More and more games feature elements of RNG that are not obscured from the player, but put front and center as a way of drawing them in and keeping them engaged for as long as possible. And crucially, the appeal of random rewards remains even if the likelihood of receiving anything of value is minuscule.
The likes of loot boxes in multiplayer games are a great example of this, since they crop up regularly and can be tuned by developers to only drop ultra-rare, ultra-effective gear a tiny fraction of the time. So, what’s going on in the minds of players who know that the odds are stacked against them and, despite this, continue to pursue random rewards?
Anticipation is Everything
What we really like about random outcomes is not just the payoff when they fall in our favor, but the entire process of playing time after time, with the anticipation of the win, whatever form it might take, being just as psychologically attractive.
The flipside is that when a reward is guaranteed, the thrill is minimal. If you know you’re going to get something every time, you’ll not feel the buzz of dopamine when the outcome is revealed. At that point, it’s just a transaction.
Players still need to be drawn into the experience in the first place, and games have different ways of doing this. For an FPS, the gameplay itself will be that selling point, with loot boxes added in as a means of player retention. In the case of a casino site, welcome bonuses are the draw. As mentioned in reviews for Slots of Vegas Casino, for example, generous player incentives get people to sign up, then the random outcomes of the games themselves compel them to keep spinning.
Variation is Impactful
Random rewards also click with our brain chemistry because they’re variable by design, rather than sticking to a set interval that quickly becomes boring if it repeats over and over. That’s why the likes of look boxes have odds attached, rather than paying out according to a specific, fixed pattern.
This variation keeps things interesting, because we know that the next reward we unlock could contain that all-important piece of kit we need to make our character truly powerful, or in the case of casino games, might contain the grand jackpot.
Temptation is Important
Another psychological trick games use to keep players engaged is implying that when a reward is unlocked, they were just shy of receiving the payout they most desire. When you open a loot box and see the ultra-rare item scroll right past, ending on a common item, that near miss gets processed as almost equivalent to a win. Being so close to the prize, even if its an illusion, gives us the impetus to get right back into the action, buying another loot box or spinning the reels one more time.
So, not only will random rewards continue working on players whether or not they’re aware of the odds of the best outcome, but in some cases they’ll be even more impactful if the rarity of a top prize is known, rather than hidden.
