Volume XI

What motivates you to play a video game? What makes you want to see the next level?


I've been thinking about this a lot recently and I think there might not even be a real answer to it as it's all subjective to the person and the actual video game. Right now I'm playing Pop Sands of time FF III, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Ring of Fates, FFXII Revenant Wings, Animal Crossing WW and Psychonauts.
They all have very different ways of motivating the player. Well I don't know where the motivation is in FFXII RW or FFCCROF (jesus who came up with that lenghty name?).

For example I'll try to explain why I've been playing JRPGs.

In most JRPGs for me the motivation is to see how the story ends. There is also the hook of levelling up to see your character do that final +3 damage. I admit that most JRPGs are as passive entertainment as they come. Most of the total playtime comes from fighting the same monsters and pressing the same button until you reach the next plot point. I'll admit with some shame that most fight systems just aren't any fun.

It's like the game writer has managed to get me hooked on their drug and I need to play the same damn fight sequence a billion times to get my next hit.

If the game consisted only of turn based fighting would you play it? If Squaresoft had released FF 7 where your ultimate goal had been simply to level up your party to the max I'd bet my Legendary Weapons it wouldn't have been an instant classic.

In most cases where story exposition cuts between the playable bits I find the immersion gets broken but in most JRPGs I welcome it with open arms as it's presented as a reward. In all fairness I find it as a reward from the repetitive battles and as that next dose of the plot drug that they got me with in that expensive into cut scene.

With all this ungrateful bitching I'm sure you think I'm a complete ass for playing any of those games in the first place. I'm not masochistic and there are piles of games I just stopped playing because I just didn't find them all that interesting. (Oblivion and Eternal Sonata go back to your corner of shame!) But there are the good elements that far outweigh the bad ones.

They made me interested in their game. I want to know how the story ends. Therefore I care for the main character (me? ) or the npc/world/donkey my character is supposed to save. Based on those two facts I could claim that I enjoy living in the game world and that's why I find some enjoyment even in the never-ending random encounters as well. I can say without a doubt that I enjoyed every second of Lost Odyssey and it's world and characters left a beautiful memory in my mind.

Same can be said for my favourite game FFIX. Whenever I listen to it's soundtrack I can still feel what I was feeling during the game and remembering it makes me genuinely happy every time. Finishing a plot driven game can become a wonderful memory. That's enough motivation for me.





I'd love to hear what your motivation was to play your favourite game. The graphics, level design, story, game play it could be anything.