How Video Games Draw Us In and Hold Us Spellbound

Young and old, male and female, the majority of people in the U.S. and around the world play video games. If you’ve ever marveled (or even worried about) the amazing power of video games to hold the rapt attention of players for hours on end, Glued to Games is the book that can help you understand in clear detail the powerful motivational dynamics of games. Written by research psychologists who have studied the motivation and emotional dynamics of games for years, Glued will give you those “a ha” moments of understanding to the following kinds of questions:

• Why are games so highly valued that gamers often seem to want to play games more than anything else?
• Why do games evoke such intense attention and strong emotion?
• Should I be worried about all the time the gamers in my life are spending in games?
• Why are games so violent, and why do gamers enjoy acting so violently in games?
• Should I be worried about how much time is being spent playing games?
• Are games simply an empty amusement, or is there something more meaningful going on?
• How can I understand and manage the strong pull to play games that keeps gamers glued to the screen day in and day out, hour after hour?

Glued to Games will take you through the fundamentals of game psychology, explaining the specific ways that games satisfy basic psychological needs, and providing examples from various genres and modern titles. In addition, this site will serve as an ongoing resource and discussion as the video game world continues to innovate, expand and evolve.

So welcome! We hope you'll pick up your copy of the book, and we invite you to register on the site to stay informed about the latest information on video game psychology.