Uploaded February 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Pain has long been a fundamental element of video games. It is used to inform the player how to act, and punish them for choosing incorrectly. When underutilized, a game becomes boring and overly simple. And yet, taken to the extreme, it can begin to feel unnecessary and… somewhat disturbing. Let us know some of your favorite games that hit the sweet spot of pain, and some that don’t get it quite right, in the comments below!

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ASSET LINKS:

0:13 Charlie Chaplin Quote
flickr.com/photos/dotnetsensei/11232477326

0:24 Road Sodas - Visiting Arcade Xtreme @ The Peppermill Reno
youtube.com/watch?v=w6VNfWAI_08

0:44 B. F. Skinner
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner

0:50 Operant Conditioning - Skinner box experiment - VCE Psychology
youtube.com/watch?v=X-lgMnvPDQ0

0:55 An example of a Skinner Box
youtube.com/watch?v=MOgowRy2WC0

1:08 How to Train a Brain - Crash Course Psychology #11
youtube.com/watch?v=qG2SwE_6uVM

1:11 3 minutes Painstation at 28c3
youtube.com/watch?v=UNvNiNI-ioA

2:31 The Ethics of Computer Games
amazon.com/Ethics-Computer-Games-Miguel-Sicart/dp/0262516624

2:33 Invited Speakers
gameconference2009.wordpress.com/program/speakers

2:36 Michel Foucault
famousphilosophers.org/michel-foucault

3:31 STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC - KNIGHTS OF THE FALLEN EMPIRE REVIEW
ign.com/articles/2015/12/11/star-wars-the-old-republic-knights-of-the-fallen-empire-review

4:32 Arkham City's Too-Forgiving Combat System
pcworld.com/article/242295/arkham_citys_too_forgiving_combat_system.html

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MUSIC:

""Oh Damn!"" by CJVSO
https://soundcloud.com/downpitched/cj...

""Digital Sonar"" by Brink

""Mindphuck"" by Known To Be Lethal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-cyr...

""After Hours""

""Lakes"" by Chooga
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8hns...

""Beautiful Days"" by Extan
https://soundcloud.com/extandnb/beaut...

""Spectrum Subdiffusion Mix"" by Foniqz
https://soundcloud.com/subdiffusion/f...

""Good Way Song"" by Electronic Rescue

""Alice y Bob"" by Javier Rubio and Parsec
https://archive.org/details/escala19_...

""Sleet"" by Kubbi
soundcloud.com/kubbi/kubbi-sleet

""Toaster"" by Kubbi
soundcloud.com/kubbi/toaster

""Patriotic Songs of America"" by New York Military Band and the American Quartet
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/New...

""Lets Go Back To The Rock"" by Outsider
https://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/440...

""Run"" by Outsider
https://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/440...

""Fame"" by Statue of Diveo
https://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/352...

""Freedom Weekends"" by Statue of Diveo
https://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/352...

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Hosted by Jamin Warren (@jaminwar)

See more on games and culture on his site: killscreendaily.com

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