McGonigal states that, "When you strip away the genre differences and the technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal (the goal is the specific outcome that players will work to achieve), rules (the rules place limitations on how players achieve the goal), a feedback system (the feedback system tells players how close they are to achieving that goal), and voluntary participation (the voluntary participation requires that everyone who is playing the game knowingly and willingly accepts the goal, the rules, and the feedback)." (McGonigal 21) Through her explanations of each trait, it explains why gamer's come back each day. But does it really? Any well-designed game - digital or not - is an invitation to tackle an unnecessary obstacle. As gamers we understand the game in the "light" but we are "afraid" of playing the game in the "dark" where we reveal our irrational fears. We don't want to game the system, we just want to play the game. (McGonigal 27) We will play until we exhaust ourselves of our own abilities, or until we can overcome the challenge. Gamers continue to play games because there is nothing trivial about playing a good game. The game MATTERS! (McGonigal 28)
I find myself constantly trying to escape reality to find something that suits me more. Games make us happy because they are hard work that we choose for ourselves, and it turns out that almost nothing makes us happier than good, hard work. (McGonigal 28) I would rather find myself struggling in a game than struggling to do something that was assigned to me. I want to have that sense of control over what I'm doing, and that's what gaming gives me to. I can dictate the outcome of a game based on my performance and how well I perform. With a goal set in mind and all the positive enforcement the game gives it makes me want to continue giving it my all.
The positive reinforcement of seeing myself get a Penta Kill (killing all five people) by myself gave me that satisfaction of fulfilling a goal made me want to set a new goal and keep playing.
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| Jackie Nguyen is my inspiration for this moment |
In this picture you can see I got extremely fed (being able to predict your opponents patterns and taking advantage of it) and was able to dictate the outcome of the game. Giving me this sense of control over what I am doing and have the positive feedback the game is giving me to continue playing.
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| Heidi Fonua is a gigantic KSer (Kill Stealer) |
In this picture you can see even though I still lost the match. I was able to complete a goal and have some type of positive reinforcement to make me want to keep playing.
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| Heidi distracted my focus and I got shot down. :( |
All in all, the reasons I play video games is to challenge myself through exciting means with positive reinforcement. So tell me, how has playing these games, digital or not, help you get through real life situations?
Citation: McGonigal, Jane. Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print.
I also find myself playing to complete unnecessary obstacles. An example of this is when I play PvP. In the PvP game mode I am battling other players of equal skill (this makes it challenging) to gain rewards. I also love it when you can predict noobs skills and go on a kill-streak. The only thing I have to disagree about with this post is your use of windows 10 :P.
ReplyDeleteExactly!! Gaming is basically something we use to "release" stress in a way and yeah, I totally agree with you when you saying you like to take advantage of noobs and go on a killing spree. Its funny. But personally I think Windows 10 works really well so I'm probably going to keep using it... also since I don't know how to go back to Windows 7 for free> :)
DeleteI completely agree with what you said about gaming drawing people in, and also about LoL being a gateway game, Someday, you have to move on, to better, non MOBA games. But I don't really think video games have helped me all that much to get through real life situations, other than maybe some cooperative games, projects and other things that require a strategy. I can see how they could be used more to overcome real things, like that one game that about fixing something for cancer that was given to players throughout the world for free, and gamers figured out a cure for whatever the game was about through playing, proving how games can be very helpful for real life.
ReplyDeleteThese games help me in real life situations by helping me make fast smart decisions. I play a game called CSGO (Counter Strike: Global Offense). In this game you have to have fast reaction time and you have only have little over 2 minutes to either kill the whole opposing team or plant the bomb. Just like you, League of Legends was a gateway game for me. It brought me into CSGO. CSGO has also helped me communicate better with other people to get goals/tasks done because in the game you have to really rely on your team to be behind you and help complete the overall goal of winning the game. Some games the opposing team is better then you so you start losing, but you learn not to give up and you try even harder to win the game and get that sweet rank up you've been working hard for. One thing I have to disagree about this post is you playing Smite and using Windows 10 just like Ryan Whitaker xD.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Very true. I use gaming as well to help me, find strategies to communicate with other people and to improve my reaction time. I totally get when you mean you get stuck with this really bad team (happens to me all the time) and you're losing pretty bad but then you have a come back and win! It's a very satisfying feeling indeed. But like I said to Ryan, Windows 10 works pretty well so I'm going to keep it and SMITE isn't that bad. You should try it so you can get better at skill shots. ;)
DeleteI definitely agree with your point about positive reinforcement in games. In my blog post I talk about how I've been recently playing Destiny, but something I didn't talk about was the PvP, otherwise known as the Crucible. Though the Crucible can be an at times infuriating gametype dominated by Sunbreaker Titans with the most overpowered super ability (seriously though, it's too much sometimes), having games where I do well as my Voidwalker Warlock can be extremely rewarding, similar to your comment about the Penta Kill in League.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement on gamer's being persistent and try to reach those goals in games. It brings out the challenge but also the fun in playing. Playing for a goal could also be incorporated into a life skill since most of the time you wouldn't give up but keep on trying on achieving our "goals". When It comes to games I play a variety however I feel like i might put way too much time in certain games!
ReplyDeleteOverall, I do agree with what you're putting down. Games can be an escape from reality, providing us with opportunities to overcome obstacles and feel great about it. I just wanted to add the "power drive" that certain games give you. Take DOOM for example. The story isn't important, and methodical play is thrown out of the window. Instead, you're the Doom Slayer, ripping waves of demons apart in the depths of hell. While this kind of game doesn't have many goals for the player to feel good about, it keeps the player satisfied by not only making them powerful, but allowing them to use their abilities with no strings attached. Different method, same result.
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