An article written by Keshav S – Student from California, USA

On June 13th of 2026, top Geometry Dash Player and streamer “Doggie” would permanently
leave a mark on the history of Geometry Dash. He would do this by navigating through 97% of
the predicted landmark level “Grief” which demands precision that far eclipses that of previous
achievements. The achievement’s difficulty can be better understood by the sheer number of
attempts required for Doggie to reach this height, that number being 400,000. This incredible
level of dedication begs the question, what really drives human beings to invest hours of their
time in “Extreme Gaming”?

Repeating the same level over and over again more than 400,000 times might seem intolerable to
many but there are several psychological factors that may have led Doggie to manifest a stoic
attitude throughout his journey. For one, although its validity is debated amongst psychologists,
the effort justification effect paradigm could have contributed to his perseverance. Essentially,
effort justification revolves around the idea that when an individual puts a great amount of effort
into a certain task, they tend to create a dissonance between the high “cost” required to achieve
the task and the expected outcome once they complete the task. This dissonance compels the
individual to revalue the outcome of the task to be much greater than it actually is, suggesting
that Doggie might see beating the level “Grief” as far more momentous accomplishment than
most might initially perceive.

Although effort justification presents a strong argument for Doggie’s motivation, other
psychological lenses may also be present in this scenario. For example, self-determination theory
(SDT) provides critical insights into this very question. SDT outlines three basic psychological
needs that, if met, would confer optimal function and growth. One of these three basic needs is
competence: the desire to control the outcome and experience mastery. Foundational research
into the effects of competence by Edward Deci proposed the idea that unexpected positive
feedback can increase internal motivation to progress on a certain goal. In the case of many
“Extreme Gaming” feats, repetition is necessary to achieve the perception of competence. When
the stakes are especially high, as in Doggie’s quest to complete “Grief”, boosts in performance
can feel spontaneous and random. This unpredictability links with the boost in internal
motivation predicted by SDT.

Finally, when we consider the dualistic model for passion we can determine that there might be
yet another factor fostering determination in “Extreme Gaming”. The dualistic model of passion
outlines the aforementioned duality of passion; it splits passion into harmonious and obsessive.
Harmonious passion describes a form of passion in which an individual possesses a controllable
desire, essentially within the bounds of their free will, to engage in a hobby. The alternative,
obsessive passion is nearly the same concept with the notable exception that the choice on
whether to engage in a given hobby has become completely external to the individual. People who participate in “Extreme Gaming” typically start out in a manner characterized by
harmonious passion. But the transition from a harmonious to an obsessive attitude is often the
difference between a failed attempt at a landmark accomplishment and a successful one. Top
players often stream their accomplishments to thousands of fans, incrementing the pressure they
experience to prolong the grind. This factor in conjunction with the sunk costs fallacy creates the
perfect environment for an obsessive passion to form. As a result, many top players never view
“giving up” as an option resulting in the eyebrow-raising attempt counts.

Although the dedication demonstrated by successful “Extreme Gamers” might seem
otherworldly, in reality it can generally be explained by a combination of psychological factors.
Analyzing the motivations behind the lengths “Extreme Gamers” will go to can assist in drawing
connections between conditions exhibited by gaming and other similar activities such as
competitions in sports and academics. Ultimately the continuous drive for progress in the
“Extreme Gaming” community leads to the natural follow up: at what point will we reach the
maximum amount of “extremity” that the brain can endure?

About the author:

Keshav is a high school student who lives in Silicon Valley. He grew up in an environment where he was exposed to computers and learned to tinker with electronics. His dream job is to become a Game Developer, utilizing a combination of programming and design skills. He is an avid gamer, enjoys playing video games and participating in hackathons. His passion & exposure to gamers and their relentless addiction to repeatedly performing mindless tasks led him to write this article.

He says “I gained this exposure through teaching at my Game Development Club and exploring the hobby. I aimed to write an article that presented an interpretation as to the reasoning behind why the human brain can be addicted to applying itself to a task that may seem monotonous to outsiders.”

Wishing him all the best in his chosen career!