This week in class we learned a lot about games and the motivations behind why we play them. In the article we read titled, "Why We Play" we ran into two very important motives for why we play games known as challenge and mastery, and flow. Within the article we learned that challenge and mastery refers to a personal sense of getting better. As humans we love to know how we are acceding and improving our skills. Flow on the other hand is a known feeling for almost everyone that has played sports. This refers to the feeling of being in the zone or playing at the top of your game. Jane McGonigal a speaker in the video we watched titled, " Gaming Can Make a World Better" also had things to say about these motivations.
Jane stated in the video that games appeal to the motivation known as challenge and mastery because it is right at the tip of your level. Children that play games such as World of Warcraft are constantly playing at their own level and mastering skills before they reach the next! Jane also discusses in the video how flow is also another important motive. Many children get into a "flow" and don't come out of it for a while. They even skip dinner to keep playing like they are hypnotized to the game. This is one of the down falls to playing video games. Children can get hooked!
I thought the idea of flow was really interesting! I couldn't think of a name for it until we went over this! I feel like someone should have came up with a way to get into that flow when doing school work or actually at work. Motivation isn't enough when it comes to real life sometimes! We should all just live in a Sim's game.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all can we please live in a Sim's game... Lol I love that game SO much! Also yes, both talked about the the Flow during gaming. I can see where Jane is TRYING to go.. we just need someone to push it further. Someone has to make a game that is actually fun but educational which is where they lack at. What companies need to do is hide the fact that the game is educational in order to make it appealing. That's why I like the game Sims... it's very realistic but it could be even more educational and realistic if they changed some stuff. You learn life lessons on there that could actually bring value to the world if done correctly. If our Sim actually had to go through bankruptcy or miscarriages that could really teach us pain without having to live through it.
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