One of the things I've been thinking about for the last couple of days is the question of why we choose to play games (as opposed to the two billion other things a human being could do). In the old days, games were used to instruct, a way to socialize, and a way to pass time. In modern times, the function of games seems to be based on entertaining the player.
In many games, the object of the game is to win -- to beat the computer or the other players of the game. Some games contain a narrative to follow such as the wildly popular Zelda and the Final Fantasy games. In other games where storytelling is not a central aspect, the narrative is created by the game player as a result of retelling the experience of the gameplay.
Games can be leisure activities, stress relievers, physical activities, and typically encompasses some aspect of wish fulfillment. But they've become important learning tools as well.
From Carcasonne we learn the important lesson that if you can't shove someone out of a city with an army of meeples, one needs have an equivalent number to share the points. From Settlers of Catan we learn the lesson that if you don't trade the other players will beat you. From Bang! we learn to distinguish friends from foes, and that beer restores hit points. From Mall of Horror we learn that during a zombie invasion a mall is a good place to be as long as you're not in a room full of cheerleaders or control freaks. From Arkham Horror we learn that going into extradimensional gates is bad, and that losing sanity is a really bad thing.
Lessons like these are not just limited to traditional boardgames -- videogames have their own unique lessons to share. From Metroid Prime: Hunters (DS) we learn that alien parasites are bad, and that power-ups can be received from defeated mini-bosses. From Ice Climber (GBA) we learn that in order to get off the mountain, one must bypass polar bears and get a ride from a pterodactyl. From New Super Mario Bros. (DS) we learn that Mushrooms with eyes are generally bad, and that that eating flowers will allow you to shoot fireballs. From LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (GameCube), we learn that it's okay to shoot a partner in the back -- they'll just break into LEGO pieces and lose some money. Tetris (DS) probably teaches us the most valuable lesson of all -- how to fit objects in cramped spaces.
Game developers have different lessons to learn from games. From Halo: Combat Evolved (XBox) we learn that if you don't have enough money to complete the level design, just reuse the first half of the game to make the second half of the game. From games like Dead or Alive 4 (XBox 360) game developers learn that as long as you stick a couple of females with jiggling breasts selling a million copies will not be difficult. From Gears of War (XBox360) game developers learn that game development on a triple-A title can cost 10 million, as long as tools, software, engine, marketing and other miscellaneous costs associated with the project are allocated to other budgets. Lastly, and most importantly, from Daikatana (PC) we learn not to give John Romero money.
It is for these important lessons that we play games (or at least hear about them), so that we do not repeat the mistakes, or that we learn the easiest way to overcome an alien invasion/rise of the living dead/nuclear attack because unlike games, in the real world there are no resets, no continues and no extra lives. Real life is one life, no continues, with a time limit.
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