This microtalk was originally presented at Unknown Worlds’ monthly Postmortem meetup in San Francisco. In the talk, I explain the 4 pleasures model, a mental framework I use to aid hesitant developers in better understanding F2P players. This model, presented by anthropologist Lionel Tiger in his book The Pursuit of Pleasure, explains 4 different types of pleasure:
- Physio – pleasures of the body and derived from the sensory organs.
- Socio – the enjoyment derived from relationships with others.
- Psycho – pleasure pertaining to people’s cognitive and emotional reactions.
- Ideo – pleasure from or relating to a person’s values.
As explained in the talk, these four categories of pleasure can be helpful in explaining the joy derived from games ranging from Candy Crush Saga to Call of Duty: Ghosts to Demon’s Souls.