作者：contentedwriter

根据以前的研究，显然游戏对个人和社会产生了重大影响。游戏带来了许多好处（提高手眼协作能力、训练大脑，等等）的同时，也造成了很多问题（社交隔离、金钱浪费等）。游戏还影响着我们的思维和感觉，我们将其称为“游戏的心理效应”。游戏中的声音、高分榜、竞争、同伴压力、乐趣、教育价值、期待和升级等，被开发者当作使玩家对游戏产生情感的工具。当玩游戏时，玩家既会产生积极的感觉，也会产生消极的感觉，这取决于游戏的设计以及玩家专注于游戏的哪些方面。

声音：声音对提高玩家沉浸感发挥了重大作用。开发者利用声音强化玩家对自己的游戏表现的积极或消极想法。根据Technopedia网站：“游戏设计师使用声音和画面创造一个完整的环境”。他们声称在游戏中加入声音是为了配合游戏中的天气状况和浮动的云朵的运动。这样，声音就使玩家更加身临其境，因为声音和画面相融合，使游戏显得非常真实。从早期游戏中简单的哔哔声到向玩家提供听觉反馈再到今天的原声带和沉浸音，你可以看出为了让玩家更加沉浸于游戏世界，开发者们费了多大的努力。声音优化了玩家体验，强化了游戏中的情绪反映。Bolton大学的Mark Grimshaw在他的文章《Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments》一文中指出，游戏开发者把音乐设计成一种奖励机制和强化学习的工具。这些研究表明，基于玩家的体验，使用声音可以使玩家产生积极和消极的想法。声音反馈使玩家得知自己在游戏中什么地方做得好，什么地方有待加强。

Donkey Kong Game(from gamexplain)

高分榜：在早期的游戏中，高分榜的作用是使玩家觉得自己比别人优秀。事实上，有一部关于迷恋打破《大金刚》世界纪录的记录片叫作《King of Kong: A fistful of quarters》，就反映了玩家互相竞争破纪录的心理斗争。有些竞争行为确实非常怪异，显然高分榜异化了玩家的思考和行为！《边缘杂志》的某篇文章指出游戏“从那以后演变了很多，但把我们的表现与其他人作比较的概念始终存在。但现在，游戏通常用排行榜取代高分榜，使我们可以更加详细地比较成就和奖杯。”这表明，尽管转化成不同的形式，高分榜还是经受住了时间的考验。这篇文章还表示：

“许多研究者认为我们倾向于跟自己熟悉的人作比较，是因为我们把他们当作一个标准，用来衡量自己是否胜任某种技能或才艺。当某人取得了某种成就时，我们对自己也能达到该成就的自信心与我们具有同那个某人类似的特征的想法有关。显然与完全陌生的人相比，我们更容易把自己与熟悉的人作比较（即使只是通过在线互动）。你因为《星际争霸2》的排名而打入钻石联盟？我们似乎只是装备有差，所以我认为我也能做到。你解开了《幻想战记》中的所有谜题？根据在校表现，我至少跟你一样聪明，所以如果我也玩那游戏，我一定也可以解开所有谜题。”

这表明，高分榜使我们能够根据游戏体验判断自己不输其他玩家或甚至超过他们。现代游戏的社交性和竞争性使我们想通过改进自己的游戏策略以对抗其他玩家，使自己在他们面前显得更优秀从而获得他们的认可。奖励、红利系统和高分榜使我们得以与其他人作比较，并且在游戏中看得出来这种比较。

竞争：竞争型游戏具有许多积极面。随着技术进步和MMO游戏的普及，玩家现在已经有机会同世界各地的其他玩家竞争或合作。竞争性使游戏变成真正的国际竞技场，而不是每年每天每时都在运行的软件。与人交流和合作是一种非常积极的体验，使玩家得以结交也许永远不可能见面的朋友。友好的在线竞争有助于培养玩家的社交能力、寻找志同道合的朋友。竞争元素帮助玩家互相考验，促进以后的线上或线下合作。当然，竞争型游戏对某些人也会产生消极影响。美国心理学协会的研究表明，小部分玩家在玩高度竞争性游戏时表现出好斗行为。他们的论文指出：

“在一系列针对游戏的竞争性、难度和节奏的实验中，研究人员发现，仅有游戏暴力并不能触发好斗行为。然而，根据在线出版物《暴力心理学》，与竞争性较弱的游戏相比，竞争性较强的游戏确实会令玩家产生更高程度的好斗性，无论游戏中的暴力元素有多少。”

这确实表明，根据玩家的游戏体验，竞争元素的确会影响个人的心理，可能会导致他们变得更加好斗。对某些人而言，不能克服某个挑战或被其他玩家赶超的挫败感可能会非常强烈，以至于让他们情绪失控。玩竞争型游戏的玩家在游戏中和游戏后的心跳速度通常会增加。这表明他们不仅是心理上受到游戏的影响，而且生理上也出现了变化。

同伴压力：在游戏行业，平台的流行和最新游戏的销量与世界上的青少年玩家们当中弥漫的同伴压力大有关系。游戏机通常会在圣诞节期间发售，以便在玩家口袋最鼓的时候最大化产品销量。同伴压力导致小玩家们要求最新的游戏机，进而迫使家长们购买最新的游戏机和游戏。游戏公司找广告营销公司帮他们寻找把最新游戏当成必需品的玩家。类似地，产品使用游戏化策略使人们合理化自己的行为。IQU网站上的一篇关于同伴压力是强大的游戏机制的文章表明，Reebok采用游戏化策略使其消费者在努力达到个人的健康目标时与自己的同辈人作比较。使用这种机制将对玩家的心理造成影响，刺激他们把在同伴面前炫耀自己当成是必须的。

乐趣：大部分休闲玩家玩游戏是为了娱乐。这是一个肤浅的事实！通过玩游戏获得乐趣帮助玩家暂时逃避现实，他们可以体验游戏主角的生活，沉浸于幻想的世界。Mark Grimshaw在某篇文章中指出：

“关于促进流状态、乐趣或沉浸感的游戏设计的重要问题是：任务应该由游戏提供吗（即由设计师创造）？应该受到游戏环境的促进吗？或寻找任务应该成为玩法的一部分吗？最后一个问题的答案比较接近不可能，因为按顺序一次只寻找一个任务可能会让玩家产生挫败感，而根据个人心情、情感或喜好选择满意的任务可能会产生更多乐趣。因此，优秀的游戏设计不是要求玩家接受可以完成的任务，而是同时提供若干任务，以及设计鼓励有趣的互动活动的环境。促进流状态、乐趣或沉浸感的环境可以让玩家的心态在为了玩而玩（即给自己定任务）和为了完成指定的任务而玩之间转换。”

这表明，游戏设计师在设计游戏时确实考虑到玩家的情绪，并且他们最关注的玩家情绪之一就是感到有趣。无论糟糕的游戏导致玩家产生多少消极情绪，有一点是非常明确的：鼓励玩家玩游戏的关键心理因素之一就是体验乐趣！

教育价值：根据Nottingham Trent大学的Mark Griffiths：

“除了娱乐价值，电子游戏还有很多其他潜能，比如，被设计用于处理特定问题或教授某种技能的游戏就取得了相当大的成功。”

该研究表明，电子游戏可以帮助玩家提高语言能力、基本的数学能力、基本的阅读能力和社交能力。电子游戏还被用于治疗患有严重交流障碍的儿童，帮助注意力集中障碍的儿童提高思维能力。该研究还表明，尽管有些人认为青少年的学习有消极影响，但如果使用得当，游戏是能发挥积极作用，能体现教育价值的。随着游戏被越来越多地运用于教育，社会对游戏的看法会有所改观的。游戏化越来越广泛地运用于各种目的，以激发受众的兴趣和促进沉浸感。游戏化还被用于软件教程，教用户如何使用新产品。只要正确地使用游戏，它对教育的影响就是积极的！

期待：当玩游戏时，玩家对他们所在的平台和所玩的游戏会产生某些期待。随着技术进步，越来越多游戏变成逼真的3D，玩家的期待也提高了。以《FIFA》系列为例，玩家对它的每一款新游戏的图像、声音和可玩性等都抱有更高的期待。玩家希望在玩游戏时收到立即反馈。Theresa、Connell、Grantham、Workman、Wong等人的研究表明：

“玩家是数字原住民，是在技术的包围中长大的。本次研究表明，角色扮演对玩家的成功和满足感具有积极的影响。尽管期待立即反馈，数字原住民发现了可以缓和延迟反馈的影响的变通方案。”

这表明，在玩法和技术进步方面，在新游戏机和游戏发布以前，玩家会期待更多。这样的玩家期待产生的影响是积极的，因为促进了行业发展，创造了更多就业机会。

升级：游戏中的升级是游戏设计师的好工具。当玩家有短期和长期挑战且当完成挑战能得到奖励时，他们会更加沉浸于游戏。GamePlayerReviews.com上的一篇文章《Charaacter creation and levelling》指出：

“为了突出角色和属性值，RPG给你的某些行为提供某种属性加成。正是因为如此，我们很高兴地花大把时间刷怪，只是为了看角色的属性值提高。”

这表明，玩家会花更多游戏玩游戏是因为嵌入玩法中的奖励系统。像奖励系统、升级这样的机制吸引玩家踏上无止尽的旅程，因为玩家总是希望自己在游戏中变得更强更好。这使玩家认为和觉得他们就是游戏的一部分，他们就是游戏的主角。

结论：游戏影响社会和个人，影响我们在玩游戏时和日常生活中的想法和感觉。游戏行业推动技术进步。大多数研究表明，只要玩家不沉迷，游戏的积极影响就超过消极影响。只有小部分玩家因为游戏上瘾而导致他们的心理和生活受到负面影响。

（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）

Psychological effects of computer gaming on individuals and society

by contentedwriter

From previous studies it is apparent that games have an impact on individuals and society. There are many benefits (improved hand eye coordination, brain training etc.) and concerns (social isolation, cost etc.). Games also have an impact on how we think and feel when playing them and we can call this the psychological effects of computer gaming. Games include sounds, high score listings, competition, peer pressure, fun, educational value, expectations and levelling. These features are designed to make the gamer become emotionally involved in the game. Gamers can have both positive and negative feelings when playing based on the design of the game and how engrossed they become with certain aspects of the game when playing.

Use of sound:The use of sound in video games does a lot to immerse the player in the gameplay. Sounds within the game are used to re-inforce the players positive and negative thoughts about their performance in the game. According to technopedia,”game designers strive to create a complete environment using audio and visuals”. They state that sounds are embedded into the game to “match the motion”of the surrounding weather conditions and moving clouds. Using sounds like this makes the player become more immersed as the sounds and visuals work together to make the game seem as realsitic as possible. When we look at how the use of sounds in games over time from simple beeps in early games to provide the player with auditory feedback to today’s soundtracks and totally immersive sound you can see how much effort has gone into using sound to make players become more immersed in the gameplay. Sounds provide a better experience for the gamer and is used to enhance the emotional experience during gameplay. Mark Grimshaw from the University of Bolton states that games use music “to function as a reward mechanism in game design and possibly allowing for reinforcement learning”in his article on “Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments”. These studies show that the use of sound is used to make the player think both positively and negatively during gameplay depending on their experience. The audio then allows players to learn what tehy have done well and not so well in a game.

High score listings:

High score listings were used in earlier games to make players feel superior and the best at a particular game. In fact there is a documentary type movie devoted to the obsession with getting the world record in the early version of the Donkey Kong Game. The movie called “King of Kong: A fistful of quarters” shows the emotional struggle of players competing against each other to beat the record. Some of the behaviour is indeed very strange and it is apparent that the high score listing makes the player think and act differently! Edge Magazine mentions how games have moved on since then and state that they “have evolved a lot since then, but the concept of comparing our performance against others has remained. These days, however, leaderboards often replace high score tables, and we can make even more granular comparisons via achievements and trophies”. This shows that the high score listing table has stood the test of time albeit in a different format. The Edge article also states:

Many researchers think that the reason we seek out comparisons with people we’re familiar with is that we use them as proxies for guessing if we’re capable of some feat or accomplishment. If another person achieves something tricky, our confidence in our ability to do it as well is linked to our opinion of how we’re similar to the achiever in relevant attributes. This is obviously easier to do with people we know (even if it’s just from online interactions) than total strangers. You broke into the diamond league for ranked StarCraft II matches? We seemed to be cut from the same cloth when I played you last, so I think I could do that too. You figured out all the puzzles in Fez? I know from our time at school together that I’m at least as smart as you, so I could do that too if I tried.

This shows that score listings make us feel on par or better than our peers based on our gaming experience. The social and competitive nature of modern games make us think about improving our gaming strategy to compete with peers and better ourselves in their eyes and seek their approval. Awards and bonus systems and score listing enable us to compare with others and are visually represented within games.

Competitive games:There are may positives to competitive gaming! With the advance in technology and MMO games, players now have the opportunity to play against or with other gamers from all over the world. Gaming in this way makes it a truly international competition than continually runs 24/7/365. communicating with people and cooperating with them can be a highly positive experience and one that can make friendships with people who may never have met. Friendly online competition can boost social skills and create a number of potential associates when people find a common interest whilst taking part in competitive gaming. The competitive element helps players test each other in ways that may help them work together in online or offline projects in the future. competitive gaming also has a negative impact on some individuals. Research by the American Psychological Association suggests that a small percentage of gamers demonstrate aggressive behaviour when taking part in highly competitive games. Their articles states that:

In a series of experiments in which video games were matched on competitiveness, difficulty, and pace of action, researchers found video game violence alone did not elevate aggressive behavior. However, more competitive games produced greater levels of aggressive behavior than less competitive games, no matter how much violence was in the games, according to research published online in Psychology of Violence.

This does show that the competitive element does impact on individuals and may psychologically effect them in terms of becoming aggressive based on their gaming experience. The frustration of not completing certain challenges or being outdone by other gamers might be too much for some and lead people to lose their temper. This shows the negative psychological effects of competitive gaming. Gamers playing competive games also showed increased heart rate during and after gameplay. This shows that they are effected by the game and it effects them both psychologically and physically.

Peer pressure:Peer pressure is something that is very relevant in the world of teenage gamers whose need to have the latest and greatest platforms and titles drives sales in the games industry. Games console designers normally release around Christmas to ensure they maximise sales around the period when people have most money to spend. The pressure to have the latest console is driven by peer pressure and puts pressure on parents to buy the latest gaming equipment and games. Intelligent advertising campaigns are used by games companies to target people of all ages to see the latest games development as a must have. Similarly gamification is used in products to make poeple accountable for their actions. IQU’s article on peer pressure as a powerful game mechanice shows how Reebok’s promise keeper uses gamification to make their customers accountable to theor peers when trying to achieve personal fitness goals. Getting into the minds of gamers using itelligent mechanics like this has a psychological impact on gamers and drives the need to show they are successful in front of their peers.

Fun:Most casual gamers play for fun. This is a plain and simple fact! The enjoyment achieved by playing games helps players escape reality and become immersed in a fantasy world where they can act out the life of the main character of the game. Mark Grimshaw’s article state that:

The important questions regarding game design that aims to facilitate flow, fun, or immersive experiences are: should tasks be provided by the game (i.e., created by the designer), should they be encouraged by the game environment, or should finding the task be part of the gameplay? The latter is rather unlikely, since finding only one task at a time sequentially might frustrate players and choosing a pleasant task according to individual mood, emotional, or cognitive disposition will probably provide more fun. Thus, instead of saying players need to face tasks that can be completed, it might be better design advice to provide several game tasks at the same time and design for an environment that encourages playful interaction. An environment that facilitates flow, fun, or immersion would provide opportunities for the player to alternate between playing for its own sake (i.e., setting up their own tasks) and finding closure by completing a given task.

This shows that game designers do consider the emotions of gamers when designing the game and one of the key emotions to target is player fun. No matter how much bad press gaming gets in terms of promoting negative emotions it is very clear that one of the key psychoogical factors that drive gamers is to experience fun!

Educational value: According to Mark Griffiths from the Nottingham Trent University:

Videogames have great positive potential in addition to their entertainment value and there has been considerable success when games are designed to address a specific problem or to teach a certain skill.

The research shows that video games have helped players increase their language skills, basic Maths skills, basic reading skills as well as their social skills. Video games have been used to train children who were severly handicapped to communicate successfully. Video games have also been used to train children with attention defecit disorder to improve their thinking skills. This research shows that although some may say that games have a negative effect on young people’s education they can also have positive impacts and educational value if used correctly. The impact on society will only change over time as games are used more and more for educational purposes. You can see that gamification is becoming more widely used across a range of application types to increase the level of interest and engage users more with software applications. Gamification has also been added to software tutorials when learning how to use new products. The impact on education can definitely be a positive one when when games are used in the correct way!

Expectations: When playing games, gamers havce certain expectations from the platforms that they play on and the titles that they play. As technology has improved and games have developed into a more realistic 3D experience gamers expectations have also increased. If we compare a games series like FIFA the expectations of gamers has increased with the release of every new title in terms of grpahics and audio quality as well as playability. Gamers expect immediate feedback during gameplay and research from Theresa, Connell, Grantham, Workman and Wong states that:

Players were digital natives, having grown up surrounded by technology. The study showed that roleplaying positively impacted their success and satisfaction. Despite an expectation for immediate feedback, digital natives found workarounds to mitigate impacts of delayed feedback.

This shows that players expect more in terms of gameplay as well as advances in technology before the release of new consoles and games. The impact that this has is a positive one as this drives the industry and creates jobs on a global scale.

Levelling: Levelling up in games is a smart move from games designers. Players are more immersed in gameplay when they have short and long term challenges and are awarded accordingly when achieving these during gameplay. GamePlayerReviews.com aretile on “Charaacter creation and levelling” states that:

In order to bring all these characters and stats into being in the present moment, RPGs give you certain stats bonuses for certain actions. It’s for this reason that we happily spend hours beating random beasts just to watch our stats go up.

This shows that players spend more time playing games due to the reward system that is embedded in the gameplay. Mechanics like these award systems and constant levelling up within a game engross players in a game and take them on an endless journey were they want to improve continously within the game. This makes the player think and feel that they are part of the game and they take on the role of the main character.

Conclusion:Games impact society and individuals and how we think and feel both during gameplay and in our day to day lives. The gaming industry drives technology and the research mainly shows that the positives outweigh the negatives when games are not played obssessively. Only a small percentage of gamers get so involved with games that they let them have a negative psychological impact on their well-being. (source:contentedwriter)