Essays

The Psychology of New Game Plus: Why We Replay Games We've Already Beaten
Essays

The Psychology of New Game Plus: Why We Replay Games We’ve Already Beaten

By Adam

You already know how the story ends. You know which door hides an ambush and which chest is a trap.…

#GamingAnalysisTravel

Why Fast Travel Quietly Changed How We Experience Game Worlds

Open a map in almost any modern open-world game and you'll find it covered in…

#GamingAnalysis#VideoGamePsychology

Why Boss Fights Still Work in an Era of Endless Content

Open-world games keep getting bigger. Live-service titles keep adding more maps, more loot tiers, more…

OWE

The Backlog Is Not a Failure: Rethinking How We “Owe” Our Games

An essay on the gaming backlog: why we buy games we never finish, the guilt…

Choice in Games

Why Choice in Games Often Feels More Real Than in Movies

An essay on player agency: how interactive storytelling and branching narrative make choice in games…

When a Soundtrack Becomes the Story
When a Soundtrack Becomes the Story

When a Soundtrack Becomes the Story

The Loneliness Cure Nobody Talks About: Online Games as Third Places
online games

The Loneliness Cure Nobody Talks About: Online Games as Third Places

Flow State Gaming: Why Games Make Time Disappear
disappear

Flow State Gaming: Why Games Make Time Disappear

Difficulty Isn't Cruelty: What "Hard" Games Actually Ask of Us
hard games

Difficulty Isn’t Cruelty: What “Hard” Games Actually Ask of Us

Show More