You can use the Placebo Effect to make Games More Fun

If you know even a little bit of Medical terminology, you’re probably at least familiar with the idea of a placebo. In medicine, a placebo is a pill that does nothing, but the person taking it THINKS it does something--and tricking the mind into thinking it’s being treated when it’s not can sometimes cure or treat whatever is ailing it.
Placebos can be used in more than just medicine, though, and the principle of tricking someone with something that does nothing is called the Placebo Effect. It can make food taste better, the sun shine brighter, and according to a new study done by the University of York, even make our games funner.

This study, New Scientist reports, asked participants to play a game called Don’t Starve, a game many of you may be familiar with. The game utilizes random maps every time you play, and half the participants were told that before they played. The other half, however, were lied too, and told that the game used an Adaptive AI to adjust the game according to the ability of the players.

But at the end of their play sessions, reports between these two groups were wildly different--the group who thought the game used an adaptive AI thought the game was funner and more engaging than those who knew it was just a random map.

I think we just solved the mystery behind the AI Director in Left 4 Dead 2, guys.

Point is, the games were identical, so we have strong evidence to suggest that the mere use of a marketing lie can make games seem funner than they might actually be. So, if you happen to be making a game and you don’t mind a few... misplaced truths well who's to say it won’t help with reviews?