Qcf Unit 22
Unit 22 – Developing Computer Games
(Outcome 1)
BTEC Nationals
Handout
2
Computer Games
Psychological factors
Prepared by: Mohamed Diab
Psychological factors
Computer games are popular because they affect us emotionally, in a similar way to films and music. Just as a horror movie makes you feel scared, a survival horror computer game can terrify you too. In some ways the game makes it feel more real because you are controlling the character, so what happens to the character can feel like it is happening to you. Games designers use the psychological factors to improve their games and make the experience of playing them more memorable. It can be done very simply and subtly, or it can be done in a very obvious way, …show more content…
Page 3 of 10
Competitive Games
Competition with others is a driving factor that makes people try to improve their skills and abilities. High score lists will encourage you to compete against yourself, but competitive games where you play against other people will make you even more motivated to improve.
Throughout our history there are examples of people competing against each other in order to prove that they are the best at something. The most wellknown example is the Olympic Games, where people come together from every country in the world to compete, and the event generates a lot of international goodwill and excitement.
Inevitably there are occasions when people become over-competitive and the desire to win becomes a negative rather than positive motivation. On the whole, however, competition teaches people to be good losers, to push themselves and to analyse their skills and formulate plans to improve those skills. These are all positive attributes that make an individual successful in the world of work and are undeniably associated with being successful at computer games.
Page 4 of …show more content…
The older consoles used to make use of LAN (local area network) gaming, where two consoles would be connected together with an ethernet cable, to double the amount of people playing the game. This would sometimes lead to LAN parties - larger groups of people meeting up with their equipment and playing games against each other. As the current batch of consoles and handheld devices include built-in wireless Internet access, playing competitive games online is very easy to do. High Score Listings
Another motivating factor that affects people psychologically is peer pressure. If friends, classmates or colleagues are pressurising someone to play the same games as them or to buy the same console, this can be a negative effect. Peer pressure is very powerful, especially with young people, because most people want to fit in with their peers. If everyone you hung out with was playing a certain game and you didn 't have it, you would feel you were the odd one out, left out of discussions that they were having.
Page 5 of 10
Advertisers know that peer pressure is a powerful motivator for
(Outcome 1)
BTEC Nationals
Handout
2
Computer Games
Psychological factors
Prepared by: Mohamed Diab
Psychological factors
Computer games are popular because they affect us emotionally, in a similar way to films and music. Just as a horror movie makes you feel scared, a survival horror computer game can terrify you too. In some ways the game makes it feel more real because you are controlling the character, so what happens to the character can feel like it is happening to you. Games designers use the psychological factors to improve their games and make the experience of playing them more memorable. It can be done very simply and subtly, or it can be done in a very obvious way, …show more content…
Page 3 of 10
Competitive Games
Competition with others is a driving factor that makes people try to improve their skills and abilities. High score lists will encourage you to compete against yourself, but competitive games where you play against other people will make you even more motivated to improve.
Throughout our history there are examples of people competing against each other in order to prove that they are the best at something. The most wellknown example is the Olympic Games, where people come together from every country in the world to compete, and the event generates a lot of international goodwill and excitement.
Inevitably there are occasions when people become over-competitive and the desire to win becomes a negative rather than positive motivation. On the whole, however, competition teaches people to be good losers, to push themselves and to analyse their skills and formulate plans to improve those skills. These are all positive attributes that make an individual successful in the world of work and are undeniably associated with being successful at computer games.
Page 4 of …show more content…
The older consoles used to make use of LAN (local area network) gaming, where two consoles would be connected together with an ethernet cable, to double the amount of people playing the game. This would sometimes lead to LAN parties - larger groups of people meeting up with their equipment and playing games against each other. As the current batch of consoles and handheld devices include built-in wireless Internet access, playing competitive games online is very easy to do. High Score Listings
Another motivating factor that affects people psychologically is peer pressure. If friends, classmates or colleagues are pressurising someone to play the same games as them or to buy the same console, this can be a negative effect. Peer pressure is very powerful, especially with young people, because most people want to fit in with their peers. If everyone you hung out with was playing a certain game and you didn 't have it, you would feel you were the odd one out, left out of discussions that they were having.
Page 5 of 10
Advertisers know that peer pressure is a powerful motivator for