MMORPG Blog

Note: I had originally posted this on the SWTOR forums, but it was locked for being off-topic. Since the game is not coming out for a few months, there are constantly threads being created discussing the merits of a more casual end-game (which I had previously participated in at length), so needless to say I was quite surprised by this development.

There was some quite a response to the article and a lot of discussion, so I wanted to open it up here for people to read and discuss. Feel free to drop any comments down in the below so we can get a discussion going again. Thanks!

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“There is no one fixed status scale. There are virtually infinite ways of feeling better than others. When everyone is trying to be higher status than others, there is a decrease in relatedness.” – David Rock, Your Brain At Work

The raiding vs casual vs serious soloer/small group threads are easily the most inflammatory and passionate threads on any MMO forum. New insight into brain circuitry can finally explain the following mysteries:

• What drives players to improve in MMORPGs and why getting loot is so rewarding;

• Why raiders feel threatened by the idea of other players getting equal gear even though it doesn’t affect their playstyle;

• Why non-raiders will not be satisfied with seeing the same content without the rewards;

Additionally, you will discover:

• The truth about social bonds in MMORPG: why solo and casual content breaks down the walls between players instead of building them up;

• The only viable solution to this debate.

 

Section I: The Driving Force Behind Progression and Why Getting Loot is Rewarding: Status

For a long time, I mistakenly believed that taking down a new boss for the first time and getting new gear was so exciting and rewarding because it fostered feelings of success and accomplishment. While this is true to an extent, there is a factor of a much higher order at play: an increase in status. Status refers to how you perceive yourself compared to those around you.

Previously, it was assumed that improving your status was a secondary human desire and even then was relegated to more significant areas in life, such as your professional or romantic life. We could not have been more wrong.

In an interesting twist, fMRI scans (functional MRIs are brain scans which track the bloodflow to brain areas in real time) have shown that status is processed in the same parts of the brain that handle our desire and reward circuitry for our basic survival needs such as food or sex. Increasing your status releases the same sorts of chemicals and generates the same feelings you might get from having a good meal when you are starving or even from having sex.

So you’re probably thinking that that’s interesting, but has little to do with SWTOR and likely relegated to getting a promotion or positive feedback at work, right? You know, the important stuff in life?

Not so fast. As you will find out in the next section, there is no single status scale, and video games are not exempt from this. Below, will learn why status is so important and why non-raiders clamor for the same rewards that raiders have.

 

Section II: Why Non-Raiders Clamor For Equal Rewards

Fairly recently, a study known popularly as the “Cyberball Study” was conducted to determine what happens inside the brain when status is reduced and people are excluded.

The methods of the study were straight forward: participants were told they were playing a game of catch online with two other people. The participant played this game while their brains were under fMRI. A game of catch would then ensue but eventually the other two players (controlled by the testers) would stop throwing the ball to the test subject.

The results? The same brain circuitry responsible for generating physical pain began to be activated. That’s right, people who stopped getting a virtual ball thrown at them felt hurt, and even significantly so.

We are talking about a game of catch that participants had been playing for all of a few minutes! It is not surprising that non-raiders feel hurt and betrayed when their status is diminished at end-game in any MMORPG because they don’t have the capacity to raid due to work or family commitments.

Raiders often refute the belief that they derive pleasure from having better gear or rewards than others by stating that they already have high status in other parts of their lives and do not need a game to boost their status. Is there any truth to this? We will explore what happens to the brain in those who have their status threatened.

 

Section III: Why Raiders Feel So Strongly About Non-Raiders Getting Equal Gear

“Maintaining your status is something your brain seeks to do constantly. Even things like games have been shown to improve status. The trick is to find a niche where you can feel better than others.” David Rock, Your Brain At Work

The answer is simple: Status is a zero sum game. Allowing someone else’s status to rise means that by default your status will go down.

After all, by definition, status is how you perceive yourself compared to others. Offering up non-raiders gear that is equal to that of a raider is a threat to that raider’s status.

This seems to trivial to our prefrontal cortext, the reasoning portion of our brain, but other parts of our brain do not take threats to our status lightly. Whenever someone perceives their status to be threatened (even in extremely trivial areas), the fMRI scans have shown that the amygdala, the threat and fear center for the brain, is highly active.

When someone perceives their status threatened, they get the same visceral feeling that they would feel if they were waking alone at night through a bad part of town and suspected that they were going to be attacked. The same brain circuitry is active in both cases.

To any raider who says they are not bothered by exclusion or status, I would suggest to recall a time when you did not get invited to a raid because they didn’t need your class or had too many of those players on.

If people’s brains who don’t get toss a virtual ball for all of a few minutes are registering signals similar to physical pain, I wouldn’t be surprised if the brain of someone who didn’t get a raid invite was similar to what the scan of someone might look like who just suffered an extremely painful injury.

Non-raiders often wonder why raiders are so opposed to letting non-raiders have equal equipment. Why would someone wish down on others? The answer it is our brains are wired to protect our status. To our primitive amygdala, defending our status is a matter of life or death.

Since status is a zero sum game, the easiest way to heighten it is to bring down those around you. This helps explain the colorful epithets used to help slander non-raiding players, such as “welfare epics”. That term was created to protect status.

So there are two groups, both diametrically opposed to each other. One wants status, the other does not want to give it up. What is the solution? Below, we will start to piece the two sides together and examine why some of the current proposed compromises will never work.

 

Section III: Why Non-Raiders Will Not Be Satisfied With Seeing the Same Content Without the Rewards

Many suggest that using dungeons with different difficulty levels will somehow alleviate tensions and satisfy all players. They argue that non-raiders would be okay with lower-quality loot as long as they got to see all the content in the game.

Nothing could be further from the truth. People like to pretend that they are above this simple status game. However, we now know from the way our brains are wired that the dedication and brain resources it takes to separate yourself from our natural impulses for higher status is like committing to be celibate – it is a lifetime commitment.

The idea that you are above valuing the status you might receive from a game is in itself a status play – you are essentially saying you are better than everyone else because you have risen above their level.

The truth is that this sort of ability takes years of mindfulness training and is something only someone who dedicates a large portion of their lives to this will ever achieve. A Tibetan monk may reach this point, but us mere mortals who spend our waking hours trolling video game forums and begging for beta keys are not likely to reach this level of control.

Nothing we can do in a video game can ever replace the amount of satisfaction our brain derives from our increasing status. Seeing more content will not fix the physical hurt that non-raiders will feel a perceived lesser status of feeling of exclusion.

No amount of nobility can change the fact that to the brain, playing a game where you will have a lower status than another by default is like being told to go without food or water. It will always be a point of constant tension.

Some non-raiders say they will be okay with having “close to equal gear” or just being able to see the content, but that is simply the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain at the seat of conscious thought) attempting to speak for the limbic system and other brain areas associated with status and pain.

The prefrontal cortex cannot control these areas without a lot of energy and effort, so every time a non-raider has a bad day at work he is going to log on, notice someone with gear he cannot achieve, perceive an additional threat to his already battered brain, and then promptly log on the forums and start spewing venom by starting yet another “raid or die” rant.

There is really only one viable solution to this problem, which we will examine below.

 

Section IV: The Only Viable Solution: Breaking the Zero Sum Cycle

As you can see, the primary problem with our innate desire for status is that it comes at the cost of someone else’s status. Non-raiders are upset that they cannot raise their status, and raiders are upset because they are not willing to lower theirs.

How do we escape this cycle? The answer is simple: competition against one’s self. It turns out that we get a similar reward cycle for raising our own status compared to that of our past selves. This is why people will play a game as simple and mindless as FarmVille when there is no real competition. Simply building up your own farm and making it better than yesterday is a status reward enough.

Many raiders will claim that they will cancel their subscription should raiding not be granted superior status in-game, but this is an empty threat as long as raiders are given some way to increase their status compared to their previous selves.

The bottom line is that there will not be true enjoyment and contentment amongst all players in an MMORPG until there as are chances for everyone to increase their status on equal grounds through all playstyles.

Some would argue that this is not fun and competing to improve yourself is boring. There are millions of people who play golf and love to improve their own handicap, as it is entertaining.

The same brain circuitry is active when someone improves against his previous self as when you increase your status over someone else. It is the same feeling. Setting a personal record in a 5k race or shooting a new low golf score is just as rewarding as beating a foe in that race or round of golf.

Let’s make it more specific: how about leveling up in a video game? Leveling up for the first time, becoming stronger, and gaining new abilities is one of the most gratifying things you can experience in an MMORPG. Why? You just improved your status compared to your past self and your reward was your brain being bathed on dopamine.

Side Note: Dopamine release (the pleasure chemical of our brain) is also enhanced via novelty, which is why leveling up for the first time or receiving brand new items which you have not yet owned is more rewarding than leveling up a second time.

Making it Fair

The only caveat to this statement is a second interesting finding about the brain: after our basic needs are met (food, shelter, sex, status), next on our brain’s priority list is justice. If raiders perceive that the way non-raiders would achieve equal status to be unfair, this would be a problem.

It needs to require a similar amount of time for players of all aspects of the game to achieve equal status. If one raiders thought that non-raiders progress is easier, it would appear unfair to them. An example of this would be the way raiders clamored that arena players were getting top weapons with a lot less time invested in the early seasons of Arena. This was a valid complaint, given that you could get high-level weapons with just an hour or two invested a week, whereas raiding took much more commitment. This was seen as unfair, and our desire for justice is strong.

It seems really childish to worry about other players like this and reminds me of the way two children might bicker over who got to play with what toy. However, fMRI studies have once again shown that our thinking portion of the brain is not as in control as we like to think. We can also be blinded by our sense of justice.

An example of this was during an experiment where participants played a game called Ultimatum. Two people were given the task of splitting up money. One person got to decide the amount of the split, whereas the other person could veto this. If the person vetoed this, neither person would get any money.

More often then not, if the money-splitter decided to be greedy, say by splitting 20$ as 15 for himself and 5 for the person with veto power, the person with veto power would veto and both would walk away with no money. People desire justice more than they desire monetary rewards. Most vetoers were happy to lose 5$ to see the other person get a better end of the deal.

In those that did accept an unfair offer, an unusual part of the brain was active that was not associated with the reward of getting free money, but rather of emotional control.

In short, people crave justice, and any system for equal status must be balanced finely in terms of effort versus reward. That is of course secondary for allowing all players to achieve equal status.

To such a system, many would suggest that this destroys the whole point of MMORPGs. “Why do people want to turn a MMOs into single player RPGs?” is a common question. “Raids are what make MMOs what they are” is another popular statement.

However, is this true, or just another assumption? Let’s examine this final point below.

 

Section V: The Truth About Social Bonds in MMORPG: Why Solo and Casual Content Breaks Down the Walls Between Players While Raiding Holds Them Up

Let’s revisit part of the introductory quote to this article:

“When everyone is trying to be higher status than others, there is a decrease in relatedness.” – David Rock, Your Brain At Work

By default, the MMORPG environment is one of competing statuses rather than that of friendliness. Players cooperate primarily as a means to an end – in order to improve their status in relationship to others.

Players naturally form larger alliances (aka “Guilds”) with the common goal of increasing their status. However, the majority of guilds are tarnished by number of cliques and large amount of distrust. Why does this happen?

The amygdala, mentioned earlier as being responsible for judging threats, also judges people. It categories every person you meet (whether in person or online) into the category of friend or foe. Others are by default foes until proven friends. Someone does not become your friend because you join a guild, but rather through positive interaction. It seems positive interaction is required before you perceive someone as trustworthy.

The amygdala also judges others harshly that are outside of the group. These are foes and competitors, the amygdala thinks. Sure, people may be friendly in a pick-up warzone match, but this is because players here are not a threat to your status. Imagine however that a new player you didn’t know was invited to your guild because he was friends with the guild leader.

Imagine then that player was your class, and you were the junior member of your guild in that class, one that your guild already had a lot of. How would you feel? As this stranger has a chance to take your spot in tonight’s raid, you probably would feel a bit threatened and be unconsciously hostile to this person, trying to bring down their status and boost yours at every turn without even realizing it.

This cycle will occur as long as their is status in MMORPGs. If everyone has a chance to be on equal footing, this cycle will cease. When players are not competing against each other for status, walls will come down and players will interact more freely and openly. Players will not perceive each other so easily as foes.

David Rock observed this same thing in the work place. At meetings, he found that everything people said seemed to be in an attempt to boost their status or lower the status of perceived competitors. This is the primary reason why nothing seems to get done at business meetings yet they seem stressful.

However, in environments where there is no perceived threat to status, people tend to cooperate much more and connect. They relate to one another in more meaningful ways as they talk about their own efforts to improve themselves.

An example of this is a game like Minecraft. There is no real status in this game, and despite it being a single player online game, it has one of the best and most interactive communities on the internet. People love recording things they’ve made and posting them on youtube. People interact and share freely in what is essentially a single player game simply because the status element that we find so irritating about MMORPGs has been removed. People set up servers by paying out of pocket and play online together even though there is no real need to do something like this other than a sense of camaraderie.

 

Summary

• Through fMRI brain scans, we know that status is as important to our brains as food or sex.

• The brain will unconsciously constantly seek ways to find status, even in the most improbable places, such as MMORPGs. To repeat, this is an unconscious process.

• Feeling excluded or being perceived as being of a lesser status than another individual activates areas of the brain responsible for processing physical pain, even in extremely trivial circumstances (Cyberball Experiment). Because of this, Non-Raiders will never be satisfied with the state of an MMORPG unless they are able to access equal rewards and achieve equal status to raiders.

• Any threat to status is perceived to the amygdala as being akin to a threat to your personal safety. Status is a zero sum game, where when one party gains status, another loses status. Because of this, raiders will always react defensively to the thought of non-raiders getting an increased status, even if it is only to be equal level to themselves.

• Improving status against your previous self is just as rewarding as improving it against others. This is why leveling up is very pleasurable.

• All players will be happy to play a game where increases in status against their previous selves are possible, but any player who cannot achieve equal status to other players will never be happy with a game. As a result, the only viable system for player contentment involves one where players can progress their characters compared to the past but at the same time equally to one another. Inequality will always breed discontent of the worst kind.

• The system created by raiding getting the best gear creates barriers between players rather than brings them together. This causes cliques and guilds to form which do little to associate with outside competitors. This encourages players to distrust those outside their guild rather than cooperate with them.

• By breaking this status and inequality cycle, players by default become naturally more friendly with one another. We always work more freely and think more positively about people we perceive to not be competitors and share and bond more freely with them. An example is the very positive Minecraft community, where players have turned a solo game into a multiple game.

In short, if players are able to enjoy SWTOR (or any MMORPG) without a constant battle for status by opening up equal rewards for all players in a fair manner, players will interact more freely with one another. Adding equal (not almost equal) rewards for solo, crafting, and small-group end-game activities will inspire and enrich community, not bring it down.

A tiered end-game system where there are “haves” and “have-nots” breeds discontent, resentment, and distrust between individuals. There is a constant battle for status in this situation and is simply a losing situation.

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Q&A

Q. Sources? How do I know you are not making this up?

A. Most of this article is based off the book Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long by David Rock. Quotes and citations for studies can be found in there. I would recommend the book to anyone.

I am not going to cite the specific studies because I wrote the bulk of this article on my phone while doing cardio at the gym and listening to the book on tape (wouldn’t want to train too hard ha ha).

Q. You are dumb/lame/a casual/terrible at video games/i wish these threads would just go away/another one, really?

A. How predictable – the natural response to having your status lowered is to immediately try to lash out at others with insults to lower their status. Thanks for proving my point!

Q. Get a Life

A. That’s not a question, but like many people I’ll do anything to avoid doing real work – why do you think I was reading a book on overcoming distraction, regaining focus, and working smarter in the first place?

Q. Cliffs Please

A. Check under the summary section.

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Discuss! If you have any more questions, go ahead and post below!