What Makes Video Games Fun?

Every day while eating lunch, I watch Twitch – a live streaming platform specifically for gaming. I’m probably not alone in my fascination of video games, seeing as personal computers were the first medium for video games.

I imagine the early days of gaming - people wearing bell bottom pants, sporting scruffy facial hair and colorful, polka dotted shirts while sitting in their offices, sneaking in a game of Zork when the work day moved slowly.

Today gaming is much different from what was going on back in the 70s. We now have the ability to communicate with others as we play, which has changed the way most people interact with video games.

The Argument

Using Twitch’s built-in text chat, the person streaming his first-person shooter content (Overwatch, in case you’re interested) mentioned that he felt conflicted. He was starting to feel like video games weren’t able to capture his attention anymore and specifically, he mentioned that multiplayer games are only fun with friends.

I consider myself a hardcore gamer and I found his perspective interesting.

We both agreed that single player games and multi-player games scratch a different itch, so to speak. My opinion is that single player games are good for reminding me to set goals and eventually reach a sense of completion. On the other hand, multiplayer games are purely meant to be time-wasters.

I know it hasn’t always been like this but the last decade’s MMO-phenomenon has brought with it a monetization only rivaled by casino gambling, in that you only sit in that seat to waste time and blow money while staring at the pretty flashing lights.

That being said, I tend to prioritize socializing with people when I play multi-player games and I think this revelation is at the core of not only the streamer’s disillusionment with video games, but my own distance from MMOs in particular.

Repetition

It’s okay for a game to rely on repetition, as long as communication channels are open, encouraging and regulated by neutral parties. The social aspect of a multiplayer game allows my friends time to talk about somebody interesting they met earlier in the week, or a strange looking dog that chased me down on my bike ride home today. The repetitive, collectible loot systems of games such as World of Warcraft have fueled them for years (although the 15+ year old metagame community of Super Smash Bros. Melee might disagree).

Sure, plenty of games have tried to make changes on the formula but the only ones to survive are the ones who stuck to their guns and made the world interesting enough for people to want to explore for years.

For people like us, however, grinding for loot just isn’t appealing.

We need purpose in our games.

We crave impact.

I love being able to take something away from an experience that benefits me outside of the game. I’m not afraid to say that confronting Red XIII’s daddy issues in Final Fantasy VII helped me to cope with my own IRL daddy issues as a child.

The lack of closure that many games tout and even promote (usually for the sole reason of continuously draining $$ out of people’s pockets) doesn’t leave me wanting more, it leaves me disgusted.

People who hold opinions similar to mine are probably in the minority, as the number of players in MMOs like Elder Scrolls Online continues to grow.

As this streamer and I talked, we both started to realize that it wasn’t these labors of love we call games that were to blame… it was often the fault of a lack of creative direction when it comes to giving games a personality. This is one reason that streamer can complain about his disinterest in video games while playing Overwatch every day. That game has CHARACTER and it doesn’t feel like it was built around monetization, it feels like it has a real purpose.

Socializing

I do think that time-wasters have a place in the legitimate gamer’s arsenal. I’m not just talking about the multi-million dollar budget AAA titles like Battlefield and Street Fighter, I mean the little guy, mobile efforts like Cut the Rope and Black Survival too.

Typically, after I’ve played a time-wasting game long enough to figure out its mechanics, I can decide very quickly whether the game will keep me entertained.

I chose those words very carefully: ‘…keep me ENTERTAINED.’

While I might player a single-player game for its artistic direction and thought-provoking story, many multiplayer games are simply for entertainment.

Art’s little cousin.

They may have cutting edge graphics, top of the line audio design, etc. but in the end, they will be forgotten among the millions of other games focused on entertainment as opposed to art. There’s nothing wrong with that. It makes sense that most games which fit under this category are considered “cash grabbers”. They’re literally built to make you play them for as long as possible, to keep you chasing content like proverbial pieces of cheese.

And while doing so, you can focus your attention on other things that usually require minimal focus, like conversations. Again, this wasn’t always the case – but nowadays, it is extremely common for people to continuously break the flow of conversation to play a game or socialize with someone else. I personally hate this trend and I consider it a sign of near social collapse, similar to the fall of Ancient Rome when the citizens became apathetic toward each other and the goings on of their environment.

But that’s a rant for another post :)

In other news, I’m still thinking about writing a few short stories, possibly horror and possibly science fiction. I’m kind of scared to put my ideas out online but maybe people can help me develop characters in the comment section!

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IQ