Self imposed game play restrictions [challenges or handicaps] are a fairly common element in game play. Challenges can be preformed on a variety of video games ranging from Freecell to World of Warcraft. For the purposes of this essay, we will be looking at games with an estimated game play length of ten hours or more. The challenges can come in a variety of forms. One player, Dana, performed the three heart challenge in the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; a challenge where the player must struggle through the game with extremely low health. Another player, Lauren, performed a speed run where she set herself a time limit to complete the main storyline. There are numerous other challenges that can and have been played; however, this essay is attempting to examine why players perform challenges, not listing the different types.
During my attempts to find out more about challenges I became interested in trying out a challenge of my own. The Nuzlocke challenge was something I'd been curious about before, but I had never gotten around to attempting. Like others, I had already completed the Pokemon game once before, including many of the side quests. This time was different. Within the first few hours of playing I was thoroughly engrossed. With only three Pokemon in my retinue I became increasingly I would have to release my Pokemon if they lost a battle. My gaming style changed; despite my previous battling style of using each Pokemon until an enemy defeated them, I now switched between them frequently to stop them from fainting. Battles became emotionally exhausting as I feared the loss of my Pokemon with each new turn. Despite having only played the Nuzlocke challenge for five hours, I can truthfully say I am more attached to m...
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... himself to other players; whereas Sam liked to boost his score to gain access to certain pieces of virtual clothing for his avatar. Achievements and gamer score have become a new method of tracking player rankings, they've become a way to make challenges both official and quantifiable.
Players can come up with large varieties of challenges to impose on themselves; however, despite the seemingly large number of reasons for doing so, all of them concentrate down to one reason. Players want more from games they like, and challenges are a way of getting that content.
Works Cited:
Couchman, Stephen. Personal Interview. 13 Jan 2014.
Detjen, Lauren. Personal Interview. 15 Jan 2014.
Flanik, Joe. Personal Interview. 13 Jan 2014.
Hill, Dana. Personal Interview. 13 Jan 2014
Levine, Samuel. Telephone Interview. 15 Jan 2014.
Stack, Logan. Personal Interview. 13 Jan 2014.
Lastly, McGonigal speaks of gaming as an intrinsic reward. She describes it as, “a productive pastime; experiencing the four things we crave the most, thus producing a higher quality of life” (372). This can be a controversial topic between gamers and non-gamers. There are gamers that use it as an escape from reality. Through gaming, virtual material rewards are received. Praise is gained from fellow gamers and if a gamer excels, a status is obtained. This is more supportive of the extrinsic reward system in this reader’s opinion.
As we evolve into a more advanced species, so does our technology, and along with our overly advanced technology, comes video games. They’ve have certainly come a long way since they were first introduced to the main stream audience and have been slowly creeping its way into many daily lives, making them a lot more entertaining and less dull. Video games’ one and only purpose is to entertain. However, it is indeed true that everything is fun and games until somebody gets hurt, and that is exactly what has happened over the years in video games. With the help of our technology, being more developed than ever, video games have also become increasingly sophisticated and overall more close to reality than
Glazer, S. (2006, November 10). Video Games. CQ Researcher, 16, 937-960. Retrieved February 11, 2010, from CQ Researcher Online
“The objective of video games are to entertain people by surprising them with new experience” (Shigeru Miyamoto).Video games have been a leisure activity for many people around the world but for some people it has become a way of life. Video games help us escape everyday life and bring us to a land of imagination. That is why many people play video games because it is a great way to relieve stress. Video games have many benefits than just being fun. Not only are video games shown to have positive effects on the individual if used in the right manner, but it also helps to connect people with common interest; bring a sense of community. It is also a resourceful way to find a career path. The components
... a 15 minute break before they were reoriented with the same instructions. They were asked to play the game that they did not play in the last session for 45 minutes and had to answer the same questionnaires but thinking about the second game.They were then interviewed about their experience. A paired t-test was used to analyze the data gathered and results showed that there was no significant relationship between openness and immersion. After reconsidering their experiment, they found out that the two games they used may have been indistinguishable in terms of narrative, which may have caused the contradicting results. The two studies showed immersion can be affected by the personality of the player and it can affect the whole game experience. It was suggested by the researcher that more studies are done to analyze the relationship between personality and immersion.
Art can be divide in to two different categories, “literacy arts,” art forms that attempt to tell a story, and “fine arts,” traditional works, sculptures, and paintings, as well music and dance. Video games, along with film, are an example of a literacy art form. Video games are increasingly becoming literacy art by telling stories that are equal if not better than those found in most movies. Not just mediocre stories to have them in the games, but compelling stories that drive the player to push forward. Bioshock, a 2007 release, is an example of this increasing importance of stories in video games. Influenced by philosophy and the works of Ayn Rand, the creator where able to create a cautionary tale of man’s individualism and genetic tweaking (VerBruggen).
In support of the belief that video games benefit people intellectually, there is a claim that game play provides cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social benefits (Granic, Lobel, Engels). In partial response, video games cannot offer cognitive benefits because they do not offer real life lessons. Yes, game play may allow someone to gain knowledge that will later be applied to the video game, but there are no positive real world techniques to be obtained. Playing video games will not increase and individuals motivational skills. The defense is made that failure within video games is intended to serve as motivational tools, providing multiple chances to reach success (Granic, Lobel, and Engels). While the feeling of success may be prevalent when an objective is completed, this fe...
of gray and this comes in handy to see other cars when driving in a fog.
Video games based on learning are quickly becoming known as “the new frontier of learning.” Many children who have learning disabilities have an easier time learning basic skills from playing games rather than looking through a textbook. When learning is disguised as a fun pastime, children are more likely to welcome it. Video games can be utilized in school to influence children into becoming more comfortable with their own knowledge. In some cases, children feel incompetent to their peers because they are not as gifted in math or writing. By using video games, students are not expected to compete with their classmates, so they will become confident and outgoing which, in turn, will show their true talents. A group of researchers at the University of New York conducted an experiment with a group of students that were assigned to play video games competitively or on their own. Through performing this test, they concluded that those who chose to play competitively, or on their own both had an increased final score because they were able to play at their own leisure ("Educational Video Games Can Boost Motivation to Learn.", 2013). Observing how video games can help both gifted children, as well as the individuals who are struggling, is evidence that video games can be as useful as they are
Tommy scuffles through the front door, drops his book bag on the floor and plops down on the couch with a scowl across his face. As his PlayStation fires to life, he replays scenes from the day in his head of being shoved into the lockers by Billy, unable to form the words to impress Sussie, and sitting alone at lunch listening to the popular kids laugh and joke, ignoring him as if he did not exist. No one understands him. No one cares about him, because he is not strong, charming, or popular. All that is soon avoided as Tommy dives into a world where he controls everything and everyone either fears or loves him. If he fails, all he must do is reset. Here he can be anything he wants, and he can do and have it all.
There are several negative stereotypes associated with video games and those who play them; some of these may often hold true. However, there are plenty of learning opportunities in video games. While the direct purpose of some games is to educate or train, other games that do not directly have this purpose can still become a learning experience for the player. As Ntiedo Etuk, president of the educational video game company Tabula Digital said, “The traditional view of video games has been that they are distractions from the task of learning” (Electronic Education Report 1). Video games are an effective tool for learning and retaining skills both inside and outside the classroom environment. The basic cycle of game play--the introduction to the game, game play, collaboration, improvement of these between each round, and evaluation at the end of the game (Klievink and Janssen 159)--are nearly parallel to the traditional classroom learning cycle of reading a textbook or listening to a lecture, taking a quiz, studying, focusing on items missed on the quiz, and taking a test or exam. Within this cycle, there are many opportunities to develop and perfect both educational, life, and occupational skills.
Nowadays, video games are frequently accused of having detrimental effects on children and adolescents. The main arguments against video games are that they lead to addiction, that they provoke violence, and that they impair social development. Whether or not such claims are true has not been determined with certainty as scientific studies have produced contradictory results. Nevertheless, video games also have beneficial effects, which tend to be underrated, as they do not receive the same level of media coverage that adverse ones do, and are thus unknown to the general public. Some of the positive effects of playing video games on mental development include: stimulating analytical thinking, improving concentration, and encouraging planning and anticipation (“Video game controversies”).
Plus, they play to try to release their stress, frustration, and pressure after having a hard time doing their homework or in class. Video game developers goal is to make fans happy when they play their games. Video games are meant to have a feeling of adventure, enjoyment, and excitement. It helps the player to play video games without harm. Video games also help players relax after all of their work at school, jobs, or cleaning in and outside of their home....
Let’s start with Gamification. That’s a complete misconception about what gamification is all about. Many people think Gamification is a branch of gaming, so what is Gamification really? Gamification is the craft of absorbing the fun and addicting elements in games (Game Mechanics) and applying them into real-world applications. According to one of the Gamification Guru Yu-kai Chou, gamification is a design process that optimizes for the human or “human-focused design” of the system, as opposed to pure efficiency or “function-focused design” of the system.
Video games have been argued about for decades. Some people have argued that video games are linked to violence. However, new research shows that video games can be used for therapeutic purposes, exercise, stress relievers, positive interactive learning, hand eye coordination, and different types of patient treatment for people all around the world.