Let Us Not Forget the Original Allure

“Video games [...] owe their appeal to a combination of skill and chance. Winning, or at least doing well, in these games is desired as a demonstration of skill and, by implication, worthiness, but it also suggests one’s superiority to real or imagined competitors. Unconsciously, winning is also taken for a demonstration that fate favors one, an idea that adds considerably to the feeling of self-confidence which one seeks to attain. No wonder, then, that these games are played with great intensity and persistence by persons or age groups who are insecure, such as teenagers and adolescents, who try to compensate for their feelings of inferiority and to quiet inner doubts through demonstrations of both their skill and their luck.”

- A Good Enough Parent: A Book on Child Rearing, Bruno Bettelheim

Comments

[Some Guy]

I thought after the Mass Effect Fox News fiasco we all learned that parenting books are full of mostly bullocks and fairy dust when it comes to games?

[Matthew]

This book was written a long time before all of that; I quote it because I thought it was important to remember the roots of video games, which lie in challenge and competition– something that seems to be lost in the current desire to be important in the traditionally narrative sense.

[Scott Juster]

I've been thinking a lot about the sentiment behind this quote, especially as I play through the new Prince of Persia.

The game represents the tension between the roots of challenge in video games and the modern impetus towards games as narrative experiences.

It's interesting (if mixed) experiment.

[Ryan]

Shawn Elliott, you bastard. What is it about you that makes us all think so much?

I'm glad that you're still active in writing, and I hope that stick around for a while. There are a lot of people that really need you, and I hope in the next five years or so we see some people emerge in the industry who are really influenced by your work.

I don't want to gush, but Shawn Elliott has taught a lot of people a remarkable amount, and this quote that he posted is no exception. Anyone who desires to actually think about anything critically will take something from his work, this quote is no exception.

We all are glad to have you, Mr. Elliott. I don't know if you read your comments section or not, and I can't blame you if you don't, but please keep it up.

-R

[Justin]

Hey Ryan, this is not Shawn Elliot's blog. Just remember that. Shawn just linked to a cool blog.

[Matthew]

Be sure to check out the real Shawn Elliott's blog, too.

[Steve]

This certainly sums up why I was drawn into video games so deeply in my childhood. I'm not so sure how much it applies to my current self.

[Matthew]

If I may ask, Steve, what draws you to games now?

[Edward Speller]

I totally had this experience when I played through Super Mario Bros. the lost levels for the first time last year. I was so proud of the achievement that whenever I saw someone wearing a retro mario t-shirt I wanted to go up and challenge them, as if only I deserved to wear a mario t-shirt. It's probably what people who are very good at Halo or whatever feel, like membership of an exclusive club.

I think some types of games reward this type of behavior more, strategy games for instance, as you learn the rule set and intricacies of a game like Colonization or Company of Heroes you get a greater reward. The narrative in this type of game (multiplayer for Company of Heroes) is created by the player.

I was thinking for a while about whether you gain anything from completing a game like that. I think at a minimum you learn dedication to a media form in order to get more out of it. If someone really wants to appreciate a book like War and Peace chances are at times they will be 'working' at least in the same way you are when stuck on one tricky jump in Super Mario.

Perhaps dedication to a seemingly impossible task for little personal reward is an important character trait to be teaching generally. Maybe anyone trying to deal with social problems or politics would learn from playing the lost levels.

[steve]

Matthew: I think my main interest in playing new games is the experience of being in a new place, exploring it, and finding interesting things there (characters, location, events) to interact with.

Overcoming challenges is satisfying, but I feel like it's a thing apart from the kind of sensations derived from the above.

[mike]

Was Ryan joking? I really can't tell...

Also, this quote pisses me off, does that mean it's too close to the truth for me or that it's totally BS?

We can say all we want about games as a new art form and games as personal artistic expression and narrative experiences which share authorship between both player and designer, but is that why we actually play them? Or are we just fooling ourself to try to justify our escapist tendencies?

You can look at the challenge of games, the overcoming of those obstacles and the achievement as a form of escapism. Where hero-comics are looked at as narrative escape, escape into a more powerful and capable person's life, isn't the challenge of video games just an escape into simple, easily solved challenges? Something that we can easily identify and overcome because it lacks the confusion and ambiguity of real life challenges? It's true I've never had to machinegun thousands of enemies in my own life, and if I had to it would probably be a serious challenge, but doing that in a game is far far easier than going in to a job interview or starting real relationships with real people. It could be argued that some players prefer the simpler challenges of games over the complex and difficult challenges of real life.

I'm not saying I agree with the quote, or that I disagree. I suppose I would have flatly denied it a year ago, but these days I question a lot of my own motivations regarding playing and wanting to make games.

[Tim D]

I just wanted to weigh in with Steve here -- for me now, games are far more about exploration, immersion, novelty and wonder than they are about the buzz of beating some tough challenge. True escapism I guess, rather than any need to prove myself. The emphasis on narrative makes the time I spend playing immersive games feel like it's actually been better used than playing, say, casual games.

In fact, I find that significant challenge plateaus in gameplay have become a hassle, something that breaks immersion and interest with a period of tedious frustration.

Of course, I'm not a teenager any more...