When Do Players Start Taking Games Seriously?
Games are meant to be fun, correct? Sometimes depending on the game, or what the developer wants the player to experience, that ideology can go straight out the window. Some might not get a kick out of what is being offered, while others might play that game and enjoy it despite the game doing everything in its power to make sure you don’t have fun. But regardless of the genre, or style of game you decide to sit down and experience, games are a recreation that people can enjoy either by themselves, or with random strangers across the internet, or with their friends. This can be especially true with couch gaming sessions with your buddies. From Mario Party to split-screen Halo, or something like Super Smash Bros. Depending on your friend group, there might be a moment, a single flicker in time, where someone decides that they want to win the game. Even though it’s all good times and everyone is just here to hang out, we all have that one person in our life that decides, no. Today, I will win the video game. And they do the tried-and-true sit up and lean forward, with their elbows on their thighs; signaling to everyone in the room. This guy wants to win. Others might follow suit after seeing the first person, but this got me thinking, when do we as players of video games begin to take them “seriously”. And why? If we’re here to have fun, what makes a person take that extra step to wanting to be victorious in a game with friends? I have some personal experience with this myself, so I wonder if my experience was the same as anyone else's. So, let’s talk about the when, why and how for players getting serious.