Buenos Aires University

Undergraduate Thesis

"Intersections of video game design and

psychology: The Fantasy"

Student: María Cecilia Scavuzzo

Tutor: Lic. Nicolás Crescenzi

Year 2022.

ceciliascavuzzo@hotmail.com @CeciLunatica @CeciScavuzzo

 INDEX

Resume 2

Introduction 3

State-of-the-Art 4

Theoretical framework and methodology 6

Literature review 7

Bibliography 16

Resume

This paper reviews the concept of fantasy from both psychology and video game
design. Fantasy will be considered as an intermediary between the psychic reality
of each subject and the outside world. This theoretical review, and its connection
with the practice provided by an award-winning game developer, highlights the
visible intersection of knowledge that both disciplines have in common. It also
exposes the need for greater interest by the community of psychologists in the
psychological processes involved in the player-video game relationship and in the
video game development process itself. The possible interventions of the
psychologist within this interdisciplinary intersection will be proposed, which make
possible, from the creation of new knowledge, to educational interventions and
even the implementation of new regulations that account for and enable a mental
health perspective.
Introduction
This paper proposes to highlight those areas within the field of video games
where knowledge and practices from the field of psychology are evidenced. This
shows a visible intersection of knowledge between both disciplines that is only
recently being explored.
It is of great importance to begin to delve into this new interdisciplinary
intersection, not only to contribute to the generation of new knowledge, but also to
shed light on possible problems generated by video games at the level of mental
health, such as the famous reward boxes that generate problematic gaming
behaviors in users of all ages (Xiao, Leon Y., 2020.).
In this paper, mental health will be understood as a process in which the
person is aware of his or her own capabilities, is able to cope with the normal
stresses of life, work productively, and make a contribution to his or her community,
accounting for emotional, psychological, and social well-being. This conception of
health has been developed from the definition proposed by the World Health
Organization, but seen from the framework of health as a "process" rather than a
"state". (Stolkiner, A., 2003).
From the perspective of health as a process, video games can be seen from a
much broader and more complex perspective, which allows us to realize that both
the negative and positive characteristics of video games are related in different ways
to the psychological health processes of each individual, without the restriction of
thinking of psychological health as a fixed place, but rather as a process closely
related to learning, frustration, enjoyment and stimulation.
It is important to note that, although this paper aims to address the review of
the concept of fantasy in the interplay of psychological theories and video game
design, it is not fully comprehensive in terms of the number of concepts and
practices that are shared between the two disciplines. For example, concepts such
as "motivation" or "empathy" and practices such as the creation of mental models or
psychological profiles could be addressed in the future.
The goal of this paper is to shed light on the ways in which the concept of
fantasy is woven throughout the design of a game and the role it can play, among
other things, in the phenomenon of anchoring or engagement that occurs within the
game-player relationship.
Likewise, it will be shown that there are regulatory organizations within the
intersection of video games and psychology. Video game regulatory bodies such as
the ESBR are responsible for cataloging video games in order to protect the most
susceptible populations (Leis, E., 2019). This paper will show the weaknesses of
these classifications, where, in their reductionism, they leave out a large part of the
vulnerable population. From this critical position, the paper will account for the
benefits that could be brought by cataloging games from a "content alert" typology,
where the game contents can be listed from a mental health perspective and
anticipate to the players the possibly triggering characteristics (Charles. A., et alt.,
2022). In this sense, a gamer with post-traumatic stress disorder might choose their
games in the same way that a person with a certain food allergy might choose their
food by looking at the back of the packaging.

State-of-the-Art
About psychology and video games.

Psychology in the field of video games has been in existence for a relatively
short time, starting its theoretical exploration at the beginning of the 20th century and
generating, in its beginnings, discussions about the possible influence that video
games could have on states of violence in children and adolescents.
Video games have been successively named as one of the factors associated
with aggressive behavior in adolescents (Goddard, H. L., 2010), reduction in positive
social behaviors and poor academic results (Ferguson, C. J., 2015). However, while
the population of young gamers is increasing worldwide, there is the possibility of
conducting studies with larger populations, where it is evident that the correlation
between aggressive video games and aggressive behaviors in adolescents is not
statistically significant (Przybylski, A.K., Weinstein, N., 2019).
On the other hand, other studies show the importance of the perceived
presence and monitoring of parents while children play video games to prevent
potential negative effects and reduce maladaptive behaviors (Milani, L., et. al.,
2022).
 Nowadays, both the governments of different countries and the psychological
community are becoming increasingly interested in the different ways in which video
games are played and how they can affect populations and subjects. An Example of
this, is the intervention of certain countries in the regulation of games with reward
boxes (Palomino A., 2017). This is because certain designs, such as the one
mentioned above, can be used in practices that arouse problematic gambling
behavior in people (Xiao, Leon Y., 2020).
On the other hand, the potential of video games to assist people's well-being
and collaborate with their social and cognitive development has also been explored
today. There are studies that show that, during the beginning of the covid-19
pandemic, certain video games, despite being harmful, could have helped to mitigate
states of stress, anxiety, depression and loneliness in young men (Pallavicini F.
et.alt., 2022).
It is worth emphasizing that criticism, exploration or research on video games
has emerged, at all times, from the users. Being that, the first regulatory bodies,
such as the ESRB (Leis. E., 2019), emerged from the concern of parents seeing
their young children playing increasingly violent games. These institutions are now in
charge of classifying games according to the age range of potential consumers.
However, this classification is made after the creation of the game, and in many
situations companies, by making small changes, such as changing the color of the
blood, can make their game reach a younger audience even though the violent
behavior is the same. (Giuffrida, N., 2022).

About psychology and video game design.

Video game design is a field within video game development that is

responsible for the creation of the mechanical elements such as: stories, characters,
goals, rules and challenges that the game will contain.
We can find that many concepts valid for psychology are applied to video
game design, such as the token economy technique of Ayllon, T. and Azrin, N.
(1974) based on operant conditioning. In this technique, expected actions are
rewarded through tokens or points, which also act as a positive reinforcer (because
they symbolize what the person wants to buy in the game). It is important to note that
this tool is also used to support the real monetary gains of the game, since there are
game monetization schemes that implement their own economy through stars,
diamonds or gold coins, and then allow the possibility of paying, with real money, the
virtual tokens (Van Rooij, A. J., et alt., 2022).
On the other hand, other practices carried out in the design of video games,
help to account for the validity and functioning of certain mental and psychological
models. For example, gestalt laws of perception, mental models and cognitive biases
are constantly tested in game design and account for a better or worse user
experience, which impacts immersion and learning (Hodent C., 2018).
Within these intersections, there is almost no elaboration regarding more
abstract concepts such as fantasy. For this reason, it is that this paper proposes to
go through the use given to fantasy within the design of video games and to account
for how it is linked to its corresponding psychological phenomenon of fantasy.
Likewise, this development could prove to be key to hypothesize the reasons for why
we play and contribute to the generation of tools and knowledge that will allow in the
future the creation of video games within a mental health framework.

Theoretical framework and methodology

From psychology.

This work is an elaboration from different theoretical frameworks of philosophy

and psychology, where psychoanalysis authors such as Sigmund Freud, Melanie
Klein and Donald Winnicott are mainly addressed. Cognitive theory from Aaron Beck
and sociology from Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann will also be referenced.

From video game design.

On the video game design side, the theoretical elaborations of user

experience expert Celia Hodent, video game designer Jess Schell, writer Richard
Bartle and the authors of the book "Behavioral design in video games", Antonius Van
Rooij, Max Birk, Simone van der Hof, Sanne Ouburg and Stijn van Hilten will be
used.
Additionally, we will also work with theoretical-practical information obtained
through a semi-directed interview with developer Alexis Di Stefano, creator of the
psychological horror game MADiSON, winner of the Expo EVA 2018 ("Audience
Choice"), Expo EVA 2022 ("Best Game") and NYX Game Awards ("Best Narrative").

Literature review

Fantasy from the point of view of psychology.

The concept of fantasy can be traced in its origins to philosophy, separating

itself from the concept of imagination only in the Renaissance period. At first, it was
used to refer indistinctly to both imagination and fantasy, in the sense that both are
the capacity to conjure images without the need for the objects or sources of
sensations to be present (Ferrater Mora, J., 1994).
During medieval times, fantasy was already considered as a sensitive faculty
rather than an intellectual one, leading to the fact that, in more recent times, fantasy
is treated as an imaginative activity, but distinct from the productive imagination of
which Kant, for example, spoke. (Ferrater Mora, J., 1994).
Later, during the XIX century, the philosopher Frohschammer, will expose
that, without the principle of fantasy, no novelty and no change in the universe can
be understood. Postulating that fantasy is the principle of the world as an "organic"
being and of the soul as a "spiritual" being (Ferrater Mora, J., 1994).
Here, the fantasy begins to be seen as the passage from the instinctive to the
spiritual, as something that lies between the organic world and the inner world.
Castoriadis will also postulate that nothing can enter the human being (or society)
without being reinterpreted and reconstructed, in the same way that nothing can
enter a living cell without being metabolized by it, nothing can enter the psyche
without being metabolized by it (Castoriadis, C., 1997).
Furthermore, it can also be referenced that Collingwood makes evident the
great process of refinement that an artist makes with his work, giving account of the
intention of clarifying an original "psychic experience" until it can be recognized as
the emotion that it is (Collingwood, R. G., 1938).
From this process of refinement made by the artist, it is now possible to
analyze Freud's work "Creative Writers and Day-Dreaming", where he wonders how
the poet moves people by arousing excitements that seemed not to be there in the
first place. He then seeks his answer in fantasizing and playing, realizing that
children, when playing, know how to distinguish perfectly well between effective
reality and play, but choose, over reality, to endow with great affection, and take with
great seriousness, their own fantasy world.
Likewise, Freud will see fantasy (day-dreaming) as a reminiscence of
children's play, where the adult no longer needs its support in real objects to play,
and so, he fantasizes. It is important to note that Freud will speak of two types of
fantasies, conscious and unconscious, and proposes that they are all driven by the
drive forces of those unsatisfied desires. This then profiles the fantasy as a
"rectification of the unsatisfactory reality" and gives it a singular character of the
fulfillment of a desire in the face of a reality from which little satisfaction is obtained
(Freud, S., 1907).
An obvious parallel could be drawn between the poet Freud speaks of and the
video game designer or developer, since, as Collingwood postulates, both devote
much of their effort and energy to the creation and refinement of the story and
fantasy they hope the reader or player will receive and make their own. In the case
of the video game designer, narrative, visual and sound resources are coordinated
so that the player accepts the implicit and explicit rules proposed by the game (Di
Stefano, 2022).
Having realized that the origin of fantasy is related to children's play, it is
possible now to briefly address Winnicott's elaborations, who explains a particular
positioning of the mother during play with the child.
In infancy, the child and the object are "fused", that is to say, the child's vision
of the object is totally subjectivized and partialized from his psychological reality, and
it is the mother (or the adult who plays) who helps him to dominate the external world
through the "doing" that play means, performing an orienting function of the real and
oscillating between "being herself" and "being what the child has the capacity to
find". It is here that Winnicott will explain that if this role is correctly represented, if it
is sustained, not by the pure reality, but by what the child has the capacity to
recognize, the child will undergo an experience of magical control or of
"omnipotence" over its intrapsychic processes in the domain of the real (Winnicott,
1962). It could be ventured that this experience will leave a mark in the child,
perhaps unconscious, that will motivate him later to think about reality from his own
psychological reality, and later, when playing or fantasizing as an adult, he will relive
this pleasurable experience of control in the form of reminiscence.
 Another significant position to approach is the work of Melanie Klein, where
we will work on fantasies as a construction of the self, emphasizing their symbolic
character. From this perspective, they are the representations or mental expressions
of those pulsional elements previously developed by the psychoanalysis theory. At
the same time, she will say that fantasies, in reality, are always present and active all
the time in individuals, since they are the foundation of the relationship that the child
has with his own body and with the world around him.
Fantasy construction will thus depend on the constitution and egoic strength
of each subject, even while there exists a reciprocal relationship between the
creation of fantasy and the experiences of the external world. The fantasy would play
an important role in the interpretation of the world itself. Thus, our experiences would
shape the creation of fantasies, and our fantasies would shape our view of the world.
Furthermore, she will account for the relationship that fantasy has with
symbolism, as the basis of all sublimation and all talent, since she will say that it is
through the symbolic equation that things, activities or interests become the subject
of fantasies (Klein, M. 2008).
Moreover, it would be interesting to be able to talk about fantasy from schools
of thought other than psychoanalysis.
One could highlight the shared character of fantasy postulated from social
constructivism and sociology, where it is observed that the symbolic universe,
formed by social objectivations, includes and signifies even the most marginal
situations of an individual's life, which, although they occur in complete solitude,
have a representation, name and symbolism of a social character, it is in this way
that fantasy would be positioned as an experience endowed with a peculiar reality of
its own, but tinged with a social aspect (Berger, P. L. & Luckmann, T., 1968).
Likewise, a close parallel could be drawn between fantasy and
cognitive-behavioral theory, since the main representative of this branch of
psychology, Aaron Beck, had certain encounters with psychoanalysis when trying to
bring it closer to the scientific model (Korman, Guido Pablo., 2013).
While in his elaborations, the word fantasy is never even mentioned, it can be
found that in cognitive behavioral theory there is a theoretical assumption that the
effects and behavior of a person are determined, to a large extent, by the way in
which that person structures the world (Beck A., 1983). This assumption accounts for
the existence, in a certain way, of an internal world different from the one outside,
structured by the subject, and with an intermediate mechanism that governs the
processing of information and behavior.
In this case, Beck will give the name of schemas to those internal
representations (stored) of stimuli, ideas or experiences, which control the
information processing systems in an automatic (unconscious) or reflexive-controlled
(conscious) way (Haigh, E., 2014). It is through this concept that one could venture,
perhaps, that fantasy within the cognitive-behavioral theory would fulfill a schematic
role, due to the quality it has to modify the interpretation of the world.
Finally, three types of motivations have been investigated from the
neurosciences point of view, and these could be related to the previous concept of
fantasy, being of an unconscious or implicit nature that not only influence what we
find pleasurable, but also shape learning in situations where there is no specific
intention to learn. These motivations are: power, achievement and affiliation
(Schultheiss, O. C., 2008).

Fantasy from the point of view of video game design.

From the point of view of video game design, fantasy is the feeling of living
the theme that the game proposes (Extra Credits, 2016). This can lead us to relate
fantasy with the concept of immersion: a critical experience for the enjoyment of the
game, and that can be promoted or destroyed by the characteristics of the design
(Brown E. and Cairns, P. 2004).
To create a game where subjects can have the immersive experience, fantasy
must be taken into account as an axis for decision making that sustains coherence
between: the mechanics, style and progression of the game (Kulkarni, K., 2017). In
this way, the more detailed and accomplished the setting, environment and details
are, the less the player will be questioning whether or not they are immersed in the
game. It is here where we could take up the concept of Collingwood, who gives
importance to the investment of effort, work and affection that artists make to refine
their work in pursuit of making it as close to the emotion they wish to convey. It could
be ventured that this effort and use of fantasy and narrative story as a central axis to
make design decisions, contributed, along with other factors, to the success of the
psychological horror game MADiSON, being that in an interview with the developer
Alexis Di Stefano, the importance given throughout the development to the
connection and coherence of the mechanical and design elements with the narrative
was evidenced (Di Stefano, 2022).
On the other hand, it is evident that fantasy, for the world of video games, can
be presented both from the creation of a completely different world, as well as from
the reproduction (or a simulation) of reality. The important thing would be that it is in
line with what the user wants to experience in a coherent and continuous way. In this
sense Alexis Di Stefano would say "we all apply fantastic logics, whether it's a horror
game, a sports game or whatever, we always apply them, don't we?...like a layer of
fantasy. A lot of times it's like it doesn't become consistent or it doesn't quite hold up
throughout the whole experience." (Di Stefano, 2022).
Approaching to UX (User Experience), Celia Hodent will give an account of
different concepts or pillars within the feeling of a game, between which we find the
effect of presence, a phenomenon in which the player has the illusion that absolutely
nothing separates them from the virtual world, feeling that they are inside the game
without any mediation. She will account that there is research that would indicate
that the more the game satisfies the motivational needs of the player, the greater the
experience of presence that the player has during the game (Hodent C., 2018).
These elaborations, would go hand in hand with a definition of fantasy that
contemplates the complex uniqueness of each person, taking into account not only
their motivations, but also the different responses in different contexts.
However, there are, on the contrary, authors within video game design who
have tried to reduce or simplify fantasies or motivations to a taxonomy of those who
play. Designer Marc LeBlanc has first worked on a list of eight primary pleasures
that, according to him, are born from playing video games:
● Sensation: Linked to the aesthetics of the game, it accounts for the pleasure
derived from listening to music, seeing something beautiful, or controlling the
character in a way that feels empowering.
● Fantasy: Linked to the immersion within the fictional world, it accounts for the
pleasure of imagining oneself as part of that world.
● Narrative: Linked to the story of the game, it accounts for the pleasure of
discovering a certain dramatic sequence of events.
● Challenge: Linked to fun, it accounts for the pleasure of solving tasks, riddles,
mysteries or puzzles.
 ● Companionship: Linked to the pleasure of having friends and belonging to a
community.
● Discovery: Linked to the pleasure of exploring the game world, finding secrets
or some ingenious strategy.
● Expression: Linked to the creation of characters or buildings, it accounts for
the pleasure of expressing how one is.
● Submission: The pleasure of entering the game circuit to escape from the real
world for a while.
While, on the other hand, the writer Richard Bartle developed an even more
generalized system. Where you could also read between the lines, the taxonomy
already elaborated by LeBlanc:
● Achievers: Players who are attracted by succeeding in their goals and finding
challenges.
● Explorers: Players who are attracted by understanding the limits and breadth
of the game through discovery.
● Socializers: Players who are drawn to forming relationships with others
through companionship.
● Killers: Players who are drawn to assert themselves over others, either
through competition, destruction, or teaching others how to play (Schell, J.,
2008).
Designer Jesse Schell warns about these taxonomies, arguing that they are too
simple to understand something as complex as people's desire. He will note that an
infinite number of pleasures (and fantasies) are left out, since situations as complex
as anticipation, pride in accomplishment, purification, delight in Another’s misfortune,
gift giving, humor, possibility, thrill, surprise, triumph over adversity and wonder could
be taken into account as pleasurable situations. And yet, each of the classifications
must be considered in a contextualized way, since "what may be very pleasurable in
one context (dancing at a party), may be torturously embarrassing in another
(dancing at a job interview)." (Schell, J.,2008).
Likewise, in the interview with designer Alexis di Stefano, he also notes that in his
experience with horror games, players and their motivations are extremely varied,
being that there are many more types of players than one could ever attempt to
elaborate in a such a narrow taxonomy (Di Stefano, 2022).
 Finally, a more behavioral view of video games, will account for the fact that
the motives for playing can be both to bring us closer to a positive experience as well
as to drive us away from a negative experience. In this sense, the authors of the
book "Behavioral design in video games" state that the player's contact with the
game can be explained by the dispositional motive theory, which suggests that
affiliation, power, performance and autonomy are central to understanding the
player's participation in the game. (Van Rooij, A. J., et. alt., 2022).

Discussion
Possible interventions of the psychologist in video games.

It is interesting to note that in any field where human activity is developed,

psychology is already in play. If we look closely at the development of video games,
not only do we find a multiplicity of roles, professions, tasks and interactions, but we
also find an extremely agile and changing scenario, where professional
psychologists have only recently begun to enter.
There are at least five positions that the psychology professional can occupy
within the production process of a video game.
In the first place, they could position themself as a consultant, responding to
the needs of the companies that request it, in terms of education, mental health
and/or adaptations for different types of players, such as those who are
neurodivergent or who live with a mental disorder.
Secondly, they could be positioned as psychoeducateurs, collaborating both
in educational institutions of psychology education and video game development
education, carrying out the construction of knowledge in this interdisciplinary area.
Thirdly, they could position themselves as a designer, working as an integral
part of the development of each project, where they can get to know the whole team
and the difficulties encountered by each project in particular. This means that it might
be very easy to give an account of what needs to be changed by looking at the
progress from the outside without taking into account the complex reality of each
particular project. The best approach is to suggest changes that take into account
the coordination of efforts and interrelated factors. This would avoid creating
complications or delays in development by introducing changes that later generate
contingencies.
 Fourthly, they could be positioned from a researcher role, since this new area
of study between both disciplines is still in development within an agile and changing
context.
Fifthly, it could be positioned in the role of auditor, since nowadays there are
video game classification systems, such as the ESRB, where psychologists could
make their knowledge available to catalog video games in order to protect the most
susceptible populations. To date, it should be noted that these classifications have
weaknesses that need to be reviewed, since, in their simplistic approach, they leave
out a large part of the vulnerable population. This is due to the fact that classifying
games only by age, leaves out those who have some pathology or neurodivergence,
which can be activated by the contents of video games regardless of the age to
which this population corresponds.
Mental health is a field that should focus more and more on the particularities
of each subject, so the best thing for the evolution of these regulatory bodies would
be to evaluate the games from a typology of "content alert" that is similar to how
nutritional information was developed in the gastronomic area, where the contents of
the game can be listed regardless of the age population to which they are destined.
This would give them a mental health perspective, where people would be alerted
about the characteristics of the game.
If mental health is seen as a process in which the subject himself can get
involved and have a reasonable level of control over his own health and self-care, it
would be of great help for them. In the same way that they can observe the
nutritional information of a product in the supermarket, they can also observe in the
covers or descriptions of the games, the content of the game in terms of mental
health. In this way, a person who is going through a clinical psychological condition
could realize if the game helps or hinders them in their relationship with the disease.

Limitations of this review.

This paper proposes that fantasy is that which goes to meet the individual's
psychological reality, intervening and modifying the perception of the external world.
Likewise, it has a reciprocal relationship with reality, taking elements of the
individual's life experience on which it can be updated, it is susceptible to be
projected into video games through sublimation by the artist and projected onto
video games in the act of playing, generating a transference of affects that facilitate
the entry of information into the psychic world of the subject. It is in this way that
fantasy would be intimately related to implicit motivations, schemas, immersion, the
phenomenon of presence and the reasons why players play based on the
dispositional motive theory.
It should be taken into account that there are limitations to the elaborations
made, since not only is the field of psychology incredibly broad and rich in theories
and perspectives, but it is also in constant progress because it keeps pace with
human development.
Likewise, the field of video game design is still in a very early stage of
development, generating with difficulty some theories, rules and processes that in a
few years could be obsolete for being in a world so dynamic and interconnected with
technology. (Di Stefano, 2022).
In this work we have observed a psychology based on the symbolic world, a
product of the language of the human being, worked from the perspectives of
psychoanalysis and sociology. However, it should be noted that some elaborations
that are useful have been left out, such as, for example, the phantasm and
transference from Lacan’s psychoanalysis or even Bowlby's attachment theories,
which could be related to two major categories of players mentioned by Di Stefano in
the interview, which are "those who know what fantasy they are looking for" and
"those willing to try something new". (Di Stefano, 2022)
On the other hand, a psychology based on scientific knowledge, working from
cognitive behavioral theories and neurosciences, was also approached. However,
possible connections that could be made, perhaps, from memory, attention, cognitive
biases and mental models have been left out.
Finally, it is important to note, from the mental health perspective, that certain
issues have not been addressed, such as certain psychological profiles that
companies create behind the backs of users in order to adjust the product and
generate more profits. Or the problem of how to regulate interactions in online
games to prevent bullying, or how fantasies develop and interact in a multiplayer
environment.
It is to be hoped that in the future, these interdisciplinary lines of development
can be clarified as this new area of knowledge grows and expands.
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