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Why We Game

Updated: May 3, 2019

It's actually quite a weird yet obvious question. Why do we game? I don't think we ever stop to ask ourselves. For a lot of people that I know, it's their primary form of entertainment. I only ever really come across this question when talking to a non-gamer and I am always bewildered that they don't get it. It must sounds so alien when it's the most natural thing in the world to you and I.



Finding the right game is just brilliant and really doesn't compare to anything else. Games can take a huge amount of time and effort so naturally we will grow attached to them. But it does beg the question, how can these people be missing out!? A stupid question is to ask to pick one of Movies, TV or Games but as you can probably guess it would be the latter every time for me.


As I have mentioned previously this has been embedded into me from a very early age and continually reinforced socially as I grew up. There have been times where I have played a lot less for a year or so due to other distractions in my life but I always end up coming back to it. So, this is my attempt to look at the various reasons we do this hobby and see what if anything it can tell us about ourselves?


Community Spirit

An often overlooked element of gaming especially by the mass media are the communities that get created around a title. There are a myriad of forms, for instance in World of Warcraft there are Raid Groups. The MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) was designed for interactions between players, particularly the challenging dungeons that require people to work together. You must plan out your approach and make sure you have different abilities and skills spread throughout the group in order to win.



Another form of this comes from choosing your faction when making your character, it brings a community albeit us versus them but still creates something people care about. They look out for each other, giving items to those in need and make trades. Friendships and relationships have sprung up here from a shared passion that can be spread over thousands of miles. It's like being a fan of a band or sports team, that shared sense of togetherness.


Look at Minecraft and the projects people set out to do. In creative mode you can make almost anything, like the group trying to finish off the land of Westeros from Game of Thrones. This has taken a whole team 5 years to create and couldn't have been done without cooperation and a common goal. Games can bring people together.


One of the more recent community creations has come from the rise of streamers on platforms like Twitch and Youtube. A lot of streamers start of with a niche, say speeding running the Donkey Kong games but then their personality draws in a wider group. Audience participation is a must and with it brings a community that is shared over time with usually positive results. It's much more inclusive.


The Challenge

It only dawned on me in the last couple of years but I now realise I play a lot of games to 'beat the developer'. Most of the these are single player and are difficult so actually getting through it is a badge of honour. (Like how I have completed the first four Halo games on Legendary difficulty!) I'm not actually that competitive which probably explains the lack of passion for multiplayer.



A lot of people are and there are huge numbers trying to prove they are the best in the online world. As this is virtual fighting it has many benefits. You don't need to be an amazing physical specimen, just have good hand reactions and excellent eyesight to exceed at the top level. To be fair being young helps, most competitive gamers are in their teens and usually burn out in their early 20s. It used to be Call of Duty online but now the big Battle Royal games are there to determine who is the best. (My 2nd place finishes allude that its not me). 125 million people playing Fortnite cannot be wrong.



Call of Duty blew everyone away with the single player campaign in Modern Warfare but it was the multiplayer mode that took it to astounding heights over the coming years. That element of being thrown in with a bunch of randoms and trying to come out on top is hugely popular. For me, I love local competitive games and my favourite nights are those spent with 2 or 3 others on Mario Kart or Overcooked shouting at one another. Probably the funniest times while gaming. Very much looking forward to the new Mario Party on Switch which is looking good in previews so far.


Escapism

When it gets down to it, most people dream of being the hero. Or if not, just a better life for themselves. Games offer escapism from the real world, particular now when global politics has taken a huge dive. Sometimes it nice to just have some control over your own destiny. To be able to save the day when real life seems utterly relentless and dispiriting is a great release for people.



On a more basic level, games can distract us as time killers, particularly in boring moments. For me, the Switch is an ideal companion for daily commuting which I actually really hate. 30 minutes on the train can disappear very quickly with the help of something like Owlboy. I think this is a large reason phone games have done so well (aside from being designed to be addictive). Having a computer in your pocket to play a 3 minute level is ideal in our fast paced world.


But for true escapism, who doesn't want to be Batman swooping around Gotham beating up villains or Master Chief blowing apart Grunts on Halo? Telltale do various games set in the Walking Dead or Game of Thrones and these are ideal to live out something you have seen every week on TV.



An extremely cool version of this has been documented in the last couple of years has been farmers playing Farming Simulator while working. Having long monotonous hours in a tractor going back and forth, it sounds a strange game to play but most do it as they wish for a bigger farm or had better equipment. This is their lives and they dream of something more. Gaming allows them to do it.


Immersion

Video games are often chucked in with all the other entertainment industries and up to a point this is fair. They are typically an expensive luxury product to keep us entertained and no matter how you consume any of these, they are all pretty similar. Any form of creative medium is open to interpretation by the viewer but generally its a story going from A to B in the case of books or movies. It's extremely passive and you allow the storyteller to do all the heavy lifting.



Games are for the most part, totally different with this. You are in control and you can choose where you go. Obviously this can be rather limited with 2D or the typical linear shooter but actually it brings so many possibilities. Even these allow you to play the game as a pacifist or speed run through it. There are always parts that you can choose to do or not do.


Look at pretty much any open world game and bar any major story points the player is allowed to head anywhere they like. Sometimes things are artificially locked off but generally its death from much stronger enemies that keep players out of any areas the designers don't want you in yet. Fallout lets you use any weapons you find and go in any direction in search of adventure.



Even something like Hollow Knight lets user pick what areas they want to venture into after the starting area. This freedom is not afforded by much else outside of adventure books. In fact, this goes even further, no other media stops you from getting to the end by you being terrible at it. This is huge whereas most people don't see the end of a TV show as they get bored or tired but for games it's out of sheer difficulty. This interactivity probably makes this medium unique and much more compelling.


To write this I actually spoke to quite a few people about why they game and most gave the answers above. Some spoke about it just being a habit, playing since a kid and the next Mario or Halo comes out they play will pick it up as they have always done. Routine plays a part, like with daily challenges in Spelunky. Also having yearly iterations that are so easy to slip back into. New games and mechanics can take a while to get used, Kerbal Space Program is brilliant but has a very tough learning curve and can easily take 40 hours just to get any good at it.


That is a huge commitment when you have the option to pick up the new Battlefield game and it is basically the same game play. You are up and running in seconds. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter why we game. I will probably do the opposite at some point and ask why don't people game. Actually, another reason for me writing this blog is to try and get non gamers or lapsed gamers back into it.


Obviously not forcing them (though it is tempting) but just trying to raise the interesting and fun parts that have completely passed them by. And why do I game? You can take all of the above for reasons. There is also an element of being the only person I know playing a tiny indie game that goes huge. Very much like finding a band before anyone else does, there is a certain smugness about being the only one on it!


I am trying to push out lesser known games to people to give small developers more of a chance. So whether its Eddard immersing himself into a giant RPG like Kingdom Come: Deliverance to try another life or the competitive element like Guaps fighting ALL of the trainers in Pokemon, there are plenty of reasons why we game. So what is yours?


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