Half Life 2: A Lesson in Intrinsic Motivation

Creating motivation is an essential ability that all video games require to be effective interactive experiences. Being the one entertainment medium that works off of user choice, games must ensure that users have incentive to confront the game’s challenges. Games can go about this in two ways.

Extrinsic Motivation - rewarding successful gameplay with real accolades

- and/or -

Intrinsic Motivation - causing the user to form their own motivations for completing the task

Each form has its merits, but intrinsic motivation is often considered the better of the two being that it is more cost efficient and a result or proficient design.

Valve’s Half-Life 2 at launch was a quintessential example of game that relied solely on intrinsic motivation. HL2 provided no unlocks upon completion but still managed to be regarded by many as the best game of its year. Multiple factors to create intrinsic motivation are in play in HL2: (1) intermediate challenge, the proposition of realistic goals; (2) recognition, the appreciation of accomplishments; (3) fantasy, the immersion of the senses; and (4) control, the freedom of choice.

Intrinsic Motivation Defined
There are many differing theories on intrinsic motivation. Some theorists believe that intrinsic motivation is fueled by one’s pursuit to enhance the perception of self. Others theorize intrinsically motivating activities are engaged in purely for the consequential enjoyment that accompanies them. Although there are many theories, the common base idea is that intrinsic motivation is driven by the pursuit of positive emotion. Catharsis, self-improvement, and the yearn for acceptance all serve as powerful motivators that are inherent to humans and require no external inducement.

Challenge as Motivation
Challenge plays two roles in the process of motivation: it is something users must be motivated to accomplish, and paradoxically it is also something that creates motivation itself. The presence of  realistic goals or seemingly accomplish-able tasks increases a user’s motivation to attempt challenges. HL2 and other games with good design all employ processes that create realistic goals. When players are presented with the “Gravity Gun” in the game, players are set in a safe and open learning environment that allows them to practice with the new tool. This provides the player time to understand the metrics of the weapon: its firing range, rate of fire, and visual feedback states. The learning environment comes with a variety of low-difficulty tasks to build up the player’s skill and confidence with the Gravity Gun. Immediately following this training is “Ravenholm,” a level where the Gravity Gun becomes essential for the player’s survival. The failure of tasks in this level are punishable by death, but because the player has built up their self esteem, these tasks are not overwhelming and the player has motive to take on these difficulties. Players are best motivated when they are faced with an optimal level of difficulty.

Challenge exists as a form of motivation in the game’s multi-player as well, but in a separate way. With no way to tier the levels of difficulty in deathmatch, the multi-player mode must rely on users’ desire for competition. For players that need to improve their skill level, the presence of high-difficulty challenges creates motivation.

Recognition as Motivation
HL2 employs more blatant forms of motivation through the use of its non-playable characters. In the game’s fiction, players take control of Gordon Freeman, a character that has garnered much attention in the game’s universe. Whenever Gordon meets up with his supporting cast of characters, he is bound to receive some sort of recognition by notoriety or fame, often expressed through verbal praise. When the player accomplishes a task, surrounding NPC’s will show visible or audible recognition. The cause-and-effect relationship between the completion of a task and verbal praise creates the positive emotion of satisfaction.

Fantasy as Motivation
Immersion plays a strong role in creating intrinsic motivation for imaginative players. If players can imagine their actions taking place in a real-life setting, the fantasy and conducive motivations become intrinsic. HL2 is set in a world that is very similar to the real world, providing a strong basis for believability. When Gordon Freeman receives affection from other characters, immersed players receive those positive emotions as well. If the player believes in the story and the universe, the goals of the character and the player become aligned and the player inherits the character’s motivations.
Immersion, is one of the more difficult ways to motivate, requiring all the facets of the game to work in tandem. The use of fantasy as motivation is absent in multi-player. The scenarios for multi-player are abstract, making it difficult for the player to form any sort of  fantasy around their actions.

Control as Motivation
Control is the one unique feature that games have as an entertainment medium; it is also one of the strongest factors that promote intrinsic motivation. Whether it’s for single-player or multi-player, HL2 creates clear cause-and-effect relationships between the player’s actions and the game world’s reactions. Player agency, the player’s belief that his/her actions have profound effects, creates reason and motivation for action.

Another conclusion that can be drawn is that the player’s feeling of control also creates a sense of responsibility to use that control. Control as a form of motivation can be expanded upon by varying actions. Players feel greater agency when they believe their specific actions provide results different from other players’ results.