The psychology of play: Understanding digital game evolution through developmental psychology

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate how the pattern of play technologies follows the patterns of play types in developmental psychology. This research provides an overview of dominant theories in developmental psychology and offers evidence of its parallel in play modalities adopted by electronic game audiences. The fundamental benefit of such framing is the potential to offer a future facing understanding of the next generation of play technologies within a variety of environments. Here the researchers have chosen to demonstrate this evolution through the history of arcade game play. However, the researchers conclude with a brief demonstration of how similar developmental stages have been demonstrate in the evolution of portable game systems and home console game interfaces. This approach describes game design and player preference not as evolutionary, but as developmental. It demonstrates game design and player preference through a developmental framework, which mirrors the maturation of an individual. Players mature into new play modalities in much the way humans mature into play stages.