Daily Times

You probably haven’t come across anyone who just enjoys playing video games and isn’t addicted to them. Why is that? Why can’t people relish playing a video game every once in a while and not get stuck playing it all the time, once they start? Here are a few reasons:

No defined ending

It is becoming a more and more common practice for video game developers to make games without any definitive endings.

This means gamers have no ultimate goal they can accomplish after which the game is done. This causes them to keep playing for hours on end without any reason to stop.

Rewarding levels

Almost all video games are built on the system of levels. That is when you unlock certain powers, characters, and locations etc after completing a certain amount of levels.

And these rewards don’t stop or become less fulfilling, they become better as you ace higher levels, making the games all the more addictive.

Friendships

In today’s modern world, most of the gamers play multiplayer games with gamers all over the world.

The fact that they’re able to chat with them during the games helps create understanding between these players, which turns into a unique type of online friendship. The urge to interact with these friends all the time causes the video games to be addictive.

An Escape

Virtual reality video games give the gamers a sense of entering a new world for the time being of their game. Indulging completely in such games tends to make them forget of their other worldly problems and hence, acts as an escape from the actual reality, making them addictive.

Storyline

Many video games have a detailed storyline with characters and locations that become symbolic and iconic over time.

This causes gamers to become emotionally attached to the characters, making them want to ‘help’ and ‘save’ them continuously. This makes the game addictive.

Published in Daily Times, October 24^th 2018.