The MMORPG Quest System and Immediate Gratification

I have vaguely discussed the Video games, MMORPGs in particular, and their contributions to social lives and identity formation. I will now touch upon the psychological concept of immediate gratification and how it applys to video games. Gratification refers to the psychological reward system built into all people. When you eat food to fill your stomach to stop it from hurting. Your brain sends a few neurochemicals to "reward" you for doing the right thing by eating. It reinforces the behavior of eating, which is necessary for survival. And I think most people would agree that such gratifying feelings are even more intense with the act of reproduction. But I digress.... Essentially, in life we do hundreds of little things every day that bring happiness into our lives at varying degrees.

How are video games and gratification related? Most video games instill a goal oriented quest system that rewards you with virtual points or items that contribute to the completion of the game. In most console games there is an end to the quest you have to complete the game. But in the online MMORPG most games are endless. There are always new quests to fulfill, that will make you stronger within the game. Most players feel a small sense of accomplishment with each quest or monster they kill because their efforts are always rewarded. Even though the rewards are virtual, the sense of happiness acquired through these accomplishments, is very real. Players are able to find immediate gratification through the playing of this games. They are able to see the results of their hard work slowly build up through time.

Gamemakers understand this concept very well. They build their games to give their players the satisfaction of become stronger within the game. MMORPGs also build their games to be an endless quest to become the strongest players in the game. So, in a way, you could say that games, even thought they are virtual and have no impact on the real world, can give us happiness and fulfill some deep set needs built into our psychological makeup. This is one factor that can keep players coming back to the game.

Gaming and its Social Implications

Okay, so you are not one of those who is particularly attracted to being a virtual character. The character in the game is just that and nothing more. So what else is attractive about video games. Well like almost everything else on the internet, most MMORPGs create highly social and interactive environments for their users. In fact, MMORPGs encourage players to play with other people. The rewards in game are much greater to those who accomplish quests with larger groups of people. There aren't many things that bring people together more then sharing a common goal or interest.

MMORPGs give people a chance to meet others from all over the world. However they are different from those social networking sites, in that all these player already share a common interest, the game itself. Instantly two or more people have a rich conversation topic and shared interest that brings them together. In addition to that, the shared feelings of striving for a common goal, within the game, also ties random players together in more subtle ways. People can learn about each other through the ways they choose to play the games and demonstrate their skill. Players are also free from the social constraints of physical appearance since your appearance in the game does not in anyway resemble your real appearance.

Once past the intial conversation topic of the game, players have a tendency to discuss their real lives with their in game friends. I have heard numerous stories from fellow gamers where they have met people in the game who they confided in and they take that confidence into the real world. Some couples have met in the game and gotten married in real life. Some people enjoy the opportunity the game allows them communicate with so many different people across the world.

The public has this general stereotype that gamers are for the most parted socially truncated and inept at communicating with people, thus they must turn to the game to hide themselves. This may not necessarily be true, they maybe much more social then the world gives them credit for. Their specialty or focus just happens to be video games instead of politics.

Identity Formation and Video games

Inspired by an in class presentation on Wed. I began to think about (again) the issue of identity formation in MMORPGs. Recently video game addiction has become a rather hot topic among psychologists. Millions of people are spending hundreds of millions of hours in these online worlds. Now much of the older generation does not seem to understand the draw of a world that seems to have no tangible impact in our daily lives. But yet millions continue to play and pay-to-play, so there must be something that this online virtual world is doing to the fulfill the needs of so many people. I have many theories as to what the video games do for its players, but I will discuss only identity formation here.

The human identity is formed by the interaction of the person's environment and genetics. So one could say that in a way, we do not much have control over how we develop as people. Our genetics are predetermined by our parents and our environment at the earliest stages in life are already set as well. Some people had good experiences and others have not so great ones. There are countless permutations that are demonstrated in both and similarities and differences of all the people you meet today. So how does this relate to video games?

Well these virtual worlds offer players the chance to determine their own identities within a virtual world. This world has its rules and laws like our society, but the people are allowed to control their character from the very beginning of their "virtual life". From there the MMORPG allows them to customize their character to the minutest details to make them unique. Within that world through time and dedication, these players can build themselves up to be powerful players within the game. Former predetermined real world identities such as race, ethnicity, social class etc. do not matter in the game. In the MMORPG you can be whoever you want to be. It is this anonymity coupled with the control over ones identity that brings people to the game. They are freed from the real world's constraints and are playing god over their tiny avatar. Some may feel that within this game they have the chance to be who they want to be.

This can be especially attractive to those who feel uncomfortable in their own real-life identities. These people are the most at-risk of a video gaming addiction. Some recent stories paint a rather grim picture.

The video game addiction:
A case of a South Korean boy
Shanghai Star: Taiwanese boy
Sentenced to life
Don't take them away
Real life loot
Father's neglect

My next entry: Games and their social implications.

Time to start blogging Again!

So the last time I wrote a blog post was for my Writing 340 class at USC. The teacher wanted us to post on topics from our majors following different prompts. Actually, his purpose for our blogs was probably very similar to what we are doing in this class. He wanted to combine the current technology with our writing class to familiarize ourselves with different outlets for writing. Nowadays we don't need spend hundreds of dollars to go have something published. We can do it right here with a little bit of time and an internet connection. Oh how the times have changed. Anyways, today I'm writing here again for ...


wait for it...

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Another class!
I wonder what random stories I will write this time. I hope you enjoy these old posts. They are rather entertaining and I certainly put a goodly amount of time in them. Have Fun!