The Vampire Survivors Effect: How Developers Utilize Gambling Psychology to Create Addictive Games

As technology advances, game developers strive to make their games more engaging and addictive. One strategy that has proven successful is incorporating gambling psychology into game design. By leveraging principles used in casinos and other forms of gambling, developers create games that keep players coming back for more.

Vampire Survivors

Poncle's independent game, Vampire Survivors, won the Best Game prize at the 2023 Bafta Game Awards, defeating Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok. The game's effortless playability and smart design decisions tapped into player psychology, resulting in a new sub-genre of gaming.

Game designer Luca Galante used his past experience in the gambling industry to create the game's deceptively simple structure. It requires only directional controls, with attacks triggered automatically at frequent intervals. Players collect gold in each run and spend it between runs to improve their character's abilities.

The game balances power and challenge through clever pacing, allowing players to spend most of their playtime in a satisfying state of psychological flow. The game also encourages experimentation and replay with different upgrade combinations, offering players a sense of power, mastery, and freedom.

The game's mobile version achieved widespread success due to its lack of monetization tactics. Poncle actively avoided these tactics and used advertising only in exchange for in-game bonuses.

The ethicality of this matter is an ongoing debate. Instead, let's work together to understand the most popular psychological tricks used by game developers.

Popular Techniques: Rewards, Social Proof, and Time Pressure

One of the most effective principles of gambling psychology is the use of variable rewards. This means that players don't know exactly what they will get when they play, and sometimes they will win big while other times they will lose. Game developers use this principle by incorporating chance-based elements into their games, such as loot boxes, random drops, or slot machines.

This keeps players coming back in the hope of getting a big win, even if they've lost many times before. For example, in Fortnite players can earn loot boxes containing random items such as weapons, skins, and emotes. These rewards are not guaranteed, but players can keep playing in the hope of getting a rare or valuable item.

Another way that game developers use gambling psychology is through social proof. This means that people are more likely to do something if they see that others are doing it too. Game developers use this principle by showing players what their friends are playing and what they've achieved in the game. This encourages players to keep playing and competing with their friends to achieve similar goals.

Game developers also use time pressure to create a sense of urgency and keep players engaged. For example, they might limit the amount of time players have to complete a task or offer bonuses for completing a task within a certain amount of time. This can create a sense of excitement and urgency that can keep players coming back to the game.

Exploitation of Players?

The use of gambling psychology in game design is a topic of debate among experts. While some argue that it can be a powerful tool for creating engaging and addictive games, others raise concerns about the potential risks and harms.

It's also true that online casinos use techniques that are popular in video games. “Now of course gambling and gaming is starting to converge. All the kind of psychological techniques that are used in terms of repetitive play in videogames are used in slot machines”, said a Distinguished Professor of Behavioural Addiction at the Nottingham Trent University Dr. Mark Griffiths.

Some critics argue that game developers use the psychology of gambling to exploit players and encourage them to spend more money on in-game purchases. While some argue that it can be done responsibly and ethically, others argue that more regulation is needed to protect players from harm. But the fact remains, the game developers are increasingly trying to engage new users in their games. What we are discussing now is just the beginning of the race to attract players.