Przybylski et al. (2012) suggests that “humans may be drawn to video games in part because they provide players with access to ideal aspects of themselves.” It is common for children to have personal heroes, with most of these being drawn from media. Heroes in the past may have been TV and/or movie stars, famous athletes, and family members. However, it is not uncommon for heroes to now be from video games. Popular video game characters may have been idols for young children as they grew up, and due to the nature of popular video games having sequels, children may have grown up with characters and looked up to them. Some example you may know of are Batman, Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot, or the more recent characters like Master Chief, Marcus Fenix, Lara Croft, or Nathan Drake. These popular video game characters have all been in multiple games across multiple platforms and are recognizable to most of the gaming population. Along with pouring hundreds of hours into video games because they provided entertainment, children may have been in awe of the feats their heroes were accomplishing and aspiring to be like them. Beating up bad guys, saving the world, and uncovering lost treasure are all exciting things to humans and we are more likely to repeat behaviors that we find enjoyable.
|
Multiplayer games are a type of game that has been becoming more popular recently with hundreds of different titles being offered to console and computer gamers. One of the more popular genres is Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO). Gabbiadini et al. (2014) focused their study on one very popular MMO game World of Warcraft. They found that intergroup bias can occur when developing an identity in a virtual environment. Although these identities were fictitious and being developed in a fictitious world, they had a real effect on the players and this is evidence that it could affect players’ emotions in other ways. The act of being in a community that offers something to players on a daily basis can have a profound effect. Players may be using their imaginations to create stories as they participate in adventures regardless of what genre the game they are playing falls in. These imaginations could lead to players envisioning themselves as their in game characters. Cosplaying is a word that comes from “costume play” and it typically involves someone making a costume and wearing it. This can be done for many reasons, one of which is bringing your online character to life.
|
Online multiplayer games that are more competitive in nature can also provide benefits to players. Typically these games will pit two teams against each other. This can teach comradery, sportsmanship, how to develop strategies, enhance decisions made in a split second, and more. These are all skills that can have real world applications like when playing on an athletic team, working in a group, or even participating in an activity with friends and family. Esports is a form of sports where the primary aspects of the game are done on an electronic device such as a computer or a video game console. In Asian cultures Esports players are valued highly in the way that athletic players are valued in America. It is a growing form of competition and entertainment as people love to watch these competitions online.
However, even at local tournaments where any player may sign up, people have loved to compete against others in pursuit of a cash prize or other desires. One of the most popular places to sign up for tournaments is ESL Gaming. Players often use qualities like sportsmanship, strategy development, quick decision making, analysis, and prowess in order to defeat a common enemy like another team. |