It's All in Your Mind
Visual Psychology and
Perception in Game Design
The Magic Number
Funnily enough, this number is seven (Miller 1967). Or more precisely: seven plus or minus two. In psychology, things are only talked of in terms of theory, the Law of Penile Envy for example doesn't exist in the same way as the Law of Gravity. Even though certain elements of thought and behaviour seem to be well established, psychologists are happy to regard them as theoretical and not proven. The concept of a magic number is however, one of the most robust of these phenomenon, demonstrable across many cultures and age ranges.
Try it out for yourself:
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There follows several lists of letters, read the first one through slowly, only once (this actually works best if they are read to you aloud), and then write down the letters in the order that you remember. Repeat this procedure for the next, longer list, and so on, until you can no longer recall all the letters correctly.
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All things being equal, your recall should have fallen between 5 and 9 letters: the magic number. There are a range of interesting modifiers to this phenomenon that allow recall to extend beyond the magic number. Chunking for example, suggests that we place the information into lumps (or chunks even) and thus the overall amount that we remember, is increased. As an example, it would be relatively simple to remember the sentence: aliens ate my best-friend's underwear, which in actual fact gives us a total letter recall of 30. This chunking process allows letters to be made into words. The same trick is used with phone numbers -- businesses want us to remember 0800 60 40 2200, for example.
This principle is probably most applicable in a game, to puzzles. Using too many elements at any one time will most often result in the player loosing track of what they're doing, or will force them to begin writing things down.
Primacy and Regency
This is best illustrated by the following exercise:
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There follows a list of 20 ordinary words that should be read through slowly, only once (again, the experiment works better if the list is read out to you, one word per second). Once the list has been completed, you should attempt to write down all the words that you remember in any order. Camera,
chain, octopus, boot, cream, mirror, holiday, basket, lamp, carpet,
mountain, television, chair, hotel, shelf, water, flower, camel,
boat, steak. |
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Typically, the words at the beginning of the list and those at the end are most easily recalled (Murdock, 1962).
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FIGURE 8. The items at the beginning or end of a series are generally recalled more accurately than those in the middle. |
Primacy therefore, refers to the effect that makes the earliest words easier to remember, and recency the enhanced recall for words at the end of the list.
How does this help game design? It can be established that once the amount of information presented spills over the normal limits of short-term memory (seven items, plus or minus two), the middle ground becomes fuzzy. In terms of cut-scenes and long-winded intros: if they serve to build atmosphere and establish character, fair enough, but place any important information in the beginning or the end.
Repetition
However unreliable my memory is, the two things for which my recall is perfect are the words to Fiddler on the Roof, and the monument to modern song-writing that is Barry Manilow's Copacabana. This is not due to either an obsession with musicals from the '70s nor too many nights spent at karaoke, but rather my parents' unfortunate taste in music as I was growing up. Whether we like it or not, repetition is a reliable reinforcer for memory, and is an effect that can be used in games.
On the most basic of levels, repetition of important story elements helps the player remember details that could at first be difficult to retain. In terms of familiarising a player with a control system, or having them learn certain procedures within a game, repetition is both a way to help the player remember what to do, and provides the opportunity to practice these actions. As long as the repetition is skilfully paced and well integrated into the overall flow of the game, it should do its job without becoming tedious.
Resistance is Futile
While game players are unlikely to submit to having large metal probes inserted into the back of their heads (I'd like to see Sony try and sell that to the gaming public), they may well end up being more like The Matrix than Tron. As the power of the games machine begins to free designers to explore new areas of gaming potential, playing will evolve into participation, and that will evoke stronger emotions and reactions.
Examining what psychology can bring to the table as part of the game creation process could be seen as an over-indulgence that even the Marquis de Sade would catagorize as excessive. However, treated as a practical means by which the game playing experience can be enhanced, a greater understanding of the inner workings of a player's mind will ultimately give the designer more power to create the emotions and experiences that are needed to make the games of the future.
References
Coon, D. 1983, Introduction to Psychology 3rd edition. St.Paul, Minnesota, West Publishing Co.
Gregory, R. L. 1966, Eye and Brain. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson.
Helmholtz, H. 1909, Wissenschaftliche Abhandlungen, II, pp 764-843.
Hochberg, J. 1978, "Art and Perception". In E.C. Carterette and H. Friedman (Eds.), Handbook of Perception. Vol. 10. London: Academic Press.
Koffka, K. 1935, Principles of Gestalt Psychology. New York: Harcourt Brace.
Marr, D. 1982, Vision. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
Miller, G. A. 1956, The Magical Number 7 Plus or Minus 2: Some Limits in Our Capacity For Processing Information. Psycological Review 63: 81-97.
Murdock, B. 1962, "The Serial Position Effect of Free Recall": Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64: 482-488.
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