Why Do You Really Play?
To win, to be with people, or to disappear into another world
Two people can play the same game for hours and be doing completely different things. One is chasing the next rank, one is there for the friends in voice chat, and a third is wandering off the map to see what is behind the mountain. A researcher who surveyed online players found that these reasons fall into three broad families - and one player can be high on one family and low on the others, so wanting to win says little about whether someone plays for company.
Before you start There are no right answers. Pick what is usually true for you, not what sounds best.
Think about the games you actually spend time on, of any kind - console, computer, phone or board games played online.
What it measures
The three components of Yee's model of player motivation: achievement (progress, mastery of the mechanics, competition), social (chatting, friendships, teamwork) and immersion (discovery, role-play, customisation, escape). It is about why you play, not how much. It differs from the motivation test on this site, which looks at what drives you in life and work generally.
Based on: Motivations for play in online games (Yee, 2006): achievement, social, immersion
Possible results
Achievement
Playing to progress, master the mechanics and beat others.
Social
Playing for the conversation, the friendships and the teamwork.
Immersion
Playing to explore, inhabit a character and step out of everyday life.
Common questions
Is playing to escape a bad sign?
Not in itself. Switching off after a long day is one of the ordinary pleasures of any hobby. A 2014 study of online role-playing gamers found that the problem is a specific kind of escape: playing mainly to avoid everyday hassles and distress. That version was more strongly linked to problematic play, psychological distress and lower life satisfaction than other reasons for playing.
Why are some games so hard to put down?
Research based on self-determination theory argues that games pull people in because they satisfy basic psychological needs very efficiently: feeling competent, feeling in control of your choices, and feeling connected to others. The three bars here map loosely onto that - achievement onto competence, social onto connection, immersion onto choice and freedom - which is why the game you cannot put down is usually the one that feeds your highest bar.
Do these motivations change over time?
They can. Yee's model was designed to show how motivations relate to age, gender and playing habits, and many players notice their own shifting - from competing hard at twenty to playing mainly with old friends at forty, for example. Life circumstances matter too: a stressful year can push the escape side up without anything about your personality changing.
Sources
- Yee, N. (2006). Motivations for play in online games. CyberPsychology & Behavior. doi:10.1089/cpb.2006.9.772
- Ryan, R. M., Rigby, C. S., & Przybylski, A. (2006). The motivational pull of video games: A self-determination theory approach. Motivation and Emotion. doi:10.1007/s11031-006-9051-8
- Hagström, D., & Kaldo, V. (2014). Escapism among players of MMORPGs - conceptual clarification, its relation to mental health factors, and development of a new measure. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.0222
An honest note The items are Quinthea's own wording adapted from Yee's model, so scores are not comparable with published data. The model was built mainly from players of online role-playing games and fits other genres only loosely; it describes reasons for playing, not how much you play. This is not a diagnosis. If gaming is crowding out sleep, work or the people around you and cutting back feels impossible, it is worth talking to a health professional.