Rage Quitting: Exploring How Frustration and Anger Can Be Induced and Directed Through Video Games

Matthew Hlady, Austin Cantone, Bryan Kim, Sylvain Payen and Tianjian Xu

Abstract

This combination literature review and design process reflection analyzes the factors contributing to player frustration in video games, the various types of frustration they can experience (e.g. frustration with themselves or frustration with the game itself), and how frustration and enjoyment interact. This paper will discuss applied psychological principles that informed this research team's design decisions when creating a short video game. Both the research and the game itself are the foundation of a future experiment, the aims and predicted outcomes of which are also discussed here.