On Progression & Progress

“Progress equal happiness” is an idea often expressed by self-help gurus, inspirational speakers, and life coaches in one form or another. Progress is one of the defining components of a person's happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction with their lives, a primary driver of human behavior. This concept of progress is an idea that has been thoroughly explored in modern psychology.

With this being true, if video games endeavor to provide happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction, then the experience of progress is one that they should do their best to provide. If the development of modern game design is anything to go by, this must certainly be true. We have witnessed the implementation of progression systems, initially reserved for RPGs, into every genre on the market. This pneumonia is certainly a net positive for games since, as a medium, games are for the most dedicated to providing enjoyable experiences, and the feeling of progress is one of the most enjoyable experiences of all.

Furthermore, the idea of games as a vessel for progress and progress as a fundamental part of game design pushes us forward in the idea of games as a goal-driven experience. “If there is a goal, there is a game” is something I often say to myself, and this introduction of progression mechanics into as many games as possible strengthens that belief. Goals are a vessel for progress; every person has goals and feels most fulfilled when perusing them.

Reward is an equally important part of the progression loop. While completing a goal is satisfying, this satisfaction is amplified when a reward is given for doing so. The better the reward, the more this is amplified. Although, it is important to note that the reward should be proportional to the goal. If a reward is too small for the challenge associated with the goal, the player will feel frustrated. If the reward is too large, they will feel indifferent at best. Thus the size of the given reward should be proportional to the overall investment by the player. If it is not, the player may cease to be interested in pursuing the said goal.

When thinking about how goals and progress should be designed into a game, look no further than modern clinical psychology. Simple advice, such as breaking your goals down into smaller goals, is often given and is true for games too. It is best to reward your player for as small a goal as possible in a small way rather than a large reward at the end with nothing in between.

It is also important to note that humans do not necessarily experience the most enjoyment in completing a goal; they experience it when progressing toward it. This lessened enjoyment is due to the fact that when a goal is achieved, the question remains of what is next. This question causes the human brain to experience stress, and thus on the completion of a goal, they feel lost, often aimless and without direction. This stress means it is best always to have a goal and a next goal and constantly progress toward something, and experience the joy of that goal through achieving as small achievements as possible.

According to this thinking, the best way to design your in-game goals is to provide a consistent stream of rewards for progress toward each goal, the rewards often increasing as the player gets closer to completion of the overall goal. On completion of said goal, it is best to provide the player with a special, often unique, reward that will help them further progress in the game and toward other goals. It also helps to nest your in-game goals within others, providing secondary goals or alternate goal pathways that work toward the primary goal.

This stress that is felt when accomplishing a goal without another lined up has led to the invention of infinite progress loops in games. Entire genres, such as idle games, are created on this idea and provide near-endless goals. While it is difficult to provide endless goals and yet have them remain enjoyable and satisfying, it is often good to provide some kind of endless experience, at least until the absolute completion of your game.

If games are often best as a goal-driven experience, then a strong sense of direction is best provided to the player. Often developed to be a sandbox, many games let the players create their own goals. Some of these games have become very successful while providing no direction at all. I still believe it is best to provide a great deal of direction through goals, but not to restrict the player to a predetermined goal path. It is best to provide the player with numerous goals and paths, allowing them to decide which to take while guiding them through their selected path by providing direction through future goals. This approach gives the player agency over their own play experience and a deeper sense of ownership over their in-game achievements.

Imagine a new player in an open-world RPG. They spend the first hour or so in a strong guided game tutorial area. After they reach a stage where they feel comfortable with the game, the game provides a quest line they find boring. ”I don’t want to do this,” the player thinks to themselves, and they briefly look for something else to do. Quickly they find another quest line that is far more combat focused and suits the player more “this is more like it,” they think to themself.

While perusing this quest line (path of goals), the player is given the information that there is a powerful weapon on the completion of this quest. This information excites the player, and the quest line has taken on a new form of enjoyment; every completed quest brings them closer to that weapon. While continuing to pursue this quest line, they come across another quest that provides a powerful piece of armor for defeating a high-level monster. “I can’t do this now, but once I have that sword, that will make it easier”. The goal of the sword has now transcended; it is a goal toward another goal. As the game continues and introduces more and more challenges with higher rewards, the player is guided along what is to them their self-determined path through the game, from each item to the next, providing a seemingly endless stream of goals, challenges, and rewards right until the absolute competition of the game.