The Great(est) Escape Why audiences REALLY play video games (Research)

The article is written by Steve Kennedy and appeared in a 2012 edition of Media Magazine.

The article examines the reasons why audiences play video games and how specific genres are used by these audiences to fulfil certain needs, while applying different audience theories to these genres.

The article seeks to answer the following questions:

• Why are video games so massively popular?
• What is it that video games offer their audience? 

Kennedy begins by describing Richard Dyer's utopian solution theory, which he uses to suggest that video games offer the player a "utopian or perfect ideal" which the audience can access through their own media consumption. This utopia is in contrast to the imperfections and difficulties they may find in their own lives. In an escapist text, Kennedy says, reward is quicker and easier to come by, while in real life "clear rewards are rare and much harder fought for".

An example of this escapist 'ideal', from The Legend of Zelda series:




He also uses the puzzle game Tetris to describe how video games which test our ability to "manage a chaotic situation, creating ordered rows with measurable reward", comparable to real-life situations where management of multiple responsibilities is key. It offers the utopian ideal of "order over chaos", according to Kennedy.

An example:

Kennedy says the first-person shooter genre is a form of "masculine self-actualisation", allowing the predominantly male audience to exert their dominance and actualise their masculinity on a virtual battlefield armed with military training and weaponry. They become the most masculine they can be. When take online, this becomes "real-world dominance" and acts as a communal activity deemed safer than playing outside for many parents. This is also possible in third-person shooters, where the player is positioned behind the protagonist.

An example of this masculine self-actualisation from third-person shooter Gears of War 3:




The sports or 'sports simulation' genre is appealing to audiences because it allows the player to be professionals in football, golf or even tennis, which in real-life may take over 10,000 hours to learn the skills needed. The "physical mastery" of the real thing, according to Kennedy, is replaced with a simple combination of buttons, removing the need for thousands of man-hours in training. Again, this is a quick and easy alternative to the real thing, with reward much simpler to achieve. Sports games boost self-esteem and allow the male-audience to "self-actualise their potential"; affirming their gender identity.