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| Thread: How Games Compare to Real Life: Why Do We Like HoMM So Much? | |
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Wub
Responsible
Famous Hero
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posted August 19, 2007 08:51 PM |
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How Games Compare to Real Life: Why Do We Like HoMM So Much?
Have you ever had the experience of being so absorbed in a game of HoMM that you lost any realization of time? Did you ever curse at yourself when looking at your watch because you should have been asleep for two hours already? Obviously, there must be something in HoMM – or games in general - that we find very appealing. But what? People often point at the dark side of games: addiction, violent behavior. Whereas I acknowledge that particularly addiction is a very real danger, I want to focus on the bright side of playing games by showing that they can actually contribute significantly to real life. In fact, I claim that this is the very reason why we like and play games!
As a hardcore gamer, I find the view that non-gamers commonly have about games quite surprising. According to these people games are…well, just games! They are simply pastime activities. But in fact it is not so clear-cut when something is merely a ‘game’. A game like HoMM can also elicit very ‘real’ emotions. Games can also go beyond the concept of winning and losing. A big part of role playing games, for example, is just to come together and create a wonderful story. A game does not necessarily require rules either. In many contemporary multiplayer role playing games on the internet, for example, you have absolute freedom: You can choose to conquer your neighbors, but you can also simply live in peace with them and spend your time trading goods or do whatever else you please. In fact, with the rapid development of virtual reality techniques, it may very soon be possible to play a game that is as ‘real’ as your own life (see for example the movie eXistenZ). For all you know, while you are reading this post you may be in a simulation yourself, as part of a game!
Given that there is only a gradual difference between games and real life, it is quite obvious that games can teach us insights about the superordinate game that we call life. Games allow us to have experiences and emotions that are not easy to have in everyday life. Whereas in our everyday life we no longer have to deal with all types of dangerous animals, HoMM helps us to experience how it may feel to encounter all sorts of bloodthirsty creatures. With some fantasy, we can feel heroic, passionate, noble and powerful by diving in the world of HoMM.
Even though experiencing games in this way may certainly help to regain energy after a hard day’s work, this experience of fun is still a rather basic or even limited advantage of gaming. Unfortunately, most gamers are satisfied with this rather hedonistic experience. Some may even develop an addiction. What happens is that they feel attracted to a game, but they think it is because the game itself is so incredible. So they keep playing and playing – even when an itchy little voice says that they should spend time on other activities as well. They even keep playing when the game itself becomes less and less fun – simply because they defined this as the most pleasurable pastime activity. But the real reason of the initial fulfillment that people experience, is that games create problems that we face in everyday life and provide different choices to deal with them, only in a much more controlled and pleasurable setting. Our choices in games may therefore tell us something about our everyday problems as well.
Isn’t it remarkable that people who get no tasks done in real life usually find it more than obvious that in an RPG they should give their character or main hero as many skills, spells and abilities as possible? Isn’t that the reason that they were attracted to the game in the first place – that they missed a focus in real life and noticed they could achieve a lot more in a game? But in this respect there is little difference between your main hero and yourself. You could even say you have a “skill tree” in real life too. For example:
Basic Car Driving requires Advanced Self Discipline, Advanced Reading, Basic Social Skills, and Expert Concentration. Costs: 1500 gold, only available when character is 16 (18) years old.
Or perhaps you want a more serious skill tree (at least it is an interesting metaphor)? If you are a shy person, why is it that you freely have conversations with non-playable characters in role-playing games, but find it harder to engage in a real-life social interaction? If you are prepared to accept that games are simulations of real life, you have a powerful way to reflect on your own life.
So how would you define your game playing style in HoMM? What is preventing you from becoming a better player? Chances are it holds you back in real life as well. For example, if you tend to engage neutral monsters on the adventure map that are too strong, you may either be too impulsive or perhaps too mentally lazy, or reckless in real life as well. Then again, perhaps not, but it is food for thought. I personally found, for example, that I have a very bottom-up way of thinking: I was particularly interested in figuring out small things in HoMM such as damage calculation in the battle field before I was able to determine my strategy. I have the same tendency in real life. Nowadays I especially enjoy playing boardgames with friends, and observe the way they (and I as well) use diplomacy. Because such games allow me to see them in situations in which they usually do not end up, it is very revealing!
If you have played a game for a long time, your choices may spring less from your personality, but more from your experience with the game. Personal preferences are more and more replaced by knowledge of what actually works in the game and what does not. I think that is why games are often less interesting once you have figured them out. If you feel that a certain game is less fulfilling, feel free to start a new game and closely monitor the choices that you make and the dilemmas that you face. They may reveal interesting things and it is even fun as well! Sometimes, there’s nothing like being a n00b  .
Games are fun, but in the end there is nothing like real life. Still, if there is one thing that games teach us, it is that they are practice grounds for our own life. Once we realize that, it is but a small step to start reflecting about the insights they provide us with and test them in our real life.
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted August 22, 2007 03:28 AM |
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Edited by Consis at 03:30, 22 Aug 2007.
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Hmm...
A thoughtful thread Wub. Welcome back to Heroes Community. I haven't seen you around here in ages, perhaps even a whole year or so. I disagree with your assumptions about comparing games to real life. Here are my own assumptions:
1. Heroes of Might & Magic gamers are of three types
..... 1) Social Escapists
....... 2) Dreamworld Lovers
......... 3) Obsession Feeders
2. I do not believe anyone actually uses games actively for comparative living, although many would claim otherwise. Niether do I believe anyone plays games to affect economic gain. Niether do I believe anyone plays games in search of God. Not all gamers are addicts and not all gamers are escaping the social horrors of an abusive family. I believe most are dreamworld lovers, very much akin to those ancient books by Homer, the Illiad & the Odyssey. People have something no other lifeforms have, a rich and fantastic imagination.
3. Only under very few circumstances do I believe Heroes of Might & Magic gamers compare and apply these wonderful stories and dreamworlds to their real lives. The only example I can think of is that of Valeriy's own account of when he tried to build his own little orc fort and crudely fashioned bows. But that was when he was much younger. Something of that nature can be compared to having make-believe friends and dolls to play with....which all psychologists agree is nothing more than a child with a good healthy imagination. It does not persist to adulthood. If you ask Valeriy I'm sure he will tell you he hasn't done much more than website creation.
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Roses Are Red And So Am I
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Wub
Responsible
Famous Hero
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posted August 26, 2007 05:14 PM |
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Edited by Wub at 17:15, 26 Aug 2007.
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Hey Consis, long time no see . I fully agree with you that few people actually compare games to real life – that’s exactly the reason why I dropped by to start this thread  .
I hope you didn’t get the impression that I think many gamers are addicts. I wouldn’t put them in a separate category of “obsession feeders” though. That is, there may be some overlap between the type of HoMM gamers you propose. It is only natural for introverted people (like me) to withdraw to their own world to regain energy, so it is no surprise that many of them are dreamworld lovers. When people have trouble leaving this dreamworld and returning to real life, you might label this as social escapism and when this dreamworld becomes predominant over real life you could speak of an addiction.
Anyhow, seeing that my main focus is on the positive side of gaming, let’s provide some more food for thought about how the games you play relate to your life.
Can you remember how you felt when you first played Heroes of Might and Magic? Personally, I was truly blown away. The adventure map was so chock full of interesting locations! I had been playing games such as Red Alert for a long time, but the maps in that game suddenly seemed bland and dull. I was eager to learn everything about all these treasures, artifacts, buildings and fantasy sites in the HoMM universe. I felt this insatiable urge to explore.
Do we have the same urge in real life? As for me, I certainly did not experience it at that time. Isn’t it remarkable to become infatuated with all these exciting, shiny merchandise when entering an artifacts merchant, but to become perhaps even slightly indifferent when entering a super market? If you like customizing your hero in an RPG by collecting and designing all sorts of cool clothes and attributes, would you do that for yourself in real life as well?
From the above it becomes clear that playing games may lead to a mindset that is different from that of real life – even when the activities we engage in are to some extent comparable. More specifically: games help us to reflect, while in real life we often ruminate.
When you reflect upon things, you evaluate them without judging. You see the big picture. You are forgiving and relaxed. You think clearly without feeling fear or anger. You are curious, explorative and open-minded. If you ruminate however, you may feel stressed or in a hurry, you keep pondering and doubting about things, you may fear doing the wrong thing, you may act irritated and you are not open to any opportunity that may present itself. A good example of rumination is when you think about this terrible deadline you have to reach. Sounds familiar?
It might be possible that rumination is sometimes useful, but obviously you would much rather fill your life with as much reflection as possible. If games help us in inducing this reflective mood, this experience may help us to reflect in real life as well. I have been experimenting with this quite a bit and the results are very encouraging. I especially like to compare myself to a role playing character who gets experience, learns skills and reaches certain levels. It gives me focus. Most importantly, I try to see events that happen to me as a learning experience.
This last part is essential, because it encourages you to reflect instead of ruminate. In HoMM terms you could say that in order to obtain treasures, you usually have to fight through some nasty monster stack. But in HoMM we see that as a challenge and an opportunity to gain experience. In real life it doesn’t need to be different.
So how would you feel about comparing real life to a game? To explore to which hero class you belong? To boost your skills by visiting interesting locations? You may find it hard to cast dimension door , but still...who knows what sort of hero you may become?
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madshj
Famous Hero
Minotaur Lord
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posted January 16, 2008 05:00 PM |
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i have been really much addicted to a game, all i wanted was just playing it, i rarely didnt do anything for about some weeks,
i wasnt together with my friends, and such.
I have always been the "outsider"
always teased at school, and such...
Then i start playing World of Warcraft, now i wasnt just the "strange kid", i could make new friends in the game, talk with them, have fun with them through the game, i felt like being cared about, it was a wonderful time..
i fought(argued) much with my parents, about it, and they closed the paying, you have to pay for the game each 3 months, or each half year, or each 1 month, addiction can be dangerous
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Vidoja
Bad-mannered
Known Hero
Checker for Heroes Competiton
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posted January 17, 2008 04:54 PM |
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I really don't know why I like HOMM (and M&M for that matter). It's in my blood.
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