10 Times Video Games Used Reverse Psychology (And It Totally Worked)

Flat-out telling the player not to do something is basically a sure-fire way to guarantee they end up doing it, and more often than not that's exactly how developers want it.

Case in point, we have Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's museum level, which is unlocked after beating the campaign and allows players to examine life-size replicas of the characters, weapons, and vehicles encountered throughout the story.

But at the museum's information kiosk, there's an employee-summoning bell with a prompt which urges, "Do NOT hold [context trigger button]." Of course you're going to tap the bell, which causes the surrounding soldiers to come to life, resulting in an epic close-quarters shootout.

Though it's not too difficult for skilled players, the sheer shock factor of these inanimate bodies suddenly baying for your blood speaks for itself.

Considering there's even a damn achievement for pressing the bell, developers Infinity Ward clearly knew precisely what they were doing.

You can't present twitchy Call of Duty players with a bell, tell them not to press it, and seriously expect them to comply, right?