The article, Behavioral Game Design from 2001 but it is very informative and worth checking out. This pretty much sums up what the article is about
Definitely worth a read to see what the designers for the big developers are looking at and using when designing their games, especially subscription based games when they need to keep players playing for thousands of hours doing the same thing over and over again. That’s where there is some debate about using these methods in games. Some consider exploitation of the gamer, especially when games aren’t all that fun but you play them forever anyway.
EDIT: You can also check out 5 Creepy Ways Video Games Try to Keep You Addicted for more discussion on the various methods designers use to keep players addicted to their games.
Right or wrong, it’s still a good read.
