Uses of Gaming

 

Why do we game? What are our reasons and motivations? To what ends do we use games?

There are uses, and the are abuses. Let's take a look at some of the reasons.

 

Escape.

We all probably experienced this one. When problems accumulate, they are easier to sidestep than solve.

Ignorance is bliss, and your chosen poison is: gaming.

 

Definition.

I game, therefore I am.

To be able to claim to be a gamer (to oneself or others), a gamer has to game.

Located at the mental level, if lightly grasped, this self-definition usually stands for an enhanced degree of flexibility. (Otherwise it may stand for the opposite.)

 

Work.

Gaming for the sake of making money, either directly (farming, competitive gaming) or indirectly (developing, supporting, studying etc).

 

Content absorption.

We thirst for information and ideas; we seek out and absorb them into ourselves from all kinds of media. (Examples of static content would be books, songs, movies, and so on.)

A game too can simply be packaging for static content.

Rule of thumb: if a game can be finished and is single-player, it is mostly about content absorption.

 

Meditation.

Contrary to popular belief, gaming can actually be used to help solve problems instead of just sidestepping them.

The meditation aspect is most visible with games that don't require much thinking or which require very quick thinking.

In the first case, you would use a game to occupy your hands and let your mind wander. Using it as a mental focus relaxes other parts of your brain (by contrast).

In the second case, it would work as short-circuiting your thought patterns and help approach things from different perspectives.

 

Communication.

A game can not only be a medium for one-way communication between developer and gamer (content absorption), but also a protocol of communication between gamer and gamer.

This communication doesn't even have to be conscious or explicit, it can be more of a communion:

Simply enjoying the presence of others, relating to and changing the game world, contributing to the 'buzz', breathing in the atmosphere, being part of a community.

 

Just because.

Gaming an sich. Gaming: The Experience. The soul of gaming. Gaming-fu. Gaming which is talked about is not true gaming. Magic.

I game, therefore I game.

 


Aeria Gloris / Virtual Worlds / Uses of Gaming