Life is a game? Part Two: Player Motivation

Introduction; summary of the first part of the article

In the first part of the article " Life, the Game ?" We considered the role of games in the social and social life of a person under the primitive communal system, as well as their subsequent evolution into a social role model. During the analysis, we agreed that the game is an integral part of the life of any individual, which is the way (ticket) for a child to enter adulthood. We also considered some stages in the evolution of games, from simple simulation games to the emergence of (socially) role-playing games.

The core of the game, both imitative and role-playing, in my opinion, is the irresistible desire of a person to be successful. The motivational chain looks like this: “need” => “play” => “win” => “reward” => “RECOGNITION”.

In particular, we tried to find confirmation of this paradigm by dissecting the game The Sims considering the concept from a psychological point of view. The conclusions, in my opinion, are unequivocal. The Sims is a branch system serving various psychological needs, which in turn have been shaped more or less artificially over the past decades, under the constant influence of various media (we will try to examine the stereotypes below).
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We will, however, consider the need for a game given in advance. Our task is to create conditions to meet this need. It should be pleasant to play and the player should triumphantly complete the process - recognizing outstanding success.

Perhaps the reader will agree that in reality this is what happens in games: during the game (provided that we like it), we enjoy it. But in the end - at that very moment of the final victory, where we should be cherished and cherished for being so clever, agile and all-powerful - we get utter nonsense, in the form of a couple of minutes of the final video. Sometimes this is enough, but why would the authors not think about how to amuse my self-esteem? But then, instead of a well-deserved reward comes a slight disappointment. Is it good to play with feelings like that? After all, literally a couple of minutes ago I saved the whole world!

In this regard, I suspect that the authors of the games do not pay enough attention to meeting the player’s need for recognition. This circumstance makes a person unhappy (not as happy as he could be).

This statement is more related to the single. In a multiplayer game, we still defeat an equal opponent, which is always nice. In the single, we are awarded the title of the conqueror of the universe, the elder brother of Eternity, and everything is missing ... It seems that an unpleasant contrast arises from the fact that you really get to the virtual process regardless of the nature of partners and opponents, but to accept the virtual final just at face value is not easy. Presno somehow turns out.

Let's try to go from the motivation of the player to his creative efforts, which are the teleport from the real world to the virtual (identification). We hope that this will allow us to find an approach to meeting the highest form of human needs - the need for recognition.

The importance of matching the usual stereotypes

It has long been noted that, for example, in the cinema, without taking into account the cultural stereotypes of the consumer, there is no good cash to be collected. In terms of stereotypes, there are marketing and advertising departments that need to convince a potential buyer that he really needs a product. In this case, it is also necessary to understand how stereotypes of the majority of consumers are formed and evolve, and how these stereotypes look at the moment. Thus, already at the initial stage of the development of the game concept, one cannot help but wonder how the game corresponds to the stereotypes of the future buyer, taking into account the time of the game and the country for which the product is intended.

The most secure method of developing game universes, in my opinion, is to construct concepts that will be based on those stereotypes that are not subject to major evolutionary changes.
Let's try to formulate what stereotypes are. Stereotypes are a system of concepts adopted in society about homogeneous (understandable to all) phenomena, facts, objects, processes, people, etc.

Stereotypes allow people to share information, understand each other, participate in joint activities, develop common views, the same value orientation, a single worldview; they accelerate the emergence of a behavioral reaction, on the basis, first of all, of the emotional acceptance or rejection of information, its “falling” or “missing” into rigid but definite frames of the stereotype.

Stereotypes help an individual to more freely navigate in those situations that can do without special analysis. Stereotypes allow us to assimilate and actively reproduce social experience, serve as an excuse for the actions of a particular person through a link to the generally accepted pattern of behavior.

There are several classes of stereotypes:

* Personal. Man forms these stereotypes himself. These include his various beliefs, preferences - all that, according to people, is the personality, the individuality of a person, his interests and the breadth of nature.
* Family. Family stereotypes are formed under the influence of family traditions, attitudes, rules.
* Public. Formed under the influence of society and society.

The main properties of stereotypes:

* Ability to influence consumer decision making, even against logic.
* Depending on the nature of the installation (positive or negative), stereotypes automatically suggest one argument regarding the product being advertised and force out the opposite from the first one.
* The stereotype, in contrast to the “need in general”, has pronounced concreteness.

Stereotypes are:

* Positive;
* Negative;
* Neutral (stereotype of "fame, but indifference").

The PR department must identify stereotypes and correct them in such a way that no misunderstandings and unpleasant discords arise in the region where the gaming product will be sold. The dogma for PR people is: positive stereotypes must be strengthened, negative ones should be neutralized or weakened, neutral ones should be made positive.

It is most difficult to track the stereotypes that are formed by various fashion trends, if only because not all are informed about such trends. In addition, in different countries they may differ drastically and develop separately, in accordance with the mentality of the country, and with the fact that they are in a temporary separation from the place where they originated, which is a definite barrier to the realization of their individual who are dominated by different stereotypes.

Stereotypes are the means through which a person communicates with his own kind, because it is not only important what the interlocutor says to you, but it is also clear to you or not. And in this case, if the system of stereotypes in people is homogeneous, then communication takes place, otherwise the individual will take considerable time to study the stereotypes of the country in which he is located, and this is “socialization” (about which). .

In this sense, globalization is a blessing for our industry. Thus, mutual understanding is simplified ...

The mechanisms described above have already been used, and quite successfully, in the development of games. The only funny thing is that it is far from always when it could be ... Now let's move on to additional mechanisms contributing to the identification of the player with the character.

Socialization

The process of human immersion in an unfamiliar world and knowledge of the system of social relations characteristic of a particular cultural tradition, as well as the process of identification of socially cultural values ​​accepted in society is called socialization (Latin. Socialis - public). The phenomenon of socialization is studied by various sciences: philosophy, sociology, social psychology, psychology, pedagogy, history and ethnography. As for us, in the game industry, the phenomenon of socialization should be of no less interest, in my opinion.

The reasons for this are many, and the most important argument is to facilitate the process of immersing a player in the proposed game world. Moreover, this world of the game should allow the person to plunge into the proposed reality, agree with the conditions, and if these conditions are not too contrary to the stereotypes of the person (ideally, they should correspond to them), help him have fun without uncomfortable misunderstanding.

It is believed that any person throughout his life is constantly in the mode of adaptation to the cultural environment, it is also noted that there is an age gap of two to six years, when that “socialization” is formed. But if this period was missed, socialization becomes impossible in principle (Mowgli phenomenon).

In order for an individual to master the existing social role-playing rules of behavior, remuneration and punishment mechanisms are in place in society.

In the process of socialization, an individual is given the opportunity to express himself in various role-playing situations: imitation, identifying oneself with others (not mimicry), accepting the role of another, and imitating. Different mechanisms allow you to get the experience that was not covered by the previous roles. A simple example: an actor who has received the role of a miner Stakhanov, must identify with the character. It is clear that he is a professional, who was taught the art of reincarnation, he is able to wear costumes from different eras and professions, but even this is not given to him for nothing. In our case, he cannot do without holding a jackhammer in his hands, go down into the mine, even if the shooting will take place in the pavilion, etc. Otherwise, he does not reach the likelihood. Thus, using the mechanisms of imitation and identification, the actor gets a ticket to the world of Stakhanov. “Socialization” in this case was necessary for an actor in order to reliably play a role and receive in return a reward (recognition).

The so-called guides also help to enter the role. A guide to the world is a person (or a character in the case of a game dev) who has knowledge of social and cultural principles and is able to lead a person (player) to the reality of a new, unfamiliar world. In this case, he (the conductor) is the bearer of all socio-cultural stereotypes of a given society (game).

A guide (ticket) to the world can be not only a special person, or parents, in the case of raising children, but also relevant literature, provided that the individual is sufficiently developed to be able to extract such information.

In games, there have long been various training missions that allow the player to obtain information about the world and how to survive in the conditions proposed by the developer. But a deeper study of the mechanisms of immersing a player in the world is simply a vital necessity for creators of alternative realities.

Here I just draw the attention of the developer community to possible approaches to the development of existing concepts of alternative reality. The subject is open for discussion.

By the way, I have always been a supporter of careful study of achievements in the border areas. Here I mean the film industry. For example, in the framework of the so-called "sociodramatic approach" to social reality, "socialization" is viewed as "becoming an actor", or the process of mastering "the skill of wearing a mask" and "the ability to live inside the script."

Thus, we considered part of the conditions that must be met in order for the player to feel comfortable in the game world. He should not be left in the dark about who and under what conditions he will face in gaming reality, he must also know what behavior in the game is acceptable. Of course, this applies to complex worlds. In the simple world there is nothing to know, and when a developer complicates the world, trying to make it more interesting, the player often becomes uncomfortable. Examples of this are all known. As always, solving one problem, we create others. The gameplay must remain simple, otherwise we will be punished (with a ruble)! Roughly speaking, creating a dozen extra doors, we forget to create pointers at the entrances, hoping that since everything is written in the manual, there are no problems. And for a player to read a manual is a job, he did not pay money for such pleasure. And next time it will not pay.

Why the picky-player likes to have an idea of ​​how it all began, who is involved in this and where does this happen?

There is an opinion that there can be no detective story without intrigue.

As soon as a person begins to read a book, the writer lures him into a trap, where the reader becomes a victim of subtle intrigue, this hook is a necessary component of the reader's interestingness. And as soon as the victim swallows the bait, the writer begins, in our opinion, to give content — the social interrelationships of the acting characters, characters, passions, origins, etc. Having won the attention of the reader, the author can afford to slowly lead to the final.

It is clear that we, developers, are deprived of the possibility of such a detailed description of the interpersonal relations of the characters (their character, temperament, etc.) and the environment where all this happens. We don’t have time for this - even the cinema is more free in the possibilities to set the viewer on the intrigue (serials). Already I foresee objections, but let us remember what we lack and what writers and cinema have.

The developer has so far technically not been able to create a character who even remotely was able to react emotionally to various situations, not to mention the fact that in some genres such a need is not put at all (Half-Life with its facial expressions are only the first steps). In cinema, a talented actor can be no longer an example, and, moreover, it is much easier for him - he works in a situation specially created by the director, who is also a professional, unlike a player (who is partly the creator of the game’s plot). That is, even when we manage to create a character with expressive facial expressions, it will be difficult for him (the character) to respond adequately to the actions of the player.

A person always wants to know who he is dealing with and where. The player also wants this, and the developer should always ensure that the information about the hero and other characters is communicated to the user. The more (auto) biographical details, the more realistic the character and events in the game. It is especially good when the player himself takes part in the creation of a character’s biography. A striking example is the first, still DOS, UFO. There was nothing in it except this unit personalization mechanism, and it was quite enough for success. Subsequently, the game tried to improve, and only spoiled ...

The player, creating and developing the selected character, instills in him those traits due to which, subsequently, the character (unit) acquires the personality that allows a person to identify himself in a computer game. You can say and not so sublimely - the unit acquires a set of working qualities that allow you to play and win.

Psychological personalization mechanisms

Identification

Identification is a process of unconscious identification of a person with another subject, group, ideal.

The most common examples of identification is identifying yourself with your parents. Identification allows the child at the unconscious level to transfer to himself the most attractive features of the hero he adores. With the help of identification, children learn various behaviors that allow them to form their own self.

Identifying a child with an invincible hero allows him to confront his own fears that surround him in everyday life.

A person using this mechanism of psychological protection is trying to get rid of his feelings of inferiority. Psychologists believe that a person is able to identify himself with various objects: with a man, an animal, an idea, an organization. By identification, a person is able to borrow positive qualities and energy from an identifiable object (person).

I will be banal, and give an example of Superman. I guess many of us happened to present ourselves as invincible heroes, able to turn the car over to the fun of that single classmate if necessary.

In games, identification with a character is an everyday situation. The easier this happens if the hero is already known (Spiderman, Harry Potter, Duke Nyukem). Thus, a charismatic superhero in the game is an additional incentive for a potential buyer. Such a hero can be taken "from the side," or you can design it yourself. Of course, in the first case we are borrowing some “capital”.

Here, for example, our A. Karelin: why not a superhero, why the image is not involved in the games so far, I can’t put my mind to it, plus everyone knows him in the world. By the way, borrowing with whole contexts is being made (games based on films), and why not borrow individual bright personalities? ..

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Fantasy

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Fantasy is a world of images where everyone can be what they want. In a fantasy world, a person reaches certain heights, often omnipotence. Having got used to such a world, a person can project his fantastic achievements onto the real world around him and people in it.

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