The Psychology Behind the Most Powerful Game Mechanics

Game design can be influenced by many factors and fields. Among them, psychology is probably the most interesting because it suggest that player’s behaviour can be predicted beforehand. An smart use of certain game mechanics can result in brilliantly designed games which can get player’s attention for hours, sometimes even days or months. In this article, I will explain what are the psychology models behind three of the most powerful game mechanics; Rewards, Loss Aversion and Achievements.