Play with hard work makes Jack an epic winner
What is a game? What is play? Within the responses for these questions, why do we like (or not) games and why do we play (or refuse to play) them? The readings - and the video - for this week's "Games and Learning" class offer perspectives on games. We've also been shown a possible take on how a gamified life could be like in a not-so-impossible future. Taking that into consideration, one can assume that the answers for the questions posed in the beginning of this paragraph are historically, socially, and psychologically situated.
Drawing on examples from classic games and humans' daily lives, Caillois (1958) defines playing a game as a "free and voluntary activity, a source of joy and amusement. A game which one would be forced to play would at once cease being play" (p. 125). This activity is also often governed by clear rules that the player needs to master in order to succeed. Furthermore, a certain degree of difficulty is necessary, as the adrenaline of being on the verge of losing makes winning, or simply progressing in a game, more enjoyable. Throughout my many years as a video game player, I can at least question the absolute veracity of part of such definition. Even though we choose to play a game, "joy and amusement" are not necessarily part of the equation. Many times I have found myself incredibly frustrated after losing four online matches of FIFA in a row, and continued to play it, looking forward to the time that I would finally be able to beat one single skilled player. During the lost matches, I wasn't amused; I only hoped for amusement. The feeling of finally being satisfied after a sequence of failures or challenging obstacles is called "fiero" (McGonigal, 2011). In short, even though, in the end, success may come, "joy and amusement" are not necessarily present in gameplay.
I would like to continue talking about my FIFA experience in parallel with McGonigal's (2011) arguments. According to the author, "a game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism, at something we're good at (or getting better at) and enjoy" (p. 28). In my case, I kept playing because I felt like, at some point, I would get a win. Some of the reasons that might have led me to that belief are: (i) I had already beaten several players in different occasions; (ii) I knew the rules of the game and what I needed to do to win and (iii) the other players also had to obey the same rules. Losing a lot in FIFA may have induced me to developing "eustress". McGonigal (2011) defines "eustress" as stress that is caused on purpose, by our own choices. As the difficulty of challengers grew in FIFA, I felt the need to improve my skills. I did not need to; I could simply look for easier challenges, but I chose to progress.
I have, so far, discussed the process of playing games and some of games' characteristics according to Caillois (1959) and McGonigal (2011). It is necessary, thus, to talk about the results: feedback and reward. Good games succeed in showing the player how he/she is progressing by offering factual information about their performance, demonstrating how close they are to the goal. There are games, however, that have literally no end and cannot be beaten, such as Tetris. The reward, in this case, is only continuous and there isn't a big treasure box at the end. The end represents failure, but the constant positive response to small successes during the game drives the player to continue.
Rewards are central to Jesse Schell's talk on the "Gamepocalypse", in which he suggests that, in the future, even our most ordinary routinely actions could be rewarded with points to keep us engaged. In this sense, we would be able to experience quantitative and visible feedback due to actions such as brushing our teeth or watching TV. It presents no other benefit rather than the psychological effect of having our actions acknowledged by an other in a positive way, in a way that can be measured. Frankly, how different is it from the personal satisfaction that one gets from having his/her Facebook post or Instagram picture liked by peers? This future does have a lot of similarities with the present. Along the same lines, certain aspects of our lives are increasingly more similar to games.
Finally, we can consider that all work and no play may make Jack a dull boy. Unfortunately, work is not always meaningful for the one who needs to get it done, nor is it a choice. Play with hard work, on the other hand, can help Jack to achieve great successes and become a "epic winner".
Works Cited
Caillois, R. (2006/1959). The Definition of Play, The Classification of Games. In K. Zalen & E. Zimmerman (Eds.), The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology (pp. 122-155). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Foundation, T. L. (2010, July 27). Retrieved January 15, 2017, from http://library.fora.tv/2010/07/27/Jesse_Schell_Visions_of_the_Gamepocalypse/10_ Points_for_Eating_Cereal_Schell_on_the_Gamepocalypse
McGonigal, J. (2011). What exactly is a game? In Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world (pp. 19-34). New York: Penguin Press.
