Making decisions – Dual-process theory

Making decisions is essential to any game, no matter the genre or target audience. To play a game is to make decisions. While there are many different theories that approach decision making from different angles, today I will focus on dual-process thinking proposed by Kahneman (2014).

We have to make decisions every day about what to wear, what to have for breakfast and much more. Some of these decisions are conscious and deliberate choices while others are unconscious and automatic. Imagine you want to buy a new phone, this usually is a conscious decision. First you narrow down the options based on your wants, needs and also on intuition and gut feeling. Did you have a good experience with your previous phone? Maybe you will consider phones from the same brand. Once you narrowed down your options you are ready to make your final decision. This time you carefully weigh the pros and cons of the remaining phones. This method of making choices is based on two systems of thinking, otherwise known as the dual-process theory: system 1 thinking and system 2 thinking (Kahneman, 2014). Dual-process theory is not just about making decisions, it’s about thinking and problem solving in general. You use system 1 thinking to narrow down your options to just a few and then you use system 2 thinking to make the final decision. System 1 thinking is automatic and unconscious, it helps you make rapid decisions and develop first impressions. This system is what you would call your gut-feeling or intuition and you cannot turn it off. System 1 thinking can help you make some satisfactory decisions very quickly. However there is no guarantee for correct decisions, most of the times system 1 thinking leads to poor decisions (Stanovich, 2008; Tversky & Kahneman, 1993, 1974). System 2 thinking is more deliberate and controlled. It is otherwise known as reason-based decision-making. The system 2 type of thinking and decision making requires attention, it is effortful and slow. You use logics and reason to come to a conclusion. While this system leads to better choices overall, it can only help when there are just a few options to choose from (Payne & Bettman, 2004). In the case of our phone, you’ll evaluate the characteristics of each phone and use those to compare the phones.

It doesn’t matter if you are designing casual games or a hardcore game, all games require the player to make decisions on a regular basis. Being aware of the dual-process theory can help you spot the difference between mindless play (system 1 thinking) and active problem solving or decision making (system 2 thinking). You can make good use of the system 1 thinking mode since its always on in your players. Probably you already aim to design for system 1 thinking in parts of your game with ‘intuitive gameplay’. This is when you use conventions from similar games so the player can make rapid associations and find out how to control the game. But metaphors from the real world can also be used. Think about the gold coins players can collect or buy in many mobile games. A designer’s choice to use gold coins is a conscious one since players associate the metaphor of gold coins with the real coins in their wallet. System 2 thinking is what you should rely on when designing a puzzle game. This more effortful thinking can be a lot fun to people who enjoy these types of games. Being aware that system 2 thinking is a slow process can help you make decisions such as add time pressure to your game for example.

For the design of some games it might be worth-while to learn a little more about dual-process theory. Especially games with many options or choices. Think about Strategy games, city builders and other micromanagement games. But also think about games where creativity is important such as a dress-up game. The player wants to be able to create new and unique things every session. Having many options to choose from can aid this creativity.

Tropico
Tropico 4 is one of my favorite city builder games because of the humor and setting (it is just too funny). Tropico 4 is a micromanagement game for the PC that allows for countless hours of play. This game makes good use of the dual-processing theory in several ways. As a player you have to make lots of choices and the game allows you play a different scenario every time. For many choices the game relies on system 2 thinking but there are little ‘system 1 thinking tricks’ that help the player choose. Think about the layered  menu system they use for selecting buildings. First the player chooses a category, then he/she makes the final choice. This menu system not only allows the player to first use system 1 thinking, but also makes sure the player doesn’t feel overwhelmed by all the options. Another ‘system 1 thinking trick’ is the suggested building that sometimes pops up when a player wants to build something. Without this feature a player has to carefully check all the stats and weigh all the options to find that he/she needs to build simple housing since a part of the underpaid inhabitants are homeless. The suggested building doesn’t always show up, sometimes the player does need to use system 2 thinking. The two systems of thinking are well balanced in this game.

I was working on a dress-up game for Tingly games (and later CoolGames) called Emma’s dressup party (http://www.coolgames.com/nl/emmas-dress-up-party.html). For a dress-up game it is important to let the player express their creativity. Many choices and options for clothes, accessories and colors ensure that players can create unique outfits every time. I wanted players to be able to express their creativity but at the same time not be overwhelmed by too many options. A layered menu system for all the items was a conscious design choice. It helps the player make one decision at a time from a small range of options. There are 5 categories which each have no more than 4 subcategories. Those subcategories have many items but only 4 are shown per page. And while the player can choose a color for every item it remains an optional decision. Each item comes with a preset color that was set by the artist or me. Also, I limited the choices the player can make during the first session. Many items and colors are locked and can be unlocked with coins. The random button is another little ‘system 1 trick’ I added for the player. A player can let the random button generate a complete outfit when don’t know what to choose or just needs some inspiration.

As a designer or game developer it is useful to be familiar with the dual-process theory. It can help you improve the way players make decisions or find the correct solution in your game. System 1 thinking is fast and intuitive, your players will rely on this system when there is time pressure in your game. Make sure players can use their intuition or can easily use association to come up with a solution. Are you making a puzzle game? Your players often like these kinds of games because they enjoy effortful thinking. Be careful with time pressure, allow your players time to access their system 2 thinking. Are you thinking to add time pressure to your puzzle game anyways? Make sure the solution is intuitive in some way. Because players might not get enough time to access their system 2 thinking. Are you designing a strategy game or micromanagement games such as city builder? You want your players to enjoy your game for countless hours. The game needs to be re-playable over and over again with many different outcomes and decisions to make. Players would like to have many options and choices to make. Adding a layered decision system can help your players to use both system 1 and 2 thinking. In a layered decision system players use their system 1 thinking to first chose a category and then use their system 2 thinking to make an actual decision. Having advisor or suggestions can help your player’s access their system 1 thinking. But deciding on a strategy should largely be up to the player’s system 2 thinking. When you are relying on system 1 thinking for a part of your game, make sure the decision are either almost always correct or that it can be reversed. Many decisions made using system 1 thinking are often wrong, keep this in the back of your mind when designing. Of course, always aim for a healthy balance between system 1 and system 2 thinking depending on the type of game you are making.

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