Why do we do it? On my previous posts we have discussed our need to win at something, to ‘level up’ somewhere and control the dynamics of what’s going on.
I’ve also been thinking about our need for adventure. ‘Wild At Heart’ a book by John Eldridge talks about this in detail. A quote from his website:
There is something fierce, passionate, and wild in the heart of every man. That is how he bears the image of God. And the reason most men "live lives of quiet desperation" (Thoreau) is because men have been told that the reason God put them on earth is to be a good boy. To be nice. But every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.
So many of the big games are tailored to meet this deep need in every male. Think COD series, Battlefield series (anything warlike for that matter), FarCry and CounterStrike, not to mention Warcraft series (esp WOW), Star Wars stuff, Lego stuff… the list is practically endless!
I have to admit, this comes into why I play games. I look forward to my next bout of CS or BF2 as it meets a part of this part of me.
But what aren’t we doing in real life because we’re being satisfied by this virtual adventure? To what degree is virtual adventure ok and what degree is it substitutional to the real thing?!?
hmmm, can’t say any of the posts so far have hit on why I still love to game. All of them are a reason sure but the core reason I love gaming can be seen in the games I usualy play, I love a game with a good story. I get lost in following good story telling in a game. I’ll contend that gaming isn’t completly worthless, I get from gaming the same things I get from a good book, fantasy/sci-fi or true story. Empathy for different people and different things. An ability to see why things happen the way they do sometimes and every good book I read tends to strengthen my convictions on Biblical truths being the best way to deal with things.
A great series on gaming. It has really resonated with me (and not just because we used to game together after school on the old Commodore Amiga) as I do tend to play games regularly.
For me, the whole argument about gaming relates to the choice of how I spend my leisure time (such as it is). How do people spend their down-time? When we look at society, we see an astounding assortment of ways people choose to relax, chill out, socialise, kill time, unwind, de-stress – call it what you will. You can watch a movie, read a book, gamble, play sports, any number of outdoor activities (including Laser Skirmish
) etc – including playing computer games.
Now I – like most people – choose a variety of these activities to enjoy. In particular, computer gaming, movies, reading and sports are all ways I like to spend some time. Of these, computer gaming is probably my favourite activity.
Computer gaming offers me a wide range of experiences – as wide as the range of game genres. I have been gaming since about 1982, perhaps 1983. In that time, I think I have played every genre of game – those I am aware of and think are appropriate anyway! I play or have played casual games, puzzle games, FPS, RPG, MMOG, Strategy, flight sims, mil sims, sports games, horror/thriller, Christian games, text adventure, graphic adventure, god-games, I am sure I have forgotten some genres!
RPG games (and some story driven FPS games) often appeal to me as an alternative to a movie – a well written plot where I control the action, sometimes even the story line and ending (Mass Effect is a great example of this). The immersion gives an escape in a similar way to a good movie – but on a first-person level rather than the third-person perspective we get from movies. In the same way these games can be a great alternative to a book, although nothing matches the images conjured up in my head when I am reading a great novel – thank you Robert Jordan, Peter F. Hamilton and especially Neal Stephenson.
Puzzle games or strategy games really appeal to me on an intellectual level. I am matching wits with (ultimately) the game developers – trying to work out the mechanics behind the game, and trying to out-maneuver those mechanics. If it is a multiplayer strategy game, then I am still working out those game mechanics, but I am trying to exploit them to gain an advantage over my opponent(s).
FPS games truly appeal to the boy within me – as you have written. Online COD4 play really spoke the competitive, fighting spirit within. The thing I really needed to be careful of was if I really needed to chill out, COD4 online was NOT the game to play, as I tended to get worked up in especially competitive situations, or if some American kid came on and started spewing obscenities. In the end, this is what stopped me playing – too many 12 year-olds swearing like wharfies and team-killing just ruined the game. That said, Half Life 2 remains one of the most atmospheric, mind-bending FPS games I have ever played. Calling it an FPS is perhaps a little unfair – it certainly contained puzzle elements and a story that spoke of true ingenuity on the part of the developers.
For over 2 years now, I have played an MMO called EVE. It certainly has occupied a very significant part of my down-time in that period. It appeals to me in many ways and on many levels. This is truly a unique game, and when I look back on my gaming history, certain games have revealed a search for something is currently best satisfied by EVE. Games like Freelancer, Elite, Freespace, Homeworld, Sins of a Solar Empire – all these space based games appealed to me, in some different ways. EVE is quite amazing – very deep and very difficult (I am still learning about major parts of the game even after playing it for over two years), with very significant penalties for dying in game, and no truly safe area. It is a game you really cannot enjoy to its fullest without working with other players. I have made some very good friends through Eve, and I know that other gaming communities (such as XBox Live) provide similar opportunities for socialising and teamwork. Some of these friendships extend beyond just the community they were formed in, and continue even after our interaction within that community has ceased.
One area of gaming that I have played in the past but recently have avoided is sports games. The more real they get the less I see the point of playing them on the computer – why not just play the real game?
The downside to computer gaming arises when you are taking time out of your normal life and responsibilities to make room for more gaming. If gaming ceases to be a hobby, then it’s time to take a break from it and get some perspective – because ultimately, computer games do not contribute to real life in any way. Yes they assist by providing a way to relax, socialise (via online/multiplayer gaming) etc, but beyond that, whatever you build or create remains ethereal, insubstantive. Even the beautiful vistas in Oblivion pale into insignificance when compared to the amazing sights that greet us when we take time to enjoy creation – no matter how hard we try, man cannot match the creativity of the Creator.
Gaming has been a part of my life for the overwhelming majority of my life – in the same way reading, soccer and movies have been a part of my life for about the same amount of time. Games must be seen as nothing more than an enjoyable activity you can participate in. Any more than that and you have lost the balance!
I think there is a difference between playing the occasional game, and being a “gamer” in the truest sense of the word. I think that there is a certain amount of escapism in gaming, and I don’t know that we couldn’t be spending that time in a better way. And yet, because gaming is so prevalent, I can see that being a chance to be connected with a large group of people, and reach them on their level.
I think we must tread carefully when gaming becomes our identity rather than our pastime.
I wonder how much men’s drive for adventure is repressed in our society – is this why extreme sports have taken off?
Whilst there has been benefits to the calming/civilizing down of Western society (less violence, greater rule of law, less stress), I do wonder if the reason we get so stressed in our jobs is that we impart into them the expectation of great danger that perhaps we were intended to find elsewhere?
It could be that the opening up of new frontiers, perhaps in space or underwater, might help draw our attention from the virtual frontiers that gaming offers us? Even if it does, it will certainly be true that most men will still find themselves far away from any sort of frontier – so perhaps gaming has a use there?