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Goals and rewards can be a great way to motivate players to learn, try out features, and play longer - but in certain circumstances, they can actually backfire on you. To find out more, let's jump into the psychology of motivation.

=== Sources and Resources ===

- Sources

[1] Undermining children's intrinsic interest with extrinsic reward | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1974-1...

[2] Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic rewards in Klei’s latest game: Don’t Starve | The Penny Arcade Report
http://web.archive.org/web/2013011707...

[3] Outer Wilds: a game of curiosity-driven space exploration | USC Digital Library
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref...

[4] The Machinations Behind Infinifactory | Game Wisdom
https://game-wisdom.com/podcast/infin...

[5] Mini Metro: When Less is More | GDC Vault (Free Access)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024250...

[6] Effect of Expected Rewards on Children's Creativity | Creativity Research Journal
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/1...

[7] How Incentives Hinder Innovation | Behavioral Scientist
https://behavioralscientist.org/how-i...

[8] Why do goal-based incentives cause cheating? | Williams College (PDF)
https://sites.williams.edu/mc20/files...

[9] What to do? | Steam Forums
https://steamcommunity.com/app/368370...

[10] A Nintendo Argument Against Achievements | Kotaku
https://kotaku.com/a-nintendo-argumen...

- Additional resources

Throwing Out the Dopamine Shots: Reward Psychology Without the Neurotrash | GDC Vault (Free Access)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024181...

Rewards in Video Games | GDC Vault (Free Access)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1023948...

The Cake Is Not a Lie: How to Design Effective Achievements | Gamasutra
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/featur...

The Psychology of Games | Steamworks Development
   • The Psychology of Games  

Achievements Considered Harmful? | Chris Hecker
http://www.chrishecker.com/Achievemen...

=== Chapters ===

00:00 - Intro
01:19 - Case Study: Don't Starve
03:12 - Case Study: Zachtronics Games
04:48 - Case Study: Mini Metro
05:48 - Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation
07:39 - Applying This to Game Design
08:20 - Advantages of Goals
09:31 - Surprise Rewards
11:05 - Patreon Credits

=== Games Shown ===

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog, 2016)
A Plague Tale: Innocence (Asobo Studio, 2019)
Hearthstone (Blizzard Entertainment, 2014)
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic, 2020)
Rage 2 (Avalanche Studios / id Software, 2019)
Diablo III (Blizzard Entertainment, 2012)
Marvel's Avengers (Crystal Dynamics, 2020)
Don't Starve (Klei Entertainment, 2013)
Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club, 2015)
Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment, 2018)
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (Nicalis / Edmund McMillen, 2014)
Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital, 2019)
Exapunks (Zactronics, 2018)
Shenzen I/O (Zactronics, 2016)
Opus Magnum (Zachtronics, 2017)
Spacechem (Zachtronics, 2011)
Infinifactory (Zachtronics, 2015)
Tormentor X Punisher (E-Studio, 2017)
Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Megagon Industries, 2019)
Tetris 99 (Arika, 2019)
Minecraft (Mojang, 2011)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo, 2017)
Lumines Remastered (Q Entertainment / Reonsair, 2018)
Planet Zoo (Frontier Developments, 2019)
God of War (Santa Monica Studio, 2018)
Destiny (Bungie, 2014)
Hitman 2 (IO Interactive, 2018)
Her Story (Sam Barlow, 2015)
Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment, 2016)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games, 2017)
Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom, 2019)
Hitman (IO Interactive, 2016)
Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games, 2018)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, 2019)
Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo, 2017)

=== Credits ===

Music provided by Music Vine - https://musicvine.com/

=== Subtitles ===

Contribute translated subtitles - https://amara.org/v/C3BDl/