The Video Game Psychology:
Our true
natures are revealed by many choices we make: the cars we drive, our clothing,
the food we eat, the music we enjoy and the films we watch. We are, to an extent,
what we consume.
Then there are video games -- the red-headed stepchild and
favorite whipping boy of pop media. Video games also betray our hidden selves.
By their interactive nature, we relate with games more intimately than any
other entertainment medium. An average video game requires an investment of 10
to12 hours of our precious time.
He or she
has a high stress, manic paced job -- cop, air traffic controller, stock
trader, or kindergarten teacher. Since time on the job is so heart attack
inducing, gaming is usually a cathartic release. All those activities that are
frowned upon in real life (murder, mayhem, mutilation, etc.) are not only OK in
games, they are the foundations of many favorite titles.
"If
it feels good, do it" is the mantra of The Decompressor. After six hours
with small children or a double shift patrolling the mean streets, nothing
short of some unbridled, heavy-caliber gunplay will soothe the nerves.
Unlike
The Decompressor, The Latent Sociopath (LS) can come from any walk of life.
They may be the next-door neighbor, the pharmacist or the UPS guy.
The Alpha
Dominator toils away at a thankless, perpetually promotion-free job. Temp
agency regulars, data entry clerks and industrial custodians fit the AD profile.
The AD lives for the thrill of bringing online opponents to their knees. Public recognition for his or her virtual feats is key to the AD's sense of self worth. When Sony decided to reset the online rankings board for "SOCOM 2," the AD may well have sunk into depression.
Everyday
life is a struggle for The Escapist. They come from all walks of life; their
condition may result from an unfulfilling job but is just as likely to be
independent of career events. Nothing seems as good as it could be to The
Escapist.
Life for
The Inner Child isn't so much unpleasant as it is, well, complicated. The
golden prepubescent years are fondly remembered and silly things such as bills
and jobs are a downright nuisance.
The ugly,
dirty real world has to be tolerated for a time each day, but after work the IC
retreats to a simpler, shinier place. "Kirby and the Amazing Mirror,"
"Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door," "Pikmin 2," and
"The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures" are the playgrounds of
the IC.
The
Control Freak may think that only games can bring some much needed order to
their lives. If everyone else is calling the shots in the real world, they can
rule over every detail in the digital realm.
Halo: You regularly visit your old frat house.
Minecraft: You’re a very attentive lover.
Dead or Alive: You spit a little when you talk.
Team Fortress 2: You unfavorably compare “anime-ized” modern cartoons with Tex Avery classics.
Starcraft: You like cooking, but not baking.
Wii Sports: You have other couples over for “taco night”.
Call of Duty: You have bedhead.
Grand Theft Auto: You sometimes swear near children just to demonstrate your Constitutional free speech rights.
Angry Birds: When you discuss “smart sitcoms” you lump How I Met Your Mother in with Community and 30 Rock.
Half-Life: You play piano.
Leisure Suit Larry: You forward jokes about Obama to your family.
Katamari Damacy: You’re one of those people who eats a lot but doesn’t get fat.
Guitar Hero: You don’t play guitar.
Super Mario: Your regular shoes are sneakers.
Portal: You’ve started a Twitter hashtag game.
Street Fighter: You can’t spell some words.
Braid: You save old Moleskines full of doodles.
Tetris: You wear a short-sleeved shirt and tie to work.
Skyrim: You’re working on a novel.
Duke Nukem: You say “I’m street smart, not book smart.”
Pac-Man: You’re the last surviving consumer of Good & Plenty.
Snood: You’re the oldest intern at a company you make fun of after hours.
BioShock: You’re not an asshole, you just think that without government subsidies of big business, capitalism would be less vilified.
Diablo: You adjust your wardrobe around planning to headbang.
Civilization: You get excited by the bulk bins at Whole Foods.
The Sims: You like painting your fingernails multiple colors.
Roller Coaster Tycoon: You wish you’d saved your favorite Lego set from childhood.
World of Warcraft: You’re baffled that this hasn’t fully replaced golf.
Madden Football: You manage a gas station.
Battlefield: You don’t give a shit about craft beers.
Neverwinter Nights: Your girlfriend often asks you, “Tell me a story.”
Bejeweled: Your children miss you.
Deus Ex: Every year, you get a little closer to converting your parents from Christians to agnostics.
Left 4 Dead: You helped all your friends move.
Flight Simulator: You love maximizing your deductions.
Command and Conquer: You read alternate history novels.
Fallout: You know how to arch your right eyebrow, but not your left.
NBA Jam: You drink soda.
L.A. Noire: You know not to wear a fedora with anything but a suit.
Spacequest: You’ve uploaded some skits onto YouTube.
Mirror’s Edge: You eat dark chocolate.
Counter-Strike: You’re really nice to your dog.
Sonic the Hedgehog: You eat hot dogs without ketchup.
Monkey Island: You joke about your useless liberal arts degree, but you’re proud of it.
Age of Empires: You’ve read Guns, Germs and Steel.
Assassin’s Creed: You don’t think it’s fair that trenchcoats are still associated with kids who shoot up their schools.
Donkey Kong Country: You prefer the British Office.
Battletoads: You think your friends are joking when they call you an asshole.
Gran Turismo: Sometimes you have to recite parts of the alphabet to yourself.
Heavy Rain: You’re getting over a personal crisis.
Zelda: You go in for hugs instead of handshakes.
Metal Gear Solid: You think that suicidal people should just go on cool death-defying
Earthworm Jim: You and your friends say “…Her?” instead of “Really?”
Pokemon: Your boyfriend says you make him feel old.
Relation
between Video games and our Personality
Psychology says that
your Favorited video game related to your personality. Here are some
personalities of people to learn about you and about others.
At the ending of the post i place
the characters of people according to famous video games.
Since video gaming is a mostly
private pursuit, the games we play may be the most honest expression of our
inner lives. Let's face it, there's usually no one around to see us let our
freak flags fly.
Eric Zimmerman, author
of "Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals" and CEO of developer
gameLab, elaborates: "Unlike a book,
a film, and other forms of prescripted media, a game is more like a set of
tools that the player uses to build his or her own experience. The games we
choose to play, and the way we play them, reveal a tremendous amount about us
-- from our creative drives and ambitions to the dark corners of
our desires."
Video games are a window to our
souls and the view isn't always pretty.
With tongue planted firmly in
cheek, please find here the field guide to the inner lives of gamers.
The Decompressor
The Decompressor shares many
favorite games with the Latent Sociopath (see below). "Halo 2,"
"SOCOM 2," and "GTA: San Andreas" all offer a full range of
primal pleasures guaranteed to let some of that potentially lethal
pressure off.
Without games, The Decompressor
literally would pop a gasket.
The Latent Sociopath
We've all seen dumbstruck folks
on the news saying things such as, "he seemed like a regular guy," or
"her kids were always well dressed" when describing the perpetrator
of a horrific crime. The same outwardly normal appearance is typical of
the LS.
These are the gamers who come
home, fire up the Xbox, and let their id reign supreme. The purpose of gaming
is to provide fuel for the inner beast. The more mundane and uneventful real
life is, the hungrier the beast becomes.
Fave games will be M-rated
bloodbaths. "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher's Bay,"
"GTA: San Andreas," "Hitman: Contracts," and "Burnout
3" all feature protagonists free of societal constraints, indulging every
psychotic whim.
LS's use games to stay latent.
Despite the proclamations of Congress and concerned parents everywhere, games
such as "GTA: San Andreas" actually make the world a safer place.
The Alpha Dominator
What the AD longs for is
superiority -- utter fear and awe from lesser beings. What may be
professionally unattainable is only an Ethernet connection away in the game
world. Online multiplayer games offer an even playing field that can be ruled
by anyone with the requisite hand-eye coordination.
The AD lives for the thrill of bringing online opponents to their knees. Public recognition for his or her virtual feats is key to the AD's sense of self worth. When Sony decided to reset the online rankings board for "SOCOM 2," the AD may well have sunk into depression.
Games of choice include online
battlegrounds "Unreal Tournament 2004," "SOCOM 2,"
"ESPN NFL 2K5," and "Madden 2005." The AD isn't concerned
with violence or a particular sporting event. Winning is everything.
The Escapist
TV and movies are effective ways
to bring some joy to their bleak and dreary lives, but games are the only true
remedy. Games can offer another, infinitely more stimulating existence. Why be
a mere mortal when there are otherworldly empires to explore and ancient
kingdoms to conquer? Regular life seems unbearably dull compared to the
fantastic online exploits for The Escapist.
Like The AD, The Escapist
inhabits the realm of online multiplayer games. But that's where the
similarities end. Winning or conquering may play a part in The Escapists
gaming, but only in the context of a much grander scheme. Escapists may sink
the equivalent of entire months into their fave games, lovingly building
experience points and elaborate inventories.
The exotic lands of
"Everquest II," "Final Fantasy XI," "World of
Warcraft," and "Rome: Total War" are where The Escapist prefers
to dwell.
The Inner Child
ICs may be regarded as
simpleminded, but this would be a mistake. They can, after all, keep track of
the location of every star in "Mario 64" and can name every title
released on every platform in the Legend of Zelda saga. Nintendo holds a place
near to the heart of every IC.
The Control Freak
So-called god games are a godsend
for the CF. Micromanaging may be a pain to co-workers, but in The Sims and
Tycoon series games it's an essential skill. Mighty corporations and entire
populations live or die under the CF's focused gaze.
The CF got hooked on gaming with
Sid Meier's "Civilization" and "Railroad Tycoon" and has
most recently found an outlet for obsessive compulsive tendencies in "The
Sims 2," "Rollercoaster Tycoon 3" and "City of Heroes."
If your favourite game isn’t
listed below, tell me in the comments and I’ll tell you what it says about you.
Halo: You regularly visit your old frat house.
Minecraft: You’re a very attentive lover.
Dead or Alive: You spit a little when you talk.
Team Fortress 2: You unfavorably compare “anime-ized” modern cartoons with Tex Avery classics.
Starcraft: You like cooking, but not baking.
Wii Sports: You have other couples over for “taco night”.
Call of Duty: You have bedhead.
Grand Theft Auto: You sometimes swear near children just to demonstrate your Constitutional free speech rights.
Angry Birds: When you discuss “smart sitcoms” you lump How I Met Your Mother in with Community and 30 Rock.
Half-Life: You play piano.
Leisure Suit Larry: You forward jokes about Obama to your family.
Katamari Damacy: You’re one of those people who eats a lot but doesn’t get fat.
Guitar Hero: You don’t play guitar.
Super Mario: Your regular shoes are sneakers.
Portal: You’ve started a Twitter hashtag game.
Street Fighter: You can’t spell some words.
Braid: You save old Moleskines full of doodles.
Tetris: You wear a short-sleeved shirt and tie to work.
Skyrim: You’re working on a novel.
Duke Nukem: You say “I’m street smart, not book smart.”
Pac-Man: You’re the last surviving consumer of Good & Plenty.
Snood: You’re the oldest intern at a company you make fun of after hours.
BioShock: You’re not an asshole, you just think that without government subsidies of big business, capitalism would be less vilified.
Diablo: You adjust your wardrobe around planning to headbang.
Civilization: You get excited by the bulk bins at Whole Foods.
The Sims: You like painting your fingernails multiple colors.
Roller Coaster Tycoon: You wish you’d saved your favorite Lego set from childhood.
World of Warcraft: You’re baffled that this hasn’t fully replaced golf.
Madden Football: You manage a gas station.
Battlefield: You don’t give a shit about craft beers.
Neverwinter Nights: Your girlfriend often asks you, “Tell me a story.”
Bejeweled: Your children miss you.
Deus Ex: Every year, you get a little closer to converting your parents from Christians to agnostics.
Left 4 Dead: You helped all your friends move.
Flight Simulator: You love maximizing your deductions.
Command and Conquer: You read alternate history novels.
Fallout: You know how to arch your right eyebrow, but not your left.
NBA Jam: You drink soda.
L.A. Noire: You know not to wear a fedora with anything but a suit.
Spacequest: You’ve uploaded some skits onto YouTube.
Mirror’s Edge: You eat dark chocolate.
Counter-Strike: You’re really nice to your dog.
Sonic the Hedgehog: You eat hot dogs without ketchup.
Monkey Island: You joke about your useless liberal arts degree, but you’re proud of it.
Age of Empires: You’ve read Guns, Germs and Steel.
Assassin’s Creed: You don’t think it’s fair that trenchcoats are still associated with kids who shoot up their schools.
Donkey Kong Country: You prefer the British Office.
Battletoads: You think your friends are joking when they call you an asshole.
Gran Turismo: Sometimes you have to recite parts of the alphabet to yourself.
Plants vs. Zombies: You
say, “All that matters is my car gets me from Point A to Point B.”
Heavy Rain: You’re getting over a personal crisis.
Zelda: You go in for hugs instead of handshakes.
Metal Gear Solid: You think that suicidal people should just go on cool death-defying
missions.
Earthworm Jim: You and your friends say “…Her?” instead of “Really?”
Pokemon: Your boyfriend says you make him feel old.
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+ comments + 31 comments
almost correct
Instead of having a list of individual games at the end, it might be more accesible to readers if you categorized them according to the six personality types you've presented.
Also, it would be interesting to include Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing under either "Inner Child" or "Control Freak"--I'm not sure which.
@Anonymous
Tanks for Your suggestion..
You're correct and we are planning to write a new post on it...
but the information in above post are divided into two parts first six
catageries are come to one part and the remaining part will come to
another part there is no link between the two parts..
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Shadow of the Colossus isn't listed, just to let you know. It's my favorite game of all time. What does that say about me?
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