Good video games capture players through identity.

http://www.academiccolab.org/resources/documents/Good_Learning.pdf

1. Identity. No deep learning takes place unless learners make an extended commitment
of self for the long haul. Learning a new domain, whether it be physics or furniture
making, requires the learner to take on a new identity: to make a commitment to see and
value work and the world in the ways in which good physicists or good furniture makers
do. Good video games capture players through identity. Players either inherit a strongly
formed and appealing character—e.g., Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid—or they get to
build a character from the ground up, as in Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Either way,
players become committed to the new virtual world in which they will live, learn, and act
through their commitment to their new identity. Why should the identity of being and
doing science be less appealing?