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[Reactorcore]

I declare it is the satisfaction of fundamental human needs - common to every person on the planet no matter who or where they're from.



Each video game is essentially a new strategy to try to meet those fundamental human needs - which sometimes fails, other times succeeds, depending on the game design, execution of a concept and if the original idea was even a good one to begin with.

Often I see people say "because its fun", but I think thats just a lazy excuse because if I ask those people what does "fun" mean they'll either come up with nothing or something more convoluted than what nature would suggest.

I wrote an game design related article that goes into depth of this. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JIuPw_kcbazTQX1hFxcadtWpvKi5tzdFKAS_UhCwihE/edit?usp=sharing

(Its illustrated with cool AI pics too!)

[michaelplzno]

If you ever played with a baby or toddler, you know that humans are designed to play. Games just facilitate this.

[Schoq]

I don't think games or other arts can very well satisfy fundamental needs like nourishment, shelter from the elements and protection from predators/attackers.
Games are played for stimulation when such needs are met.

Why do we need stimulation then?

For the same reason as dogs, I posit: A dog has wants and drives, evolved to facilitate survival and propagation. Life in a safe comfortable human settlement provide no outlet for many of those wants and drives, so we need to create "fake" situations as substitute for what nature otherwise would let us live out. Without this stimulation, the dog or human feels frustration and stress.

Sometimes it's pretty obvious sublimation: e.g. we're not a peaceful species and probably at least most people have at least some drive to win a violent fight now and then. In a peaceful civilized society there will be little opportunity to do so in a way that would be acceptable, socially and to one's own conscience, so we invent all manner of less violent organized competition where we all pretend winning matters (and as long as we all pretend, it matters enough, like with money!)

Hence football and competitive video games (or just violent games in general).

Video games can of course fake other seemingly universally engaging activities that would be necessary for a human not living like us comfortable trapped animals, like forming social bonds, exploring an area, building things, hunting or gathering (make something of how video games weirdly often feature collecting fruit if you want!)

And for the same reason as a kitten, I additionally posit: A kitten wants to play – i.e. it naturally engages in unproductive activities mimicking another activity critical for survival – in preparation for real situations where the practised skill will be needed. A cat that didn't get to playfight with its siblings or chase leaves will not be prepared for adulthood in the wild.

Our house cats retain much of this playful behaviour into adulthood because they are still treated as kittens and are biologically neotenic versions of their wild relatives. Modern humans also happen to be neotenic versions of our hominid ancestors. Remaining somewhat childlike and playful was apparently a biological advantage at some point.

As creatures of very high cognition we are confronted with very complex situations to prepare for and can never really be anything like "fully trained", so we need more complex games than a cat. Increasingly complex ones building on our experiences. Any idle time and surplus energy is best spent preparing for all the unpredictable mental and physical challenges that might come up. Because of this we dislike boredom, and find ways to cure it. Play is one way to to cure boredom, and completing a challenge you weren't sure you could complete is because of all this more stimulating than repeatedly doing something for which you have already hit the skill ceiling and where you have explored all there is to explore.

Maybe I'm just saying the same thing as you with different words. I wrote this before reading your article, for stimulation.