The attraction of video games

A

Video games, it is often claimed, are about wasting time. It is a misunderstanding that players and game makers have been trying to correct for many years. While movies and television are endlessly analysed in the media, games are often dismissed as irresponsible, unimportant by-products of the broader digital revolution.

But a growing number of experts disagree. This is, after all, an entertainment medium that worldwide makes $50 billion a year. Using ideas from psychology and sociology, theorists and designers suggest that our love of video games may actually have important things to tell us about our most basic desires and motivations.

Game design has become big business and has led to the creation of a multitude of companies. The industry attitude toward training has changed radically, says prominent game researcher Jesper Juul. “I recall hearing professionals claim that game design was a strange and unteachable art, but now this attitude has mostly faded.” Designing video games is increasingly recognised as a valid field of university study throughout the world.

B

Central to an understanding of games is the theory that games are fun because they teach us in a way that our brains prefer — that is, through systems and puzzles. Raph Koster, designer of multiplayer fantasy games, points out that an effective learning environment is one in which failure is acceptable, even welcomed. Accordingly, Koster says that in games, the player enters into a situation where the rules of the real world don’t apply — and typically being judged on success and failure is part of the real world.

When gaming, people feel free to try things and to learn, and not worry about what might happen. Consistently, Koster says, the best games are the ones that provide us with interesting tools such as weapons or magic, and allow us to experiment with them. For example, in one early game, players are given the ability to jump and can practise this for as long as they like, but to get to the next stage they need to master this ability so they can leap over an enemy and onto a platform.

Margaret Robertson, director at a London-based game design company, observes that games allow us to create small systems where learning is brilliantly controlled. She adds that one of the strengths of games is the vague sense of disapproval that still surrounds them — they feel like something forbidden, and that can be very exciting.

C

Another important element in the popularity of games is the player’s ability to determine what happens. Games tap into our need to have direction; this is very obvious in games where we shape the lives of virtual humans, but it’s becoming a vital element of action adventures too.

Dan Pinchbeck, an experimental game designer, explains that games are increasingly complex systems, with an emphasis on the pleasure of choosing and planning. We’ve moved dramatically from the very first video games, which mostly involved the player merely reacting to events. Modern games are more about approaching a situation and making a plan depending on the player’s preferred play style.

D

Many studios design their games around reward systems. A good game will have progression at the end of each level, but it will also provide surprise rewards halfway through, says Ben Weedon, a games studio consultant. In a game, you’re essentially pressing the same buttons and doing similar actions repeatedly, so you need those occasional surprises to stay motivated.

E

Games have constantly evolved over the years and continue to do so right up to the present. Now, incorporating a narrative structure into a game is becoming increasingly important. Many games have adopted Hollywood’s three-act structure, which is designed to maintain our loyalty to a particular game. As in many films, a short final act is often used to give a sense of acceleration towards a preferably startling climax. Opening levels of games are also short, because this flatters us into thinking we’re making good progress, whereas the middle levels are more extensive.

F

Games even tap into our friendships. The rise of multiplayer gaming means that gaming increasingly involves social interaction. Other businesses are taking notice and using this as an element in advertising their brands. Then there’s the new concept of gamification, in which websites and smartphone apps are being designed like games, with high scores and achievement points to keep customers entertained. Research estimates that businesses spent more than $100 million worldwide on gamification projects last year, a figure predicted to rise to $1.6 billion in the next four years.

G

So, in fact, games aren’t just an insignificant fad, as some people might suggest. They fulfil intrinsic human needs, whether we are conscious of it or not. The loop of learning, control, and rewards is at the heart of something very important — and very attractive.