wade@darktreemedia.com
Why We Play Games
published September 22, 2010


Playing games has always been an important staple in the human psyche since the earliest days of recorded history. It is built into us from birth to play and amuse ourselves and each other. To see where games come from, where they are, and where they will be going in the future, all one needs to do is see who has and will benefit the most. There are many who benefit from it in many ways. The man broken down from the society around him needing escape will benefit. The profiteer looking to expand his economic status will benefit. Those who benefit unwaveringly will look for the patterns in gaming culture, including children’s games by both catering to the traditions of old, and to the traditions being created today. They will note that children’s games change very little through the generations. Children’s minds are all very similar at a young age, and this is a contributing factor as to why kids’ games change so little over time. The complexity of games grow as the age marketed to gets older, as the older a person gets, the more his mind is able to handle. The more complex games get, the more complex life gets. They go hand in hand this way. The more complex life gets, the harder it works the brain. Relationships, school, jobs, and the sort take a toll on the mind and everyone needs an escape. Even rocket scientists need to play a game of poker or a round of deathmatch with his friends to unwind. Whether it is women, drugs, games, or a dip in the lake a hot summer night, just like your body physically needs rest to survive, a game is a way of relaxing and massaging the brain so that it can go back to functioning properly.

The longest lasting known games in physical form, much like the Royal Game of Ur have emitted from the rich and all powerful. The higher ups in societies long ago had the most access to stone, to the printing press, had the most men on their army, or had the most status is some way, shape, or form. To look what we have now, we have the very popular Milton-Bradley line of games that will be around for a long, long time due to the massive amount of financial backing they have. So one of the places we can look to when looking for who is going to be most likely to be creating the new games of all sorts will be the big corporations. It is no secret that money rules the world, and games are no exception, no matter how innocent it may look. In the world of board games, the Milton-Bradley and Fantasy Flight board game type companies are sure to be the forefront of gaming. Even if the game is designed by one man or a duo, the majority of the time, it will be picked up by a large company, and they will mass produce it, financially back it, and put their name on it. Sure there are games made by ‘the small guy’, but unfortunately, no matter how great their product is, it is hard to commercialize and compete with the VALVe’s, Nintendo’s, and Hoyle’s of the world. The rich do not always completely dominate though. Ever since World War II, we have seen much expressionism and explosive creativity from Japan. Being knocked down but not out of the fight, lots of the top companies and video games come from the heart of Japan. Even if they are not made or manufactured in Japan, the influences of Japanese film and culture have had a huge impact on games. This is important, as often a downtrodden country or person historically will burst, often in creativity. Some of the most inventive games can often come from those that live in extreme circumstances most of the time. The common man does not have as much inspiration as those of extreme wealth whom may have a lot of time on their hands, or at the other end of the spectrum, the extremely poor person who does everything they can to stand out or make wealth for themselves. For any of them to make games or wealth however, they have to be able to know how to follow a trend.

Depending on the year, one might notice a rise in popularity of nuclear war-based themes or the next year be all about massive alien invasions in video games. You have to be able to see the next Pokémon, or the next Magic the Gathering, or Portal. Are you marketing toward baby boomers, gen-x, or children? If your market is for kids who have not hit the double digits yet, half of your work is practically done for you. While the popularity of the type and genre of games for teens to adults alike can wildly vary and spike in one direction or another, children throughout all of time have been playing similar games or utilizing the same toys for the same activities pretty much for the past few thousand years. If you can’t follow that epically slow trend wave, good luck in ever landing a job or figuring out what people want! You’ll definitely need it! When you’re old enough to learn or be interested in how to play poker, most will at least try it out. It is simple to learn, but endlessly difficult to master; much like children’s games. One could argue that poker is an advanced form of a children’s game called ‘paper boat racing’. Two children make tiny paper boats out of newspaper or similar and set their respective boats in a stream and vie to have their own win the race. Like cards, the boats by themselves do not create a game or gambling element, but when used as a vessel to do so, they can in fact work that way! Most children’s games have been like this for a long time, meaning, the games a child plays are most often simpler forms of pre-existing games adults play. So no matter what “new” and interesting game comes out, it invariably can be simplified down to one of a few children’s games. Poker and other gambling games can be traced back to paper boat races just like Dungeons & Dragons can be simplified down to ‘cops n robbers’ or ‘cowboys and Indians’ because whether or not it is “I conjure up an undead level 18 lich wraith and torpedo-blast you with stench rays, your left ankle is hit and you are unable to walk,” it can always be simplified down to “bang I hit you, you’re dead” for kids. Since kids do not harness the mental power or have the ability to keep to such advanced rules, their games are always simplified. “Tag you’re it!” has also followed the same trend for over five hundred years as kids always like to run and chase. Not to mention that what games children play is can also be heavily influenced by the parents themselves if not only for sentimental reasons. Parents will teach their child the same games they knew as a young child in hopes what was fun then will still be fun now. The parents often have fond memories of their childhood and try to channel their experiences to their children.

While adult games can keep getting infinitely more complex and structured, games are not intended to be too complex for the brain, or else it has generally failed as a successful game. The stresses of daily life from complicated math or similar problems are always working the left side, or, the logical side of your brain. We often come home and relax and play a game that stimulates the right or creative side of the brain. It is scientifically proven that the right side of our brain is where the artistic and more abstract thoughts and feelings occur, and sometimes it needs to be stimulated. Games help this. The same could be said about physical work where the person might be working a construction job and the whole time thinking about something else… his bills, his relationships, what have you. When he gets home, he may want to turn off his left brain and play some mindless games of solitaire to ease his mind. Many can attest to this. For instance, before writing an essay some may have finished writing an essay for other classes and also recently finished up some math homework. Before writing any more papers, one might need to relax their mind and offset the heavy load of work their left brain was getting by exercising some right-brain activities by playing some Fallout 2 or Halo: Reach, both video games. Sometimes just escaping from reality is necessary. From the scientist working on a new formula to the schoolchild who wants to escape into a world the completely opposite his own, full of loot and treasure. It is a necessity for those who need to have control over parts of their life they feel they don’t have. Old and young people alike want to be in control, and in many instances are not in control of much of their life, but in a game, they can become a God or all powerful being in charge of who lives or dies in their created world within the game. Whether or not the user needs to become a God is irrelevant to the absolute fact that everyone needs downtime. Our body needs sleep or else it shuts down and can result in severe physical illness if it is ignored that your body needs rest. The brain needs rest too, and sometimes the best way to help it rest is by first stimulating it with a game. We are lucky in this day and age that we can play games to the extent that we do. The more people on this earth, the more jobs are filled and the more free time many people have to be able to channel gaming into their life as a leisurely exercise.

Having a surplus of people in the world is not enough of a reason for why people play games, however. We need plenty of people to be able to perform the necessary duties like cooking or fending off empires to allow us to play games. So to know who of us is next to create a game in the future, all one needs to do is look for who will most benefit from it. Of course depending on the situation, which one of us fits the bill for that certain game or profit ring will often ring true as the next game maker, be it because we are well off, poor, or one of the afflicted in society. All of them catering to the traditions of old and the traditions being created as we speak. They will note that children’s games change very little through the generations. Children’s minds are all very similar at a young age, and this is a contributing factor as to why kids’ games change so little over time. The complexity of games grow as the age marketed to gets older, as the older a person gets, the more his mind is able to handle. The more complex games get, the more complex life gets. They go hand in hand this way. The more complex life gets, the harder it works the brain. Relationships, school, jobs, and the sort take a toll on the mind and everyone needs an escape. Mathematicians and construction workers alike need to play a game of Go or a round of darts with their buddies to unwind. While it is a guilty pleasure for some, it should not be seen that way. It is a necessity. Just like your body physically needs rest to survive, a game is a way of relaxing and massaging the brain to that it can go back to functioning properly.


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