The past few weeks in my Human resources class we
have been discussing motivational theories. Because they have been continuously
drilled into my head, I immediately was drawn to the connection between
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the idea of play, gaming in particular.
Obviously, physiological needs cannot be satisfied through gaming.
Games can’t give air, water, or sleep (lol), but I’m writing this with the idea
that people who can afford or use gaming systems and games have already
fulfilled their basic physiological needs.
In a game
you have control of your health and resources. You physically can’t get sick,
you can’t die and you cannot be robbed or hurt. If you do die, often times you
can try again, time after time. Also, in a game, you can feel secure that what
you are doing is going towards something that cannot be destroyed.
We move to the love and belonging tier. You can have sexual intimacy in the game with other players but without the trouble of the player of the opposite sex seeing your nervousness. Also, the idea of friendship and family is fulfilled by fellow players, especially by teammates.
We move to the love and belonging tier. You can have sexual intimacy in the game with other players but without the trouble of the player of the opposite sex seeing your nervousness. Also, the idea of friendship and family is fulfilled by fellow players, especially by teammates.
Esteem is the easiest
to connect. Confidence comes when you win. There is always a newb that is worse
then you. Achievement and respect comes when you defeat your enemies, get the
prize, or generally win.
Self-actualization is
found through creativity and spontaneity in the game. Problem solving is also
achieved on this tier through gaming.
Rodriguez says, “It is only because play is engrossing and absorbing
that it can arguably enhance the player's physiological health, ego integration
and social identity.”
I would
like to discuss this further with you guys.
I think you hit on something super awesome with this connection. You talk about Maslow's 4 levels of needs (which you call "physiological", "love and belonging", "esteem", and "self-actualization") and how they relate to gaming and I think it brings up an important connection between play and seriousness.
ReplyDeleteAt each of these levels, it seems to me as if there is a necessary and serious requirement before play can actually occur. You can only play with physiological needs (I'm thinking Survivorman or the game show Survivor) if there is a guarantee of food, water, and shelter. Without such a guarantee, the seriousness of surviving structures our movements (I think there is a comedian who picks up on this but I forget who). Likewise love, belonging, and esteem can be played with or become playful only when they are met outside the "magic circle". Self-actualization I think (I've never been sure about what is meant by the term) then becomes the actualization of playfulness in all aspects of life. This is problematic, in my opinion, when death is introduced because the needs of life are never guaranteed and so death always hang over us.
You may have guessed that I would bring this around to my experience of the Christian faith, and you'd be correct. Christianity puts life-in-the-world (corum mundo) within the bounds of the magic circle because the needs of life are met when we leave the circle and return to life-with-God (corum deo). As a Christian, I am free to play in the world because the seriousness of the world is met for me. The seriousness of life no longer dictates my movements.
Notice that this doesn't abolish seriousness but rather it changes our relationship with our serious needs so that they can be met in the world of play. They become the Magneto to our Professor X.