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The Psychology of Computer Games

These days, everyone is playing computer games: whether on their PC, games console, or smartphone.

In the busy modern world, we rarely have total control of our lives. .....(1)..... . Some computer games provide an antidote to this because they let players create and control the whole world. One example is Civilization, where players build a modern society from nothing. In earlier versions of the game, creator Sid Meier introduced a crisis. Some games included a moment where the player’s civilization collapses. The players then had to overcome these new difficulties to rebuild their civilization again from the beginning. In reality, the majority of players simply ignored the collapse. Most people just returned to an older version of the game. They had saved it for this purpose. People like computer games because it gives them total control.

In most computer games, you only learn one skill at a time. .....(2)..... . Once you have mastered this skill, you progress to the next level. Unlike real life, computer games give you plenty of time to learn. You aren’t immediately asked to do something too difficult. Users have control of the situation and that is very motivating.

This learning needs to work for everyone. In the game World of Warcraft, a player operates an avatar .................. himself or herself in an online fantasy world. The beginning of the game is easy, and .................. getting over the first challenges quickly, this gives players a feeling of achievement. However, the game is enormous. People who persevere with difficult tasks will learn a lot of new skills and explore areas that are inaccessible .................. beginners. Both beginners and experts can become immersed .................. a huge artificial world.

Most games are repetitive, and games designers need to find ways to stop people from becoming distracted and giving up. There are two ways of doing this. The first is the random reward where players win a surprise prize. .....(3)...... . In the real world, most people don’t notice when we do good things, but games are different.

Furthermore, games use clever AI (artificial intelligence). If you are inexperienced and play a soccer computer game against the computer, the computer could always win. Using AI, the computer adjusts its level of ability to equal the player. This means the human opponent always has a chance to win, and it keeps players interested in the game.

Winning isn’t everything, however. In computer games, failure is fun if the final screen shows an entertaining end for the character. Some players lose a game just to see what happens.

.....(4)..... . The virtual world is both more entertaining and less stressful than reality.

Many criticize computer games as just a waste of time. In fact, computer games are one of the greatest learning tools ever invented. Look at their uses in other fields. Flight simulators teach pilots how to cope with many difficult situations, which would be impossible any other way. A flight simulator is just a more sophisticated form of a computer game.