Why Play Games?

What is it that drives us to compete and conquer the opponent? Whether it be games or war, the need to come out the victor is something that pervades and exist in our every day lives. For instance, university students, like me, implicitly compete with each other every day to obtain better grades, higher rankings and, consequently, better jobs; associates compete with each other to stand out and obtain the recognition of their superiors; even political parties compete with each other to attract the general populace.

The need to stand out, fare well, and gain distinction is embedded into our behaviour. Like all other animals, we are governed by the principle of the survival of the fittest, and the different socioeconomic strata of society are a testimony to the prevalence of this tendency. Winning a game, for instance, implies that you are the better player, regardless of whether you overcame the other through skill or luck. As a child, I was fascinated by this concept. Having grown up in a neighbourhood with many children, I was able to play a wide variety of games; namely, sports like soccer and kickball.

I quickly outgrew these physical games, however, as I was introduced to video games through the Nintendo 64. I would argue that this happened because video games primarily test your mental abilities, whereas sports test your physical abilities. Although I was never much of a board game player, YuGiOh was arguably one of the most interesting non-virtual games I ever played: it required math, luck and strategy. I guess I have always been interested in games that test the mind, not those that test the body.

My favourite video games growing up were all RPG (Role Playing Games): games in which you take on the roles of imaginary characters who engage in adventures. These games typically involved levelling up the character and boosting its abilities. I think the reason I liked them so much was because I really enjoyed the idea that the better I got at the game, the stronger my character became; this gave me an impression that I was growing with the character, which made the entire experience substantially more immersive. These were generally Nintendo games: The Legend of Zelda, Paper Mario, Pokemon, etc.

Entertaining video games must thus engage the player in a personal way, whether it's through the sheer will to compete and beat the high score, or the necessity to overcome challenges and grow as a character. However, games that promise progressive growth and require commitment over a long period of time, in my opinion, are much more rewarding, and therefore somewhat superior to other types of games.

In life, however, we only invest our time in things that give us comfort. Nobody voluntarily invests time in unpleasant things for no reason, which is why people must always look with objectivity at the merit of the games that other people play. If the law had originally seen the pinball machine in this way, for instance, perhaps the game would have never been prohibited.