Games that allow players to easily change character class or reassign ability points may not make players as happy in the long run as those that don't, says psychologist Jamie Madigan.

In a post on Games Industry, Madigan details research that suggests humans are excellent at seeking out, overvaluing, and remembering information that lets them feel better about their current situation.

This allows us to see the bright side when we are unable to change our circumstances, he said.

“If we're good at looking for silver linings, we're even better at ignoring the clouds altogether,” said Madigan.

“Overall, that's useful. It's kind of a psychological immune system to protect us when things turn out to be suboptimal, so we're willing to take chances and make decisions, then live with them.

“It's an adaptive trait for our species,” he added.

“But while people are good at this kind of willful happiness, they are largely unaware of it and are terrible at predicting (or admitting) that it will happen when they're making decisions under uncertainty.”

Madigan explains that people tend to keep their options open for as long as possible, but that defeats the purpose of this “immune system”, and that people are generally unhappier as a result.

He posits that the same may be true when it comes to easy character build switches in videogames like Diablo III, World of Warcraft, and Dragon’s Dogma.

"This may make me sound like a cranky old man, but it used to be that you made build choices in a game and the only way you could change your mind was to start a new game," said Madigan.

"Players like this freedom. But players, some psychological research shows, may be wrong to do so."

As such, studios shouldn't make build switching super convenient for the sake of players, Madigan added.

"They shouldn't always trust gamers who are not always accurate at predicting how happy they will be with choices,” he said.