Психология в геймдизайне. Алексей Сытянов (8D Studio) / WEGAME 2.0

Summary

Game designer and screenwriter Alexey Sytnov argues that psychology—especially ideas from Gestalt therapy—can help explain how players engage with games and how developers create them. His central premise is that a game’s experience takes place in the player’s mind, not simply on the screen: each player brings personal needs, expectations, mood, and past experience to what they play.

The contact cycle

Sytnov presents a cycle of engagement that applies to games, food, relationships, and other experiences:

1. Contact begins: A person notices something and decides whether to approach it. In games, this may begin with seeing a game or its splash screen, before actually playing.
2. Assess and choose: The person checks whether the experience feels suitable. Internalized rules or assumptions—what Gestalt terminology calls introjects—can interrupt contact. For example, someone who believes games with violence are unacceptable may disengage as soon as they encounter one.
3. Expectation and projection: As interest grows, the person imagines what the experience will be like. These expectations can encourage or discourage further engagement.
4. Full contact: The player enters the experience, becomes absorbed, and engages with it to meet a need, such as excitement, aesthetic enjoyment, or another form of satisfaction.
5. Resolution and assimilation: Afterward, the player disengages and processes what happened. They may recall memorable moments, discuss the game, or reflect on its meaning. Sytnov considers this stage important: dismissing the experience as worthless can prevent the player from taking anything meaningful from it.

Projection and the player’s perspective

A projection is an interpretation shaped by one’s own internal state, memories, and expectations. Players do not all receive the same experience from the same game; they bring different personal meanings to it. A player who is angry or stressed, for instance, may be drawn to action-heavy games and experience them through that emotional state.

Sytnov uses the Rorschach test as an analogy: people can see different things in the same image because they bring their own associations to it. He also stresses that projections can be mistaken for facts. In everyday relationships, a person may assume someone else is angry when that assumption actually reflects their own anxiety. With a real person, one can check by asking; a game cannot clarify its meaning in the same way.

Figure and background

In Gestalt terms, the figure is what stands out as important, while the background is what recedes from attention. A strong, immediate need can make a person notice only what seems relevant to it. In a game, players may initially notice the graphics, then become so focused on a goal or challenge that the visuals fade into the background.

For game designers, this suggests that the player’s attention and needs shape which elements of the game become prominent.

The shadow and character arcs

Drawing on Jungian psychology, Sytnov describes the shadow as qualities a person denies or represses in themselves. He argues that disowned feelings, such as anger, do not simply disappear; recognizing them can make them easier to express deliberately rather than being overwhelmed by them.

He applies this idea to storytelling: a villain or antagonist can embody traits the protagonist refuses to acknowledge. A hero’s development may involve confronting and integrating those qualities, becoming more complete in the process. Sytnov mentions Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader as an example of this kind of relationship between hero and antagonist.

Violence, aggression, and games

Sytnov argues that violent or aggressive content should not automatically be removed from games. In his view, games can provide a relatively safe space to explore intense emotions and impulses, and he believes that acknowledging anger can be preferable to denying it. He also suggests that games may offer an alternative outlet to some harmful real-world behaviors.

Audience members challenge whether violent games can harm children and ask how virtual experiences differ from real life. Sytnov responds that games are experienced psychologically but differ from reality in important ways, including physical consequences and the safety of the setting. He emphasizes that interactions with real people provide feedback about boundaries and the effects of one’s actions. He argues that problems should not be attributed to games alone, but considered in relation to a person’s upbringing and circumstances. These are presented as his views in the talk, not as a settled scientific conclusion.

Lessons for developers

• Understand the player’s needs: Players approach games with different motives, expectations, and emotional states.
• Expect different interpretations: The same character, scene, or mechanic can mean different things to different players.
• Use antagonists to reveal the protagonist: A villain can represent qualities the hero has repressed or has yet to integrate.
• Treat intense emotions as meaningful: Sytnov sees anger and aggression as psychologically significant, rather than emotions to deny automatically.
• Develop as a creator: Developers put their own experiences, interests, and perspectives into their work. Sytnov therefore encourages gaining real-life experience and self-understanding.
• Create with momentum and coherence: Using a quick ink drawing as an analogy, he suggests that creating in one sustained burst can preserve a work’s energy and unity; repeatedly interrupting the process may weaken that sense of wholeness.
• Make room for reflection: His closing advice is to review an experience, keep what is valuable, and let go of what is not.

Speakers and sources

• Alexey Sytnov (also rendered as “Alexey Sitnov” in the subtitles): Main speaker; game designer and screenwriter.
• Audience members: Several attendees ask questions, including one identified as Sergey; others are unnamed.
• Event host/moderator: Briefly closes the session and thanks Sytnov.
• Ideas and examples referenced by Sytnov: Gestalt concepts, including the contact cycle, introjection, projection, figure and background; Jung’s shadow archetype; the Rorschach test; Watchmen, Happy Tree Friends, Star Wars, Terminator, Batman, Link, and Hercules. He also cites a researcher whose name is transcribed in the subtitles as “Dr. Richard X”; the name is unclear.