Why play a game franchise for almost 8 years you may ask. To be honest I'm not sure myself but McGonigal tells us why we keep playing video games. "Gamers want to play the game. They want to explore and learn and improve. They're volunteering for unnecessary hard work - and they genuinely care about the outcome of their effort." (McGonigal 27). After reading this I realized that I in fact like the unnecessary work and obstacles in video games. I usually log on to the game because I like fighting other players for loot and enjoy long journeys for legendary rewards. Below is a picture of my main character wielding the legendary great sword named Eternity. This weapon took so much of my time and energy but I liked all that work and was very happy when I first crafted it.
Sure hard work with big payoffs is great but what makes us engaged and actively want to play the game? McGonigal says that when we play games we are looking to find intrinsic rewards to become happy. These rewards fall under the categories of satisfying work, being successful, social connections, and meaning. Games give you satisfying work to be successful at by playing with friends and feeling part of a greater community (49 McGonigal). An example of this when I play is raids. Raids are very challenging dungeons that you must conquer with a group of 10 people all battling for big loot. When in these raids you are being social with your friends to succeed at killing the boss and this all attributes to the happiness your brain is playing games for. These social raids and progression of legendary rewards are the reason that I continue to play video games; what makes you play yours?
McGonigal, Jane. Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. New York: Penguin Group, 2011. Print.
I totally agree that progression and interacting with other players or characters in general is the main reason why I like playing games. I personally enjoy multiplayer games that I can joke around with my posse (LoL and Keep on Talking) or games that have a strong storyline to them (Undertale and To the Moon). Progression is what makes people hooked and as I progress with my writing project (over on Bethea) I hope to hook people with my writing as I get better. Your post actually made me think about connecting to readers and not just focus on myself when I'm writing. I'll be sure to think about progression and readers as I continue my project. Thank a lot actually! Also, Guild Wars 2 seems like an interesting game. It's awesome that your dad likes it and that you like it too and spend lots of time towards it. Following the Whitaker man tradition I guess. ;D
ReplyDeleteThis post hits the nail right on the head for why I want to play video games. Almost all video games come with some reward system based off of how hard you work, whether that is beating a story or campaign, like the Legend of Zelda, Metroid, or Undertale, playing a lot to get better gear, better skills, and better opponents, like most MMOs like Smash Bros. Firefall, Warframe, World of Warcraft, or Guild Wars, or just trying to get as far as you can with your own materials and building your own world like Minecraft, and this reward system is what makes the game playable, and why people keep coming back to games. I know that I definitely play games to get those rewards. But also, games come with a community of players, and especially in MMOs, where you have to work for everything you get cooperatively, this community is full of people who are dying to help you, or be helped by you. Warframe is an excellent example of this, as it each level is team based, and very difficult without help, and the community is great. Those are the reasons why I keep coming back to gaming.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your points made here. A lot of the reasons games like World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, Destiny, and Halo strive is because of their multiplayer-centric gameplay. I know from first hand experience how satisfying completing a raid in a game like Guild Wars can be due to that sense of community.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really well-thought out blog and proposes strong points. I mainly play video games because of the satisfaction I get from doing well in a game. I progress and get better which is a good feeling. Games like BO3 where I can level up and make my player better are things I'm glad they include in the game.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Ryan. There is no doubt in my mind that I felt the exact same way. I've mainly played video games because of the satisfaction factor it gives as well as that feeling of being apart of something bigger than you are. I've gotten a lot better at gaming when it came to the positive re-enforcement that I've given myself as well as friends have given me.
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