Why do we play RPGs?

by David Sanders

First of all, I don't know if this has been discussed before or not. If so, I'll put my spin on it, and if not, well new things are always good.

I was thinking of FF8 and why I liked it. But then, I started to think about RPGs and videogames in general. And I realized something. Videogames feed our human nature.

First, let's look at the other genres before I get into detail about RPGs. (From this point on, I'll be giving MY reasons why people play these games. If I'm wrong, well I'm wrong.) Fighting games are the first that come to mind. It is human nature to be competitive. We are constantly striving to outdo each other. To be the best we can be. Fighting games reflect the need for a concrete way to say "I'm better than you". Now I know that it is not what one would say, but deep down, it feels good to beat the other guy. Now we come to sports games. These are like fighting games but not quite. People play sports games usually b/c they like to work with others in a competition. They like to show off and be recognized for their achievements. To be part of a popular group. These too are all part of human nature. Next up is action games. We like to be challenged a lot, we want to have our reflexes tested as well as our minds. We like to feel that we are in control. Action games provide these and many more. This just shows that videogames in general are here to satisfy human nature.

Now to the part that got me started on all this. Role-playing games. The reason people play it is in the title. Everyone (to some degree or another), like to be something more or at least different than themselves. They want to be the hero. They want to accomplish goals. But there is far more too it than this. It is human nature to grow and become stronger. We are constantly testing ourselves in various ways. We like to know we have grown in some way. Experience is important to us. RPGs reflect this. As the game progresses, we come to find out about the character (and if we're lucky and the game is good), we partially become them. We are not quite them, but rather, we sit in their head, and it causes us to think about ourselves. When Squall started out, he was a loner who had trouble understanding and expressing emotions. At the end of his journey, he can do these things and so much more besides.

So why do we play RPGs? Because we want to help someone else grow, and in the process, grow up a little ourselves. If you want to talk about this or whatever email me at raistlin1983@yahoo.com.