We're taking a break, things have gotten stagnant between us...

@Ryannnnnn damn dude you are very level-headed and very self-aware. That is a rarity especially nowadays.
You are right the games are designed to work with your body's natural need for goal acquisition.
The people that make the games might not even be aware of how it works they just know it does work.
It's kind of like marketing. I am so fascinated with marketing.
They can make you think and do things by using your brains natural defenses and simulated comfort zones.
Witchcraft. LOL

@Dainbramadge It is interesting, psychologists got involved in marketing during the late 1900s and studied/shaped marketing into what it is today. It's why advertisements are usually attached to identity and ideas like:

"My family will be happy if I'm healthy" buy this health drink
"Women will view me as rugged and succesful" buy this leather scented aftershave
"I'm the kind of person who cares about the environment" buy this ethically sourced coffee brand

Social psychologists started studying the relation between consumerism and identity in the event of the class systems becoming more blurred and mobile I wanna say during the early to mid 1900s? I forget. I did an essay on it a while ago, it's an interesting subject.

@Ryannnnnn Marketing is pure witchcraft. LOL
I have been horribly fascinated with the topic for so many years I have lost count.
About a year ago I had the chance to study a bit with a guy who was doing marketing. I made a whole bunch of promotional videos for him and he brought me a shitload of video editing programs. Music making programs etc.
I learned a bunch about online marketing which is a little different than just classic marketing as a whole.
The guy turned out to be a real jerk so I terminated our relationship with only knowing about building web pages and doing the SEO stuff for them.
But before I gave him the boot he sent me a link to a book for sale on Amazon. They gave you the first two chapters for free.
Witchcraft. It was crazy cool stuff.
They described and explained in great detail how the human being perceives things and makes little rules of thumb to make life easier. That was the direction the book was taking was exploiting that aspect of the human mind.
I have to tell you it is a super fascinating topic.
I like the information you shared and how cool is it that you actually wrote an essay on it. LOL
It's almost like serendipity. :-)