I think it would be worthwhile to discuss how we play games as a reflection of how we live our day-to-day lives outside of games. I believe that those of us who are goal-oriented tend to live life in the same manner, forgoing the quality of the journey for the gratification (as fast as possible = lack of patience) of achieving the goal, which I would add, usually doesn't last as long as you're already looking toward the next goal. What gratification there is satisfies the ego, which knows no sense of quality. I also believe that those of us who are journey-oriented tend to live life in a slower, more patient manner, possibly forgoing the goal in favor of the sense of fulfillment we get from focusing on the quality of the experience.
As I'm sure you can infer, I tend to play slower. But I do so intentionally. I have been a goal-oriented player in the past and it brought me little happiness. In fact, games began to feel like work to me. It was only when I slowed down that I began to experience a rekindling of my enjoyment for them.
I have an extremely demanding, very goal oriented, and incredibly status driven career in the medical field.
I am successful at this, but it has been many, MANY years of grinding, and hard work.
When I play a game, I want the exact opposite, to enjoy the journey, have fun, and not feel stressed and competitive with my fellow players. I get enough of that in real life. Nothing is more fun that joining up with a bunch of friends and tackling hard content in a spirit of comradarie. And conversely, nothing is better than wandering about, exploring new areas, reading fun storylines, and generally relaxing.
Reader Comments (2)
Posted: Aug 29th 2009 9:53PM (Unverified) said
I think it would be worthwhile to discuss how we play games as a reflection of how we live our day-to-day lives outside of games. I believe that those of us who are goal-oriented tend to live life in the same manner, forgoing the quality of the journey for the gratification (as fast as possible = lack of patience) of achieving the goal, which I would add, usually doesn't last as long as you're already looking toward the next goal. What gratification there is satisfies the ego, which knows no sense of quality. I also believe that those of us who are journey-oriented tend to live life in a slower, more patient manner, possibly forgoing the goal in favor of the sense of fulfillment we get from focusing on the quality of the experience.
As I'm sure you can infer, I tend to play slower. But I do so intentionally. I have been a goal-oriented player in the past and it brought me little happiness. In fact, games began to feel like work to me. It was only when I slowed down that I began to experience a rekindling of my enjoyment for them.
Posted: Aug 30th 2009 12:37PM (Unverified) said
I have an extremely demanding, very goal oriented, and incredibly status driven career in the medical field.
I am successful at this, but it has been many, MANY years of grinding, and hard work.
When I play a game, I want the exact opposite, to enjoy the journey, have fun, and not feel stressed and competitive with my fellow players. I get enough of that in real life. Nothing is more fun that joining up with a bunch of friends and tackling hard content in a spirit of comradarie. And conversely, nothing is better than wandering about, exploring new areas, reading fun storylines, and generally relaxing.