Analyzing why video games continue to be an appealing activity as I grow older.
EPIC WIN!!!
I referenced Jane McGonigal in a previous article. She has a fantastic presentation up on the net regarding the use of games for positive means. During her speech, Jane mention’s the concept of the “Epic Win”. She describes it as: ”An outcome that is so extraordinarily positive you had no idea it was possible until you achieved it”. In many ways, I think it’s this sense of reward that will forever associate positive feelings with the gaming experience.
Street Fighter on the Super Nintendo was a very big deal. It was an awesome arcade fighter that was making its way onto the home console. While sold out at first, we ended up getting it at my home. As I suggested above, I enjoyed playing through the stories of the various characters alone. However, once in a while I would do a VS battle against my brother. His usual choice of character was Chun Li. More often than not, I would be on the losing end. After a few loses, emotions began to boil. Oh, the rage. You wouldn’t think a child could get that angry. Luckily for me, every underdog has his day. I distinctly remember the fight. It was his Chun Li against my M. Bison on the Sagat Thailand stage. Through a mix of luck and a well place Psycho Crusher, I managed to come out victorious. EPIC WIN! That was a good day. We have played Street Fighter a few times as adults, but it’s just not the same. This is mostly because my brother isn’t up to speed on how these games work anymore (he doesn’t know there are super moves now). Still, that original rivalry and my single victory stand as a pretty memorable part of my childhood.
Today, my quest for that epic win has changed. I think the best example is the experience of WoW raiding. In that case, the feeling of accomplishment comes across in a couple of ways. First, it’s the personal sense of achievement. In a difficult boss kill I can either hang my hat on a solid position on the damage meter or on executing timely mechanics correctly throughout the duration of the fight. Both require some level of effort and concentration with success resulting in a huge feeling of accomplishment. I can see how that can lend itself to MMO addiction. It’s a good feeling. The other side is the feeling of accomplishment for the team as a whole. This really can come in a number of ways as well. First is the synergy that has to be created between all the raid members when one person’s performance impacts the rest of the group. Secondly, there is also a sense of pride when you have raid members who might be having trouble with a specific boss, finally get over the issues and succeed. It’s a big sense of accomplishment for not just that person, but all of the other people that were there to help them get through. It’s the comradery that can be really difficult to find in some highly competitive real world workplaces. The fact you can find it in game certainly makes the pastime much more interesting.
