One day, came Robert Zajonc and claimed that the presence of others increases our arousal and straighten our dominant response. In other words - if you feel good about one of your skills, for example, playing basketball, you will perform better on the field while others are watching. On the other end, if you lack confidence in your ability to solve word puzzles, you’ll probably do worst playing “Wheel of Fortune” on TV then playing scrabble with a friend at home.
In video games, I've found that this theory does not work, at least for me. Let's say that I'm an excellent player in Call of Duty, but I suck at Gears of War. My theory claims that if you'll put me at a CoD tournament, I'll do worst relatively to my usual score. Then again, if I'll be forced to participate in an GoW tournament I'll probably do better then ever.
Why, do you ask? Well, the answer is pretty simple. I feel that I'm a good CoD player, which means that being good at this game is important to my "gamer identity", therefore, the pressure will be more intense for me, even that I know that I'm the only one caring about it. In GoW, I don't know what the hell I'm doing, so I'll probably just mash some buttons and, according to my experience, do better then most of my attempts in this game.
Want a proof? Did you ever played a fighting game, such as Tekken of Mortal Kombat, with some expert friend of yours and succeeded beating him by a simple 'button mashing' tactics all the way through? He was definitely better then you at this game, yet you did better. That's because you didn't have anything to loose so you played like a moron. He, on the other hand, wasted his best moves and combos just to find you crouching in the same position, low-kicking his ass to a humiliated loss.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about this subject.
Play more,
Morris
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I'm not sure what to make of this, really. Gaming has always been a very private experience and past-time for me - I mostly didn't play online, even when I could. Sure, I watched friends play and even competed against them, but that was rare. I'm not a very competitive person, and quite honestly, I just don't care. Besides, I usyally play games that you can't be 'good' or 'bad' at. I mostly play RPGs, hence the personal, private experience I spoke of (being a hero in your own tale).
ReplyDeleteI play Heroes III sometimes, and I'm a fair player. I played and got better at Tekken, too. I play both against my brother, and he's better than I am at Tekken, at least (though I do beat him a lot). Heroes is a very 'personal' game for me, I know it intimately, to the last statistic and map locations. The same goes for other games, too - and the thought of competing in them is vile, like competing over your parents' love, or your wife... it's bizarre and offensive to think of it, because it's so close to you.
Seeing as I play with friends when not playing alone (with myself, lol), I don't care if they best me. I feel no pressure, and I'm even happy for them, it's good sport. Other activities in life... I'm mostly competing against myself. Other people are of less importance.
Gilad,
ReplyDeleteI think you're writing from the "single player" person's point of view alone, not considering another breed, one you're probably less familiar with, the online-gamer. The gamer that plays MMOs and the variations of Counter Strike. That kind of player thinks very differently.
Your examples of games like Heroes III (or, for that matter, Final Fantasy) are not relevant to the point. I'm familiar with the single player world as well, and I know that they give you a personal experience, but I'm coming from a place where the community is powerful. After playing gamers like CoD for hours after hours, playing with real people is a completely different thing. (and no, playing with one friend on the sofa does not count as multiplayer)
I agree that in games most people don't really care about winning, but more about the experience, but my point was more hypothetical.
I agree - it's a different experience. I've played Neverwinter Nights online, Battlefield 2 (still got your copy, haha), and quite honestly... I liked it better alone, except when playing with friends. I played BF2 with friends, and it was awesome. But having some douchebags ruin my fun? No way.. and it happens way too often. It's true for shooters (some asshole sniping you half way through the map) or MMOS ('Make Love, not Warcraft', anyone?).
ReplyDeleteI see how the competitve factor exists, though, but I don't think it's prominent, at least not for me. Even when you're up against other people in COD or against 5-6 friends on Tekken, it's all fun for me - I don't care if I win or lose. I'm happy to win, but not sad to lose.
I think the psychological thing you were talking about happens more during tests, like driving tests (you can be a great driver, and drive like a lobotomised, retarded monkey on your driving test), due to pressure... or when trying to prove your worth to someone. It's pressure, and it depends on your confidence, or how indifferent you are to the fact it's a test. If you know you can take it again, you will probably do better on your first run, funnily enough.