作者：Daniel Cook

你会先完成一款游戏，再转向下一款游戏吗？这是玩家玩游戏的主要模式。如果玩家不再浅尝辄止，而是向一款电脑游戏投入长年累月的时间，这又是什么情况？

传统游戏玩家“术业有专攻”

在5500多年的游戏和运动发展史中，玩家通常都专注于同一个游戏项目，并将其转化为自己的主要爱好。西洋棋玩家可能会涉足其他游戏，但西洋棋才是他们的唯一。他们会加入西洋棋俱乐部，同伙伴一起玩西洋棋，将90%的游戏时间用于下棋。总体来说，玩家总会有所偏重地玩游戏。

这类玩家也会接触其他游戏，但对其他游戏的兴趣相对更小。

也有一些是擅长多种游戏或运动的社区，但这些属于少数群体。

有些人习惯将所有业余爱好者称为“运动员”或“选手”，并组建一些普遍的社群。例如停留在口头上的体操运动就很少深入研究铁杆业余爱好者对此的专一热情，或者其所在社区的本质。

他们对某一爱好如此专一不乏原因。传统运动或游戏通常有以下属性：

*长盛不衰的活动：你不需要打败它们。你在自己腻烦的时候可以停下来。它们通常由嵌套循环组成，而后者会随着时间发展而升级。例如比赛就可划分为竞赛、季赛、职业赛、培训赛等多个级别。

*极高的精通上限：多数人几乎无法完成精通一个项目。你可以一次比一次发挥得更好一点，你可能在围棋、足球或扑克上更有造诣。

*强大的社区：志同道合的玩家会组建拥有团队准则、层次和支持结构的强大社交群体。要成为一名资深篮球玩家，就要成为一个篮球人际网络中的一员。

*终身身份：有些在该游戏中表现出色的人就会成为其所在团体的一个标志。该游戏也会成为超过其本身的动力之源。他们回首来时路时就会说“人生总有起伏和跌宕，但我为自己在X项目中的成就而自豪。”

*基于服务的商业模式：任何文化结构都可以通过了解资金流进行分析。许多传统游戏的准入门槛极低。玩家不需要花费多少钱就可获得初级设备。这些道具通常就是大家已有的纸牌或棋盘，而且一副设备就可以服务多名参与者。

在游戏的更高阶段，玩家就要通过购买更高级的装备或不同服务、会员资格或参赛费而为该系统注入更多资金流。在所有情况下，这些项目所涉及的商业模式，都可以为你的继续参与提供强大的经济和文化动力。

传统游戏玩家消费意愿高

电脑或主机游戏爱好遵循的是不同的用法模式，其玩家会大范围地体验游戏。NPD报告指出，核心玩家在3个月内平均购买5.4款游戏。Kotaku网站最近针对Steam游戏消费情况的文章评论员称他们已经购买了100至800款游戏。他们会玩一段时间后将其搁置一边再去寻找新游戏。

这些玩家专一性更低。他们可能更喜欢特定题材的游戏（如RPG或射击游戏），但仍会广泛涉猎这一题材中的多款游戏。

为何他们玩游戏的模式如此不如？商业数字游戏含有一些鼓励间歇性玩法的独特属性，这一点不同于长盛不衰的游戏。并非所有数字游戏都属于这一模式，但这一趋势确实不容忽视。

*完成型的游戏：多数电脑和主机游戏可以用5至40小时通关完成。极少数字游戏能够让玩家留存6个月以上。玩家实际玩游戏的时间比游戏本身时长更短，因为多数玩家并不会完成游戏，更少人曾多次玩同一款游戏。

这一点也同传统长盛不衰的游戏活动升级型的嵌套循环有所不同。

*叙事和谜题为主的游戏玩法：多数玩法集中于使用谜题或唤起回忆的叙事因素。设计师投入大笔预算制作特定的场景，以便最大化第一时间给玩家带来的情感冲击。

*低精通上限：由于这类游戏的设计目标是让玩家尽量顺利地在游戏内容中通关，游戏机制通常会针对初级玩家的技能而进行平衡。单人玩家的叙事电脑游戏一般很少出现精通游戏玩法的典型。而这一切通常会导致玩家迅速产生“厌倦”并将游戏搁置一边。

*较弱的玩家身份：玩家很难因为自己精通任何一款游戏而建立身份。擅长《Braid》的玩家并没有那么特殊，其他许多人也可以做到。大家在此没有什么创新，除了玩游戏的时候，没有人会在乎游戏中的高手是谁。

*重视内容的商业模式：数字游戏项目具有让你预先付费然后转向其下一款游戏的强烈经济动机，将游戏视为内容或盒装产品业务。其最佳策略是将高质量的盒装产品置于（实体或虚拟）货架之上，让人们尽量多买几盒。由于令人兴奋的内容仍然需要耗费大笔成本，行业因此出现了更快制作游戏，在前端更易于推广，在后端更为短小的游戏这种趋势。

“短暂玩法”也许就是为何玩家不再消费大量游戏的关键原因。如果玩家每周投入16-18小时玩游戏，不需要多久就可以完成单款游戏了。如果某款游戏已经无法完全填满一个人的闲暇时间，玩家就会去购买其他游戏。对于内容型游戏而言，只有大量可消耗的游戏才足以令他们充分投入，从而发展为一种成熟的爱好。

这也是一种媒体爱好者的普遍共性。从长盛不衰的爱好到数字零售型游戏，我们可以将用户培养成一种类似于看了许多书的读者，看过多部片子的电影爱好者这类群体。

媒体文化

要成为一名“游戏玩家”，就要买进大量只是为了促进这种易于消耗的媒体内容创作的条件：

*评论员的存在是为了帮助玩家挑选下一个购买游戏。

*评论家的存在是为了展示媒体如何向社会传达信息。他们只是借鉴了电影或文学等其他媒体领域的做法，因为媒体只是一个召唤情感的刺激物而非功能性系统，所以这里不存在多少系统思维。

*热门游戏的形式是由它是否符合媒体形式而决定的。形式是一件媒体内容的标准化结构。2小时的叙事电影是一种视频形式。300页的小说是一种写作形式。那么14小时的冒险游戏或基于关卡的叙事FPS的形式也同此理。

*商店和门店的存在是为了向爱好者销售稳定的新媒体内容。由于媒体作品类型极为广泛，玩家分配到每种媒体上的时间相对有限，所以内容聚合器一般都是并不生产任何媒体内容的第三方。

*社区是围绕大众媒体，聚集一大群拥有共同体验的消费者的组织。《马里奥》、《质量效应》或《最终幻想》等大品牌也像与《星际迷航》、《星球大战》一样拥有文化号召力。作品比较、回忆录和粉丝创造的未来续集或扩展内容也成了一种普遍现象。

数字-长盛不衰的爱好

在这个以媒体为中心的生态圈中，我们看到许多更像是传统游戏的主流游戏的复兴。例如《魔兽世界》等MMO游戏，或者《英雄联盟》这类MOBA都变成了一种服务。《Minecraft》这种数字游戏可以衍生多许多社区，并且够用户玩上好几年。《光晕》或《使命召唤》巧妙地将自己伪装成传统易消耗的盒装产品，但却能多其广泛的多人模式服务中推动玩家的长期粘性和留存率。这些游戏具有许多传统业余爱好的共性：

1.它们试图成为长盛不衰的运动

2.它们具有较高的精通上限和健康的社区

3.以eSports为代表的许多活动复制了传统运动项目的嵌套年度循环

这些游戏中的每一者对其本身而言都是一种爱好。用户会数年玩同一款游戏。在针对5400名的魔兽玩家调查中，49%受访者声称自己很少活跃参与其他MMO游戏。

服务意识的兴起

由于商业因素和玩家接受度的影响，行业加速向服务领域转型。开发者开始逐渐意识到长盛不衰的服务可以产生更多收益，更高的稳定性和更有粘性的玩家群体。过去几年的社交、手机和Steam游戏试验证明，微交易很可能成为游戏市场的主流力量。他们已经占据了70%的移动收益，并将继续在其他平台快速发展。

这种新的盈利来源为游戏设计带来了新的约束条件。开发者过去煞费苦心制作的可供玩家体验10小时的内容，如果需要成千上万个小时后才能带来收益，那就无从产生利润。关键在于富有深度的机制，而令玩家愿意玩时间融入其中的社区也成了一个竞争优势。

这一新兴领域确实存在一些挤兑新人的操纵公司。但不要太惊讶，这并非游戏行业独有的现象，也不是行业首次引来臭昭名著的开发商。不要纠结于那些不可避免的坏现象，以及那些充斥于游戏行业的授权游戏、黄色游戏和赌博游戏。要志存高远，展望未来，擦亮眼睛寻找其中潜藏的新机遇。

它们没有交集

这些新的玩家开始成为爱好者，但并非以媒体为中心的游戏玩家。这一点可从爱玩“休闲”社交和手机游戏的群体中看出来。这些玩家中的许多人对当前的游戏文化并没有多少研究。你若去问一名沉迷于《Candy Crush Saga》的人是否算是游戏玩家，他们通常会否认。他们并不“玩游戏”，他们与喜欢《马里奥》、《塞尔达》、《使命召唤》、《光晕》等当前主流游戏玩家并不具有多少共性。在他们看来，一种奇妙的爱好与当前的电脑游戏并无多大关系。

有个说法认为新玩家终会深陷一款游戏，然后再转向其他游戏。这种观点认为玩家存在一种消耗大量游戏的玩法模式，但我对此表示怀疑。除了长盛不衰的游戏，业余爱好者基本上无暇接触其他易消耗型的内容。你完成一个很棒的爱好，之后转向再一种娱乐。你会长年累月地玩同一款游戏。

完美的服务型游戏就是那种值得你投入终身闲暇时间的游戏。

如果这种说法是夸大其辞，当前的游戏也尚未达到这种高度，那就不妨再耐心等一等。如今的开发者极富才华，他们也有制作完美的服务型游戏的强大经济动机。

许多游戏爱好并存

那么我们该如何理解“玩游戏”？

*有些人会在自己有空时积极地玩游戏。

*其他人会玩《Farmville》、《Dwarf Fortress》、《Minecraft》或《模拟城市》等富有创意的游戏。

*其他人参与《魔兽世界》、《Eve》或Facebook上的社交在线游戏。

*还有一些小型而活跃，喜欢消费谜题和故事媒体的旧式游戏玩家社区。

我们现在所认为的“玩游戏”变成了众多为数字增强版爱好中的一者。

也有些人将此视为一种威胁，但这纯粹是庸人自扰。那些原有的爱好至少已存在一代的时间。那些将自己的身份同消费的媒体类游戏绑定在一起的人，也会在自己死亡时结束参与这一爱好。我希望看到80多岁的老人仍在购买冒险游戏，因为这是伴随他们成长，他们所爱的游戏。小众市场的开发者可通过服务这些铁杆粉丝而大获其利。新爱好的兴起并不会危及现成的爱好。事实上，你至少在自己的余生都可以看到以媒体为中心的游戏类型。

对文化生态圈的影响

鉴于这种转变，以下现象可能会挑战你的预期：

*专一的兴趣，而非共同兴趣：对你的普遍玩家来说，防御药水的掉落率是无关紧要的事情。但对于《Realm of the Mad God》社区的玩家而言，这却是至关重要的东西，会影响其成百上千个小时的生命。他们到达一定的精通程度时，其用于描述游戏内部概念的语言就能难为休闲玩家所理解了。这会抑制外部群体的交流，但却可强化内部群体的联系。

*深度系统分析，而非泛泛而谈的媒体评论：爱好通常由人类系统和社区组成，并非可分析的文本或可出售的盒子。关于政治、人类学或经济学的讨论形式很常见，但却甚少出现像这些领域一样系统化的游戏评论。成功的评论员通常是极为了解某一爱好的高手级玩家。他们通常不会是从一个媒体活动跳到另一媒体活动的半桶水玩家。

*独特的文化，而非大众文化：一种爱好可以发展出一系列内在的社会准则。但如果任凭极端的观点恶化，就会产生消极的影响。但它也可以发挥巨大的积极影响，并推广具有包容性、公平和长期的积极关系。每种爱好都是一种需要吸收显性价值的文化培养皿。

*参与，而非营销活动：新玩家会从好友或偶然发现的免费试玩版本中知道某种爱好。他们首先参与时会看看自己是否喜欢这种爱好所推广的生活方式。这些爱好在早期获取大量用户时需要展开大型媒体活动，但这些活动并不一定会产生直接的收益和稳定的社区。

最令我意外的一个方面是具有内在充分爱好的隐藏性。对那些不熟悉该爱好的人来说，顺利运行的过程并没有什么新闻价值。超过500万人参与地理寻宝活动，但这种现代游戏却更像是一种偶然的人类兴趣，极入进入大众视野。这里不存在可以报告的新内容，也没有什么广告卖点，所以注定只能得到沉默的回应。

允许百花齐放的文化氛围

曾有人认为，真正的游戏玩家社区的可行性不及那些长盛不衰的活动社区。但是，我们却诞生了大量多种多样、独立而长期的社区。它们没有多少共同价值或目标。也没有多少玩家会认为自己与另一款不同游戏的用户具有多少共同点。

PAX等社会组织仍在推广共同点，正像奥林匹克推广运动员的共同点一样。但这种日复一日的异花授粉活动并不常见。

我个人还是很看重多样性的爆炸性发展。我们不需要太多大众文化，更需要充满活力、具有生产力的社区，而非消极的工业化消费活动。

现存的玩家社区可能会通过冷嘲热讽来挤兑那些与自己不同的群体（例如，“真不敢相信你居然玩《Farmville》这种蠢游戏！”）。事实上，我们应该以积极的态度回应不同的群体，例如：

*玩游戏的自由：正像信仰自由一样，任何玩家都有权利选择自己想玩的游戏，不农牧民这些游戏是否被其他玩家所排斥。

*相互尊重：任何玩家的爱好都应该得到你的尊重，即使你个人并不了解这种爱好。不要以先入为主地判断与自己不同的人。

*说明的意愿：任何内行人都应该乐意向外行人说明自己的爱好运行原理。可以邀请他们来参与这一活动，而具有开放心态的外行人也应该有聆听的意愿。

个人爱好的存在并非鲜事。重要的是认识到个人数字爱好也很快将成为一种默认的玩法模式，顺时而变即可。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

A single game as a lifelong hobby

by Daniel Cook

The following blog was, unless otherwise noted, independently written by a member of Gamasutra’s game development community. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Gamasutra or its parent company.

Want to write your own blog post on Gamasutra? It’s easy! Click here to get started. Your post could be featured on Gamasutra’s home page, right alongside our award-winning articles and news stories.

(This essay was originally posted on Lostgarden.com. Worth catching up on the existing comments so far.)

Do you finish one game and then move onto the next? This is the dominant pattern of play for gamers. What happens when players stop consuming and start investing in a single evergreen computer game for years on end?

Players of traditional games specialize

Across the 5500+ year history of gaming and sports, players typically focus on a single game and turn it into their predominant hobby. A chess player may dabble in other games, but chess is their touchstone. They join chess clubs, they play with fellow chess fans and they spend 90% of their gaming time playing chess. Overall, players specialize.

Such players do play other games, but to a far lesser degree.

There are also communities that embrace the identity of being good at multiple games or sports. These are a minority.

And some are inclined to claim all hobbyists are ‘athletes’ or ‘players’ and thus unified in some common tribe. Such verbal gymnastics rarely provide much insight into a dedicated hobbyist’s specific passions or the nature of their community.

Specializing in a hobby occurs for many reasons. Traditional sports or games often have the following attributes:

Evergreen activities: You don’t beat them. You stop when you get bored. Usually they consist of nested loops that operate on time scales of up to a generation. Consider the nesting of Match : Event : Season : Career : Training the next generation.

High mastery ceiling: Most are nearly impossible to master completely. You can always get a little better. You can always get better at Go, Soccer or Poker.

Strong communities: There exist strong social groups of like-minded players that have their own group norms, hierarchies and support structures. To be a dedicated basketball player is to be part of an extensive basketball playing network.

Life long identities: Someone who excels in the game starts to identify as a member of that group. The game becomes source of purpose bigger than themselves. They can look back on their life and say “There were some ups and downs, but I’m secure in my accomplishments as a player of game X”

Grass roots or service-based business models: Any cultural structure can be fruitfully analyzed by understanding the flow of money. Many traditional games have extremely low barriers to entry. It costs little to access the initial equipment. Often items like decks of cards or chessboards are either communally owned or purchased by a family and one set of equipment serves multiple participants.

At higher levels of play, cash flows into the ecosystem through purchases of more advanced or higher status equipment or various service, membership or event fees. In all cases, the businesses involved have strong financial and culture incentives to get you playing and keep you playing.

Players of digital games consume

The hobby of computer or console gaming follows a different usage pattern; gamers play a wide variety of games. NPD claims core gamers buy an average of 5.4 games in a 3-month period. In a recent discussion of Steam purchases on Kotaku, commentators chimed in that they had purchased 100 to 800 games. These are played for a period of time and then set aside so that a new game might get some play.

These players specialize far less. They may prefer a genre of games such as RPGs or shooters, but they’ll still consume many games within that genre.

Why the difference in playing patterns? Commercial digital games have some distinct attributes that encourage serial play instead of evergreen play. Not all digital games fit this mold, but the trends are worth noting.

Complete-able games: Most computer and console games can be completed in 5 to 40 hours. It is rare that you find digital games that retain users longer than 6 months. Actual playtime is shorter than the official length since most players do not complete their games and even fewer play through a title more than once. Compare this to the generational nested loops of traditional evergreen games.

Narrative and Puzzle-focused gameplay: The majority of the gameplay is focused on high burnout single use puzzles or evocative narrative stimuli. Designers spend their budget handcrafting specific scenarios for maximum emotional impact the first time through.

Low mastery ceilings: Since the design goal is to move players through the content of a game as smoothly as possible, the game mechanics are generally balanced towards the average skills of first time players. It is rare and surprising when a single player narrative computer game offers examples of masterful play. All this leads to early burnout where players rapidly become ‘bored’ and put the title aside.

Weak player identities: It is difficult for a player to establish their identity around their excellence in any one game. To be a good Braid player just isn’t that special. Lots of other people have walked the same path; there is little player creativity and outside the occasional Let’s Play video, few people care.

Content-focused business model: Digital games businesses have a strong financial incentive to get you to pay upfront and then move onto their next title. Games are treated as a content or boxed product business. An optimal strategy is to put high quality boxes on shelf (either physical or virtual) and get people to buy as many boxes as possible. Since exciting content remains a large cost center, there is ever increasing pressure to make games flashier and more marketable on the front-end and shorter on the back-end.

Shortness of play is perhaps the key reason why players end up consuming multiple games. With gamers spending 16-18 hours a week gaming, it doesn’t take long to burn through a single title. When a single game fails to entirely fill a person’s leisure time, players buy additional games. Only a set of multiple consumable titles provides enough engagement for someone to make a full-fledged hobby out of content-based games.

This fits the general profile of a media hobbyist. As we shifted from evergreen hobbies to digital retail-focused games, we trained users to behave in a fashion similar to that of a reader who reads many books or a movie goer who watches many movies.

A media culture

To be a ‘Gamer’ is to buy into numerous requirements that only exist to enable the creation of easily consumable media products.

Reviewers exist to help players select their next media purchase

Critics exist to demonstrate how media conveys a message to society. They are trained (if they are trained) in other media-centric fields such as movies or literature. There is little systemic thinking since media is first and foremost not a functional system but an evocative stimuli.

The form of popular games is determined by whether or not it fits in a media box. Form is the standardized structure of a piece of media. The 2-hour narrative movie is a form of video. The 300 page novel is a form of writing. So too is the 14-hour adventure game or the level-based narrative FPS.

Stores and storefronts exist to sell the hobbyist a steady trickle of new media. Since media creation is expensive and the share of a player’s time is small for any single piece of media, aggregators of content are typically 3rd parties that don’t produce all the media themselves.

Communities are built around mass media that act as a shared experience for large populations of consumers. Big brands like Mario, Mass Effect or Final Fantasy form cultural anchors much like Star Trek or Star Wars. Comparisons, reminiscences and fan fantasies about future sequels or expansions are common.

Digital evergreen hobbies

Into this media-centric ecosystem we’ve seen the reemergence of major games that hew more closely to the traditional games of old. MMOs like World of Warcraft or MOBAs like League of Legends are services. A digital game like Minecraft ties into numerous communities and is often played for years. Some like Halo or Call of Duty cleverly camouflage themselves as traditional consumable boxed products all while deriving long term engagement and retention from their extensive multiplayer services. These games share many of the attributes of older hobbies:

They attempt to be evergreen.

They have high mastery ceilings and robust communities.

Many, especially eSports, replicate the nested yearly loops of a traditional sport.

Each of these games is a hobby onto itself. People predominantly play a single game for years. In one poll of 5400 WoW players, 49% claimed to never actively play another MMO.

The rise of services

The shift to services is accelerating, driven by business factors and steady player acceptance. Developers are slowly coming around to the realization that an evergreen service yields more money, greater stability and a more engaged player base. Experiments of the past few years with social, mobile and Steam games suggest that microtransactions will likely become a majority of the gaming market. They already represent 70% of mobile revenue and continue to grow rapidly on other platforms.

This new revenue stream places new constraints on game designs.  Types of laboriously handcrafted content that was once feasible when your game was played 10 hours is no longer profitable if revenue trickles in over hundreds or thousands of hours of play.  Deep mechanics once again matter.  Communities you want to spend time in become a competitive advantage.

There are indeed manipulative companies scamming settlers in this newish frontier. Don’t act so surprised. This is the case for any frontier and this is not the first time games have attracted disreputable developers.  Look beyond the flashy, inevitable crooks, just as you looked beyond the licensed games, the porn games and the gambling games that infest your typical game markets.  Look at the big picture and observe where the new opportunities for greatness blossom.

No, they won’t cross over

These new evergreen players become hobbyists, but not media-centric gamers. This is most evident in the audiences that play ‘casual’ social and mobile titles. Many of these players never bought into the current gamer culture. It is common to see someone deep into Candy Crush and when you ask them if they are a gamer, they will deny it. They do not ‘game’, they never have ‘gamed’. They don’t share a common heritage of Mario, Zelda, COD, Halo or any of the mass media touchstones that unite current gamers. What they have is a wonderful hobby that in their mind has nothing to do with existing computer games.

There exists a fantasy that somehow new players will get hooked on one game and then transfer over to consuming other games. Since this assumes a play pattern of high volume serial consumption, I doubt that this will occur. Great evergreen games leave little room in a hobbyist’s schedule for grand feasts of consumable content. You don’t finish a great hobby and then look for your next dalliance. You keep playing the game for years or even generations.

The perfect service-based game is one worthy of your entire lifetime of leisure.

If this seems an exaggeration and current titles feel unworthy of this high bar, wait a while. Developers are very talented. And the financial incentives to build the perfect service-based game are strong.

Not one gaming hobby but many

So where does that leave our understanding of ‘gaming?’

Some people avidly knit in their leisure hours.

Others play a creative game like Farmville, Dwarf Fortress, Minecraft or the Sims.

Others participate in a social online game like World of Warcraft, Eve or Facebook.

And then there is a small but active community of proudly old-school Gamers that like consuming puzzles and story media.

What we currently think of as ‘gaming’ becomes just another hobby amidst a vast jungle of digitally augmented hobbies.

There are those who might see this as a threat, but that is mere fear talking. Existing hobbies tend to last for at least a generation. Those who’ve tied their identity to consuming media-style games as their hobby will stop participating in the hobby when they die. I expect to see 80-year olds still buying adventure games because that is what they were raised on and that is what they love. Niche producers can make good money serving these avid fans.  The rise of new hobbies thus do not invalidate a current hobby.  In fact, you’ll have media-centric games for at least the rest of your life.

Though each hobby likely will need to compete for new members.

Impact on the cultural ecosystem

With this shift comes change. The following may challenge your existing expectations.

Specialized interests, not shared experiences: The drop rates on defense potions matters little to your typical gamer. Yet it is of earth shattering importance to the community of Realm of the Mad God players, impacting hundreds of hours of their life. At a certain level of mastery, the language used to describe in-game concepts becomes indecipherable to casual audiences. This inhibits communication with external groups, but facilitates bonding within the group.

Deep systemic analysis, not broad media criticism and reviews. Hobbies are predominantly comprised of human systems and communities, not texts to analyze or boxes to sell. Political, anthropological or economic forms of discourse are more appropriate yet there are few game critics trained in these fields. Successful commentators are typically past players with a master-level understanding of the hobby. They are rarely dilettantes flitting from media event to media event.

Unique cultures, not mass cultures: A hobby can develop a set of inward facing social norms. This can be a negative if extreme viewpoints are allowed to fester. It can also be a huge positive and promote inclusivity, equality and long term positive relationships. Each hobby is a cultural petri dish that need not adopt dominant tropes or values.

Participation, not marketing campaigns: New players of a hobby hear about it from a friend or stumble upon a free trial. They participate first and see if they enjoy the lifestyle that the hobby promotes. Big bang media events can flood the early stages of the acquisition funnel, but they do not directly result in revenue or a sustainable community.

One aspect that surprises me the most is the stealthiness of inwardly sufficient hobbies. A smoothly running process is barely newsworthy for those unfamliar with the hobby. Over 5 million people partake in Geocaching, one of the greatest modern games ever invented.  Yet other than the occasional human interest story, it rarely breaks into the public consciousness. What would a media-focused rag say?  “People are having healthy fun…still.  Just like they were last year.” That’s not news. There is no new box to hype or content to whinge about.  There’s no advertising to sell. So silence is the default until you look inside the vibrant magic circle. Geocachers return the favor by labeling outsiders Muggles.

Let a thousand flowers blossom

The concept of one true gamer community will be less feasible as evergreen hobbies grow in popularity. Instead, we have a crazy mixing bowl of diverse, separate, long-term communities. Few will share the same values or goals. Few players will consider themselves having anything in common with players of a different game.

Social organizations such as PAX will still promote common ground, much like the Olympics promotes common ground between athletes. But day-to-day cross-pollination will be rare.

I personally value a wild explosion of diversity. We need less mass culture and more emphasis on vibrant, generative communities instead of passive industrialized consumption.

The existing society of players may be tempted to deal with those not like themselves negatively through shaming (“I can’t believe you play Farmville, stupid person!”) Here’s how we might instead react positively.

Freedom of Play: Like freedom of religion, any player has a right to devote their life to any game even if it isn’t something enjoyed by another player.

Mutual respect: Any player deserves your respect for their hobby even if you do not personally understand it. Avoid stereotypes and engage with the person.

Willingness to explain: Any insider should be willing to explain to an outsider how their hobby works. Proselytize by inviting them to play with you. An open-minded outsider should be willing to listen.

The fact that individual hobbies exist is not new. The shift comes from realizing that individual digital hobbies will soon to be the default play pattern. Adapt accordingly. （source：gamasutra）