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Videogames Fill Psychological Needs for Players
codegen writes "The CBC (among others) is reporting that researchers at the University of Rochester and Immersyve Inc. have released a study indicating that people enjoy video games because they satisfy a psychological need. The study showed that the interrelations between players in MMOGs were particularly important. From the article: 'Gamers said they felt the best about their experience when the games they played produced positive outcomes in scenarios related to the real world ... The researchers evaluated players' motivations in virtual worlds by asking four groups of people to play different games, including a genre known as massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, which some industry watchers regard as the future of video games.'"
I don't know about anyone else, but I play to escape, not to feel fulfilled about anything of the real world.
... indicates that people enjoy video games because they are satisfying at a fundamental psychological level.
... but instead a sense of achievement, freedom and even social connectedness. The draw of video games "also can be experienced as enhancing psychological wellness, at least short-term,"ilex paraguariensis for all
How come when I sign up for trials I never get to play MMOGs. All they ever want to do is feed me something that might kill me or put things where there not supposed to go.
People also enjoy sunshine, sexual activity, and singing in the rain. Some of these are also enjoyed in a massively multiplayer environment.
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
...well, for a few reasons I suppose.
1. They can be damned fun.
2. They continually make my brain keep working, continually trying out new tactics.
3. Many a LAN party are included in my top 10 favorite memories of my entire life.
4. There are parts of the gaming community that are fantastic and allow for great friendships to come about.
5. They provide a fun alternative to the daily grind (much like drugs)
6. They have the ABILITY to be educational
7. They provide a safe place for the dark desires that dwell within all of us to be satiated. Afterall, would you rather someone be killing people on screen, or people on the street?
As far as fulfilling some psychological need, I wouldn't put myself in that group...however, I don't dispute it either; I know many people who are anti-social, have anxiety, are overly shy, have aspergers, or various other things that prevent them from interacting properly face to face. Put them behind a WoW toon though, and suddenly they become open and talkative and friendly.
Video games to me are a fantastic form of entertainment. They are similar to reading, the difference being instead of working your imagination, they work your reasoning and reaction. They require you to part with "daily reality", however, and embrace a different world. This is most definately not a bad thing when used in moderation.
Last but not least, it serves for a way for me and my fiance to bond...granted, there are many lonely gamers out there, but for geeks and nerds who are lucky enough to have a spouse who is just as geeky and nerdy...well, playing video games with a spouse who not only wants to but EXPECTS to brings about some amazingly fun times.
Living With a Nerd
We like videogames (and films and TV drama series) simply because we lead exceedingly boring lives, whether we realize it or not.
Just take this simple test: would the last 24 hours of your life make for a good season of "24"? Would anyone watch it?
On top of putting in 60+ hours a week, I try to fit in 4 or 5 hours of WoW. The problem I've noticed, though, is I grind all day at work (estimate this, meet this deadline, get this much money, get promoted), then go home and grind in the WoW (sell in the AH, complete this quest, get this much gold, gain a level). I wish someone would use all this MMOG press hype to find out how to make me like work more. Maybe they could call me an Undead Mage instead of an Idustrial Planner. And I could wear a mohawk.
I dont play for "entertainment" as much as I am entertained by what the game offers. Competition, strategic thinking, social aspects (MMO), and others depending on the game. I go to a movie, read, or watch TV more for pure entertainment than I do with games. Games also offer some to escape reality for a while and "let loose", which is not simple entertainment. Sometime I like a good 20 minutes of fragging before sitting down to code something for example. I am playing to zone out, relax, and not worry about whatever is looming in the near future.
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Based on my own experiences, I would say that single player games offer escapes from reality, and multi-player games fulfill psychological needs.
Reasoning? Pacman and space invaders are immersive escapes from reality. When you're sitting there controlling some pixels (or vectors if you're really old school) on a screen without interacting with anyone else around you, you have escaped our reality to enter another one for a time.
But in Counter-Strike, you can fulfill your basic psychological need to shoot annoying teenagers in the face. When the game is multi-player, it's just a disguise, an extension of the reality we live in. You interact with other real people, and kill them, or sell them blue items for gold, or zerg their base and capture their flags. It's still reality, but minus the consequences one usually faces for equivalent actions.
That's my take on it, at least.
I'm a gamer.
I could be an alcoholic. I could be abusive. I could be a prick. I could be an asshole. I could be any combination of the aforementioned, or even more that I haven't mentioned.
All that said, I come home after work, turn in Counterstrike: Source (don't give me shit about 1.6!), and play for about an hour. After this my mind is at ease. I'm relaxed. I make dinner, clean the house, and a lot of the crap that I deal with during the day disappears.
There is an obvious escape from reality, and the bonus is that when you are done playing, the reality you HAD is put in the back of your mind. You're fresh off a high from 20 kills straight, or you got the high score. Your mind is happy, and happy thoughts ensue.
And the only thing I did was burn a little electricity and time. And I'm still not an asshole. Yet.
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
I quit EQ2 when I realized I was getting a buzz not off of the fun gameplay, the fun community, and the fun world to explore, but rather from the Virtual Accomplishements that got dispensed to me at regular intervals like a fish biscuit for the clever caged bear.
;-}
;-}
I'll go back to the genuinely fun game once I am no longer deficient in REAL accomplishments.
I think it's definately safe to say that while there would be a market for MMORPGS if they didn't tap into people's psychological deficiencies for enjoyment, they definately are built around doing just that. So many people play it like work or out of a sense of obligation or investment long after the fun has been tapped out. Just check out the forums for ANY MMO.
I imagine jobs that have more "bite sized" achievements are better. For example, some doctors get the satisfaction of treating multiple patients each day. Of course, then other things kick in. For example, if you screw up in WoW, you can just restart the quest or dungeon. If you screw up at work, it can cost you your job.
-- jchenx
I don't eat for "sustenance" as much as I am sustained by what food offers.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Ever since I met my S.O., my gaming habits have slipped through the cracks in favor of her. I've just lost the desire to play games. I'm not sure what psychological need there was before that she might be filling, but I've wondered for a while if the events are related. Of course, I met her in my first semester of college, so starting college might be responsible, too. But I didn't cease gaming entirely until my second semester...
I love NetHack.
GTA & rest of the kill-'em-all games give you the possibility to safely exercise your desire to destroy. In those games, you only develop in terms of becoming a more proficient killer. In those games, being a good killer means you are good.
Games like Tetris, Civilization, Monkey Island, exercise your desire to construct / create. In those games, creating things or solutions means you are good.
Which type of games is more popular, and why? Read the newspapers, watch the evening news, and think about it.
1) greatly improved ability to "chit chat"
2) greatly improved ability to flirt casually.
3) managing a guild of 90 members made managing a team of 22 people at work easy.
4) managing the logistics of a large guild's advancement made managing the logistics of large projects easier.
5) greatly increased confidence
6) greatly increased ability to let everyone bitch and stay above it (a "rare" quality commented on by senior management to me recently).
7) greatly increased skill with alcohol that has lead to being able to hold interesting conversations about Port and other fine drinks with afficianados. (it was a drinking guild and we get together for annual boozy fun parties and that lead to my fall from near teetotaler status).
8) led to RL buds that has led to two extra RL skiing trips (one in whistler) which lead to two 22 year old pretty blond australian girls dancing and flirting with me because I was a texan cowboy. which is funny since I'm in my 40's.
There may be more.
There were downsides.
At the height of my addiction, I let my real personal life go to hell for about 24 months. It was pretty much - work 8 hours, play 8 hours, sleep/bathe/eat in the other 8 hours. It was a magical world that did fill all my needs and then one day in 2002ish I finally got full and got back on with life. I still play 7 to 15 hours a week.
It definitely contributed to carpal tunnel (tho my job does that anyway).
It lead me to be much less idealistic and much more realistic about how many people (80%) out there are users (some purposely- more subconciously).\
It lead me to appreciate those people who are real (i'd say about 20%?).
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
It's a lot more difficult to level up at work. You usually need an enormous amount of experience to level up. Some poor saps never level up at all, not even after 20 years of grinding. Others level up quickly, not because they have the necessary experience, but because they're good buddies with the guild leader. That makes it much more frustrating than WoW.
If I got a pay raise after a week of grinding, I'd sure enjoy work a lot more.
What you want is called beer. It helps you relax, but it also tastes good and is good for your health. It doesn't need upgrading every nine months, either.
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
I too am entertained by what the game offers. Run around looking for "mines," gathering pelts, working on "trade skills," killing things repeatedly for hours on end. They really expect me to pay to do that? That's entertaining alright.
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In that case I guess I have some desire deep down to run arond in a mine field and hope I don't fine a mine and get a frowny face!
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