POOR GAME DESIGN AS A CAUSE FOR PLAYER RAGE

Flynn Fredriksson

ABSTRACT: The depiction of violence within the medium of video games has been a subject of contention and debate for as long as the media has existed. A common criticism is that violent video games have real life repercussions, that they can lead the people who play these games to experience increased levels of anger and aggression and in turn lead them to committing acts of violence in real life as a direct result of these games. Violence is readily available in popular video game titles; one particular survey noted that in a range of the most popular titles sold between 2007 and 2011, 90% of these contained an ESRB content descriptor for some kind of violence (Markey, Markey & French, 2014.) Video games can elicit feelings of aggression and even violent actions from their players, and in these essays we will examine whether the game being inherently frustrating is at the root at this or if the reason for this perceived anger lies in the violent content portrayed on screen.

POOR GAME DESIGN AS A CAUSE FOR PLAYER RAGE: When the topic of violence within video games is mentioned, mass media has given plenty of coverage and sparked plenty of debate as to whether video games with violent content are affecting our behaviour by making people more prone to committing violence. In a list of the top ten selling games in the US in 2014, half of these feature first or third person shooting as a primary mechanic of the game. (Forbes, 2015.) Of these five, four had received and ESRB rating of M; consistent “intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.” (Entertainment Software Rating Board, 2016.) The notion that violent in game content has an immediate and noticeable effect of making an individual act violently is misguided. This type of violence however, can be observed when the rules and mechanics of a game leave the player feeling incompetent, even when there is a lack of graphic violence in the game’s content. Video games are distinct as a medium in that they reward the person partaking in the medium (the player as they are known) for their level of skill within the rules and mechanics of the game. A player with a high level of skill within these rules can be rewarded with a high numerical score, additional story content which may be inaccessible to a less skilled player, positive reinforcement within the user interface of the game, or additional tools and “power-ups” within the mechanics of the game. These are intrinsic rewards that supplement the players own sense of Page | 1

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satisfaction they receive from doing well and progressing through the content of the game; the “feelings of efficacy and skill growth, which are fundamental to intrinsic motivation” (Przybylski, Deci, Rigby, & Ryan, 2013.) The ways in which these rewards are given to the player are carefully designed to keep the player motivated to keep playing and progressing through the content of the game. Within the context of action oriented games that portray violence, these games reward players for committing violent actions against simulated player characters and punish players who fail to do so. So it is with Die Hard Trilogy (1996, Probe Entertainment), an action title composed of three separate sub games within the main title (Die Hard, Die Harder, and Die Hard with a Vengeance after the movies of the same name.) In each of these, the ultimate goal of the player is to finish each level by removing as many hostile NPC’s as possible from the level while not taking enough damage to be killed yourself. The game features gratuitous and graphic violence, executed in a very self aware fashion that plays out more like slapstick comedy than a chilling, gritty experience. The game’s user interface delivers lines such as “Gratuitous Violence!” and “Merry Christmas!” throughout gameplay. (World of Longplays, 2015.) Gory visuals are contrasted with humorous dialogue; shooting a civilian results in “arterial spray gushing everywhere ... as they scream and flop around. How does the game’s Bruce Willis impersonator respond to this tragic error? ‘Sorry, pal’.” (goplaythat.com, 2015.) Tension that a player may experience from tricky sections of the game is usually quickly diffused through a humorous UI message before the action continues. The difference between poor and strong implementation of a game’s control setup is a factor which has been proven to influence levels of aggression among players playing a game that is visually identical. A of study conducted for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Przybylski et al. 2013) documented the effects of a poorly designed control scheme compared to a well designed control scheme on player aggression over two different groups of player’s. Each group was playing mechanically different versions of Tetris (Alexey Pajitnov, 1984.) Both variants were aesthetically identical and featured no violent visual content. When participants were asked to note down the first five thoughts that came to their head and then rate each of these thoughts as to how they reflected on the game as either negative or positive; players with the poorly designed controls were reported to have quicker access to negative thoughts and rated Page | 2

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the game negatively overall compared to those who were playing with the normal setup. Further studies conducted by Przybylski et al. 2013 measured increased levels of frustration felt by players playing a game of Tetris which had been reprogrammed in such a way that the game was overly challenging and essentially cheating the player of a fair game. The game analyzed the playing field to determine in order how useful each of the game’s seven pieces would be to the player. From this, it would give the player one of the four least useful pieces each turn, giving the least useful piece of all 75% of the time. The difference in these results illustrates that poorly designed controls and an unfair set of rules can be a notable annoyance factor for the player, and by using the game of Tetris it proves that violent content does not need to be present to lead a player towards feelings of frustration. In the case of Die Hard Trilogy (1996, Probe Entertainment), all three sub games have simple control schemes; they are designed to be intuitive and responsive. The degree of challenge comes from the level design which is overcome through repetition. The driving mechanics allow for quick ninety degree turns to be made with a single button push, which once mastered allows the player to focus on beating the clock to reach objectives. The first person shooting section can be played with a light gun controller as the player moves automatically along a predefined path facing enemies at scripted points. Easy to access action is at the core of the experience in the game; “the action is fast and controls well, without pretending to be anything more than a bloody mess of guns and explosions” (goplaythat.com, 2015.) There is sufficient evidence to suggest that a player feeling frustrated with a game through either poor controls or feeling severely inadequate in the face of the controls can cause an increase in player aggression. The content of the game and any aggression this may cause is however, detached from what makes video games unique in their interactivity. Further study into these areas is required to truly understand the extent that these factors weigh on inciting violent behaviour.

REFERENCES: Alexey Pajitnox & Vladamir Pokhilko. (1984). Tetris [Laboratory Game]. Moscow, Russia.

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