Pleasure, Pain and Play

If we look at gaming Aesthetics we can get an idea of what makes gaming fun. The ancient Greek definition of the word is ‘perceived by the senses’. It is the sound effects the visual graphics the excitement that make the game fun to play. In the 18th century aesthetics became about ‘artistic taste’. What makes a game fun is its ability to satisfy our senses tastes. For example different graphics styles are available and people have preferences over them. People can also enjoy old fashioned graphics styles as it reminds them of a game they used to play. All of this leads to an individual opinion on what makes a good piece of art. A computer game is a piece of art, just like a film or a song. Games are dissimilar to other media though. They offer aesthetic pleasure in a unique way, because games aesthetics are located in play.

People play games for fun, but there are many times when a game can be frustrating. Pleasure and pain of play is closely related because you can have one with out the other. Playing games is not always fun. For example in half-life it was easy to get stuck in places and not know how to proceed. In world of war craft it can be annoying when you are killed by higher level players, or constantly fail to receive an item you want. But we keep playing. This is because it is emotionally rewarding to achieve the task even if it wasn’t fun when trying to do so. World of war craft I find exceptionally interesting as its rewards have visible evidence. You can work hard for an item that only exists in the context of the game world, but in that game world its rewards are very apparent. The items rewards can be used to go on and achieve more in the game. So ultimately it dose come down to achieving the objective of the game that we find rewarding. Game rewards are offered trough new items, lives technology etc. We endure pain and keep playing to get the next reward. Games can tap into the minds sense of reward. Just like you feel good when you finished an essay, you feel good when you complete that next level. This makes me wonder if the human subconscious is able to differentiate between a game environment and a real one. Perhaps this is why we can emotionally relate to digital games so well. Apparently the human brain is ‘wired for reward’. Because of this we are constantly seeking out new reward, despite the nature of the reward (digital or not). There are four types of digital game rewards. One is a reward of access, like in doom with the different colour key cards. Another is a reward of sustenance like health packs and ammo in fps games. Thirdly a reward of facility like new technology in strategies games like civilisation. Final the reward of glory, like a high score. The reward of glory is a big part of playing multiplayer games. It is satisfying to beat your opponent, whether they are a friend and you’re playing on a console, or a stranger and you’re playing online. Your alias can gain reputation online, you gain status, and people know how good a player you are if they have played you before. This is the biggest of the reward factor when playing an online game I feel.