The last mechanic we'll touch on is social comparison
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2025 9:32 am
Social comparison and leaderboards among friends
Essentially, the same thing happens all the time in real life: you look to your surroundings to get an idea of how well you're doing. If you look around and most other people are doing worse, it makes you feel better. If you look at others and they seem to be doing better than you, it can lead to disappointment.
Social comparison is a complex topic, but in the context of usa number data free-to-play mechanics, it has many applications. One way to incentivize social comparison behavior is to offer tangible benefits to the paying customer. For example, skins or items that can only be obtained by spending real money.
Social comparison is not as effective when the gap is too wide. That’s why it’s also a good idea to use leaderboards that compare a player to those slightly ahead and behind them, or to other players they know personally. This encourages competition between users, which is good for the developer’s bottom line.
Solution: This may be the trickiest question of all, but you have to ask yourself who you're trying to impress. Often, we just don't care about these people. Put your feelings of social inferiority in context and decide if they really matter.
Play consciously
There's nothing wrong with playing free-to-play games or spending money on them, as long as you're actually enjoying them. The genre is so-called because it's an easy way to attract thousands of people. While psychological tricks don't work for everyone, the law of large numbers means that a small percentage of players will fall for them. Here are some tips to help you avoid that trap.
Essentially, the same thing happens all the time in real life: you look to your surroundings to get an idea of how well you're doing. If you look around and most other people are doing worse, it makes you feel better. If you look at others and they seem to be doing better than you, it can lead to disappointment.
Social comparison is a complex topic, but in the context of usa number data free-to-play mechanics, it has many applications. One way to incentivize social comparison behavior is to offer tangible benefits to the paying customer. For example, skins or items that can only be obtained by spending real money.
Social comparison is not as effective when the gap is too wide. That’s why it’s also a good idea to use leaderboards that compare a player to those slightly ahead and behind them, or to other players they know personally. This encourages competition between users, which is good for the developer’s bottom line.
Solution: This may be the trickiest question of all, but you have to ask yourself who you're trying to impress. Often, we just don't care about these people. Put your feelings of social inferiority in context and decide if they really matter.
Play consciously
There's nothing wrong with playing free-to-play games or spending money on them, as long as you're actually enjoying them. The genre is so-called because it's an easy way to attract thousands of people. While psychological tricks don't work for everyone, the law of large numbers means that a small percentage of players will fall for them. Here are some tips to help you avoid that trap.