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cognitivegamer.com

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Cognitive Gamer

by Stephen Blessing

I examine how cognitive psychology can help explain and inform how we play games. Each episode looks at how a particular cognitive phenomenon affects game playing. All types of games are considered, from board games to video games to games of chance. Check out cognitivegamer.com for more information.

Episodes

Episode 14: Are You Available?

9m · Published 05 Mar 14:21

There are a number of heuristics that people use when they make decisions. In this episode, we discuss the availability heuristic and how we use it when playing games. Game References Battlefield, Celeste, Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, Doom, Dungeons … Continue reading →

Episode 13: The Psychology and Design of Everyday Games

16m · Published 30 Jan 00:12

What might a cognitive psychologist say about game design? We discuss some of the issues Don Norman raised in his classic book The Design of Everyday Things and how that relates to game design, both from the player and the … Continue reading →

Episode 12: Cognitive Gamer Cognalysis: Horizon Zero Dawn

16m · Published 19 Dec 13:05

This episode contains a deep dive into the cognitive ins and outs of the Playstation 4 game Horizon Zero Dawn. Much of the analysis, though, could be applied to most open-world games. We’ll consider narrative, skill transfer, and types of … Continue reading →

Episode 11: O Memory, Memory, Wherefore Art Thou Memory?

19m · Published 04 Dec 14:57

Cognitive psychologists make a lot of distinctions with different types of memory. In this episode I provide an overview of the various ways that scientists have divvied up memory, and how each relates to how we play games. Game References … Continue reading →

Episode 10: Tell Me a Story

16m · Published 06 Nov 13:59

Many of our memories are structured around stories. They are a very powerful device, that allow us to remember and experience more than what we might otherwise. Using story and narrative within games can increase our enjoyment of them. I … Continue reading →

Episode 09: Don’t Count Your Cognitions Until They Hatch

28m · Published 14 Oct 15:20

Kids can learn a lot by playing games. In this episode I talk with Dr. Jennifer Blessing about the skills that children learn by playing games, such as turn taking, goal setting, and number sense. Game References Candyland, Chutes and … Continue reading →

Episode 08: Go Search, Young Game Player!

16m · Published 21 Sep 12:07

Games can be thought of as solving one big problem: How do I win? Cognitive psychologists think about problem solving in terms of a search process, how to get from your current state to a goal state. I discuss what … Continue reading →

Episode 07 : That Blows Chunks: Increasing Working Memory

17m · Published 24 Aug 00:02

One constraint that everyone has is working memory capacity. Or in other words, how many things you can remember at any one point in time. While there are individual differences in this, another aspect turns out to be more important: … Continue reading →

Episode 06: Cognitive Gamer Cognalysis: Pandemic

16m · Published 11 Aug 02:37

I consider the popular board game Pandemic from a number of different angles. What makes it an interesting game, cognitively speaking? I touch on decision making, attention, cooperation, and also the Legacy and iPad versions. Game References Burgle Bros, Mechs … Continue reading →

Episode 05: (I Can’t Get No) Satisficing

17m · Published 02 Aug 03:22

Humans do not always make the most optimal decisions. We are limited by our cognitive resources. We usually make decisions, even in playing games, that are just “good enough.” The process of making a “good enough” decision is known as … Continue reading →

Cognitive Gamer has 34 episodes in total of non- explicit content. Total playtime is 9:59:50. The language of the podcast is English. This podcast has been added on November 28th 2022. It might contain more episodes than the ones shown here. It was last updated on February 23rd, 2024 15:20.