The Reasons Why We Play

The reasons why we play games are many and varied, but it seems that a lot more people want to make some form of money out of their game play. As soon as you involve yourself in the business of making an income out of gaming then the process of playing leaves the realms of being leisure and turns in to work. I have had the opportunity to work in a number of different jobs across a number of different fields and every single job has turned in to a number of repetitive tasks performed on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Even those jobs inwhich I felt that I had the opportunity to make a difference for people turned in to repetitive tasks. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to turn something that I love doing (namely writing and playing games, although I have had the opportunity to be paid to have my short stories published this has become full time) in to a job. So, I can't relate what I am saying about gaming and relate it directly to the notion of working in a chocolate factory and not enjoying chocolate any more. However, it does make me think that this is what would happen if you turned gaming in to a full time profession.

So, why do we play games? Ultimately, it is a form of recreation and entertainment. Some people play games to relax and unwind from whatever pressures they are under in the world. Gaming presents the opportunity for people to suspend their notion of disbelief and involve themselves in worlds which are completely unlike our own. It also allows them to role play in a way which does not present itself in real life. Where our lives are mainly mundane and repetitious games provide us with the opportunity to be the hero. To save the world, or possibly not save the world as a matter of choice. The hero journey itself is a well defined process (thanks to Joseph Campbell and The Hero with a Thousand Faces) and represents the perfect opportunity for plot development in game. This type of hero based escapism allows for every person to feel as though they actually can make a difference whereas in real life the reality is often the complete opposite. Games allow us to do things that we would not be able to do in real life. There are a number of management type simulations which can indulge either the entrepeneur or megalomaniac (or both) in any person. Once again giving people opportunities to experience simulated situations which they would probably not be able to utilize in life.

While some people may play games for purely escapist reasons others play games to fulfill their competitive needs. There are many leagues and clans which provide opportunities for people to compete against others on a (relatively) level playing field across a number of different game types. While first person shooters and RTSs take most of the glory when it comes to competitive online games. Others, such as, Industry Player allow players to compete in a capitalist business development simulation online.

Further to this other people play games for purely veyeuristic reasons. The Sims franchise has mixed a number of game play elements and provided a veyeuristic gaming experience for those who are inclined this way. While, I am sure, there are a minority who play this game for Sadistic reasons most want to see their online avatars develop in a way which they could not in real life. Sometimes substituting the success of their characters in a purely emotional form of satisfaction which can over ride the successes or failures in their own lives.

Not to mention that many people play games (especially online or via LAN) for purely social reasons. One of the things which is not talked about much is the very social nature of online and LAN play. Teamspeak and other simple programs have made communication while playing accessible to everyone. For many gamers it creates the opportunity to catch up with friends regularly in the comfort of their home without making the effort of having to go out. Many enduring friendships and rivalries are created online often without people actually meeting each other in person. When gamers aren't playing games they are talking (or typing) on forums, either talking the talk or chewing the fat. Either way gaming is a very social form of communication which allows people to communicate and participate with other people in ways that they would not necessarily do in their working life.

I am sure there are other reasons why people play games, but I think that has covered the major areas. What happens to these things when you turn gaming in to a job? The game turns from being a form of entertainment in to work. They change from being objects of escapism and entertainment and turn in to forms of study. Where general gameplay leisure time turns in to regular practice. General repetitive duties such as farming to manufacture objects becomes an ongoing task to make money. In order to make regular money from games will change The reasons why we play the games in the first place. The notion of gaming would then inherently change to the user.

The Problems With Genre

Put simply, genre is just a means of classifying various forms of entertainment. Of which, video games, being entertainment, are characterized by those genre and sub-genre which make simple definition of a game type possible and easily accessible without providing a lot of detail as to the specifics of a game. Traditionally, genres are not defined and then games created in that vein. The games are created and then the genre to classify follows. Often you will see game genres come and go based on consumer demand of a product type rather than based on the ingenuity of the game developer. As such, we don't see many text based adventures any more. However, it seems that genre is an easy means by which to create and market games by game developers. Genre is a means for game developers to keep the process of game development safe and for the marketing and sale of the subsequent game to fit in to a number of predefined categories to appeal to a specific market. Unfortunatetly, we don't see a whole lot of thinking outside the box when it comes to genre based game development. A First Person Shooter (or Shooter) is just that. While there are some games which attempt to add to the genre and combine more than one type of gameplay (such as Shooter and Role Play) the majority of games conform to the genre.

You have to look hard to find games which mix genres and generally you don't see them in Shooters. The mix of First Person Shooter and Roleplay has become a sub-genre just as Real Time Strategy with elements of world building or Roleplay are becoming pretty much standard. The problem that I have is that many of these games are becoming much of a muchness. Most shooters are pretty much the same. It becomes difficult to push yourself through another shooter because there really are not many differences between them. Further to the genre classification is the use of gaming franchises to produce sequel upon sequel. One of the long term shooter franchises has been Rainbow Six. In the beginning it mixed a "realistic" type shooter experience with strategy and team management elements to produce a game which satisfied a number of gamers for different reasons. The strategy or team planning element was so complicated that you could spend hours planning your missions before actually playing them. However, Ubisoft, in their infinite wisdom this year decided to abandon the one element which seperated this franchise from other games in the genre and completely dropped the mission planning phase of the game. What they produced was a shooter which was dumbed down for the masses. The PC version was nothing more than a console type shooter. This move effectively hurt Ubisoft because the game didn't sell well and the die hard fans of the game didn't buy it. Ubisoft deserted the group of gamers which had supported, maintained and built the franchise. A franchise which doesn't really add anything to its given genre would be the Medal Of Honour series. The things which differ these games are the setting and an improvement to the graphics (excluding Rising Sun which for some reason was a step back in graphics). While Pacific Assault added an arcade type flying experience to the game and also a very basic form of squad management (which didn't work very well) it didn't add anything to the gameplay. The game is a generic world war 2 shooter.

One of the things that we are seeing develop in shooters is squad management. The ability to actually have some control over the NPCs who are fighting with you. This was released in a very limited way in Half Life 2 and has been better explored by games like Brothers In Arms. However, these changes have not really contributed anything further to the genre itself. They have just provided more characters on screen and the possibility of fire and flank.

What more is there for the shooter to do? How can they possibly give this genre a new lease on life? The genre itself has been around for a good fifteen years since the creation of Wolfenstein, however, the changes to the style of game play have been very subtle to say the least. Half Life changed the shooter from being a purely kill everything experience to a narrative. Half Life removed the score from the game and made the process of playing a matter of survival while telling a very tight story. System Shock took the notion of narrative based game play and combined it with basic role play elements and limited open type gameplay. Dues Ex refined and perfected the basis of System Shock and created a compelling gaming experience. However, it seems that those games which have attempted to push beyond the boundaries of the genre which tried to contain them are relatively limited. Very few have tried to expand on the basic elements of the genre and forge their own path.

Unfortunately, there are limitations placed on game developers when they attempt to create games and, more often than not, they are forced through economic pressures to conform to a style which is tried and tested rather than risk their own money to experiment. This means that a lot of the experimentation is left to the modding community who invest their own time and money in to developing mods for existing games. Then, what you see, is the game developers riding on the back of success of individuals who have had to experiment in their own time and with their own resources.

What is the use of having a free system of commerce if their is no inclination for experimentation because market forces punish those who attempt to be unique or creative? It is a catch 22 for which there are no real answers. Game developers cannot afford to take risks without the possibility of a return on their investment.

In Game Advertising

I am not going to crap on adinfinitum about ingame advertising. I am going to state a simple fact. The use of dynamic ingame advertising will not bring down the price of games. The reason for this is simple. People are currently prepared to pay up to $119.95 (Aus) for a new release Xbox 360 game. This is an increase of $20 (Aus) from the high end Xbox games. At the moment people are prepared to pay $99.95 for a high end premium release PC game (except in the case of Half Life 2 in which people paid $119.95/129.95 for the collector's edition). The price of games has traditionally gone up and not down. Further to this it is the role of a corporation to make more money and not make less money. If ingame advertising creates the opportunity for these corporations to make more money while still charging the same cover price then that is what will happen. They will make more money. Period.

Happy Birthday to ... well ... me

I have to admit that I missed it. It wasn't on my calender to be honest and then the end of October came and went with me doing other things. Anyway, my brother pointed out that it was the anniversary date for the creation of the cynical gamer. My on again off again blog has reached 12 months old. I must admit that I didn't think cynical gamer would be around that long. It started as a spur of the moment thing in complete frustration with parts of the gaming industry and has been maintained by continued frustration with the gaming industry and the machine which supports it.

I have been a gamer my entire life, which started with the Atari 2600 and has continued through various different computer and console systems (long live the Commodore 64 and the Amiga). It is good that a forum such as cynical gamer can exist where people can criticise an industry which is massive. Without the criticism we would just be "yes men" slaves to the products we purchase. I wouldn't not even begin to consider that cynical gamer makes any type of difference (as I don't believe a lot of people read it), but it is good to let off some steam about an industry which we are all so passionate about. You don't have to be a game creator or Game reviewer to be passionate about an industry. Gaming is unlike any other form of entertainment. For the time that you are playing the game you are the hero or you are the villain. If you watch a television show, movie or read a book you are nothing but a passive observer in someone else's adventure. In gaming you live the adventure. You make that character a part of your life and it is for that reason that the gaming community and the gaming experience differs from any other form of entertainment. It is also the reason why people should be passionate and opinionated about what they purchase. They are not making a two hour investment of their time in a game, it could be time spent playing over a number of years. There is nothing else out there like it. Nothing else where you can live and participate in the story.

Next month we will be getting an Xbox 360. It will be an opportunity to pick up a console controller again. While I have an Xbox I haven't played a lot of current Xbox games. Unfortunately consoles don't age well. They are stuck in the time warp in which they are created. While PCs go on advancing the poor console is stuck with the components in which it was purchased. Unfortunately, console games to me just can't keep the graphical pace of PC games. They qucickly become dated and the casual gamers lifestyle piece. PC gaming is where hard core gamers spend their spare time.

Anyway, thanks to those readers who have stuck with the cynical gamer over the last twelve months and to those who are just new to this blog. I look forward to giving you some more cynicism in the future.