Video game design: fun and potential addiction as two sides of the same coin

Video game design is a relatively new profession. This phenomenon has undergone continuous
growth during its short lifespan, becoming one of the world’s primary entertainment
industries. Based on this impetus, game designers have begun a path of standardization of
the creative act that is mostly governed by psychological principles with significant theoretical
and scientific baggage. Understanding video games as a learning experience, designers have
adopted concepts such as behavior shaping, self-efficacy, and underlying psychological needs,
among others, to ensure the success of their products. This success is often attributed to
the consumption patterns of the player, and these are a natural consequence of the user’s
engagement with the game. This engagement is sometimes liable to become an addiction.
Given the use that video game developers make of psychological principles, clinicians and
academics should have an equally extensive knowledge of the process and methods that
video game designers use when creating their products, in order to better understand
where its addictive potential comes from, beyond the associated symptoms.