Gaming is human

Why do people play video games?

Playing is something fundamentally human: it is a foundation of human culture. Digital gaming is really just an extension of this natural human urge to play.

Digital gaming simply changes the materiality of gaming: instead of playing cards, you play on a console.

Okay, but what is it about gaming that appeals to us?

Digital games offer a huge bandwidth of game worlds and a protected environment in which you can experience and learn things that are not accessible, possible or permitted in real life. This lets you slip into roles that are completely foreign to you without any negative consequences. Gaming is liberating because you are free to choose whatever role you like in the game.

So gaming is escapism from the real world?

I wouldn’t say that. On the contrary: games give you the opportunity to put yourself in other people’s shoes. And they are an activity that we share with all people everywhere. Digital games are often designed to be played collectively. We can learn a lot about ourselves as people by playing digital games.

How is that?

Hmm... games are a bit like movies. There’s a broad spectrum ranging from Popular Games, which are primarily entertaining, to Serious Games, which primarily aim to convey something.

Regrettably, games where you learn something or adopt completely new perspectives, e.g. on homophobia or gender issues, require more motivation. However, when Serious Games are embedded in the school context, gaming becomes a way of acquiring new perspectives and empathising more easily with other people.

Learning by playing, as it were?

Yes, I think so. Serious games or gamification show that games can influence short-term behaviour. Just like books or movies, trying things out in video games does have an influence on people. However, a game, a book or a movie alone rarely results in a lasting change in behaviour or personality.

It takes group discussion for the message conveyed by a game or movie to take root. That’s why in schools, they also discuss the literature they read. However, if an influence is received collectively, it can have a negative impact. Research has shown that violent games do not turn people into assassins. But if there is social reinforcement in gaming networks, chats and forums, it certainly can result in permanent behavioural changes.

Do we need games for a humane digital transformation?

People definitely need games – even in the digital age. Because people want to play. This can be seen from the fact that gaming is the most successful entertainment industry worldwide, even ahead of the film and music industries. Over the past 50 years, gaming has evolved from a marginal phenomenon to the mainstream. We have to recognise that digital games fulfil a fundamental human need.

At the same time, we should ask ourselves as a society who we are leaving this broad field to.

People currently think far less about digital games than they do about artificial intelligence (AI). Games serve as a test lab for AI out of the public eye. For example, AIs recognise behavioural patterns or emotions in games and are thus able to stimulate in-game purchases.

Video games are still seen as a hobby that is harmless and of no consequence. And yet gaming could certainly also be part of productive social life.

One last question: what makes old games so fascinating?

Old games are witnesses of our historical past. The advent of digitalisation is closely linked to the first games: as soon as a new technology comes out, the first thing people want to do is experiment with it, try things out or play games. Unlike today’s games, you don’t have to invest 250 hours in an old game to progress. Old games are much easier: insert the disc and off you go. This minimalist experience has nostalgic value – and inspires new, wonderfully simple games.