Virtual Riot
The Vanguardians
INTERGALACTIC WARPIGS
209
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Posted - 2014.03.01 18:08:00 -
[1] - Quote
We as humans seek out 3 major things in our lives in order to feel important.
1. Competence
2. Autonomy
3. Relatedness
1. Competence is the feeling that you have mastery of a particular set of skills, that others do not have. Being specialized in something makes you feel important. Doing things you believe the majority of others can not makes you feel good. Dust 514 definitely satisfies this area with a wide variety of specialized skill sets available the the player.
An example of a game that only gives you the satisfaction of competence would be Super Mario Bros. You gain mastery over the game by playing it more and more, making you better at it, and in turn making you believe that you are better than the majority.
2. Autonomy is the feeling that your decisions matter, and that you are free to shape the world around you. It is the feeling of making a difference. The feeling of choice. People want to feel like their decisions matter are real, and matter to the world around them. Dust satisfies this with a huge skill tree allowing you choice. Be it a new suit you skilled in to, 5% faster reload speed, or a new weapon, you made a choice and it in turn changes the way you play the game, and makes you feel good.
An example of a game that focuses on autonomy would be Skyrim. You get to craft your own adventure, and evolve your character and make choices. You see your character grow, and you see your decisions matter.
3. Relatedness is the feeling that you matter to others. It is the feeling you get by helping someone. People want to feel like their actions matter to other people, this makes them feel productive and important to society. Dust satisfies this because of its online nature. You play with and against other people, and your decisions and actions affect them. When you revive a team mate you feel good that you helped him, when you kill an enemy you feel good because you are helping your team mates. Relatedness focused games are most multiplyer games.
An example of a relatedness focused game would be Team Fortress, or COD. You play with and against other people twords a common goal, and your actions affect them.
As you can see, Dust514 satisfies the entire triforce of our need to feel important. It offers every type of player the part of the triforce they most desire. That is the reason why Dust 514, is such an addictive game. Maybe you'll stop playing it for awhile, but you'll be back eventually, I promise :)
*Disclamer* I am not this smart! I just watched this video on youtube about why we play video games and thought that Dust 514 was a perfect fit for all three. Here is the link to the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyUC_28HIvA&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL35FE5C4B157509C9
Thanks for reading and happy hunting!
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