Have you ever watched “The Game”? The movie begins with flashbacks of the main character, banker Nicholas Van Orton, about one of his childhood birthday parties. The memories are interrupted, and the banker leaves his house for the office, where he meets his younger brother. If you watched the movie, you remember how frustrated the main character was about his rich life. But his brother decides to give him a present, which could be the most exciting present everyone could ever dream of. The main character gets an invitation to participate in the game, which changes his perspective on his life, meaning, and principles.
So what is a game for each of us, and why do we play it almost from childhood? According to scientists and practical psychologists, the game solves many problems and issues. It is a means by which we develop our physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and moral abilities. Moreover, like in the mentioned movie, the character evolves through a game, and we also develop our potential with its help. Nowadays, there are so many sources we can use to satisfy our gaming needs, and one of them is the casino ElRoyale, where you can find a game to your taste.
The advantages of games are countless, but the following are the most important:
- A game promotes creative development. We are used to thinking about creativity as something that belongs exclusively to representatives of the arts. Creativity involves imagination and non-standard thinking. Through innovative games, we explore new ideas and interests. We create and embody our unique world.
- A game strengthens relationships. It helps us learn to respect other people and develops communication skills. With the help of a game, we make new and maintain existing friendships. Thanks to play, it is easier to find ways to join a group, communicate with other people confidently, and get energy from group communication.
- A game helps relieve tension. Stress relief is one of the most important benefits of playing games. With their help, we can work out our emotions and experiences and resist stress. As a result, such a fruitful process helps people form their self-awareness.
- The game promotes the development of empathy and compassion. Playing games helps people calm down and think about others, whether in a group or alone. In group games, people learn to work together and listen to each other. After all, if they don’t, the game ends quickly. You can only beat a boss if you cooperate with your teammates.
At least once in his life, every gamer faced a situation of disapproval from people, who would nod their heads dejectedly and say something like: “you’re wasting your time on nonsense. It would be better to watch a movie or a series, read a book about personal growth, or sign up for a macrame circle, and it would be more useful.” In their defense, fans of video games can normally state that video games have a quality like in a movie production nowadays in terms of profitability, narratives, monetization, and visualization in particular. Moreover, Hollywood stars willingly give their voices and appearances to characters in computer games, and eSports competitions gather viewers no less than the premiere of a new episode of a popular TV series.
Although video games are very young (the first video games appeared only in the late 1970s and early 1980s), they have a lot of advantages that are unavailable to cinematography, literature, and other older and more popular forms of art. So, why do people love or hate games?
Effect of Immersion and Freedom of Action
When reading a book or watching a movie, we are passive observers led along a path laid in advance by the author or authors. We can worry about the heroes and put ourselves in their place, but no more. In video games, everything is a little different. We see the world through the eyes of the hero and spend with them as much time as we want. As a result, the effect of immersion in the hero in games is much stronger. The next aspect is freedom of action. Yes, most games now are still linear and only give the illusion of choice. However, some projects provide the player relative freedom of action. For example, in Fallout: New Vegas, the player could become a hero who saves everyone and everything or a real nightmare of the Wasteland. Unfortunately, such freedom is only available in RPGs.
A Metaphor of Reality
Many video games bring us to imaginary worlds. Still, there are virtual entertainments that help us better prepare for what awaits us on the other side of the screen, especially for children. For example, children play Minecraft and Civilization in American schools in class. There are also a lot of simulators of a farmer, businessman, politician, manager, etc., which can introduce us to the inner kitchen of various spheres of our life. Even the simple and well-known Tetris can be an excellent metaphor for our life. This game teaches us that problems and tasks are never downloaded, and the further we advance, the more difficult they become.
Distraction and Relaxation
Many gaming opponents believe that a game is nothing more than an attempt to escape and hide from the problems and worries of real life. And they are partly right. Games, films, and books help us escape from the gray everyday life for a couple of hours, and there is nothing wrong with that if it is done without fanaticism. It is even useful. Also, you often hear about excessive violence in games, which can eventually turn people into maniacs or psychopaths. However, it should be remembered that there is enough negativity and aggression on TV and in everyday life. Video games help eliminate the frustration accumulated over failures at work or an annoying neighbor without harming anyone.
The Spirit of Competition
Many of us have a competitive spirit. However, only some have enough time to sign up for the football section, go to the tennis court, or play basketball. But thanks to games, you can test your strength at any time, at any time convenient for you, in many different projects, starting from MMOs and ending with digital card games.
Lack of Real Innovations
But this reason also leads to a decrease in the population of gamers. Technologies are developing, the number of polygons in the textures of the environment and characters is growing, and thanks to the lighting, it is no longer so easy to distinguish reality from the game. However, in many games, many conventions characteristic of games from the distant 90s are still alive and well. For example, it’s funny to see how in some games, a character who can teleport and summon a pack of rats is forced to look for a key to a weak gate to go further. Or the fact that the player can still destroy only those objects that the game designers allow him, and a wire wall or a wooden fence can be an insurmountable obstacle for a multi-ton truck.
Lack of Serious Topics
The industry continues to bombard us with numerous stories about zombies, the fight against terrorists, alien invasions, or saving the world from the Dark Lord and his minions. Undoubtedly, these topics are very interesting and exciting, but sometimes you want something more serious, dramatic, and down-to-earth. Fortunately, the number of games that break the above patterns steadily increases. For example, This War is Mine is a game about war, and it is not shown from the perspective of a cool soldier with a square jaw but from ordinary civilians who want to live until morning.
Technology
As we elaborated previously in the article on the main general characteristics of the gaming experience for most people, we want to concentrate further on games’ visual and functional peculiarities. The process of creating games has been improved, and the importance of many aspects, such as user experience research, has increased. That is why the importance of UX and UI design, the narrative of any game, has grown significantly. Gamers expect positive and fun experiences; if they don’t get them, they move on to another game and never return.
Here is the list of things that make a game more attractive for users:
Colors and symbols
During the game, the user is bombarded with information. Sometimes the gameplay is fast and requires an instant decision. For example, in multiplayer games, the trick is that the player immediately knows what he is dealing with at the moment of the game. In Quake 3 from 1999, opponents are marked in red and allies in blue during team competitions. Interestingly, the opposing team sees it the same way from their point of view. Red is associated with danger and is the color of our enemies. It is still popular in games to use blue and red signs to represent combat teams, such as in Team Fortress 2.
On the other hand, in the popular game Overwatch, the characters wear colorful clothes and armor, but the signs above their heads are marked in blue and red. It is also popular in video game production to use generic symbols known to players. For example, if we come across red barrels in a shooter, we can be sure they can be blown up. Question marks on maps in open-world games indicate that an action or treasure awaits us in a given place. Exclamation marks over NPCs mean they have a task for us. The colors already mentioned are also used to indicate the hero’s resources – hit points are always red, magical energy is blue, and stamina is green. With these universal symbols, a player starting a new game will quickly begin to enjoy the gameplay. However, game designers are experimenting with icons and narratives to provide users with an outstanding experience.
Minimalistic interfaces in games
Looking at older games, we find that the interface takes up most of the screen. It was a way to save PC processing power. Today they do not hide the beauty of virtual worlds created by developers. It is very popular nowadays, especially in open-world games. In the released Days Gone game, environmental objects are displayed – for example, the fuel level is shown on the side of a motorcycle when it is refueled. In the post-apocalyptic Metro series, the player uses a wristwatch to check how much time is left before changing the filter on their gas mask. All of these make games much more exciting.
Adding features users want
Game developers and publishers try to do precisely what the players ask for. Players’ community is very visible on social media and can strongly impact developers. For example, after a wave of criticism, Electronic Arts decided to change the end of its Mass Effect space trilogy. So the developers and game designers are always ready to hear what users want regarding visuals and narratives.
Users are given control
Nowadays, games allow much more, even in the case of shooters like Overwatch, where we can, for example, change the look of the crosshair. MMORPG games are the most complex in terms of interface configuration, as they are highly dependent on user preferences. World of Warcraft has a system of patches written in the Lua language that allows you to redesign the interface completely. Customizing the user interface to suit specific tasks improves player comfort and encourages them to stay in the game longer.
Video for reward
Rewarded promotional videos have become the industry standard in recent years. They increase profits and are considered a “win-win” situation (users who agree to watch ads will receive an in-game reward in exchange).
Players love rewards, exciting consuming narratives, and eye-catching visuals of the game. Moreover, it should also be user-friendly and fulfill the needs of a gamer. If these requirements are not fulfilled, there is a low chance a game would be great.