Achievement relocked : loss aversion and game design / Geoffrey Engelstein.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Loss aversion -- Endowment effect -- Framing -- Utility theory -- Endowed progress -- Regret and competence -- Putting it all together.

"All of the books published in the Playful Thinking series have come from academics, who while they may have designed games with their students to go along with the curricula, weren't game designers. However, as series co-editor William Urrichio noted, 'If Playful Thinking seeks to distinguish itself from mainstream academic work on games by addressing an audience that includes designers, it's probably a good idea to have a text from a designer in the series, especially one who can make the case for "why theory".' Achievement Relocked is about Loss Aversion, and the way it can manipulate player experiences. Loss Aversion is a core effect in human psychology. Simply stated, losses make people feel worse than gains make them feel better. In other words, the negative emotions from losing $100 are stronger than the positive emotions from gaining $100 -- about twice as strong according to a variety of experiments. The fundamental aspect of Loss Aversion to human psychology is very deep, and touches a wide variety of phenomenon, most of which are directly relevant to game design. Achievement Relocked explores framing, regret, competence, and many other effects, and their relation to players' relationship with the game experience. This gives a fascinating lens through which to view many design choices"-- Provided by publisher.