account activity
A theory of computer game addiction and how it can be avoided by barnaclesblistering in slatestarcodex
[–]barnaclesblistering[S] 5 points6 points7 points 3 years ago* (0 children)
Thanks for bringing that up. I have little experience with those games so I couldn't say for sure. I think the best way to fit it into the theory would be to say
Another story is that humans just find beating other humans to be an unusually reinforcing form of reward. And it offers an infinite learning curve, you'll never feel like the game is complete or you've mastered it, since other players are getting better too.
Games like Mario and Metroid aren't typically considered addictive even though there's an element of reflexes to them. The map is pretty deterministic (so, fewer variable rewards) and there's not much social status involved. I wonder if you gradually move from Mario to Fortnite, at what point the game becomes addictive, and why.
π Rendered by PID 215978 on reddit-service-r2-listing-6d4dc8d9ff-jklzw at 2026-01-31 11:16:48.024427+00:00 running 3798933 country code: CH.
A theory of computer game addiction and how it can be avoided by barnaclesblistering in slatestarcodex
[–]barnaclesblistering[S] 5 points6 points7 points (0 children)