We say games are for fun

[kieraliera]

We all say we play games for fun, but when we play we are really competitive and we strive to win. Mainly it's for fun but usually when i lose i feel a bomb go off in my heart. Yeah... that's not really fun. What's your opinion on it?

 

[jardantuan]

Fun takes many forms though - it's the reason there are so many different genres of games, and the reason that some people enjoy certain games that other actively despise.

For example, I enjoy RPGs. I like the feeling of progression as I get stronger, and I enjoy following a storyline - but I know several people who don't like stories in games and skip through any and all cutscenes. On the other hand, those people will enjoy open-world games like Minecraft or GTA. These don't do much for me, since there's no set objective and I don't enjoy aimlessly wandering around.

So you aren't wrong in saying that gamers enjoy competition. Of course we do - online multiplayer is absolutely huge these days, and with eSports on the rise, there is an even more definitive competitive edge to games. But even then, we all enjoy competition to a different extent - I'm not big on tournaments, but I love beating friends at games.

Some games are heavily competitive, but this is just a different way for fun to manifest itself.

 

[mevsthor]

I feel like upfront we say games are fun but deep down inside there is an urge to win. I think that urge comes from how we evolved, for example to get a mate we'd have to compete or to get food we'd have to be better than the next guy. We don't have to do those things anymore, well atleast not at the same level so video games fill that void.

 

[Esperahol]

I play for fun - that is the only reason I bother with games. It's also why I have such a diverse collection of games - RPGs, Open Sandboxes, Horror, Sports, Racing, Weird, etcetera. The only time I'm really looking to win is when I'm doing a competition and even then it isn't that serious. I mean it's a game for goodness sake.

 

[danielle davidson]

I really just like to play games for fun. I think that sometimes I get competitive games when I play first person shooter games, but that is it. I think that it's just a good way to spend some extra time. Or to even just kill some time.

 

[Shimus]

I like to play to win, as do many people who consider themselves gamers. We don't game to consistently lose and then high five each other. So fun for me is derived by winning, smothering the other team until they feel defeat so helplessly they cry like a little girly man (or even more girlier woman *insert Arnold Schwarzenegger photo here*) as they rage on others and their team. It's like the dark side of the force; I can FEEEEEL your hate! It makes me strongggg....

Seriously though people can't derive a sense of accomplishment or victory when you lose (No, really?) so they tend to get more rage-y and ultimately it leads to bad experiences, which could turn you off of a video game as well (especially when you SUCK at it).

But anyone who just says they play games to play them is lying. There is a goal. It's to win - this could be smothering the other team or simply just completing an objective that was laid out before you. It's really quite simple; people can try to glass it over or use whatever euphemisms they desire but at the end of the day we all want one thing.

Great Victory.

 

[Damien Lee]

During the PS1 era, with the glut of jrpgs I would play games mostly for story and overall experience. However, I soon got tired of this and started playing more retro and arcade games. The main draw here was to strive at getting good at the game and earning as high a score as possible. I've found that this is the most rewarding way to enjoy games, if I want a good story I'll just go watch a movie or read a book.

 

[Shimus]

I agree. I had some of my teenage years spent on that JRPG influx of the PS1 era - I used to gorge on JRPGS. But instead of going 'retro' which I grew up on, and didn't consider it retro at the time - I moved forward into other consoles like PS2 and forward - enjoying it all from there on up.

I didn't seriously get competitive until around the PS2 era, when I had my own PC and I was gaming online and in competitive play. Then I'm all about winning and not losing. I guess when games started being less about story and more about owning your neighbor, competitive play got ramped up.

 

[Y0shiM0n]

Agreed kieraliera. Whenever I lose against one of my little bros in Smash, (Usually because of a mistake on my side, like trying to practice a technique for a tournament), and they taunt, it makes me want to punch him SO BADLY. In the game, and irl. LOL.

 

[CemeteryGates23]

I disagree with that notion about competitveness. I think it's as easily disproved as observing people with jobs (and therefore clear goals) who simply slack.
Having a goal to achieve does not inherently translate into motivation to work on said goal. In practical terms this could mean there's lots of games I never finished.
I'm one of those that prefer playing rather than winning. Sure, ti's a thrill and I get certain satisfaction from winning, but if the gameplay itself is exciting and fun, then that's what I play to experience. I'll be honest, on certain games I do have a desire to win to a small degree, I can be quite competitive in life, but in very broad, general terms, competitivity is not a half the driving motivation for me in gaming as simply having fun is.

 

[Shane]

That is true OP. But the competitiveness is not why I like gaming...

When I had a bit more money than I do now, I really liked to play shovelware games. I usually had fun with the games, like for example Virtua Quest for GameCube. It was alright. Then there's Transformers Prime, Rapala Pro Fishing Wii U, etc. On rare occasions, playing a shovelware game payed off... it was really fun to alert your friends to a game you liked which they were avoiding due to a bad rap.

I remember back when I bought Golden Sun, it wasn't as popular as something like Mario Maker, but I bought it on a whim based on a good review and it payed off.

So I will say this: I enjoy universally good games like Mario Maker, but I also enjoy taking chances and finding that hidden gem. Whether that's buying a shovelware game or buying a game based on a good review. And I don't play with emulators - I don't believe in them - so I risk real money whenever doing this. But the risk is part of the fun.

I like gaming for the mystery, the treasure hunt, the gems... not the competitiveness.

 

[spence88]

OP if that's so, then playing competitively might not be for you. But then again, everybody else hate losing. Even my younger cousins don't like losing at all. That's why when they come here to play I usually suggest playing cooperative games like New Super Mario Bros U. and stay away from vs. games like Mario Kart as much as possible.
However, sometimes it's inevitable as they want to play Mario Kart every now and then. If we do so, I don't play seriously and play on their level. Even lose sometimes. Because it's not fun to be so far ahead and win every time.

 

[GunGunW]

I don't play many games competitively. Really, Halo is the only one. Other than that if I play with other people I play cooperatively.

 

[Mournblade]

lol, this thread is ancient, but so am i now

i mainly play games to pass the time or screw with people, very rarely do i ever play to win anymore. even when i play hard games, like BoI, I don't always play to win either, BoI really shines in breaking the game, not winning. i have too much stress in my life to really bother playing games competitively anymore.

imo, almost every medium is a way to tell a story, now before a random hardcore gamer is going to crucify me, i define "story" very very loosely. it would make more sense to say that every game exists to give players an experience (or multiple experiences, similar or different, depends on the gamer and the game). winning can also be an experience.

 

[spence88]

Yeah good point, there are many ways to play a game, so the best way to play a game is to utilize all that to your own advantage. Problem is, most games today derive the majority of their value from the metagame. And the metagame is more often than not, the competitive aspect or multiplayer aspect of the game. So just playing the story mode of a game might not be enough to squeeze its potential.

 

[yeppeo]

Games are for fun in my opinion- even if you want to be competitive you're doing it because you enjoy to and not as a chore, right? I mean, this isn't like school were you need to pass your exams. Of course I believe there are people who do everything available to win- but if you cheat the game also loses a bit of its fun.

 

[Shane]

Cheating is usually used to bully players in online games, I would say, and gain advantage. But strangely enough, I've also seen it used to help people. There was a co-op online game where you take out monsters. Well this one guy, who cheated, would always help people take out the computer monsters. It's a shame that if he was ever caught, his account would still be banned though.

 

[pwarbi]

When I was younger I used to have a real competitive streak and if I wasn't winning or at least close then it was more frustrating than fun for me.

As I've grown older I've learned to calm down a bit and now I enjoy the actual games more, and now I'm not obsessed with winning, I'm probably playing a lot better aswell!