There’s a classic cognitive psychological study involving a patient, a button, and a reward. The point of the trial is to leave the patient alone in the room with the button, to test how long they’ll go without hitting the switch. The test is a window into the ability — and in some cases, inability — to handle delayed gratification.
Similar trials with monkeys and dogs exist, showing that even the animal kingdom only has so much patience. Continue reading
A pain begins to throb within me once new World of Warcraft content is announced.
A dull feeling, like longing for a forgotten love or memory of better times, lost to the wind and never fully grasped again. This ache grows into a crescendo of urge and want until, eventually, I give in to this carnal need to launch myself back into the world of Azeroth.
Then…nothing. I play, and as quickly as that drug is shot into my veins, that want phases into a gaming fugue state. I come out on the other end of that tunnel thinking “Oh, right. I just remembered why I stopped playing.”
Backlog Adventures 