When the other Max gave his presentation on videogames, I began to wonder why do we like violent videogames. Yes, other games are out there where we don't decapitate each other or where we dont shoot each other in the face, but the games where we do end up making the most money.
It is simple really why we do, in this article it states that in order to make a good game you need a good narrative behind it. Every story needs conflict, and the best conflicts are always the ones that we resolve with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. These games offer the ability to do something out of the ordinary. It allows us to take each others lives, which otherwise would be horrible, and do so with pleasure. This causes a rush of endorphins, and provides us with a sense of happiness.
Personally I love gouging people's eyes out with my thumbs in killzone, but I worry that it has made me a little too accustomed to death. A normal reaction would be disgust, but as more hours of violence is played, my nerves and brain have just gotten accustomed to that kind of stimulus.
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/11/171698919/video-game-violence-why-do-we-like-it-and-whats-it-doing-to-us
First off, I am not just the "Other Max" :P Secondly, with years of experience on the subject, I guess I play games like Call of Duty because they're so much fun! It's weird to say but I really do get enjoyment out of shooting virtual terrorists in the face! No, I don't fantasize about really shooting people!
ReplyDeleteIm rob ably not the best person to comment on this because I only play video games when I'm at another persons house but i think that video games are most fun when playing with an opponent because it just another way to prove your superiority over someone and that can be kinda fun sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI think definitely games make our brains more accustomed to the things we experience. I used to be rather jumpy with horror movies or people trying to surprise me, however after playing some Amnesia or Outlast that issue was quickly remedied. The same with the concept of death, it makes it less foreign even though it obviously still is. As for the other Maxs point, Call of duty is not a fun game in my opinion due to the predictability of the game play and its recycled formula.
ReplyDeleteValid point! Although Call of Duty uses a "recycled" formula, it's still fun just to hop on there and have mindless fun. However, that's not all I play! As my presentation showed I play a variety of games. In the end, I have no preference as to what I play, as long as I am getting enjoyment out of the time I am playing!
Deletei personally as a RPG (role playing game) gamer i play in order to see how the game creators recreate past sets like in assassin creed which has a nice plot to it or Skyrim which is based off of medieval times but set in a different world. To me its like the visuals of a book, just like some people can imagine what is going on in the book that they are reading, to me RPG allow me to live it through a control and good graphics.
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