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The Psychology of Collection and Hoarding In Games

Posted by Soulskill on from the who-has-the-most-nerdoints dept.

This article at Gamasutra takes a look at how the compulsion to hoard and accumulate objects, as well as the desire to accomplish entirely abstract goals, has become part of the modern gaming mindset. "The Obsessive Compulsive Foundation explains that in compulsive hoarders: 'Acquiring is often associated with positive emotions, such as pleasure and excitement, motivating individuals who experience these emotions while acquiring to keep acquiring, despite negative consequences.' Sound familiar? The 'negative consequences' of chasing after the 120th star in Mario 64 or all 100 hidden packages in Grand Theft Auto III may be more subdued than those of filling your entire house with orange peels and old cans of refried beans. But game designers know that it's pretty damn easy to tap into this deep-rooted need to collect and accumulate. And like happy suckers we buy into it all the time, some to a greater degree than others."

10 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. GOTTA CATCH EM ALL by Shikaku · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gotta catch em all, POKEMON!

  2. How would this fail the hunter-gatherer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They always attribute this behavior to some kind of compulsive outlier, but the the behavior is common to all humans. And is at the root of a lot of the fruitless consumerism. Comes from before there was culture or communication. Comes from the lizard brain. And probably never failed the early hunter-gatherer who didn't get penalized for keeping too may cats or a garbage-ridden apartment.

         

  3. Stating the Obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Okay, so basically this article is saying that people collect and horde in-game items because they like it and it makes them happy ("positive emotions").

    Sort of like the way psychopaths kill because it makes them happy, lazy people are sedentary because it makes them happy, and fat people eat too much because it makes them happy.

    That's saying about as much as barking dogs.

    1. Re:Stating the Obvious by gringofrijolero · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey! Whatever makes them happy...

      --
      Todos mis movimientos están friamente calculados
    2. Re:Stating the Obvious by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually, what makes a psychopath kill (sociopath is the more politically correct term now) is their inability to truly tell right from wrong. To them, killing a person is the same thing as stealing a candy bar. They don't get "happy". Their impulse is satisfied. It may not seem like much of a difference up front, but do you get "happy" when scratching an itch? No, but you are satisfied by doing so.

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
  4. Really? by mmaniaci · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is not some new thought or idea. Its survivalism and hasn't changed since... ever. Horde it up 'cause you may not have it tomorrow, and you still gotta eat. This trend in games is now obvious probably because of the popularity of WoW et. al. and how our "selves" are so easily transferred to an abstract, digital realm where we can horde and collect as long as there's stuff to horde and collect. For fuck's sake, people have been collecting and playing card games for decades. This is incredibly un-newsworthy.

  5. Re:TF2 Hats... by DPyro · · Score: 5, Informative

    Idle easier! http://www.sourceop.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1611

  6. Why couldn't /. tap into this? by jeffb+(2.718) · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh, wait.

  7. Um, finishing? by maxume · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't think I play games like Mario64 to 'collect' all the stars, I play until I think I have finished the content, the stars track that progress. Once the game is finished, the stars don't really have any meaning or other significance.

    This is very similar to filling in all the answers to a crossword, not so similar to making sure my T.V. Guide collection is complete.

    --
    Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    1. Re:Um, finishing? by artor3 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But some people do play to collect all the stars. Now, I never played Mario 64, but in most games there are stars or flags or some other widget scattered all over the place, and collecting them is completely tangential to the plot. A normal play through might have you find 20% of them. But some people then go back to find every last one. Those are the sort of people being discussed here.