Aggression and operant conditioning in Video Games from the lens of a Gamer

WHAT

To give a little background, I have been playing video games for about 25 years since one had to type in P-R-I-N-C-E in the command line to start up the original Prince of Persia. Since then, video games have fascinated me and I have spent countless hours playing all types of video games. I have owned almost all the generations of the Sony Playstation and played almost all the first-party titles. I would categorize myself as an Achiever and Explorer gamer type as I try to milk every part of the game for what it's worth and try to get all trophies and achievements. I rarely if not ever play video games online except for an occasional Call of Duty Warzone or Pubg game. With that aside, I have noticed several patterns of aggression/frustration within myself that I will highlight here. But before that, we will see a paradigm shift in how online games are played now and how operant conditioning (OC) has changed in video games. OC was something new that picked up and researched and I can plug this into my own experiences from the past. Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning, is a learning strategy that employs incentives and punishment to influence behavior. Using operant conditioning, rewarded behavior is more likely to be repeated, whereas penalized behavior is less likely to occur. We all are implicitly being conditioned by video games among other things and we will take a look at how it's affecting our behavior through I a very simple use case.

WHY

Firstly let us take a look at how online video games played out in the near past vs how it is played now.

Call of Duty

Then

The online matches were quick and every match lasted anywhere between 5-10 minutes on average. Players moved on from one match to another and scored experience from every match. It was quick and easy to jump from one match to another. Games were fast-paced and players respawned within a few seconds of being eliminated and could just continue their experience till the round ended.

With the advent of Battle Royale games, this has changed.

Now

Call of Duty Warzone has become so popular that it boasts a daily average player count of about 250,000 across all platforms. This is a battle royale game where the concept is simple. 100+ players can airdrop anywhere on a huge map with no items or clothes. Players have to scurry around and gather resources, weapons, ammo, and other equipment all the while defending themselves and eliminating the other players. The playable area keeps shrinking and players relocate and encounter others and eliminate them. The game features a map that has an area of about 10km^2. Games last anywhere between 30-45 minutes. This is the new OC in online shooters now and the same concept applies to Fortnite, PUBG, etc. Players don't respawn when eliminated and have to wait for the match to complete or exit the game and start a new match.

Imagine you have spent 30 minutes gathering resources and the best equipment and eliminated a decent number of players and there are 3 players remaining. You get taken out by another player. Personally, I feel that this situation would cause more aggression and frustration with the players than the actual violence of gun fights.

What was just 5-10 minutes of instant gratification has now evolved into something that involves careful planning, strategy, and resource gathering for over 30 minutes, and when this effort doesn't pay off, in the end, is when the individual would start showing signs of aggression and frustration at the game and those around them.

HOW

One might wonder why these types of games are so popular. Some of the battle royale games are available on phones. Since literally, everyone has a cellphone now, it is very accessible. In India, many youngsters have fallen prey to PUBG as it is available on Android devices so much so, that the PM banned the game as it was causing negative repercussions along with apps like TikTok. 

Why are these Batte Royale games such a big hit that so many are addicted?

While doing some research (Googling) I came across a concept called Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological motivational theory that consists of a five-tier model of human wants, which is commonly shown as hierarchical tiers within a pyramid. Needs at the bottom of the hierarchy must be met before attending to needs at the top.

I personally feel that these games are not really action games but survival games that touch upon some if not all levels of this pyramid. Some of the core game mechanics like gunplay, and resource gathering fall in the lower levels like Physical & Security. The in-game chat and teaming up with others could be the Social level and the desire to win and be on top of the leaderboard could be the Ego. 

"Aggression, Maslow maintained, is principally a result of the frustration of basic needs. In other words, aggression is not an essential part of human nature, but rather a reaction to circumstances in which essential requirements of our nature are unfulfilled." (link)

Putting things in perspective, I feel the Battle Royale games organically advance the player from the lower levels of the pyramid to the higher levels in the course of 45 minutes. In the end, if the Ego is not satisfied, then this might be what causes aggression and neurosis.