two do you think it is more necessary to have people dedicated to psychology?

PG: In both, totally. Many times we play a videogame with incredible mechanics, graphics and design, but the next day we don't play it again because it doesn't have a story that hooks us. And many times we will have played a game of which the first impression has been very good from the narrative point of view, but because some mechanics are poorly designed, they do not invite the user to continue playing.

Hence, on both sides it is necessary to supervise almost every detail to ensure that people will have a good experience with the videogame. After all, that's what it's all about.

And I guess you also have to see if the mechanics and the storytelling fit well together.

PG: Yes, in general this is not very difficult. You simply have to adapt the mechanics to the limitations of the game or the programming language you use. You will rarely find that the narrative limits the mechanics and vice versa. Many times, unique mechanics will come out of the game narrative itself, and the mechanics can provide ideas for how the game can be developed.

In what aspects of video game development do you think it is more useful to have the advice of specialized psychologists? For example, in game mechanics, scenario and character design, etc.

PG: We can certainly help in the development of all aspects of the videogame. From those mentioned above to many more. It is true that there are elements in which as psychologists we can be of more help, such as the mechanics of video games to help optimize cognitive abilities, or in the design of a coherent context to improve the user experience. Although this requires touching on almost every element. However, there are aspects, such as music, that we leave in more expert hands since our training and experience do not help us much to improve that element.

Regarding the design of scenarios, have you noticed if environmental psychology is beginning to investigate and intervene on video games? It occurs to me that it would be an interesting field for people dedicated to this branch of psychology.

PG: The truth is that we have not yet met anyone from this specialty in the world of video games. Usefulness? Surely they could contribute their expertise on the interaction between the physical environment and the player, only in this case the environment would be virtual. Perhaps when the definitive "boom" of Virtual Reality takes place, we will see much more interest between this field of psychology and videogames.

What are the main barriers that a person coming from the field of psychology will encounter if they decide to dedicate themselves to something similar to what you do in Psycogaming?

PG: The first, and probably the most important, is the lack of formal training in this field within psychology. There are specializations of all kinds: clinical, educational, business, legal... but it is very difficult to find something that brings together the concepts of psychology and video games.

And then, you would find the hard business world and the difficulty of getting into the world of video games (how to become part of a video game development studio).

And it won't be easy to start making contacts either.

PG: No, it's not easy at all. We suppose that if you have someone you know in the world it might be easier, since there are "meet-ups" and events where developers get together to present their projects, get to know each other and so on. In our case, we had no idea that this kind of events exist, so we had to go around a lot more. Through a friend we got the information that there was a kind of meeting of developers in Valencia, and after thinking about it we decided to go the couple of days it lasted and introduce ourselves. From there, they gave us the contact of a group that works in Barcelona, ZehnGames, and from there we started to know the whole Indie world in Barcelona. In fact, now in December we have been in Granada Gaming with them and it has been a very productive experience.

Beyond the problems that may have arisen along the way, how do you value the journey you have made so far with your project?

PG: Well, the truth is that we value it very positively. It is true that the beginnings were hard, with a vaguely defined project and a lot of bibliography to study, but the opportunities that have arisen have made all the way to the current point worthwhile. Even so, we are aware that we have a long way to go and we hope to continue having the same luck.

Finally, a mandatory question: What is your favorite video game?

Marc: The Legend of Zelda, A Link To The Past, from Super Nintendo. The graphics are poor for today, but it has an immersive narrative and a considerable degree of freedom in such an old game. It also has an amazing soundtrack.

Sergio: Without a doubt, Golden Sun, from GBA. An incredible narrative, graphics and artistic design appropriate for its time and interesting and attractive mechanics. Although we could dedicate another whole interview to a never ending list of "favorite" videogames.