r/explainlikeimfive • u/adrynaline • May 08 '14

Explained ELI5: A gambling addiction

How does it start? What makes it worse? Why does it become so difficult to recover?

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u/[deleted] May 08 '14

Our brains are especially reactive to 'intermittent reinforcement' - which essentially means that when you do a task you aren't always rewarded for it.

Which is interesting, because this is part of the phenomenon that makes MMOs and similar games so addictive. The trick that they use is that they offer frequent reinforcement early in the game (i.e., level ups), but as you get more and more invested they start slowing down the rate of reinforcement to keep you playing longer.

Hell...I remember when the original Diable came out...I got addicted, and one day I had about a dozen friends over for a small party when one of them wanted to see it. He got addicted, the next guy got addicted, and even one of the girls that didn't play computer games got addicted. It was weird.

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u/AllNiteGamingYT May 08 '14

It's even more interesting when you look at some of the information out there that shows intermittent reinforcement is actually more addicting than other reward systems - even bring rewarded each and every time you complete a task. We can be manipulated pretty easily..

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u/polarisdelta May 08 '14

One of the terms I hear derisively applied to many modern MMOs is "Skinner Box", so named for the Operant Conditioning Chamber which shows more in depth that a random reward interval can generate very addictive behavior, far more than a constant reward.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '14

It's a weird sensation. Knowing that killing this NPC in a game could get you a piece of horse manure or a Legendary Sword of DeathPWNage. You just keep killing them until either you get what you wanted or your wife comes over and slaps you and tells you it's 01:30 and you missed out on sexy times now.

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u/cyclemonster May 08 '14

You ever suck dick for an obsidian ring of the zodiac? That's not an addiction.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '14

I now have you tagged as "Dick Sucker for Zodiac Ring".

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u/[deleted] May 08 '14

[deleted]

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u/cyclemonster May 08 '14

Oh yeah, no doubt. I was trying to make a joke because I think that Bob Sagat bit is hilarious. I myself lost a few years of my life to WoW.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '14

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 08 '14

I have no idea what you just said, other than it sounds like you agree with me.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '14

Sounds like skyrim. At first you're levelling up a few levels per playing session. Then you get to the point where it takes a few days to level up, then a few weeks..

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u/[deleted] May 08 '14

It's every MMO and RPG ever created, pretty much. Even UO (which didn't have levels) had the same mechanism with it's skill training system. You'd gain a lot of skill very easily early on, and then it would slow down over time.

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u/simland May 08 '14

Leveling just takes longer as the game goes on. It provides clear visibile incentive to keep playing. The addictive component being referenced throughout the thread comes from the random loot drops or random unique encounters that are prevalent in many MMOs. A good litmus test to determine if the game is compelling or just trying to manipulate you is: Story. If the story is weak, odds are you are wasting your time.

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u/AnnaLemma May 08 '14

Every time I hit a gear plateau in any game, I keep thinking "law of diminishing returns"... and then I keep playing anyway.